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Rat Rods got tickets or Just stopped by Cops?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HONESTHERMAN, May 18, 2009.

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  1. HONESTHERMAN
    Joined: Apr 27, 2009
    Posts: 293

    HONESTHERMAN
    Member

    I pretty much know what I have been stopped for in California, Exposed tires etc. Hell one time in Wisconsin I had a cop who stopped me and said. Either you call a Tow Truck or I will !!!! Cause you aint driving that away. But on the East Coast, NO Helmet Law etc. How much trouble is it with Police on East Coast? What have you been stopped for? How bad was it?
     
  2. ...no problems in the Midwest
     
  3. 1929rats
    Joined: Aug 18, 2006
    Posts: 661

    1929rats
    Member

    run my rod with open headers and slicks......got stopped twice....no tickets, just conversation. dont need fenders in MA for a '29 car. Id encourage you to contact your local sema rep and lobby for that (in states that require fenders).
     
  4. GassersGarage
    Joined: Jul 1, 2007
    Posts: 4,727

    GassersGarage
    Member

    It's been my experience that attitude gets the tickets/tow.
     

  5. dragrcr50
    Joined: Jul 25, 2005
    Posts: 3,865

    dragrcr50
    Member


    I agree , I cant believe some of the stuff i see on the roads, im 60 yrs old and dont remember those cars on the road even in the mid sixtys. and if you had an attitude you paid for it dearly, more leniant now days by far...
     
  6. DE SOTO
    Joined: Jan 20, 2006
    Posts: 3,857

    DE SOTO
    Member


    This is a true statment to a point, But there ARE Cops with Attitude also.

    I been stopped twice, Once ticketed for Open Headers, Cop had to ask WHAT The Hell i was driving, But was Cool for a Rookie Kid.

    Second time was by a 3 Striper, He had such an attitude and almost Rear ended my Sport Coupe.. Got a ticket for Headers & Slicks..

    Total Ass Hole Cop in front of my Daughter, Even his Back up was ashamed of his actions.
     
  7. Ranunculous
    Joined: Nov 30, 2007
    Posts: 2,465

    Ranunculous
    Member

    We(myself and the hot rodders I hoodlum with) are very fortunate here in Western MD to have some decent constabulary.
    Many are car enthusiasts themselves and with the amount of charity work we the hot rodders are priveledged to help with;they just leave us alone-unless we're obviously breaking some law in a dramatic fashion.We've earned a decent reputation,I'd guess?

    Years ago I had an officer I knew walk out and hail me to look my truck over.He commented on the front scrub height(which was waaaay low)but commended me on my nice clean window glass-with a smile.(The truck had none,I was itching to take a spin and wasn't on a surface road).
    "Drive safe and enjoy that hot rod,boy!"
    I remember that and smile occasionally.
    I got the glass in,try to keep it under 150(ft per hr) and respect him for protecting and serving.Just my story.

    Some officers obviously are over-zealous and interpret the laws differently.I know they're marked,have the public's interest at heart(I'd hope?!) and are genuinely concerned.

    Ticketing like in the case at of the Jalopy Showdown thread is asnine?Exposed engine citations for $100+.?
    Wonders if they'd ticket our Amish neighbors?
    Farm tractors/heavy equipment have exposed drivetrains,no signals and cannot compete with traffic at highway speed.They pay no road tax or licensing fees,yet you can drive one anywhere around here.Braking/handling ability on hardtop roads over 25 m.p.h.? Uh huh?
    i know that's an apples and oranges comparison,but they're both rubber-tired conveyances with sometime passengers and pedestrians nearby.Buggies have steel rims and no tractibility.
    No tickets there?

    I do have some difficulty with that one...
     
  8. Attitude makes a big difference. At the Round-Up I witnessed an endless number of fenderless rods running with no baffles, no problem. But who DID the cops stop? The idiot who thought it'd be OK to do five burnouts in a three block area of South Congress!
    Can I get an AMEN!!!
     
    seb fontana likes this.
  9. MarkX
    Joined: Apr 8, 2003
    Posts: 1,232

    MarkX
    Member
    from ...TX

    I drove my 52 chevy with straight pipe(no mufflers) for a couple years around Dallas as a daily driver and the one time I got stopped was when i was really speeding other wise the cops never really bothered with me........and my car was loud and looked obnoxious...but i also had current tags and inspection.
     
  10. mottsrods
    Joined: Jul 9, 2008
    Posts: 742

    mottsrods
    Member

    My rod rides so low that I hit and scrub just about everything. I've been stopped once in Pigeon Forge,TN and he only wanted to know if I hurt anything and if I hit my oilpan. He was totally cool and didn't give me a hard time. On the other hand, when i've had to have the state dmv inspector to sign off on a new build, i've gotten "are you sure you want to drive this on the road" and "who are you trying to impress". I laughed so hard at the second one that I failed the inspection.
     
