Anyone ever been targeted for driving a stang?

[Rollinastang]

Dont mind me for venting a little. the other day i was rolling around in my drop top for the first time this spring. i was not speeding or doing anything illegal just rollin. next thing i know there is a 50 in my mirror and i dont mean a nice stang i mean and dang cop. he followed me for a while then out of the blue hit the lights. i thought he was going to pass me but he pulled me over. whe i asked him why he said a routine check of vehicles. he ordered me out of my car and checked the car and my person.when he didnt find anything he said ok have a nice day . i then asked him what exactly he was looking for and he said i am young and drive a nice car. man was i pi$$ed off at that point. so mind you u i am madd right now i get back in my car.... and on accident squeel off thought i was gonna get a ticket but didn't...lucky me....just thought i would share this with all ya cuz i know i am not the only one out there this has happened too.

[drachemadchen]

I've been targeted too. I was pulled over on a rural road by 2 cops late at night. They came to the window with guns pulled. I wasn't speeding. They did the usual check of registration, lisence. Came back and I asked them why they stopped me they said I had a tag light out. Ok no big deal, They complained also because I had put my new 05 tag sticker on the opposite side but no big deal either. I get home and check my tag lights they are fine nothing wrong at all. I've been pulled over no joke atleast 10 times in the last year. I don't often speed, never been caught either. They never find anything or give me a "good reason" why. Maybe it's the cherry red mustang... I think. Never been pulled over this much with any other car. Sucks...

[fordblue5oh]

I am constantly targeted. When i drive my 92 ranger if i happen to make eye contact with a cop in traffic i give the head nod or a small wave and most of the time i get a smile or a friendly wave in return. When i drive my 02 sonic blue gt cops give me dirty looks all the time.The other day i was driving the stang on my way to work and met up with a cop going the opposite direction at a four way stop, we bolth stopped and then proceded to go as we pass eachother i give him a small FIVE finger wave and he FLIPPED ME OFF!!!!! Well i was in shock i wasnt even mad for a min because i was so stunned. Well now it being several days later and having told everybody i work with and getting all worked up again each time, im on my way home from work (i work 4pm to 12am) and i pull out on to the highway and right away i pass a state cop(headed opposite direction) so not that i speed excessively but normally i do like 60 in a 55 but seeing that cop makes me slow down a little today so all the way down the highway im doing like 57. As i enter town i am stopped by a red light and after the red light the speed limit is 50 so as i take off i have one eye glued to the speedo and normally accelerate to exactly 50. As i was leaving the light i had noticed a cop had turned onto the road behind me. So no big deal a cop is behind me im glad im driving so conservatively today. the cop hangs right behind me as the speed limit drops to 45 and then 40 as we enter town. I had been following the speed limits exactly by this point since the cop was behind me. We get one block into town and to my extreme suprise his lights come on and he is pulling me over!!! I pull over into a serivce shop parking lot and he follows. At this point i am confused an ticked off(witch never is my attitude with cops i under stand they are "just doing their job" and i am always very complyant and polite). So he walks up to the car after the 3 min of blinding me with the spotlight and says "the reason i pulled you over was you were going a little fast back there" i immidiatly say where? he says after the light by walmart and i snap back with "How fast was i going"? he says well you were definatly exceeding 55 witch the posted limit is only 50. I say confused and flustered so AFTER the light? he interupts me and says this is not up for debate im not arguing with you. So he asks me for my licence and registration and as im reaching for the registration

[fordblue5oh]

whoops way too long sorry,
but as im reaching he asks is your drivers licence valid? I dont know why but i was like of course its valid do you think im driving this f****** mustang around with no drivers licence? He just stops and stairs at me for a sec says that is a standard question this dosent have to be a confrontation. i instantly felt foolish for for snapping. He goes back to his car and comes back with a written warning for Excessive speed and explains to me how i almost talked myself into a ticket. I apoligise for being short with him and he leaves. But i have NEVER been rude to a cop before and felt very foolish but also still a little ticked. It sucks being looked down upon for driving a HORRIBLY DANGEROUS "MUSTANG". lol

Sorry so long

[2001GTPEWTER]

