I love the "story" threads on here so just wondering if anybody will share about times they successfully or not tried to outrun the law. When my dad was in college he had a rich buddy from Jersey whose father owned a chain of service stations. The buddy and my dad built a hopped up Falcon with a 289. The buddy's dad had connections and according to my dad they got a crate of engine parts (heads, cam, pistons, etc.) delivered directly from Carroll Shelby for the build. Anyway one night dad was driving the Falcon and got lit up in a small neighboring town. He said he looped out a couple of blocks and got enough lead on the cop by the time he was back on the highway to wind up the 289 and disappear.
It helped immensely to know the area well, back roads, turn offs and trusty trails and such, leave it at that. It was different then, I drove my Enduro all over town and everywhere without benefit of a license of any kind. The unwritten rule then seemed to be if you could get away from them you were good to go. They wouldn't show up at your parents house. Sorta like way, way back in the day - once you crossed the county line, it was out of their jurisdiction. That's kinda how they helped track down Bonnie & Clyde in the 1930s, somebody noticed they made this large circular track from state to state to state and deduced about where they were going next.
one of my High School rides was a '56 GMC PU with factory Pontiac motor and hydro trans - out late heading home - at a stop sign another ride pulled up and revved motor - we looked at each other nodded to race - without looking in rear view mirror - squad car behind other guy, who pulled over as Cop followed him. I hit the gas for a couple of blocks - pulled into alley with lights off for a long time
Yes, I have. But, I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I have done that. And never, I repeat, never, tried to outrun a cop. My successes were due to a serendipitous combination of traffic delays for the cop, terrain, knowing the area well and....no doubt some luck, I was out of his sight briefly and I simply 'disappeared'. But over those same decades, especially during the National 55 mph Speed Limit, when 'lit up' by an officer, I promptly stopped, was polite and took my medicine. Since that was overwhelmingly on highways of one type or another, seldom in urban areas, I took the attitude I knew what I was doing and accepted the fact that I would get tagged occasionally. Quite a few times that resulted in just a 'warning' citation. For both me and the officer, it was "just bidness". Ray
Yea, I don’t like to admit it, but got away several times. I think that boosted my confidence and made me try one too many times. I was in my early 20’s and had just finished doing some paint work on one of my folks neighbors cars. I was taking it back home to them driving a little too fast when I passed a sheriff’s deputy. I was on a divided interstate and the car I was driving liked to go fast. So, I figured I would just hammer it and get off on the exit just about 5 miles down the road. Anyway, when I got off the highway I just knew I had made it again. That was right up until the deputy car came flying up behind me. I knew I was going to jail, but noticed it happened to be a guy I was friends with just a few years before in high school as he walked up to my window. He never even said anything about me running and just asked how I had been. I figured God gave me a chance to stop such foolishness before I ended up in jail or killing someone. So, that was the last time I ever tried that...
Well. I guess the statute of limitations has run out so I'll tell one on my son. He was about 20 years old and living in California racing a sprint car for a team. He came home for a visit. He borrowed his Mom's car one night. He was getting stopped by a county sheriff and took off. Lost the cop on our Indiana country square miles. Of course, he never told us and went back to California. About 2 days later, his Mom gets stopped. Apparently by the same deputy. I know that guy looked in the car and sees this 65 year old lady and thought "What the hell?" I don't know how she talked her way out of that. She has never had a ticket in her life and was scared to death. I guess the cop never got the license, just recognized the car. On her call to California to our darling son, I heard language that I never heard from her before.
Back in the lats 60's a local hot rodder had a fast yellow Henry J, he was always looking for someone to race, one Friday night he picked the wrong road to race and the police chased the yellow car, I don't remember the man's name but he speed away, he was close to a place called Broadway lake road, he must have been very unfamiliar with the road because there is a very sharp left hand curve and on the left is the lake and on the right a very steep mountain type area covered with large oak trees. The driver was said to be doing in excess of 100 MPH when he went into the curve and plowed into the oak trees, the police said the car exploded when it came in contact with the trees and the car was torn in half, the engine came out of the frame, the wreck caused a huge fire and and the driver had been decapitated. I vividly remember seeing what was left of the car, There was no reason to die running from the police just to avoid a ticket. This incident made a profound impression on me, and may very well be the reason I never tried running from the long arm of the law, besides you can't outrun Motorola. HRP
Me and a buddy were cruising a neighborhood of town we weren't real familiar with. It was dark and a car started following us real close. We didn't know who it was but I thought if it was going to involve a fight I'd get to somewhere that was lit up. I took off and made a couple of quick corners to where I could see some light. As we crossed some railroad tracks the gumballs lit up. The cop asked what in the hell did I think I was doing driving like that. He bought my explanation after he looked us and the car over real good.
