First time pulled over in the Z

Originally Posted by Magic Bus

This happened to me in Anaheim, CA this past Dec. I just finished a business meeting at about 8 pm, went to my rental car in the restaurant parking lot and proceeded to drive back to my hotel approx 11 miles away.

As I pulled onto the street, I noticed (in my rear view mirror) a car catch up to me very quickly and then follow me constantly about 2-3 car lengths behind. I could see the silhoutte of police lights on his roof, so I proceeded to drive back to my hotel like I was on my drivers license exam. Exactly at the speed limit, right lane when there were two lanes (he still followed me) and signaling well in advance for a turn. He never left my tail for approx 10 minutes.

Being a little unsettled, I decided to pull into a large well lit gas station. As I was turning right into the gas station, he overtook me quickly and sped off. I guess that he didn't want me to see his license plate, but it was definitely a CA police car.

Originally Posted by 2xtreme1

....******* ********.
TOTAL ******* BULL *****ing SH*it.
I've heard of stuff like this happening before.
Like they start to really tailgate you etc..
Should have gotten name and report him.

Originally Posted by Elan

I've actually had a 5-0 Crown Vic follow myself and a buddy for a couple of miles at 4am. My friend got so pissed, he actually called 911 and reported the harassment complaining this cop was just looking for something to get us for. About 2 minutes later, he floors it passed us. I absolutely hate police harassment/brutality. I'm sorry that happened OP. Bullies with a badge.

Originally Posted by DLSTR

He would lose in court.Did you get his badge number and talk to the District Attorney?? Id like to see what is codified in your state about lane changing. No judge would let a ticket stand if you are not speeding and simply change lanes. If thats all the officer has he has NO CASE. He basically forced you to avoid him at speed. He never early on, showed he was law enforcement. Harrassment plain and simple. I bet you will find him on the same road again. Id get his badge and file a complaint. I wouldnt at all be surprised he has other complaints. People are creatures of habit. He is no different. Law enforcement gets my full respect but if this is true he needs some serious retraining. NO excuse.

Originally Posted by ZeroZeta

So I am assuming that Super Werty was driving in AZ (per his sig.)

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety - the officer was about to site him for "aggressive driving" which in AZ is:

defined as a progression of unlawful driving actions such as:
speeding -- exceeding the posted limit or driving too fast for conditions; improper or excessive lane changing: failing to signal intent, failing to see that movement can be made safely, or improper passing -- failing to signal intent, using an emergency lane to pass, or passing on the shoulder.

So they first list "excessive lane changing" under aggressive driving.

They later go into a little more detail about it:

"Making Frequent Lane Changes - If you whip in and out of lanes to advance ahead, you can be a danger to other motorists."

So if Super Werty were changing lanes from side to side - while maintaining his original constant speed and "not changing lanes to advance ahead." That shouldn't even count as "frequent/excessive" lane changing.


Now the officer in question was instigating Super's need to change lanes. Per the original post he was "right on my bumper"

Which makes the officer guilty of:

Tailgating - "This is a major cause of crashes that can result in serious injury or death." - (I am glad nothing bad occurred to anyone. )

This makes the officer in question the "aggressive driver."

So What to Do if Confronted by an Aggressive Driver?

Get Out of the Way - First and foremost, make every attempt to get out of their way.
Put Your Pride Aside - Do not challenge them by speeding up or attempting to hold-your-own in your travel lane.
Avoid Eye Contact - Eye contact can sometimes enrage an aggressive driver.
Ignore gestures and refuse to return them.
Report Serious Aggressive Driving - You or a passenger may call the police. But, if you use a cell phone, pull over to a safe location.

So we all know that SW would have won if this had been challenged in court.

1325 - Thank you for your input regarding the challenge of reading the plate numbers. (I never considered this before.) I don't think anyone is making a judgement call against people in uniform. I have met a number of good and bad apples. i don't assume that all Z owners are the best humans on the planet simply because I made the same purchasing decision they did.

I think much of what this comes down to is the inherent "grey area" of the law and the fact that in many instances the interpretation of these laws are subject to many factors including: the person tasked with enforcing it as well as any jurisdictional differences/mandates.

So my understanding is if there was no probable cause to run Super's plates in the first place, the office wouldn't need to get closer/follow to read the plates and run them through the system etc.

Therefore, unless Super was throwing bags of crack out the window, speeding, or doing something else to attract the officer's attention, the whole scenario shouldn't have happened.

But this was that officer's judgement call - and not representative of how anyone else would have handled the situation.

I think most people likely have some assumptions regarding sports car drivers. This was just one instance where it was not warranted.

If the OP had been going all "fast and furious" with his NOS tank causing his exhaust to spew fire like a flamethrower - Then he would deserve to be pulled over.

Ha Ha.

Originally Posted by Magic Bus

This happened to me in Anaheim, CA this past Dec. I just finished a business meeting at about 8 pm, went to my rental car in the restaurant parking lot and proceeded to drive back to my hotel approx 11 miles away.

As I pulled onto the street, I noticed (in my rear view mirror) a car catch up to me very quickly and then follow me constantly about 2-3 car lengths behind. Exactly at the speed limit, right lane when there were two lanes (he still followed me) and signaling well in advance for a turn. He never left my tail for approx 10 minutes.

Being a little unsettled, I decided to pull into a large well lit gas station. As I was turning right into the gas station, he overtook me quickly and sped off. I guess that he didn't want me to see his license plate, but it was definitely a CA police car.

Originally Posted by Tigger

Originally Posted by Elan

This is why I know what police headlights look like at night! I know the 3 main types: Crown vic, Impala, and Charger (Charger and Impala are the same when the Charger does not have foglights on). The ones that still scare me are any SUV/Pick-up cops and the new Caprice (I think it's similar to the Impala setup but haven't verified yet). The day Police cruisers come standard with HID/Xenon lights, well we are all effed.

For the Crown Vic, look for rectangular headlights with a small rectangular yellow lights in the center.

The Impala/Charger IMO is the easiest to spot. If you have Impala Police in your area (I do), treat the oval lights with two little orange circles in the middle in your mirror as one. The Honda Accord has slightly similar headlights.

Originally Posted by DLSTR

He would lose in court.Did you get his badge number and talk to the District Attorney?? Id like to see what is codified in your state about lane changing. No judge would let a ticket stand if you are not speeding and simply change lanes. If thats all the officer has he has NO CASE. He basically forced you to avoid him at speed. He never early on, showed he was law enforcement. Harrassment plain and simple. I bet you will find him on the same road again. Id get his badge and file a complaint. I wouldnt at all be surprised he has other complaints. People are creatures of habit. He is no different. Law enforcement gets my full respect but if this is true he needs some serious retraining. NO excuse.

Originally Posted by Got_Z

Doesn't matter if he would lose or win in court. Cops aren't concerned with the end result. They just have to meet their quotas. I once received a ticket for going 63 on a 60. Got dismissed immediately in court.


-M-