Cops & Ferraris

These threads always concern me, not only because we have LE present on FChat, but without LE, we would have a lawless world. I, for one, cannot believe the courage it takes to literally put your life on the line for the public. All the other discussions seem petty, honestly. A good quote from a Guy I know.... "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone..."

I drove from Colorado to Tennessee on Wednesday for my sister's wedding, fuel pump gave out on I-70 in the middle of Kansas... KANSAS!!!!! State trooper responded to my 911 call (yeah, I know, I need AAA) and took me TWICE to get gas to put in the car and when we determined it was the pump and not just out of gas, he waited for 20 mins for the tow truck before leaving. One of the nicest guys I've met, cops or otherwise.

James in Denver

 

I'm new here and happen to be a cop in a far western Chicago suburb. I am a huge fan of exotics and know that, on my salary, will probably never be an exotic owner. My community is a wealthy town with numerous exotics tucked away. Nothing makes my day like seeing the heart doctor from the south side driving his Countach. Most of the guys I work with love seeing you guys and we usually will call someone working down the road when we see a cool car coming thru. That call is to hurry up and look and not hurry up you may get him speeding!! The most important thing with dealing with me and my fellow brothers is attitude. I'm not saying you need to kiss ass, but if you start out with an attitude, you'll probably end up with an autograph! Every line of work has it's decent people and it's jags. We're out there doing a job and that's to protect the people paying my salary. Which means if someone is driving like a moron with traffic around, you're going to draw attention. On the other hand, I once stopped a guy on a sport bike doing 72 in a 35 at 2:00 AM. The guy pulled over for me right away (huge points from me!), was extremely courteous, was honest in admitting his speed, and had a great attitude. He explained how he was coming home from a track day at Elkhart Lake and just wanted to hit it once before pulling in his drive. I gave him a verbal warning and talked bikes and sent him on his way. Most guys I know look upon exotic owners as very lucky people and nothing more. I don't know you and you don't know me so why should I judge. I've dealt with a-holes in nice cars and a-holes in crap cars. I've dealt with a-holes cops and nice cops. It's all in how we deal with each other. Hope this makes sense and I didn't ramble. Let me step off my soap box and go look at the NSFW rear end shots now (I'm home from work now!!)!

P.S. As for you guys that have given a cop a ride in your car.................please stop by my town some day!!! I've never even sat in a Ferrari or Lamborghini!

 

Welcome, we actually have some members of Law Enforcement represented here..it's doable.....start saving and stay safe!

 

That's a great attitude and makes perfect sense to me.

BTW, I've given law enforcement rides but you're a little out of the way. However, if you're in L.A. let me know.

 

Gret post!

And if you're ever in the other LA (Louisiana) let ME know.

 

I've been driving exotic cars for 38 years and I've never had an unpleasant experience with LE. Firstly I always drive reasonably. I've never been stopped except a few times Officers have pulled up to me and I've pulled over but it's only to check out the car. I'm sure they ran my plate first and realized all was in order. The times this has happened they've always told me they just wanted to check out the car and hoped I didn't mind. They've ignored no front plate on occasion and asked a few questions which I've never minded answering.

The local Police know my cars of course and are very friendly. In Europe the Police have always been very friendly as well and in Paris they had no problem with me Parking P 4/5 in a bus stop when I was at dinner. Several of them hung around and when I came out of the restaurant they stopped traffic and motioned for me to make a brisk getaway.

In Sicily the Police provided escort for the Historic Targa Florio and even entered a Classic Alfa Police Car Driven by two officers in full dress uniform. There was a time when I was following one of the Motorcycle Police and he waved me by in order to enable me to set the Sicilian Land Speed record. After that he retook the lead and I noticed I was no longer on the route book course.

I followed him deep into the mountains and we came to a small village. We parked in the square and his Mom came out of a house to say Hello. We shared Gelato and coffee and headed back to the route. Even with the detour as he was leading briskly we were soon back on track and on time. My Son commented that when we got home we'd have to remember that when a Police Car pulled up and flashed it's lights that didn't mean drop down a gear and put your right foot to the floor.
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That has been my experience too. At least the part about bad experiences. I worked at a dealer for 2 years without a drivers license, got pulled over many times , deservedly so during that period and never got a ticket. In other words the conversation never even got so far as showing my DL. To begin with it really helps to be nice and not argumentitive. My driving record looked like a copy of the vehicle code when I was a kid, then I learned to be nice and fall on my sword. I have not had a ticket in at least a decade and I do not drive any slower now than ever.

 

badges2,

There will be a slew of F-cars headed to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the FCA annual meeting and show next summer. I will be up that way I am sure. So I am sure you will be able to enjoy the view from behind the windshield glass. Thanks for your service as LE.

Robb
Colorado

 

I average 400 kms {250 miles} for every police stop I get. That's since 2002 in my 924. I've never been pulled over in a BMW, Audi, Maserati unless it was a speed trap. When I'm followed by a police car in the 924, I expect to be pulled over. In 16 stops I've never been given a ticket and two months ago I talked {again} to a lawyer about the harassment. Now that I have a surveillance system in my car I'm golden when it comes to court. So don't tell me that officers or police forces don't harass based on the car you drive because some do.

 

The farmers and the cowboys should be friends ("Oklahoma" the musical).

