I know there are some honest good cops out there, so this doesn't apply to
100%
of those who are "On the Job."
Rick Ehlert's story is all to familiar. He was likely the only, or one of
the only out of state vehicles that was speeding. Cops (Notice I didn't
refer to them as "police officers" since few if any patrol car drivers are
officers, they are what we called "enlisted men" in the service - Pfc's,
Sergeants at best.) look for that. They figure you won't have any local
connections to fix the ticket. Actually, they are just xenophobic #^((%'s.
Small wonder that they get little respect by the general public. Maybe the
Hippies were right? And, from the stories my daughter the attorney tells
me, maybe they were.
My experience was in Pennsylvania on my way back to the Pittsburgh airport.
I was following a local on a 2-lane road. I got nailed. Cop claimed I was
going 5 mph faster than the local. If I had been, I would have hit the
local's car. But, the truth was the cop saw the "Avis" sign on the front of
my rental car.
At the time my daughter was working for the D.A. in a mid-PA county. The
D.A. was helpful. Consequently, I had planned to fight it in court, but for
the cost, I put it on my expenses for that trip. Just another bad
experience with a xenophobe in blue.
BTW, I grew up with some guys who became cops. Seemed they all had great
familiarity with the police station from all the times they were picked up &
brought there. Wonder what kind of cops they were.
Because of my experiences, I drive my MGB as if every cop is just looking
for an excuse to ticket me. And, I save my speeding for the race track.
I could tell you about the cops in a neighboring town who, until they got
used to seeing my Carmine Red '80 MGB on a regular basis doing the speed
limit, always turned on their radar & hit their brakes as they saw me
approach. I always disappointed them.
For Rick, I can only wish you luck & suggest you consult an attorney. You
have at least a 50% chance of beating this ticket.
And, Rick, be sure to post a description of this law bender's vehicle on the
speed trap website.
And, to all of you on this list learn to recognize telltale signs like 2 or
more antennas, hd sway bars, blacked out glass (my state a few years ago,
you couldn't tell the cop cars from the drug runner cars.)
Norm S.
'66 MGB daily driver/occasional racer
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