...Once because my car apparently resembled the description of one owned by someone wanted in a murder enquiry....
Yes, I was spun that line during a stop in the early hours of the morning.
Last time I was stopped and breathalysed was on the brilliant evidential basis I was seen leaving a pub and getting into a car.
Negative test, which the copper seemed a bit hacked off about.
I think, for some reason, he must have thought I was nailed on.
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Same as BBD was16 on my scooter - probably looked 14 then every week on motorbike till I got a car at 24 - stopped once in Mk3 Zodiac because it was late - he just sniffed me and said goodnight, - always has a plain boring car since.
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Once, for a tyre tread depth check. All OK.
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Yes, several "random checks" while out on my motorbike in the 80s.
I always carried my insurance, license & MOT cert with me, but this didn't mollify them, the bike was then subjected to a 5-minute microscopic scrutiny while I stood to one side and tried to hold back sarky comments.
Also pulled up by a bike policeman a couple of years back, after overtaking a mimser who was doing 35 in a 50 limit on an open, clear road.
I knew the bike cop was there, so I executed a textbook Highway Code overtake with an eye on the speedo, which never exceeded 50 at any point.
The officer did the usual "do you know what the speed limit is on this road", "do you know how fast you were going" and "I bet you didn't know I was there, did you?" questions.
When I said 50, no more than 50, and yes I knew you were there all the time, he said "you exceeded 50 by a considerable margin".
I'm normally of the opinion that one should just bite one's lip and take it when dealing with traffic police, but I knew I'd done nothing careless / dangerous. So I broke my own rule and I asked (politely) if he had the video on his bike running, and if I could see it to verify his claim.
He didn't answer, but started a long waffle about how slow drivers can be frustrating but it's important to stay within speed limits etc, then waved me off.
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Leaving a mate's place in a tiny village in the wee small hours of a Sunday morning, not long after passing my test back in the early 90's, I was stopped by a panda car coming the other way. He pulled up drivers door to drivers door, and the entire proceedings were conducted through open windows. Nobody even got out of the car.
After shining a torch in my eyes, and noticing the key in the ignition and no broken locks (this was an era where joyriding was a huge problem in the area), the officer relaxed and became quite chatty. Apparently, a local had reported a car full of young people being parked up hurriedly in the village, and had said the occupants seemed to be in a hurry to leave the vehicle. They thought it had been stolen and dumped. The truth was simply that my mate was in a rush to get home as his brother had been taken ill, and we were keen to see he was OK. 5 minutes later, I'd jumped in the car and headed for home, and that was when I was pulled over.
I explained all this to the officer, and he asked for the friend's address which I told him (they never followed it up). I was asked if I'd had anything to drink that evening, to which I (truthfully) replied no. I was asked where I was going, to which I (truthfully) answered home. The officer told me to drive carefully, bid me a good evening, and let me on my way. No breathalyser, no producer, nothing. I must have an honest face.
That remains the only time I have ever been pulled over in 18 years and probably about 3 million miles of motoring.
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Several times when I was younger - driving an older car seemed to attract the boys in blue.
One occasion that sticks in the memory - I was driving home on a dark wet night with my son who was about one at the time, in a rather tatty old Escort. A police car heading the other way turned around in the road behind, came up behind, and gave the full blue lights and sirens.
I stopped the car, and ignoring my son in his car seat who was by now crying his eyes out they proceeded to all but pull the car apart - lights, tyres, wipers, washers, indicators, hazards, horn - to find something wrong with it. When this failed they gave me a producer (needless to say my licence, insurance, and MoT were in good order) and sent me on my way without any good grace or even a word of apology.
Their excuse for stopping me? They claimed the tax disc wasn't clearly on display. Of course it was, and how they could see otherwise on a wet night on an unlit road defies belief.
On another occasion I was stopped, again in an old car, an Orion this time. This time the officer was very polite, asked me where I was going and where I'd been, and seeing some rods in the back started talking about trout fishing (as it happened I was on my way from an evening fishing on Blagdon Lake). It turned out the reason for stopping me was a similar car had been used for a drive off in a local petrol station.
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Yes twice but only when I was 18 ? 12-13 years ago now
I was driving though Darlington town centre in my MK1 Astra on a Saturday night to pick up my girlfriend from a night club they followed me all around the ring road finally pulling me over (I had not broken any law)
Asked me to sit in the back of this Volvo T5 (I at the time was very worried I didn?t know if I had done anything wrong), and asked me if I had been drinking (which I truthfully said "no"), where I was going etc. while another officer went round the car checking tax etc
I had the car only 1 week and had only just sent of my documents so was a little worried (to say the least) when they radioed in a registration check ? to my relief it checked out fine. And send me on my way to produce my documents at my local police station within 7 days.
