Share Your Favorite Police Experience in a 911

[RSBob]

This appears to be a popular thread on the S Reg, so why not start one here? Most of the posts are hilarious or at least fun to read.

Since virtually everyone has had the pleasure of chatting with the local enforcement due to some spirited driving in our 911s, I thought it would be interesting to share experiences and better yet, how we got out of them.

This is not intended as a forum for bashing cops, or revenue generators or other diatribes against law enforcement/city govt, etc (we have had 6 officers killed in the line of duty in the last 2 months here in Washington state - and I think we owe some respect for the danger they face daily).

I have posted this before, but it's a good story.

Back in 1972 my father turned his Mercedes in for servicing in San Jose, Ca and the dealership gave him a '72 E "loaner car". I don't know if this is either pure stupidity or sheer marketing genius. Any way, since he lives in Santa Cruz and always enjoyed besting the speed limit over highway 17 by a minimum of 10 over, he decided he would see what a Porsche was all about. He was shocked that the corners the Mercedes could take at 10-15 over with no problem were now easily doable at 20-30 MPH over. He reveled in the feel of a true sports car, the sound, the responsiveness, and how connected he felt by the steering. Needless to say, he beat his best time by about 10 minutes and was feeling rather smug about the 911 when he was on the outskirts of Santa Cruz and slowing. At that time he saw 'the flashing lights' in his rear view mirror. The CHP pulled him over and remarked that he had been trying to catch up for over half an hour. Dad explained that it was his first drive in a 911 and really didn't know how fast he was going - but it was obviously fast enough to get his attention! The officer, being a Porsche fan, and understanding the enthusiasm, informed dad that he would not be receiving a ticket, but that he would be forced to sit there until every single car he passed, passes him again. Dad thought that was a good deal and they talked for half an hour and explored the car and its characteristics. The officer told dad, he would only get one free pass, and that if he was caught again, he would not be nearly so charitable.

Personally, I have been boxed-in by cops in my 914 for my vintage plates courtesy of Licenseplates.TV. I managed to talk my way out of it twice and finally opted for state collector plates. One had a tow truck on the way to impound the car. I really believe that being calm, personable, and acting like you genuinely want to know the concern works wonders.

So without bashing, what experiences have you had?

[onlycafe]

about seven years ago i was on my way to new orleans in my '79 targa. it was getting dark as i got into mississippi. i usually use the blue highways while the sun is shining. when it begins to get dark i head for the interstate to make a mile. as i was zipping onto the ramp i noticed a pair of black and whites coming up fast through the few cars on the road, the first one passing me as i entered the highway. the second was abreast of me as i looked over and saw that they were a matched pair of new texas highway cars ,running up the middle lane. the first car was accelerating past a straggler in the right lane and the second car waved me ahead of him as he moved to the left lane and gave me the middle so we could both get past the guy in the right lane. i thought that was pretty neighborly of him and waved back a salute.
by now the first car was pulling away pretty well and my new friend in the left lane pointed straight ahead and made what i took to be a gesture of "lets go." i figured that since they were not mississippi cars it would be okay to run with them. soon we were all clipping along at about 95 or so and left all the other cars behind. i saw the first car pulling away again as we got away from everyone and thought "this is cool", now we are doing about 115 in a nice formation and i am feeling like a protected witness or something.
whenever we would overtake anyone we would slow back down to about 80 or so as everyone jumped out of the way of the first police car. then i would whiz past them followed by the second car. must have looked very interesting as we would all speed up again.
about an hour later the number two car charged up alongside of me in the left lane and made a coffee sign and pointed off to the right. a few miles ahead and we all exited the interstate and coffeed up like amigos. talked about porsches and police cars, shotguns, wheel guns vs pistols etc. swapped stories for about forty minutes and headed back into the night again. all in all a very positive experience. they even paid for my java. i tried to pay but they said it was on them. i tend not to argue with armed men.