  11. Zombie Hot Rod
    Joined: Oct 22, 2006
    Posts: 2,452

    Zombie Hot Rod
    Member
    from New York

    There's not that many Hot Rods in NYC, so tickets for that sort of thing aren't really a problem here.
     
  12. 57JoeFoMoPar
    Joined: Sep 14, 2004
    Posts: 6,138

    57JoeFoMoPar
    Member

    There is a general respect for classics here in NJ at least. Lots of cops I know are into the hobby as well, and I've frequently sat and talked cars over a cup of coffee with local PD. Most are good guys just doing their job, which unfortunately, often means writing BS citations to earn revenue for the town/state. Stay on the right side of the law, and you'll generally have no issues. That means at least a lap belt, a reselmblence of an exhaust system, and driving habits that don't include revving the piss out of the engine to draw attention to yourself and holeshots at stop lights. Attitude does go a long way, the police can smell asshole a mile away, and if you reek of it and a rat rod rockasilly attitude, the police will go far out of their way to screw your day up, and do so with a smile. When you see your local PD, smile and wave. talk to them and engage them. Answer questions about your car. Ask them about their families. Honestly, that's the way it should be whether the person is a cop or not. A little kindness and courtesy go a long way in life
     
  13. KIRK
    Joined: Nov 17, 2005
    Posts: 384

    KIRK
    Member

    I've been running my 31 sedan here in Florida for 3 years now with no fenders or hood. I do have mufflers but run with the headers open once in a while. I have never been stopped but I don't ask for trouble either. I have never heard of any one getting hassled just for what they were driving. The cops here seem to be OK.
     
  14. dynaflash
    Joined: Apr 1, 2008
    Posts: 506

    dynaflash
    Member
    from South

    I have been stopped in my 28 Model A just so the police could get a better look. He then told me he was sorry for holding me up but just had to see the car. Got to respect that. The car has mufflers and I do not run slicks, but it does not have a hood or fenders. Most of the time I drive it close to the speed limit. May get 5 or 10 over but nothing to draw attention to the car.
     
  15. sxdxmike
    Joined: Aug 25, 2004
    Posts: 406

    sxdxmike
    Member

    can you really blame a cop for pulling over a 'rat rod'? some of these cars we see are just ridiculous. i don't mean to offend anyone by that, but it's true. thats why i just cruise the back roads and try not to bring much attention to myself. (also why i painted right over the rusty body with some brush on black paint) now, i'm always in dillsburg, and know that most of those officers are pretty nice guys. but there is one that gave me a hard time, so maybe it was the same guy that was giving tickets at latimore.
     
  16. olskool34
    Joined: Jun 28, 2006
    Posts: 2,597

    olskool34
    Member

    Here in Michigan, cops generally just like to look and move on. Granted if you are doing something stupid, they will pull you over but if you are just cruising down the road they seem to like to look more than pull you over. I am running open headers/no fenders/no hood/no back window and have had no problems.
     
  17. Probably the same anywhere. Cops get bored (had some tell me that) driving around when people aren't doing anything to be stopped. They like cars and looking at them. If you have an attitude they can allways find something on any hot rod or custom to issue a ticket, if your cool with them you gennerally won't have a problem.
     
  18. Got stopped in my car by the patrol in Missouri. I was asked if I knew how fast I was going. I said honestly I did not know, that my speedo was broke(true) and I was running with a guy in a Dodge Dakota PU. The cop said yeh, we got him too. Any way he looked my car over, checked the car license, my license, told me to watch my speed and said have a nice trip and down the road he went. Nice guy.
    Later,
    Dick
     
  19. ratster
    Joined: Sep 23, 2001
    Posts: 3,588

    ratster
    Member

    no prob here in east tn
     
  20. MIKE47
    Joined: Aug 19, 2005
    Posts: 987

    MIKE47
    Member
    from new jersey

    No attitude, no problems. I've been driving around NJ with open headers for about 5 years. I also have loud bikes. I don't sit at the light and rev the shit out of everything. When I pass a cop I do the smart thing and put the clutch in and coast when possible. I also don't do burn-outs at every light like some guys do. The other part of the attitude is to look like there is no reason for the guy to pull you over. If you're all paranoid and keep looking them to see what they are doing they get the feeling you're up to no good and will pull you over. If you look like you don't have any issues they won't have any. Also, I'm not 20 years old anymore, not to say I'm old but I know. Cops don't like to get snippy with older guys who've been to a few rodeos before. The younger you are the more likely the cop is to give you problems. The couple times I got pulled over when I was younger I was cool to them and they were cool to me. I've got a few tickets that I deserved and a few I shouldn't have. It takes a few times to learn.
     
