How are you treated by cops in your hot rod?

This question spurns from my brother and my experiences with downright rude, negligent, and disrespectful cops.

One evening after attending a varsity water polo hangout night before the big game against our rivals, we (me, 15 at that time and my brother, 17) pulled out of our teammates driveway onto the main road, which happened to be about a 1/2 mile straightaway in the foothills. At this time we discovered the flathead in my brothers 1950 ford shoebox 4 door was barely running, so we started to pull across the road at a pace of about 5-10 miles per hour to a fire station on the left side of the road some 150 yards up with a 1/4 mile of straightaway behind and a 1/4 in front. We were within 75 feet of the entrance and about half way across the road at about a 45 degree angle to the road when we saw a flash of lights and felt a large jolt and saw a streak of black car smashing into our front left fender. What we saw next was a black bmw spinning out down the road at 80+ mph, keep in mind the speed limit was 50. we slowly coasted into the driveway of the fire station as fireman ran out to see what happened. As we got out we looked down the road to see the bmw at a stop against a guard rail some 150 yards down the road. By this time the firefighters had reached us and were making sure we were ok, then the driver emerged from the car and started towards us at a half-jog screaming and cussing his head off. as the man got closer the firefighters repeatedly asked him to go back to his car, at this point i could see his pupils were the size of my boot as he kept on spitting out curses at us. the firefighters finally convinced the man to go back to his car after he had yelled and cussed at them forbidding them to call an ambulance after they had asked whether he needed medical attention. about ten minutes later an ambulance arrived for us since it is standard procedure when minors are involved in an accident without an adult. At this time the man started coming over again, yelling and cursing at the firefighters for calling an ambulance after he had demanded they not. the firefighters had to explain and again insist the man wait by his vehicle. Then began the hour and forty minute wait for the police to arrive (nearest substation was 10 minutes away). finally the cop showed up and walked over to the man in the bmw to get his story first, i was not there to hear the conversation but i could guess the man was just as irrate. after about 10 minutes he came over to take our story and berated us for not having seat belts, (allowable under grandfather clause) and deemed our car un roadworthy because our front left light which was on the ground hanging by its wiring was not operable. both the paramedics and firefighters quietly mentioned the fact that the man was on some sort of mind altering drug only to have the officer nonchalantly deny this saying it was nonsense. The officer left saying we were unmistakably at fault after berating my brothers driving.

We escaped this event unscathed and after a new fender and bumber the ol 'box was as good as new, while having totaled the bmw. Hooray for good old steel! I am now 16 and my brother 18, my brother now has a 1949 woody which he bought and is building himself, running the original flathead, which we drive to school every day now. this is the most outrageous of our MANY infuriating encounters with the police over our 2 year span in classic cars.

So, how are you treated by the police in your ride?

 

I've been pulled over on a couple different occasions in my rpu with "with open headers" just so they could check out the truck. But then again I'm in Ky.

 

surfin said
I am now 16 and my brother 18, my brother now has a 1949 woody which he bought and is building himself, running the original flathead,which we drive to school every day now. this is the most outrageous of our MANY infuriating encounters with the police over our 2 year span in classic cars

Oh brother kid, you have a long way to go and hopefully you'll get used to it.

Now I lost track, is this the third or fourth lame thread today about being "infuriated" by the police

 

this topic,like a 13yo kid;s penis ,has been beaten to death

 

I'll let you know if one of them ever catches it.

 

hahaha, sorry, i wasnt aware, i am relatively new to the forum and was merely sharing a story

 

Just kidding. I've actually only been pulled over in a hot rod one time,and that was a sobriety check point. They got so interested in the coupe that they totally forgot to ask for license and proof of insurance!

 

hey you'r 16,sounds familiar huh?
Anyway,I couldn't read your story.
It needs a paragraph or two...

 

Great. All the cops where I live are good. Lotsa car guys and the non car guys still have a lot of common sence. No hassle and will warn you ten times before a citation. There is one guy that thinks everything needs fenders and windshield wipers. I showed him the law and he is now informed to the hotrod way!!

 

haha nice! you see, this is what i expected from driving an old car, but i am still waiting for that experience! but who knows if i will get it in good ol' california hahaha

 

Posted inside my 32.( Capable of Evading Hi-Speed Pursuit). Are local rod club: Vin Tin of WPA. is all grey haired and the local police are quoted as saying : Those old Q-Tips never cause any trouble. I guess its true.



Ago

 

never had a problem

 

im glad to hear so many positive experiences, glad to know not all cops are like those in my area

 

Youll get older, then the cops will be the guys you went to high school with...It usually all comes full circle. My late teens and 20's were very difficult with the police and my old cars, theyve eased up in the last several years, mostly due to bigger and worse issues now in our small town.