[sc_rufctr]

What a story... thanks for sharing.

I think we forget that the Police are actually good people doing a very hard job.

One night I was driving home. It was about 2 am and a "Booze Bus" stopped me. (Random breathalyser)
Now my car is GREEN and the cops all had a laugh and something to say about it. There was one young cop who asked what year was she. I replied 78 and said "she's probably older than you!" the cop roared with laughter and said "I'd love to take her for a drive"... Without hesitating I got out of the car, handed him the keys and said... "Be Gentle with her"... His eyes were the size of saucers as he jumped in without hesitating... Off he went on his own into the night. I have a loud exhaust and I could hear him accelerating away... Then nothing. The other cops all had the jaws on the ground. They were all younger than me (44) and you could see the envy on their faces. About 5 minutes later I could hear the exhaust again and it was getting louder and louder. Suddenly he appeared coming the other way and I remember what a strange feeling it was to see someone else driving my car but she looked great hurrying along at night. He passed us and did a U turn and headed back to the "Booze Bus"... As he pulled up I noticed he had the biggest grin I'd ever seen on a cop in my whole life. He shut off the engine and got out handing me the keys. He said thank you in an emotional voice. I really think he was close to crying. As I drove away I could see the four of them staring at me in the rear view mirror... They never checked my breath for alcohol.

Looking back on it now I can't fully explain why I gave him the keys.
But part of the reason was because being a cop he may never own and Air Cooled toy like our cars...
I know there are cops here but you guys would have to be in the minority.

[carrera turbo]

its 11:30 on a sunday night in alaska in june! so the suns out. im driving down the glenn highway heading north not a car in site on a 4 lane highway with a grass divider. im driving my 89 carrera and decide to open her up as i cross under the kink river bridge i notice a trooper to my right on the off ramp. by the time i slowed down a bit he was pulling me over. after we stopped he walked up to the car and asked me if i knew why he was pulling me over. and i said yes i was speeding! he asked where i was going in such a hurry, i calmly said north. he then says how unsafe i was driving and how i could have hurt myself and he needed my licence and reg. as i handed him the paper work i asked him how fast he drives to pull someone over. he said he got to 90 to pull me over. i smiled and said that my car was safer at a 100 then his was at 65, he was driving a crown vic. a few minutes later he came back to my car and handed me my license and said thanks for being honest and to go home and park the car for the night and enjoy the evening.

and i did.

ed

[wilke3169]

Several years back I was driving on a two lane out in the country. Was early on a Sunday morning so very limited traffic. I was following the 2 cars on the road. As the first car turned right into a driveway I accelerated to pass the other car. I ran through the gears and looked down to see I was just a bit over the 50 MPH limit. Just as I lifted the V-1 sounded. I slowed down and pulled over as the once hidden county police car came bounding out of the bushes. He came up and asked all of the normal, whats the hurry?, do you know how fast you were going? questions... He took my info and after a short while returned to inform me he was citing me for going 70 in a 50. I questioned, "Was I going that fast?" His response was, "No sir you were going a lot faster than that, but thats what I put on the ticket."

[euro911sc]

These are great! Here is mine:

I was about 10 years younger when this story took place... Coming home from work on a fine fine early spring day. At the time I was working in Billerica, MA., and the main drag out of there was always bumper to bumper so I had figured out a nice back roads substitute. It was not devoid of traffic, but at least I was moving. Came to an intersection and made an easy left. The road in front was a tight right sweeper. At the house in front of me sat a nice looking 70's muscle car with 2 hot hot chicas in shorts (it had been a really long winter) talking to some dude in the car... so I wind it up to 6500 rpm right after I pass them.... they all look at me and I smile from ear to ear... problem was at the end of the right hand sweeper was a town cop... now the speed limit was 40 and I was in 1st gear so I know I was probably not speeding, but man did I sound like I was!!

