Lt. Dan

Had one of the most unbelievable drives tonight... My normal commute is 45 minutes of stop and go traffic on the freeway, but when the urge hits me, I drive 30 minutes due west (Middleburg, VA), and take Halfway Road south to a small town called The Plains (right on I-66)... Halfway Road is probably one of the most beautiful, winding, demanding, and DESERTED roads in the area.. Farmland and forest alternate in the scenery, while visibility of the road ahead is excellent, and road conditions a terrific....

Well, I drove out to Halfway Rd. tonight... Got there about 5:30 (Dusk, sky is still light, headlights are on), and found the road empty, and expected... pulled over real quick, and put on the 5 point harness, and HIT IT. Then next 5 minutes were intense, involving DOZENS of turns (posted 20-40 mph curves), elevation changes, brisk straightaways, and NOT ANOTHER CAR IN SIGHT!... Upshifts at 9,000 RPM, heel toe downshifts accompanied buy the sound of my hawk blue race pads at peak temperature slowing down for the next bend... The dusk being lit up by my headlights ahead, fire from the exhaust and sparks from the undercarriage behind.....

I always slow down when I start coming into The Plains, but tonight, I didn't slow down soon enough... As I came around one of the final turns (hard braking, 75 degree left hander, second gear), I saw blue flashing lights at the far edge of the straightway I had just come onto.... I coasted towards the lights, and when I got closer, I saw a State Trooper stepping out in front of me, with his hand up, in a "stop" signal.....

I pulled over, and he came up to the window. the conversation follows:

Trooper: Having a little fun tonight?
Me: Just on my way home sir.
"T": You don't think you might have been driving a little fast?
"M": I don't think so sir.... why?
T: I've been listening to you drive in my direction for over two minutes... I timed it on my watch...
M: That must have been someone else sir...
T: Sir, you brake rotors were glowing as you came around that last corner.
Me: Oh..... *begin laughing*

The Trooper took my license registration, and walked back to his cruiser. about five minutes later, he came back. He gave the car the once over, asking questions about what I use it for (autocross, HPDE, track days, etc.)... asked what modifications it had, etc... I was upfront about everything done to the car... Finally, the trooper handed back my license and reg., and GAVE ME A WARNING!!!

Trooper: I understand the roads out here are pretty empty, and it looks like you have a pretty serious car... but try and keep it to a more "civilized" pace. Please.... Have a good evening....

And he walked back to his car, and drove off!!!

So, that's my story, thought I'd share....

Dan

ChunkyMonkey

iTrader: (1)

nice.....lol....Next time ask him if he wants to go for a ride...lol

Supper

hahahah... thats awesome!!!

too bad you couldn't get pics or video of your car flying around the corner, brake rotors glowing... that would be bad ***.

lovintha7

Dude....LOL That's a great story.

hornbm

i think it might be remotely possible to end up with hot spots on the rotors....

rotor vs. piston

"you know your a car guy" when a story like that brings tears to your eyes. What a happy ending :-p So there are good cops in VA And thanks for the tip on the road, I have to go to Hampton VA sometime this weekend, if it's not to far off I'm going to hit it in the Suby. If you're there and see a Quick Silver Legacy, Wave back.

rxseven07

nice kill

RX7145

iTrader: (1)

Yes, I would think that it would warp them, sence you were setting still. Sounds fun though

Lt. Dan

no warping luckily... Don't worry, even it I had, I have a spare set... just for track days...

Dan

BLKTOPTRVL

I like these stories.

If you don't mind a little hijack...

I had almost the same thing happen. I was driving home on a very windy 35 MPH road. And the car (79 RX) was singing. I was in and out of the bends. The exhaust (Racing Beat) may have been a little on the loud side.

I knew this road like the back of my hand, I had run it hard for many years. When I came around a bend, I couldn't see which way the road went. In my mind was saying WTF?

Finally, I figured out that the road was still there, but was being covered by this huge tree that had fallen. So, I slowed and stopped, trying to think of the best backtrack.

Then from behind the tree came a state trooper.

His car was apparently on the other side of the tree (I couldn't see it).

He just walked up to the window and said, "I heard you coming for the past 5 miles or so. And I could tell by the sound of your exhaust that you were flying." "I went behind the tree to get out of the road just in case you didn't stop in time."

"This tree and situations like it are the reasons these roads have low speed limits. Don't you think you should slow down?"

My only answer was, 'Yes Sir, you are right sir.'

He said I should just turn around an be more careful. I always wondered why he didn't ticket me.

Maybe he had no proof, but I like to think it was because there were no screetching tire noises to go with the sound of the exhaust as I approached.

TurboFB

Damn...you lucky *****....if anyone around CA saw you doing that ****, they'd ticket your *** for everything you did wrong. You're really lucky....REAAAALY lucky...

TrineonX

The above two cases didn't get a ticket because the cop could prove nothing. Don't forget your right to a trial in traffic cases. If you know what to do you can get these thrown out or reduced many times.