Maybe local cars and coffee should invite off-duty police officers for a ride and some coffee (a donut too?).

My experience with LE has always been good despite a few tickets but I have found that police officers are a very tight knit group. Help one and you help them all. they remember and are very loyal.

The police need friends in the community and it never hurts to have a friend in the police force. My suggestion would be to fo and talk to the cheif of police and say we are considering a fund raiser for fallen or injured policemen and would like to have some officers give you advice as to needs, etc. Perhaps have a concours and charge ecah entrant $25 or whatever is appropriate and turn the net proceeds over to the fun. Perhaps combine it with a rally, etc.

What have you got to lose. You may meet new some great people and meet new friends. Maybe Fchatters in an area could do this??

Life is good and may the horse be with you?

 

That's a great idea PNH. I think I will try organizing something for my aux. unit in the spring, esp since our budget is getting chopped again . Before long we'll be putting light bars on our POVs.

 

Some kids who make pizza, spit in the dough. Some F1 drivers crash people to win championships. Some car wash kids steal your change from the ashtray. Some attorneys have sex with the clients to pay the fee. Some priests take advantage as young kids. Some baseball players take steroids. Some dentists don't give enough novacaine because they like to see you squirm. Some Presidents have sex with interns..............If you label everyone because of one bad apple, you might want to move to an island. Also, if you've never received a ticket, what would be your beef? Sounds like you need to drive a Ford Taurus and relish that anonymity. Just my .02.

 

You know how this song goes, defending LE on the net, so save yourself some aggravation since you won't likely be changing anyone's mind.

Hopefully some of those w.less positive LE encounters will learn something from your earlier post

 

Because the 16 police officers won't let me drive a 924 in peace?

 

You're right. The entire law enforcement community has nothing better to do than beat up on you.

 

It seems that some police officers can beat up on someone and others let you fly as high and as far as you want. I mentioned that "some" officers pull over cars based on what they look like and not because they have a reason to. Unless the car has pieces falling off of it, it looks otherwise unsafe, or there's a car matching the description of yours that the police are looking for, there shouldn't be a reason to pull over a car based on the make and model. I was told by a police officer to buy a specific kind of system for my car as it has 4 cameras and records audio from inside the car. So again, some will hang you for walking down the street and some will do a good days work. If I decide to go ahead with legal action, I'll post it in this thread.

 

Hello Fellas,
I am a police detective here in NY and I also own a 308 GTSI. I'm happy that most of you here have had good experiences and good things to say about cops....it makes me feel great to read your comments

Most cops are good guys however as with every other occupation, we have our A-holes too so be careful that you don't run into one!

I think that most cops would mostly be very interested in our cars so just be polite, respectful, and don't have an attitude when you are stopped. Just say that you are sorry for speeding (don't lie!) and something along the lines of, "I would really appreciate it if you could just give me a warning this time.... I am embarrased that I was driving so fast", and you will most likely get a break. I can promise you that an "attitude" will get you a few tickets.
Finally, speeding alone shouldn't piss-off a cop too much, but driving crazy or racing an other car will!

Be careful out there!

Frank

 

hey frank.. why don't you piss off and leave the ferrari drivers alone..

;-)

 

That's so ***ked up!

 

Mamma,
First of all, I AM a Ferrari owner and my post is just a "thanks for the support", and maybe some advice for you so you don't get a ticket.....maybe you didn't understand what I meant by my post perhaps?
Just wondering why you are telling me to piss-off.

Frank

 

As a future LEO I commend you, we may very well be long lost brothers lol! Dont worry Houston owner's I most likely will be working the outskirt's such as Katy or Sugarland but I will ask you if your a member of FChat and if you are I might have to confiscate your car for a few minute's, just kidding you never know who's watching. LEO's love Ferrari's as much as the next guy.

Gregg

 

As a friend of mine who is a NYSP trooper told me.
1) If people are ****** to him he'll be ****** to them
2) If people are cool, he's cool
3) LEO are there to PROTECT YOUR ASS, AND NOT TO KISS YOUR ASS

So basically shut up, be cool and don't be afraid to ask for a break if you've been cool to him, you just might get that break.

 

Good advice...

 

It's easier just to be nice to everyone- cops included. When I get pulled over- I am honest with the cops. I tell them that I don't believe that radar guns are accurate, and are subject to cross examination. I do fight every ticket I get, and I keep a GPS in the car which tracks and logs speed EVERY time I turn on the ignition.

I find that if I'm polite and honest, they generally don't want to tussle with a court date. If they KNOW we'll haul off in to court, it's generally not worth their time.

I've lost a lot less tickets than I've won (2L to 5W, at this point)- and to be honest, all the cases I've lost the judge has given me the option of taking DSC. Each time I lost, I tried to represent myself. Each time I won, I had my attorney there and bought him a burger to defend me. At the end of the day, I think cops do a great deal, work for way less than they deserve and use archaic and inaccurate measurement tools to cite the public. So, I do my civic duty and fight the system.

What do cops think about guys in Ferraris? Most of them probably think "hey, there's a guy either doing something illegal or legal, and he's driving a Ferrari."

Some cops are pricks. I can tell you I've met more internet pricks than cop pricks.

 

His meant Just Kidding.