  21. Roothawg
    Joined: Mar 14, 2001
    Posts: 24,523

    Roothawg
    Member

    I am building a car with open fenders and cheater slicks. The slicks say right on the sidewall "not for highway use" but that was before they were grooved. Are they legal once grooved?
     
  22. six pack to go
    Joined: Aug 2, 2008
    Posts: 1,938

    six pack to go
    Member
    from new jersey

    hahaha, reminds me of the cop who churpped the tires in the patrol car at the brooklyn show!
     
  23. gotra66
    Joined: Apr 24, 2009
    Posts: 181

    gotra66
    Member

    Most of the cops here in CB seem to be cool with hot rods. Cruising was banned back in 1997 ( i think). Right after that, the cops were jerks and would pull over anyone who drove the street more than twice in an hour. They also had a few problems with cops harrassing teen agers and a few cops got suspended over it. But for the most part they have been cool. I know I did my fair share of hotrodding and was usually let go with a warning.
     
  24. full house Mouse
    Joined: Jun 3, 2008
    Posts: 228

    full house Mouse
    Member


    Heh a man after my own heart so true attitude does get you tickets no attitude and usually no hassle people are people every where in the world but heh if you want trouble thats the guys job, right!

    Its true about cops have attitudes also.

    One time in Phuket I was doing huge burn outs for the US NAVY in town for some R&R, a cop on the street waved at me to pull over, I waved back and kept on going he called in the a bunch of cars they pulled me over and started on me but I talked straight and didn't give them a hard time and they let me go !
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2009
  25. When I was in my teens here in South Carolina excessive noise was the tickets I got the most,,,since then I have recieved only one warning ticket for blue dots.

    I build my cars to satisfy me,,no one else and I don't build them for shock value! HRP
     
  26. 53PlymCran
    Joined: Jul 1, 2007
    Posts: 57

    53PlymCran
    Member

    You also have to consider there are a few different types of cops that stop people driving - those who are enforcing traffic laws/vehicle codes, those who are looking for a pretext stop, and those that just like the car.

    If you get stopped by a metro/traffic officer, chances are you're going to get a ticket, because that's their job.

    If you get stopped by a patrol officer, it's likely that calls for service are pretty slow-going and they're looking for something to do. When a patrol officer stops you, you're either doing something blatantly unsafe/stupid, or they're thinking that there's some reason to take you to jail. So they'll stop you just see if there's any way they can search you or the car for guns/drugs/anything-else-illegal, or run you for warrants. If they get the impression that you're not a dirtbag, you license is valid and the car is ok, they advise on whatever violation they used to stop you, and you're on your way.

    It's always refreshing if it's just because the cop likes the car and wants to bullshit about it for a minute.
     
  27. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    In this area, The Yakima Valley of Washington state It's real easy to get pulled over for no front plate or scrub line violatons. I drive too many miles to put up with open exhaust on any of my own rigs and would rather have a sweet sounding set of pipes than just loud. Not to say that at the moment my 71 Daily driver pickup is damned loud and is great fun to set off car alarms with.
    Regular commisioned officers aren't too bad to deal with around here but the small town reserves can be a royal pain as they try to make a name for themselves by writing tickets.
    On the highways all you have to do is let one of these rice burners with fart pipe and sprint car wing get about a half mile ahead of you and no problem lol. That or an Idaho Toyota 4x4 as they are usually running 15 over and passing everyone else with abandon.

    I don't run open hedders, and have no use for slicks on the street(Ive been in the bar ditch twice with the 48 in rain storms with N 50's and don't like the feeling), will run a collectors plate next time to be rear plate only but I may still be a prime candidate for scrub line issues as the truck is going to be low and will not have bags.
     
  28. Hot Rod Bob
    Joined: Mar 21, 2007
    Posts: 1,146

    Hot Rod Bob
    Member
    from T-ville Ky

    I ran into a road block once in my A when I was running open headers, thought for sure I was goin to get ticketed, the cop waved me through an yelled "nice ride man".
     
  29. Javier
    Joined: Aug 12, 2008
    Posts: 1,433

    Javier
    Member
    1. Strugglers C.C.

    A cop gave me a thumbs the other day while I was doing 35 in a 20mph school zone.I normally dont speed in school zones.Guess I was lucky that cop is in to old trucks.
     
  30. 1950ChevySuburban
    Joined: Dec 20, 2006
    Posts: 6,187

    1950ChevySuburban
    Member Emeritus
    from Tucson AZ

    Rat rods get ticketed by cops
    Hot rods get appreciated by them!
     
    hemihotrod66 likes this.
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