 

Lived in Austin in 85 and got caught drag racing at lunch by two motorcycle cops while attending Davey Crockett High School. I pulled over and the guy in the Chevelle I was racing didn't. It was in a school zone and the cops were actually pretty cool about it. I did get ticketed but only 10 miles over ( we were running at close to 100 when we got popped)I was young and stupid. The other guy? he went to jail for evading, exhibition of speed and probably a few more.

When they were done with me we talked for a few mins and I got to listen to the pursuit on their radio. Before I drove off they asked me why I pulled over. My response was ''I could never hide in this thing".

I was in my Nomad.

 

No problems here in Wisconsin...unless you look for it...like speeding and lighting up the tires......

 

im afraid that isnt possible with a good ol' 95hp 60 year old flathead haha, never had to worry about that here

 

cops are dicks to young guys in hot cars. always have been, always will be.

 

Cops in my hot rod?............never.

 

When I was 18 I had all sorts of hell from cops when driving my 27 t now I'm 32 I havn't been pulled pver in years.... I propablly should be pulled over once in a while !

 

I have never been messed with, but my friend Paul Bos moved up here from San Diego a few years back. He is in his early 70's. He has a very nice 34 3w coupe and he got pulled over the first time he had it out. He was heading to local car show, the cop had no real reason to pull him over in the first place, but told him he had to change his plates from Cal to Idaho and if they saw the car again without Idaho plates they would impound it for failure to meet Idaho's registration law. Remember he had only lived there for a couple weeks.

 

I think it was the water polo thing. And I think the whole thread was written to draw comments. Close it down

 

yup

 

the thread was created to relate experiences, and why is being on my varsity water polo team a negative???

 

I drive a chopped shoebox in primer. I've never had a cop even give me a glance.

 

What's a bumber?

 

Cops are people. Some are not as cool as others. Except for the one that hit my car, the rest have been pleasant to deal with. Even when I've gotten a ticket. Just got one a month ago. I was speeding and couldn't argue the reading on his radar gun (he showed it to me). After he wrote the ticket he asked a few questions about my car and left. I see him from time to time and we both wave at each other in passing.

 

I'm 61 years old and haven't been pulled over in years, If and when I get caught for misbehaving I would thoroughly deserved it for getting away with stuff for years.



Ago

 

I'm 61 too and the cops around here have gone down hill to an amazing degree. Forty years ago they were professionals who knew their job and treated the public with respect. I drove hot rods and rode motorcycles and the cops I had to deal with were never anything but honest, civil, and fair.

In the last 10 or 15 years everything is different. All the cops seem to be of sub normal intelligence and to have spent way too much time watching Rambo type cop movie shootemups.

There was a time I was solidly behind the cops. Now, thanks to their nasty and unfair behavior, if I see one in trouble I laugh.

It isn't only me either. My friends experiences are similar. Likewise if you read the papers and watch the news, the police are a lot crookeder than they used to be, a lot more violent and unfair, and no one is doing anything about it.

 

Good call

Most of the cops around here are pretty good. Got to know most of 'em good because I was running a towing company with my dad. He still is, but I can't really crawl under a car anymore from a wheelchair. But, every once in a while you deal with the new cop on the block.
I live in a small town of about 8000 people (give or take). My family's been on a farm about 6 miles east of town since 1906 (Actually, it used to be only 4 miles, but in the 30's they moved the whole town 2 miles west after a large fire. True story, not just something I saw on the Simpsons). So I was headed into town in my 49 Ford when I had a siezure and passed out. I've been diabetic since I was 4 and epileptic since I was about 13. Apparently, the last time the pharmacy refilled my perscription of the medication for my epilepsy, they gave 30ml capsuls instead of 100mg, which added up to me getting only 180mg a day instead of the 600 I was supposed to for a couple weeks.
The truck took a right, through the fence, took out a post and a short ways into the field. This was in the spring, so nothing was seeded yet. And there was no paint on the truck, so nothing to scratch and no other mark anywheres on the truck.
So someone driving by calls the cops. I come too right about the time there's a cop opening the door. Of course, I'm a little light headed and he naturally assumes I'm drunk. About that time my dad comes driving by. He asks the cop what's going on and the cop tells him "Mind your own business and get on your way" to which my dad responds "That's my son and this is my f*ing business"
Cop says "He's drunk". Dad; "Like hell, he wasn't a half hour ago when he left the farm." My dad had seen me like that before and knew that I had had a siezure. I also tested my blood and it was fine, then the cop starts in that I should never have a drivers licence because I have too many health problems. All my health "problems" are 100% managable and it was the pharmacy that f-d up (Went in to the hopical and they did some blood tests which revield the low dylantin leval, then we looked closer at the pill bottle and figgured out the problem. Same size/color pill, less medication). He also threatened to charge me for not having a seatbelt. Talked to the head honcho at the cop shop and he had a little talk with him, and never had any trouble with him again. Actually, ended up getting a long with him pretty good. Towed a lot of vehicles on friday nights when the bars let out