He was standing there by his car and just pointed me right over... 'Son, where you going in such a hurry?' I replied, 'Not going anywhere now officer.' He chuckled. After looking over the car and doing the cursory checks he let me go with a 'You made me laugh and that was good. Don't speed in my town, ya hear!?" and I never did again...

-Michael

[euro911sc]

Oh yeah... I don't 'show off' in front of the ladies anymore either... I know if I ever do there will be a cop right there to make sure I look like an idiot every time...

-m

[jimbauman]

I was heading down out of the Canadian rockies near Hope B.C., and had been dicing with a Mercedes. I was a ways ahead of him when suddenly my radar detector went off as we rounded a bend in the road.

Sure enough, I got nailed by instant on radar. I had my 15 year old daughter with me, and we were on a road trip from California to see relatives, and to teach her how to drive.

Well, the officer pulled me over, approached the car and asked for my license, registration, and insurance. I obliged, and he want back to his car to write up the ticket. There was silence in my car for about a minute. Finally, my daughter spoke up.

She said "Dad, can I laugh now?"

JB

[BeyGon]

About a year ago my wife and I went to the Porsche show in Ventura, then we went to the wine country above Santa Barbara for a couple days. We got up our first morning for wine tasting, driving the red 911. It seemed every tasting we went to the people told us about the cops that were around after about 1PM and be carefull. We usually just split a tasting anyway and I wasn't even drinking at each one. As we pulled out of the last tasting for our day, we pullled up to a three way stop on the road from Los Olivos back to Buelton. There was a cop at the intersection and I saw him take a good look at us. I told my wife, that guy wants us, he wants this red car for his trophy today. She said I was paranoid.
We turned left and a truck with a horse trailer pulled in behind us. I knew the guy was behind the trailer but he was tucked in and I couldn't see him. My wife wanted to take some pictures of some Shetlands and we pulled over, the horse trailer went by and the cop, tucked in close went by. She took her pictures and we left, I had the radar dectector on and said he would be just up the road. She said I was paranoid. As we went through a curve the radar went off, I looked up and there he was, he had even turned around facing the oncoming trafic. We went by and a little bit down the road we pulled over to take more pictures. He passed us again. As we got back in the car I told her again, he will be just up the road, she still didn't believe it but just a few miles down the road there he was again. We got to the intersection turning right to Buelton and I pulled into a shopping center, this guy drove on by without seeing us. I drove into Buelton, pulled into the Hitching Post and had a cold beer to toast him.
A woman in the bar was telling us about her friend that got stopped a few hours ago, they took her to Santa Barbara to jail, impounded her car and left this woman in Buelton. While we were there the friend called her to tell her she was out of jail and getting a taxi to came back up, she wouldn't be able to get the car until the next day.
We were spending the night at a place close by and I felt good about it.

[TRE Cup]

It was about 1974/75 when a porsche buddy tells me about a day run with a bunch of cops that had their own club called Porsche West. "What???- too cool!! Who? What ? where? When?"
So this bon vivant buddy had a short wheel base with carrera flares, all black, center frenched in landing light in the front bumper, 7 and 9 x 15 fuchs, and a R exhaust. Yeah, that R exhaust just might as well have been megaphones !
We meet and hook up with the club somewhere in pacoima. All these buff dudes with their cowboy boots in all manner of 911s, with badges hanging on their belts. *****in!

Off we go west on the 118 towards Moorpark. 70, then 75 , then 80, then 90, then 100+ miles per hour. Jeez-us!!! 35 cars thundering down the freeway- most with loud pipes. This was heaven on four wheels !!! I figured it was best to be up in the pack a lil , even though i was not one of "them". Good idea

Sure enough about 15 minutes roaring along in to this herd, a CHP comes bombing up from behind. OH S**T! This is going to be bad- was my thought. As the CHP pulls alongside the last few cars, badges are displayed thru sunroofs, or targa top openings. It was like a scene where grazing flamingoes all raise their heads at once . The loud hailer comes on from the cruiser- " Hey guys! slow it down, 85+ is too much !!" A bunch of hand waves come out and the pack dutifully slows down to 84....