Your story reminds of a sort of similar incident. In the mid/late '60s I was working at semi rural Ford/Merc dealer shop and the local State Highway Patrol had their Galaxies serviced in our shop. One of the Troopers was a really nice fellow, no pushover if you were a bad guy, but certainly no hardass. It was a small town and we maintained a friendly casual sort of relationship. A few years later I took a job some distance away, but hadn't moved just yet and commuted home three nights a week. One of those evenings I was 'smokin' in a Datsun pickup and got lit up. The Trooper whose name was Bill, walked up to my open window, saw me, and said, with a big grin, "oh it's you"...."I haven't seen you for some time. What have you been up to?" I told him about my new job etc. and other small talk. Finally, he smiled and said "slow 'er down...have a good evening" Ray
A few times-successful except once--long story-jail, lost license etc. That was in 1960-young and dumb
Yes a couple times. Most memorable was at 19 yrs old. First date with a girl, sitting at a quick mart with several friends and one had his gf with him. As standard with the couple they were arguing, it was just their way of communicating I guess, when a 3 guys in their 30's come out and start yelling at my buddy and threatened to beat his butt for mistreating his girl, I stand up and tell them to butt out, threats fly and the guys decide they want us to follow them out of town so they can teach us a lesson. Cool I'm game so we load up in 3 separate cars and them in a 4 dr truck. I noticed the antenna on back their truck and get that feeling. We hit a major intersection on the edge of town when I get the hairs on my neck stand up, OK danger will Robinson, sure enough I hear sirens coming down the hiway both from my left and my right, just then the light turns green and the truck just sets there, I swing out and go straight. My buddies seeing me exit do the same except 1 goes left,other right. I get about a 1/4 mile down the road when I pass a sheriff with lights on, he passes me,locks up the brakes and does a 180, my foot to the floor and a hard left on the next road, right there is a trailer court & I pull in the first open stall and kill the car and hit the floor board with my new date. Sheriff pulls in right behind me and stops, gets out of his car and stands there looking around. With his flashlight he starts looking into cars. Comes up to my passenger side. Checks the car beside me, leans up against my car and sits there for about 2 minutes looking around and shining his light. He leaves, I wait 5 minutes. Pull the dome light fuse, open door and crawl over to see if he's hiding on the side of the road, sure enough he is. He is about an 1/8 mile down the road on the other side of the intersection sitting on the side of the ditch watching. After 20 min I had enough, pull the brake light fuse and back quietly back into the driveway where I can see him and both sides of the road between all the trailers. Once all the traffic was gone, foot to the floor and out of the trailer park sideways I come. Took him by surprise, I look into the rear view mirror and see lights come on, sirens blaring, about then he nails it and rooster tails of gravel out from the rear of his car and about then the rear swings around on him into the ditch and he's sideways in the road with his ass down in the ditch. Just what I needed a few extra seconds. Next intersection I side drift the old grand prix around the corner and again another trailer court. This time,just past it was a hedge row and I pull in behind the hedge row and kill the lights, just getting dark, as he makes the corner and blasts right by us, the minute I could just see the tail lights on his car I gently pull out and back road back to the quick mart. About 30 minutes later 1 friend shows up, he got nailed, 2nd friend shows up, then 3rd. I was the only 1 that got away, but the last 2 said cops were busting their chops wanting to know who I was, they said they had no idea, they had never seen me before. After we all made it back we decided to head to a buddies house when my date informed me it was our last and only date and she would be riding with 1 of my buddies as they stopped when they seen police lights..... oh well, never seen her again...
I don't run or hide from cops, I just take the first exit to get off the highway before I pull over for the safety of both me and the officer. If he loses me that's on him.
Had a cruiser chase/follow me straight into the PD parking lot. Told the cop I was just looking to save the tow and impound fees.... He didn't really buy it, and the judge didn't either. The fine I got probably paid for their lot repaving. But at least my car didn't end up in impound.
Trust me it's not worth it! My one and only time I got away from the cops. I was on a motorcycle, light turned yellow so I jumped on the gas and cruised through the intersection turning red ... cop sitting there turned on his lights. I just started shifting gears and sure I hit 100 mph ... the lights were fading in my mirror, I took the turn to my neighborhood, raced towards my house but I turned into a neighbors driveway ... house was vacant. My plan was to hide there and wait for the cops to pass me then go home ... Seemed like a good plan for a 19 year old kid. I pulled into the driveway and it was freshly laid gravel, front wheel went sideways, I went over the handle bars face first into the gravel. Adrenaline running I picked up the bike and drug it into the bushes ... 650 Yamaha, I hid and waited & the cops never came. County line was 1 mile back at the rail road tracks they stopped chasing me. That was 40 years ago, my girlfriend got up out of bed and sat me down in a chair and picked the gravel out of my face ... we are still married today & I do not run from cops
Drunk and tried to outrun the cops in a 1980 diesel VW Rabbit !!!! shortest , slowest, funniest and dumbest chase ever!! learned real quick at a young age to just pull over and be cordial and understanding to law enforcement.