HadaGSL-SE

iTrader: (6)

in fairfax county you will get ticketed if you can unless the police officer is cool, this one was apparently. They will suspend your lisence like that if they can.

BTW Nice story Dan, I do that stuff in Clifton all the time.

jimmdog

Dan What an awesome story some one with your skill for road racing sight and sound detail shoul write a book of short stories like these . I dont know if you have heard of Pungo but that is where that sort of stuff goes on around here. Good Luck

Kentetsu

LOL, I once had a cop pull me over just because he thought it "looked like" I was going fast when I came around a corner. I was actually going almost 10 mph under the posted limit! Damn fool was harrassing my just because my car LOOKED fast ('73 Z w/very agressive air dam).

I'm sure he couldn't have ticketed me, but unfortunately the car was still totally illegal (no insurance, registration, hadn't even transferred the damn title yet!). He took my info and went back to the car, then a minute later comes RUNNING back and says that it was my lucky day. He had just received a call on a medical emergency and had to fly, but if he saw me again he was going to nail me. I think that's about the only time I've been let off with a warning!

Maybe next time I get stopped, I'll have to whip out my cell phone and call in a local med emergency! (just kidding).

Kentetsu

By the way Dan, your tale did bring a tear to my eye!

seanrot

iTrader: (2)

Good story Dan, gotta love it when you get a warning. Got one for powersliding in the rain and scaring the living hell out of a jogger. Not only could he jog, but jump really high too. Come to think of it I got a warning about 3 weeks ago for 77 in a 55. Maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket

82SilverRX7

x2

Albinoman

My cousin had come back from New Jersey and I wanted to show off my car. I got pulled over doing 80 in a 55 in heavy pouring rain in my FB that Id owned for less than 2 days (someone tried to pass me!). Turns out that car that I passed was an unmarked hypo, the first Id seen in this state. He told me, "I know you think you can handle it, but at least keep your speed down while its pouring, heres your warning." Didnt get a ticket, but I dont think he intended to. He didnt ask for my registration or insurance, which is a good thing since I hadnt got either done yet.

peejay

One time I went to a Rallycross in the Middle of Nowhere just SW of Dayton, Ohio.

Wonderful narrow windy hilly country roads, zero traffic, and intersections that you couldn't see until you were right on them. I was in Heaven! Hauling butt, catching air, braking oh-too-late for those "right squares" with lightning downshifts and winding it back out again...

When I got to the event and extracted myself from the car, the even organizer said "Yeah, about 5 minutes ago I said, hmm, that sounds like a rotary approaching..."

At lunch I went to go put some fuel in, about 6 or so miles away. (The road to town kinda wound around the farm we were playing on) Of course, knowing the lay of the land now, I didn't have to hold back... One of the guys said he loved the way my car sounded, especially on those crisp downshifts...

See, it's that music that keeps me going!

Oh, yeah, brakes, I got the rotors glowing in the Sentra today. Scary to drive, there's not enough power to pull ya out of a jam, so I can't really drive it hard.

The_7

Man you got lucky, glad it worked out in the end.

inittab

Great stories!

One day last year after a "spirited drive" home I pull into my driveway and there's my wife standing there with her arms crossed and an annoyed kind of look on her face. After I parked she comes over and says "Had a little fun did we?" I gave her that "dumb whatcha talk'n about look" and said .... "what?" She said, "I've been standing here for that past five minutes listening to you race home!" Doh! Caught red handed! hehe

Lee Lyons

I love stories...I love especially when you get away from the "power" of the law...but I especially like when the story doesn't take the whole first page of the post!! haha...ahhh I need to finish my 7 so I can get some good stories...but it'll be done soon...soon my pretty

mutiny1

that story was great. one night when i first got my rx i was out doin brodies in a parking lot. next thing i know there are the cherries and berries of a county sheriff. they were yelling shut off the car or we're going to shoot.when they got the registration and insurance they appologized and told me to keep it further away from the main road.and i only got a warning.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Dan, I LOVED the story. It was like I was right there w/ ya... And on that note, hollar at me sometime when you plan on goin down there again. I def. wanna check out that road!

I'd share my cop experiences, but the ONE time I got a warning, it was cuz I saw him from a distance coming up to pace me and I kept on changing my speed rapidly LOL. Other than that, I've had to fight to get off of all my tickets

Oh and for the record, in VA, cops do NOT need to have "proof" like radar etc to give you a ticket. He couldn't have given Dan a speeding ticket w/ a specific # (because he has no way of ascertaining his exact speed) but he could definitely give him a "Improper driving," "Reckless driving" or even "Failure to obey highway sign" and write next to it "Speeding." A visual estimate of speed by a cop IS legal evidence in VA courts... So he saved himself the trouble and just cut you a break. Lucky guy.

EDIT: I don't have the time to look up the code right now, but I believe there IS a violation called "Speeding: Generally" for such scenarios, where no exact speed was given. It's three points... (I have one on my record )