History Cops vs. Hot Rodders? Not Anymore...

I went to local car show last Saturday and the event ended with an annual classic car parade, assisted by the town police who were blocking intersections for us along the route. It's a strangely satisfying feeling to run red lights with officers wavi... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

 

Much different from when I was a kid,,ah yes,,The times they are a changing! HRP

 

Really? Where I live there's a big gathering at a local racetrack once a week. I went twice and each time I was greated by a roadblock where State Police were handing out tickets for loud exhausts, seatbelts, helmet validity (motorcycle crowd), and or anything they could generate some easy municpal funding. I think cops single out anyone and everyone nowadays just to write out tickets to revenues.

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What were you driving? In my experience, local racetracks attract ricers and modern cars, i.e cars that cops hate.

 

I have experienced both sides of this coin. Yep, the times they are a changing.

 

thats good to hear and see that they are seeing the other side of things ...

 

I think LAPD Motor Ofcr. Knight had a personal vendeta against Hot Rods and Me in particular. That was in the late fifties/early sixties, typical for the time. These days coppers seem to be more interested in real crime of which there is a lot more.

 

They're not toooooo bad in OK.
This is from 2 years ago goin out to LARS

 

Some of the hottest cars in town are owned by officers. Have a State Patrol living across the street now - love having the car parked out there when he is home - sure slows traffic down.

 

I think that the lowered Honda Civics are the Hot Rods of today in the eyes of the cops.

 

As a former law enforcement officer, let me chime in here. There are SO many people and things out there wanting to do you harm, that you really have to do something out of the ordinary to attract my attention. Once you have my attention, I have about half a second to decide if you pose any kind of a threat...to me or society in general. Then I'm on to something else shiny. If you can avoid doing anything stupid during that small window while you have my attention, you'll probably be alright.

That being said, I have been pulled over more times in my O/T Mini Cooper, than in all of my hotrods combined. Doesn't help that it is bright freaking yellow, with black rally stripes, and I'm usually out at odd hours of the night....

 

I agree with you, Jay. Seems like the explanation is that they used to be adults and we were kids, and now it's the other way around.

In the same way, I remember how weird it was the first few times that I met doctors and teachers who were younger than me.

 

Yup that sure is nice, When I was living down in Fayetteville, NC we had 3 sheriffs in the neighborhood with one living directly across the street. Sure made for a nice quiet subdivision.

Up here they don't seem to be able to bring them home like down south. Which is to bad, we have some real idiots around. They seem to think a straight street is an excuse to drive as fast as they wish through the subdivision.

 

We had an "iron worker" machine at my old job and it had a small louver punch attachment. I couldn't punch hoods or anything large but I fabricated louvered battery boxes, radio housings etc., I also louvered one of my license plates. I put the louvered plate on my Deuce roadster about a month ago just before the WOTSRA car show in Macunge PA. A few weeks ago I was out cruising and noticed a county patrol car in the passing lane behind me. He pulled up along side of me and motioned with his finger to pull over and dropped in behind me with his lights on. After we pulled to the side of the road he walked up to my car and said "come back here" so I got out and walked to the back of the car. He pointed to the plate and said "what's with the plate". I explained it was just some hot rod thing and he said "I can't read your plate from the side, it's illegal". He then asked where my front plate was and I replied "in the trunk" and he asked is it also louvered, to which I replied no. He then said "I won't give you any citations if you drive straight home and take off the louvered plate and replace it with the good one" I said "yes sir and thank you very much". NICE cop!!!

 

Around here most anyone that owns a "old car" be it a stocker, hot rod or custom are a responsible driver and as far as I have seem or heard are not bothered by the police at all.
I have seen the police at local car shows and cruise inns, but only there to look at the cars, not inspections, just as spectators interested in them, and talk to the owners about their cars.

 

Those tires are fantastic! (sorry I was listening...)

 

Theres a local show here once a year that the local PD put on as a fund raiser
Its called "Cops and Rodders". Quite a few of the local cops are car guys, some hotrodder.

 

and then the gas monkeys get their own TV show doing big smokey burnouts and everyone and their mom wants a RR!

 

The Hot Rod Hill Climb could not have happened without the Colorado troopers. Guanella Pass was shut down for a few hours Sat. so that the hot rodders could make their passes. Those guys and gals were cool about it all and helped to keep everyone safe and smiling while we were having our fun. They helped make for an awesome day.

