ok...so...i was driving down el-camino in palo alto...i was driving around because a skunk stetched up my car while i was at gf's house so i needed to vent it all out...at a major intersection, i stopped at a red light and i was in one of 2 turning lanes. across from me is yet another two turning lanes but going the opposite direction. there were two cars next to each other, an early 2000 audi a4? and another car. when their light turned green they sqealed and darted off at a decently high speed. I just watched and thought to myself "a cop's gonna pull them over soon..." then when my light turns green, i notice there was a car next to me, and they decide to slightly spin their tired too...i didn't do much(and good thing too) because it happened to be a cop! then they darted forward and half a block later slowed down to get behind my car. I had to make a turn to get onto central expressway and the cop followed me. They followed for about another block when they finally signaled their lights and told me to pull over...I got nervous of course, having all different kinds of thoughts runnin though my head..."what'd i do? i was careful!"...and then after waiting half an hour on the side of the road in my skunk stenched car, the palo alto cop(a woman with bright red hair) comes up and says she's issuing me a fix it ticket for not having my lisence plate on the front...

Why do they waste time pickin on me and my car when she was a minute or less away from catchin people street racing? thought i'd share...moral of the lesson...cops are mean

 

That sucks to hear, but it happens all the time. Get used to it. I got pulled over twice in December in the Sunnyvale/Saratoga area. Luckily, no tickets and I had already taken off my front plate both times when I got stopped. Were you on El Camino Rd. today (Tuesday) between 1:30pm-2pm? I saw a brand new aspen STI in the left turn lane and waved to him. I was heading toward Lawrence

 

You think you have it bad, pretend youre one of us who has illegal stuffs on their car. Bad times...

 

I know somebody that complained that their STi garnered too much attention and was pulled over. But he also had his front plate off.

Mine is a black on gold with a vented CF hood and an aftermarket grille, so it looks a little more ricer than a stock STi, yet cops never mess with me wherever i go.......could it be because i have my front plate on?

Its not your car, its the lack of front plates. Now about catching those two guys instead of you, i dunno, but i hear ppl squeal all the time taking off on those turning lanes, and nobody every does anything about them.

 

Why do they waste time pickin on me and my car when she was a minute or less away from catchin people street racing? thought i'd share...moral of the lesson...cops are mean [/QUOTE]

Just wondering, what nationality are you? Did you have tinted windows? Cops totally profile. If what you say is true it sounds like you were being baited. I would have given that cop a rash of sh*t for pulling that crap. How close were you to the boarder (East side)? Granted, we all know there are punks out there that don't care about other peoples safety and like to race their cars through traffic, but there are also enthusiasts that respect the law and only play when it's totally safe. Unfortunately it's inevitable that the good guy gets treated like the punk.

 

Another silver-spoon white boy.... let's cite him!

 

IMHO, cops aren't really mean - they are just lazy and have no real marketable skills, so they bully people for money in the name of "Law Enforcement."

Why do they waste time picking on you? They aren't wasting time. They are "doing their job" to the letter rather than the intent. Why? Because catching the real criminals would be really hard. Between a dangerous situation and a perfectly law abiding citizen missing a front license plate, which would YOU choose to confront... There you go.

That cop followed you as long as she could to see if you would do something wrong and when you didn't, she still knew she could get you for the front plate - so she did. Great tactic, scare some person into doing something wrong by following them with a police cruiser and making them super nervous.

BUT - I have lived here 8 years, owned and operated about 18 different cars in that time EVERY DAY and not one, not one single car has had a front plate. Also 10 for 11 on speeding tickets with a completely clear record. There is some part of the equation that is missing here with the people getting pulled over doing nothing wrong. I am sort of concerned now because my RS has a large spoiler, loud exhaust and no front plate. Sort of looking forward to getting messed with just to see what it's like.

 

its weird because the same things happen to me. and i have a wrx WAGON with stock everything and prodrive springs, but thats nothing. the whole reason i got the wagon was for utility AND cops (well, sleeper factor too but thats ot). i do nothing wrong since i SEE the freakin cop, and he still pulls me over. in fact, one day in medium traffic, i was in the fast lane going about 65-70 (all other cars were going the same, if not faster), and a cop was only chillin behind me, just following. when i saw him, he noticed that i saw and then took off ahead, probably figuring i wouldnt do anything wrong once ive seen him. the next day on the nimitz, another cop stops me in the same situation. only this time he gives me a front plate ticket. the front plate ticket is totally something they give out if you dont do anything wrong and just want to cite you.

i really believe there is some level of profiling going on. i'm chinese but i doubt its just race. it has to do with multiple factors. but being aZn and driving a rice rocket (the way cops see it) doesnt help. thanks civic boyz ... lol

 

Was she hot?

 

"If you are white, its allllllll right."

DWB>DWY

 

the crappy thing is that having a front plate is the law. it sucks that rich bastards in vette's and lambo's and what not can get away with no front plates.

But it is the law.

Basically it's an excuse to pull someone over. Generally when they pull you over they're waiting to see how you respond and quit frankly..your race in many cases. Gives them a chance to have a look see...maybe pop you for tinted windows or have you pop your hood. Get a few tickets at once. Keeps them from having to do their real jobs. To PROTECT and SERVE.

I considered going into the police force. I know many people that did. I'm very happy I did not.



So in short. Running a plate or not is your choice. But realize that you're increasing your chances of getting pulled over.

I don't run one. I've been popped once and it resulted in 4 or 5 tickets. On my current car they could probably nab me for 3 if they wanted to be dicks. It's a risk I run because I hate front plates.

 

heh, just makin things clear, i wasn't really complainin i had it bad, just wanted to share and warn you about palo alto cops. 2nd time i've gotten this ticket and 1 warning.

bpang1- she was definitely NOT hot...couldn't see much with her flashlight beamin down on me but i could CLEARLY see her wrinkles...

 

humm lets see..
She pulled you over for no front plate, and wrote you a fix a ticket.
She did her job at the moment.

you drive a car that gets lots of attention, and you had no front plate.
get used to it. Deal with it, and get over it.


i drive a white STi, with tinted windows all windows except the windshield, and have not front plate.

i work in mountain view, live in SF.
i drive everywhere, i have had the car for 14 months.
have never been pulled over, drove trhough a checkpoint and got asked to put my front plate on, talked to the cop and he let me go.

I hear of all kinds of people getting pulled over for their STis. you know i would say it has more todo with the driver than the car.

Ohh and i am not white, nor asia, nor black..

 

no offense, but PUT ON THE FRONT PLATE!

i don't understand why anyone would give them the easy opportunity to pull you over like that.

 

NO!

As I said, been driving here thru 8 years and 18 cars with no front plates. I have been pulled over tons of times, and it was never mentioned - not ONCE. My current car has all the windows tinted, a big spoiler, a loud exhaust and still I haven't had any problems (yet). Of all the times I have been pulled over, no cop has ever said anything about my front plate. Maybe I haven't met the right cop yet.