Back in my much younger days me and a friend left our local watering hole after way to many brews, anyway he had a 56 Chevy with a strong 327 and we left with a streak of rubber as he went through the gears and that's when when the red light started behind us. Anyway up and down side streets we went until we couldn't see the flashing light and into a long drive way we pulled. The cop went by like a streak of lightning and we thought we were free and clear, UNTIL he pulled in behind us. Moral of the story is KEEP your foot off the brake peddle.
My dad was in the Sheriffs reserve and also a bailiff as I was a kid. He instilled into me “you might out run them on foot or in your car, but you can’t out run the radio”. Never had a inkling to run.
Was running about 80 in a 65, passed the officer parked on the shoulder and saw the lights come on. I knew there was a little town around a curve so I buried the pedal. As I went into the curve he was still a long ways off. Killed the lights and took a left into the town, zig zagged 2 blocks in and found an alley with a view of the main street. Officer came flying thru town. I just went back the way I came in with the lights off. Crossed the highway and kept going on country roads a mile on the other side that ran roughly parallel to the highway.
Another time, I'd just finished a drag race and was coming back into town. Pulled into a restaurant parking lot where I saw a few people I knew. The car was still set up from last weeks trip to the track. On slicks, and expired plates. As the officer pulled in. I stood in back of the car and leaned on it to cover the plate. Rubber all over the quarters and headers still popping. He asked if I'd been out east of town. Nope, just came over to get some food. He said got a call about a drag race from someone who lives out there, a white car was hauling ass. Hmm, sounds like you may have a long night trying to track them down, I'll buy ya a coffee inside if you have a minute. He just chuckled, Told me to drive straight home and get some fucking street tires on it..
17 years old, still living at home. Had a 10pm curfew, and I was running late from my gf's house. Had the lil 67 Stang wound out, probably running 70-75 on a 55 mph road. Never saw the Trooper parked in a dirt drive until he hit the blue lights behind me about 1/2 mile or so. I was only about 3 miles from home, so I floored it the rest of the way. We lived just over a hill on the right side of the road, down in a little hollow. I topped the hill, killed the lights, never touched the foot brake, but dropped the transmission into second as I mashed the e brake, getting slowed enough to turn in the driveway and then made the sharp right to go behind the house, without lights. Stopped short enough I could see the Trooper go by but he couldn't see me, the house had me hid. A buddy that lived farther down the road said the Trooper passed him about 3 miles from my house, then he met him coming back again a few miles later. Only time I ever tried that. Figured I was lucky that time, might not be the next....
Tried to... accidentally. 1977. 20 years old. Midnight shift, about 3 a.m., lunch time, warm summer night, girlfriend had lunch waiting at our apartment a couple miles away. OT 390 Javelin. Heading north doing about 90 mph on the main drag. No traffic. Caught a glimpse of what I thought was a station wagon with a roof rack sitting in the darkened closed gas station. The "station wagon" was a cop car. I caught the whole traffic light a mile north. Headlights in my rearview mirror getting bigger. Light turned green and I floored it. Headlights in my rearview mirror getting smaller. Slowed down a quarter mile up the road to hang a left. Red and blue lights behind me. Uh-oh. Cop: "What do you have in this thing?!?" Me: "390 4 Barrel, automatic." Cop: "I was doing 90 mph and you were pulling away from me!" Me: "Really? Ummm... sorry." Cop: "Well, I know there's hardly any traffic out here at this hour, but we had a woman killed by a speeder a couple of nights ago. So please keep your speed down. And have a good night. Me: "Yes sir. Thank you sir."
All these stories have stimulated my memories and I have recalled one more particularly fun experience. At the time I was working for a VW dealership in St Louis area about 45 miles from the small town I lived in. In those days, I was well known locally as the 'VW guy', and a few people would ask me to take their cars in for service as a convenience to them. I didn't mind. On one occasion, it was winter and was dark early. This particular customer lived on a somewhat barren stretch of the then main highway. It was a farm location and the house was well off the road, I think at least 600' or more. Nearby was a side road cut into the embankment. The HP liked to park there, out of sight until it was too late. That's the scene. So here I come, always driving VW's 'flat out' when traffic permitted (probably 75 mph) when I pass the side road and see the police car, but I was only quarter mile or so from the farm driveway. So, while he/they started onto the highway, I was turning into the long drive and just proceeded to the house. The Trooper just pulled onto the shoulder and sat there. I exchanged cars behind the house, going from a light blue Beetle to a Square Back as I recall, in any case a clearly different car. So, I proceed down the drive and turned onto the highway and continued home. I suppose he figured it would be an uphill battle to make a case, given the circumstances, so he just sat there. Whew! , I thought, but smiled the rest of the way home. Ray
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