Wow- professional courtesy (as they called it ) can go a long way

I got more stories later

[Aurel]

I once drag-raced a cop car at a stop light. Only did I realize he was a cop when I lifted the throttle to let him pass me...

Another time, I was exiting the parkway and still going fast on the off ramp and a cop car with lights on arrives on my butt. Thinking he wanted to pull me over, I slow down to a complete stop in front of the toll booth. Then, he turns the speakers on and yells: "GET OUT OF THE WAY !!!"

Both times, I felt lucky.

[Gunter]

To my surprise, I got away with warnings several times in the US and Canada and I think it was due to my gray hair and no arguments about speeding.

Agree with RSBob that, for the most part, Police Officers are human and face a lot of dangers dealing with Riff-Raff, especially at night.

I think, a lot of people getting tickets are pissed-off at getting caught and don't want to take responsibility; if you play, you pay.

Considering how many times one gets away with speeding, maybe the odd ticket is just part of doing business?

[Rikao4]

I get to run a bit most mornings..85+
some road work forces me to take an earlier entrance..
banging along thru a great left sweeper..
voila..at the end I see him..
without drama I park a few feet ahead of him..
he never turned on the lights or moved ...
I have Lis. & Ins papers in hand..
'well it seems you can drive & I know you have Ins..
slow down..
lots of idiots out there who can't & they don't have Ins.'
wished me a good day and went back to his cruiser..

Rika

[BeyGon]

The light turned green and I did a wheelie across the intersection on my motorcycle, as I looked to my left there was a cop stopped for the light. I made a fast left turn, made it a couple blocks and there were two police cars acrross the street in front of me and the cop with his lights on behind me. I stopped and they tried to write a ticket for evading arrest. I said I stopped as soon as I saw the lights, just got a ticket for the wheelie.

[Mattlock18]

Shamefully my only ticket in my SC came while doing a whopping 34 mph. My employer had just relocated to a nearby city where the main road is 5 lanes wide and I was trying a new route home from the new office. About 1 block after turning onto the main strip, a city cop pulls me over. He informed me that, even though the road looked like it should be much faster, the speed limit was only 25 and wrote me a ticket for 5 over.

Of course when I told my friends about getting a ticket in the 911 I left out the part about only doing 34 mph.

[jasonlee]

A number of years ago, i was pulled over doing about 140 km/h in a 100 zone. Saw the cop car too late made a turn and was pulled over. Cop wanders to the window, asks for licence and reg, then asks the usual questions; Do you know how fast you were going etc etc, then asks why were you driving so fast? My response, because I didn't see you. A brief moment of silence and he busts out laughing. Says to me, thats the funniest thing I have heard all day, hands back my licence and says slow down and have a nice day. I felt lucky indeed

[techweenie]

In the late 80s, I was driving from LA to SF up the 5 freeway in a black 3.3 Turbo. I was mostly doing 85-95, and midday traffic was sparse. As I passed a pickup truck, I glanced over and saw the Highway Patrol lettering & badge on the door. A stealth CHP truck was something new to me.

Lights go on, I pull over, expecting the worst. I'm calm and cooperative. CHP officer comes gets the documents, runs my license and comes back with a ticket for 'no front plate.' I laughed; he laughed.

A couple years later, I was driving my brand new Carrera on Mulholland about 500 feet from my house, and, ah, hanging it out a bit. LAPD cruiser coming the other way. I watch his brake lights light up as I round the sweeper and spot a long, curved driveway to the left. Quickly up the drive, out of sight, I have a panoramic view of said squad car, lights & sirens, chasing down an empty road at high speed. I turn around, drive home and pull the red paper dealer plates off my car, since that's the only distinctive thing he could have noticed in a city full of black Carrera Cabriolets. I drove sedately for a day or so after that.