While I was sat in the back of the car I had left the ignition keys in , with the window down, when I told the officer he replied ?don?t worry son, we will look after it? (made me more worried, what have I done and am I going to the cop shop???)
The officer driving the T5, pointed to my big yellow ?MAX Power? sticker in the rear window of my astra and said to me ?We should have one of those for this car ? don?t you reckon?? I feebly laughed
2nd time same MK1 Astra I used to drive round the street behind our street where I lived in Darlington with my, then girlfriend. So that my car was facing the correct way in the morning
I had been out all evening and it was about 1am in the morning, driving down said street coming home. Blue lights behind me.
I stopped and was asked to get in the back of the then Mk3 Vauxhall Astra police car the drive a male officer asked me what I was doing driving round the streets I explained why and he did all the other checks, while a female police officer decided she wanted to search my car, after I signed a release form to ?authorise it? she went through the whole car, boot emptied glove box emptied onto the street the lot ? when she finished dumped it all back in the boot and slammed the boot lid down so hard the car literally vibrated and nearly shook to bits.
The other officer was really cool about it though, and I have every respect for the police ? this time I new the drill and I new I haven?t done anything wrong so I let it be just took my documents in the next day for them to check.
I have never been pulled since (touch wood)
Edited by redviper on 19/10/2009 at 11:44
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Not me, but I was with a colleague some years ago when he was pulled over, and it was an eye-opener.
He was a young guy, in a tatty fiesta with 3 passengers including me. His car suddenly started misfiring, and while he was trying to find a clear spot to pull over to check it out a police car signalled him to stop.
I didn't like the officers attitude at all - very sarcastic - and they were claiming he was driving badly and deliberately causing the misfire.
We all protested his innocence, and after giving his car a thorough check he got given a producer. I suppose the fact that we were all dressed smartly in suits and ties helped correct his impression that he'd pulled over a joy-riding bunch of chavs.
I'd never seen police with such a bad attitude before. It really changed my perception of them.
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I've been stopped only twice in nearly 30 years driving. Once at the age of 17 and officer took a dis-like to the whip aerial on my Moggy Minor but did nothing about it (I think he must have been bored - he certainly had no taste :-) ). Secondly when I was (fair cop) stopped after going through red lights at the age of 18.
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Ive been pulled twice, once because my car was near identical to one that had been stolen the night before, infact id noticed my cars twin in Tesco car park several times so I knew this to be the truth. They were fine, got a producer, problem solved, it helped that I had my insurance cert in the glovebox and my license on me.
The other time was at night I was pulled over as a small green car ( mine was small and green ) had been involved in a hit and run and my car happened to pop out of a country lane which was one of only three escape routes from the scene so naturally I was pulled. He was very polite, check my car for any sign of damage, explained exactly why id been pulled and said good night and sent me on my way.
Both incidents were when I was 17-18.
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been stopped loads and loads of times the vast majority when innocent
usually when they are stopping everyone on their way home from the pubs at chucking out time, had half a shandy and came up green so many times its quite funny really
or there is a classic rat run set of streets out of one town down which all the cars stolen at night get driven, been stopped a few times under suspiction of just having nicked the car - which of course i hadnt
a few times cocky young specials who just want to kick the tyre of a flash car and who are very lucky i was in a hurry and not in a mood to complain
and so on
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Once in Cambridge in the mid-80s - driving my black XJ6 at about 1:30am. Not surprised really, I had a certain swagger & 'interesting' dress sense in those days & probably looked an improbable owner of such a swanky car.
The P.O.'s couldn't have been pleasanter - though all time time obviously picking up signs & clues & asking questions - the clincher was that I knew the reg. no - said it without hesitation. They wished me safe passage & I was on my way.
Funny thing though - truth be told I could well have been registering some mark or other on a breath tester had they checked (I'd had a drink or two much earlier...) & may have had a suspicious looking fag-end in the ashstray.
I'm unfailingly polite (though not obsequious) & non-chippy in those sort of situations & think they might not have been too stringent with me for that.
Sadly, in some ways, these days I attract barely a glance from the Constabulary - I'd like to think I still exude some bad-boy charisma, but I must be filed under 'pillar of' to them.
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