I've got advice for you people, its' free. Police are drawn to these cars because they're built for speed and good-looks, nothing else. In their mind theres' more of a chance you're not a family man with 4 kids heading home from the office, ergo theres' a posibility you've been drinking. A lot of times they'll get right behind you to make you nervous..and most of us, except for me who has a brain malfunction, speed up automatically when someone tails us..thats' what they WANT you to do. Whenever they ask you "Do you know how fast you were going?"..Never give and answer, say "I don't know." Remember, no radar gun is effective when a patrol car is moving, so don't fall for that one when they say they got you doing 60mph when they were driving BEHIND YOU. NEVER plead guilty to a traffic ticket, take it to the limit..higher a lawyer...go back to the DMV traffic court 20 times if you have to..its' worth it, believe me. I'm grounded in the warehouse and can't get a delivery route just yet because when I was 19,20..I did'nt realize that tickets stay on your record for more than 3 years...and they'll come back to haunt you. I know its' tempting, but never take an attitude with a cop during a traffic stop..you'll only be hurting yourself...But for me, don't give them the satisfaction of looking nervous or scared...they get off on that. Keep a poker face, smoke a cigarette while they're running you license, just relax...After they go back to their little computer in the squad car you can't control what happens next. Most cops don't show up for traffic court, unless they're highway patrol which means they have nothing better to do at 9am anyway. Make your required appearances but take advantage of the 1 or 2 excused absenses per ticket, with any luck you'll miss eachother and the ticket'll be thrown out. Don't ever use a radar detector, police have new laser radar guns (they look like shotguns) that can detect the presense of a signal-jamming device. Make it a habit to quickly flick your high beams at people coming in the opposite direction to let them know you passed a roosting cop down the road...Do unto others...They'll be letting YOU know about them too. Last One, if you drive a hot Mustang like mine, don't go out Friday night at 10pm wearing a baseball hat..ohh Lord that'll get you pulled over in a heartbeat. Save your thumping ghetto-noise for your stereo at home, and if you have tint...DON'T drive with the window up.

[Jimljr145]

As a person with a bit of experice on the apparent wrong side of this conversation, (A Police Officer) let me start by saying I too drive a 01 Mustang GT with a 5 spped, and do enjoy the occasional dump the clutch thing, taking off at the lights, getting to the posted spped limit as fast as I can, but I am always aware of the posted speed limits, and the amount of auto traffic, pedestrian traffic and such. Unfortunately, a large proportion of people with the hot cars and young drivers are up to no good. Especially when it is late at night. When you get pulled over, just be as polite as you can to the officer. If you offer them an attitude, I guarantee, you will find yourself with a ticket for some type of violation. Also, if you do have a good reason for going faster than the limit, by all means, tell it to the officer. If you are polite and convincing, you may just find your way out of a ticket, or atleast out of more than you could have got. If it is funny, you may just get a laugh and be sent on the way. I have done this on a few occasions. I know from experience, that when I get flack from someone I pulled over, I look through my book to write as many tickets as I can get. If you are polite, I will write you for the lesser violation and tell you what else I could have wrote you for, and what I cut you a break for. This may or may not be good for us in law enforcement, but it does help me to get some respect from the street racers I have to put up with in my township. By the way, I don't ever pull over a car just because it looks fast. I don't pull over a car just because the driver looks 17. I do pull over the person that is driving a fast car fast, especially when they are doing it at rush hour, in a highly populated or congested area and causing a hazard to the other drivers. Just something to think about while you are out from a cops view.

[Jimljr145]

Oh yeah, the flicking the headlights thing, if you do it in New Jersey, I can write you for that too. I don't know about in other states, so someone else will have to help out there. Just beware.

[COORS]

NOTE TO SELF: dont go to new jersey!!!
As far as the flicking head lights thing it's a great idea the patrolman would have to prove your warning others, my excuse would be "hell i know that guy was just waiving at him"

I paid for way to many policeman ball's when i was younger.

[2001GTPEWTER]

This is for the cop, well let me ask you something I'm 24 years old. I work my ass off leaving at 3am to go 10 miles to work. I never speed, but I've gotten pulled over before just because most of you guys LOVE flexing your muscles in the hopes that I'm gonna be shitting my pants inside the car..which you'd think my parents had probably bought for me since I'd appear 18 to you (not that that would even matter)..THAT is what leaves me with very little respect for a lot of rollers out there who know damn well I'm not drunk..and they've seen me on the road before. I don't know, something like finding out his wife is sleeping with their neighbors' pool cleaner is probably the caliber of distraction that makes a lot of cops want to take their aggression out on other people. What you guys have to remember is that tickets can HURT, I'm not making the kind of money I deserve, and still living at home with the same dead-end job..all because some village putz felt like ticketing me for doing 34 in a 25mph zone...My ******* car IDLES faster than that!