[diverdan]

I had just purchase a 1966 blue 911 in Boulder, Colorado. After a good nights sleep I started the teck back to Sherman Oaks, Ca. to L.A. It was around 1973 I think. It was the very weekend when those western states lowered their speed limit to the national double nickel. Bored out of my mind I finally turned off I-40 near Kingman and headed down this wonderful roller coaster road towards Havasu, up and down and around neat curves on two lane black top posted at 45 mph. The interstate had been crawling with cops so I figured I they would be busy enforcing the new limit and I'd be alone on this sweet "race track."

Yahoo! I was haulin a** way over the limit. As I topped a rise, I spotted a plain brown wrapper parked about 70 feet off to the right side of the road. Before we disappeared from site going down through a trough, I threw the car in neutral and nailed the brakes only to crest the next rise at about 80 mph. Off the brakes and silently in nuetral I sailed by him at just under 80 and prayed. Oh cra*, he started to roll so I hit the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. I had plenty of time to get out of the car fold my arms and lean on the car with a shi* eatin' grin on my face. He rolled in behind me and was shaking his head as he approaced me. He was real polite and asked me how I was that day. I replied, "Well, I was having a great time playing Stirling Moss until you came along." He chuckled and took my L. and R. back to the squad car and came back with the ticket. As he handed me the ticket, he explained that he had timed me at 80 with his stop watch. He also informed me that there was quit a bit of equestrian traffic in this area. This was a warning ticket and should I be stopped again in Arizona, I wouldn't be so lucky. So much for my would be racer driving. I cooled it and proceeded in boredom back to L.A.

Thank you, Arizona.

diverdan

[kokenm]

Ok about three years ago I had my 82 SC Targa for about 3 months when riding down a road at about 50mph (speed limit was 45mph), so not really enough to get the attention of the HPD officer (I did not notice) that was behind me. Since I was driving a shiny blue sports car I already had his eye. As I were driving along I made an abrupt right hand turn into the residential are and immediately slowed to 25mph. It was amazing how quickly I was able to reduce my speed and hug the turn. This really was an attention getter and quickly the lights came on and he rounded the corner ( I might add that he took up the entire road to make that turn). As he approached he asked if I knew why he pulled me over to which my response was " I don't think you liked the way I made that turn". He asked me how long I had owned the car and I told him a couple of weeks. He asked if I was just getting used to the handling and if I was feeling the car out. I replied " It is such a wonderful car and I am impressed more and more everytime I drive it". He wrote me a warning and told me that he too had owned one in the past and how much fun he had with his. I am still feeling the car out and am impressed every time I get in it.

[JFairman]

Two I can think of in Porsches were short but kinda funny.
First time was around 1987 while working at Gunnar Porsche.
Kevin Jeanette, the owner of GPR was vacationing in his home state of California and he bought a really nice low mileage origonal 914-6 in yellow at Pristine Porsche in Huntington Beach to drive around while he was there with his wife.

He was going to have it trucked back to S. Florida but he knew I had never been to California and wanted to experience it so he offered to fly me out to LA and drive the 914-6 back.
Of course I said yes...

While somewhere in the western Florida panhandle cruising east on I-10 around midnight with the windows down and no other cars around at all, out of no where and really loud in my left ear I hear "SPEED LIMIT IS 55 NOT 95" and then he floored it and was off in the night... I didn't even see him in my rearview mirror or alongside me until he said that out of the speaker on the roof of his car ..he came up on me so fast.
I don't know how fast I was going because the speedometer was in KPH and I didn't know the MPH conversions in my head. The car just drove smooth and the 2 liter 6 behind the seats sounded like it liked it.

More recently I was driving really slowly in traffic through Palm Beach, Florida in my 930 with windows down and a PB cop comes alongside and says "wanna trade" with a smile. I said yours is faster up to 40 and he said "I doubt it".