 

Sunday afternoon, I trailered my T Bucket to have some engine work done (album update coming with a possible thread). He lives in Pearland (a tiny, but growing city on the out skirts of Houston) and the area is known for cops and speeding tickets. Knowing this, I was towing with a truck, borrowed from a friend, that had a broken speedometer. I had to go through a neighborhood with a 30 MPH limit.

So, I slowed down to what I figured was 30 MPH. Came over the crest of a hill and there he was. Pearland's finest looking for speeders. I rolled by and he came after me with lights flashing. I pulled over and waited for him to come to the window. As he walks up, he's checking out my T Bucket on the trailer.

When he gets to my window, he's asking about the T and I'm answering all his questions. Finally he tells me I was doing 39 MPH. I couldn't / wouldn't argue with him. He takes my license and goes to his car. Now I'm sitting and trying to figure out how much the ticket's going to cost me.

Well, he comes back, says he hopes the engine work comes out okay and gives me a "Watch your speed and have a nice day." Knowing Pearland's history with speeders, I KNOW my T Bucket got me out of that ticket.

In my experiences, as long as your not being an asshole, the cops usually like seeing an old car or early hot rod cruising around. Notice I said EARLY hot rod. A '69 Camaro with fat rear tires is still a ticket waiting to happen.

 

A few years back I was driving through downtown Tacoma, WA in my OT 66 Chrysler...5000 lb land barge with 4 wheel drum brakes. Anyone who has driven here knows what the hills are like (think car chase scene from Bullitt). Steep hill, flat cross street, steep hill. I was going down the hill at around 11pm and let off the brakes a little too soon and I hit the flat spot at the very bottom of the hill and the headers scraped the ground and make some sparks. Local PD car was behind me and immediately lit me up. I knew my exhaust was illegal because it dumped in front of the rear axle, it was very loud and the huge cam didnt help. I shut it down real fast and coasted to the shoulder. He came up and asked me why I was going so fast to make sparks...I told him its a 47 year old car with old drum brakes and my big cam doesnt make a lot of vacuum so the power brakes dont really work. He started asking me all about the car, asked to see the engine, so I obliged and told him all about it. He told me his dad had one when he was a kid and he loved mopars and his new police package charger. After he got done checking out the car he asked for my license, glanced at it, handed it back and told me to have a nice night. I couldnt have shit a greased bb waiting for the huge ticket he was gonna give me, but he was a car guy and let me off. I bet if i was in a civic I would have gotten a fat ticket...

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There is an app for that......... or just checking the accuracy of your rod's speedo....

 

I learnt fairly early in life to play it cool with The Fuzz, but I did get genuinely annoyed about 15 years ago when pulled over by a Cycle Cop just so that he could checkout my hopped-up '47 Harley Bobber. Although finished to a high standard, that bike had no front guard, no speedo, no indicators and open pipes, he dug it.

 

Cops are people mostly some of them aholes some not. I had one roll up to a band practice once because a neighbor complained, he looks at my bass players bass... Is that a Stu Hamm Signature? You guys mind if I sit in... I guess not the reaction the neighbor hoped for.
I always find it funny when they roll up to our RC car parking lot races and rather than deal with the noise complaint from the apartments pull out the radar guns and look impressed.

 

Whenever a Maine State Trooper catches up to me on the I-state I love to step on it and pace him for a while. Haven't been bothered yet , they look over and smile, I back off and away they go !

 

It cracks me up that people talk about all the money that cities make with traffic tickets. By the time the paychecks go to the police officers, police supervisors, police records clerks, court records clerks, district attorneys, judges, court clerks, victims compensation funds, etc.... There is not a dime of profit in a traffic ticket.

I only ever wrote one ticket to a "hot rod"... It was a 1972 Pantera doing 105 in a 45 zone. I wrote him for not having current plates or proof of insurance, but did not write him for the speed. The rest of the old cars I ever ran across were driven in a responsible manner by nice people.

 

Its been my experience at least here in CT that most officers have better things to do than bother us rodders. They seem to appreciate our special type rides.

 

Hell,I used to drag race the cops in Omaha back in the early 80s...of course,I used to see the same guys in Scribner(the local strip) on Sundays.

 

On my way to the Terryville Ct rod event, I approached a police stop.....they were looking for expired reggies and inspections....they had 3 cars in que awaiting tickets. I was in my '33 truck, no inspection sticker (I'm a fucking hoodlum, what can I say?), and one of my headlights fell off on the way. I was an EASY target for at least 2 obvious violations. The LEO waived me through and gave me a big thumbs up. Not all cops are out to get us. Some are cool.