[DeltaMustang65]

i don't mean to sound like an A hole or anything, especially since i've been in a similar situation before, but if you can afford a car that idles faster than the posted speed limit, how does a speeding ticket hurt you so bad? also, how did you afford such a car if you have a dead end job? i thought I was in a bad financial situation (i work, go to college, and have bills of my own like everyone else), if you could tell me your secret, that would be great.

i was caught once doing a burnout, as was my friend who did one in front of me without noticing a cop coming toward us from way down the street. i was very polite to the cop that caught us and, god bless his soul, he let us off with a warning. we knew what we were doing, and we were smart enough to do it where we weren't putting anyone or anything else in danger, but still...laws and whatnot, sigh. i've also had a cop somehow clock me doing 44 in a 30 from behind a giant SUV. ah, the wonders of radar and laser technology. i could've sworn i was only doing 40, too. i usually only drive 5 mph over the posted speed limit, but in this case i was trying to pass the monster cuz it almost came into my lane and hit me. i swear, i have no love for SUVs, and also motorcycle cops (i was nice to him too, but it didn't matter), which is the type of cop that ticketed me. which brings me to ANOTHER story, lol...

when i was little, my dad was pulled over by a motorcycle cop for some reason or another. the thing is, motorcycle cop #1's buddy was trying like hell to kick start his bike, but to no avail. my dad couldn't keep from laughing, and i think me and my little brother laughed too. mc #2 was seriously P I $ $ E D, ticketed my dad for a bunch of made up stuff, which was later thrown out in court. anyway, the moral of the story is...i forget. um, have a nice day everyone, and remember to drive safe.

[jimdrechsler]

to the cop who posted on here. can yo utell me what the guy said when he made yo ulaugh so i can try it the next time i got pulled over??? please- ive gottne out of a few tickets by blaming my driving on my wife who was sitting next to me!!

[RED92LX50]

Not sure if the story is true, but one that I "heard" got the guy off with a warning:

Cop: Do you know how fast you were going?
Driver: Well Officer, I really don't. At those speeds I tend to focus on the road.

LOL - probably just an internet myth, but good none the less.

[KiltedBanshees93GT]

I've never been "profiled" as it were, and I dont agree with the idea of pulling someone over because they fit a "preconcieved notion" of a likely offender, but there are some things to consider.
A: Driving a musclecar is not what could be considered low profile. You want attention, expect all kinds of attention.
B: Honestly, if you're not doing anything to incur the authorities wrath, and you treat the cop like a fellow human, odds are, its maybe 10 minutes out of your life and you're on you're way.

Now if you're repeatedly pulled over for no reason, then that would be something to talk to a lawyer about.

*Edit* Actually I was profiled once, I helped a buddy tune his car (a caddy) back up after he accidently put it into a lake (he had epilepsy). We took it out to test in a neighborhood in eastlake, and apparently we looked like car thieves (A puerto Rican in a bandanna and a guy in a watch cap, lol). As soon as the depuity came to the window, he was leaning across the windscreen to check the ignition lock. We thought it was funny, especially after John accidently got a bit more gas than intended when leaving and splattered the cruiser and Depuity (we think) with mud.

Just my .02
J

[Jimljr145]

I've been away for a few days, so sorry for not replying to the posted question to me. Firstly, in regards to the story you tell to an officer, just tell the truth. I am not going to tell you what to say to an officer that has pulled you over, but if there is a real reason, other than "I wanted to see how fast I could get to a hundred", you may get off a bit lighter. And as I have mentioned before, be very polite. I don't care what the officer is saying to you, be polite back. There may be the one who is looking for you to start something with him or her. How you handle yourself means everything. Also, for the record, I was not always a "cop". As I was a teen driving an old big block oldsmobile (my first car) I had my share of run ins with the local cops, as well as the NJ State Police. I was barely able to afford my insurance, let alone the gas to feed that beast I was driving. I know how bad it hurts to pay a fine for a traffic violation. I still don't make a whole lot of money myself. Even us cops are human with the same problems as everyone else (although it appears most don't think so). So when you get stopped, leave your attitude for your friends later, and be POLITE!!!
Second, I live just outside of Atlantic City. I see a lot of traffic at three and four in the morning, as well as around five or so. I have never pulled over a car just because of the time. I was just hinting to people driving through neighborhoods at those times, not really going anywhere, they are usually up to no good. Hell, they don't even need to be driving a 'stang. Sorry if I didn't get that across before. And yes, a muscle car is an attention grabber, and every single one of you reading this know that to be true. I personally know where to find about 95% of the muscle cars in my town, because I an enthusiast. You all are too, or you wouldn't be here, would you? So, if you think you are really being profiled, I can't help you there, and you may just have to go to the Department that this is occurring and speak to the supervisor. But remember, that can back fire too, so be sure it is the real thing and not just you being pissed because you got caught. I hope I answered you, I sort of went off on a tanget. Let me know if I helped.