Don't drive like a ricer, don't act like a ricer, and you won't have ricer issues. I've been pulled over with drag paint on my windshield and expired registration and I didn't have the hood popped. I've been pulled over with an APR wing on the trunk and a carbon hardtop, and the cop asked about my launch control switch (it's for a fan, officer), and still didn't pop the hood.

If you drive a modified car in CA, here is your to-do list for getting pulled over:

1. Apologize
2. Admit to whatever he pulled you over for
3. Apologize again
4. Be polite

Your goal is to get him to write you a ticket and send you on your way, because that is a hell of a lot easier and cheaper than being an asshole, arguing with him, and having him say "well let's just peek under the hood there, son."

I got pulled over 4-5 times in the Miata in 2.5 years and never got the hood popped. Wearing 6-points every time, 3" exhaust, a-pillar gauges, none of it matters.

+1 to that list works every time ;)

+2 on what Sav said. That list is especially important if you plan to fight the ticket, if you get one. You don't want your stop to stand out in the cop's mind. Just be polite and cooperative with the officer and save the questions, hypotheticals, and arguments for the courtroom. (or the trial by mail, in Cali...)

Indeed.

I've been pulled over in the Miata twice in north SD county.

The first time was shortly after I'd installed my turbo and EMU, and quite frankly, I was doing some fuel tuning. I was sitting at a light waiting to make a left hand turn onto a road that had a large, straight, uphill section. Light goes green, I make the turn, get straightened out, and then lay into the power WOT.

Was just getting into fourth when the siren came on.

Now, understand the picture here. The center section of my dash is out, exposing the EMU and all the wiring. There's a tablet PC mounted on a post in front of the dash, with tuning software running on it. Various gauges in the car say "Boost", "EGT", "AFR", and so on. Merely possessing this car in CA is illegal.

After a 10 minute chat or thereabouts, during which time I violated most of the rules that were laid down in the "Dont talk to police" video (eg: I admitted to being a little over-enthusiastic, admitted that I was being an idiot, etc) I was allowed to go on my way with a written warning saying I'd been doing 55 in a 45 (or 65 in a 55, one of the two.)

Later, when I got to where I was going, I checked the datalog and saw that I'd peaked at 104 MPH. So an encounter which would have ended in jail wound up costing me absolutely nothing.


The second time, quite frankly, I was just being a douchebag. I'd had a really rotten day so far, and was driving to Fry's to pick up some parts. (Come to think of it, the first time I was driving to Fry's as well...)

At a signaled intersection, I was coming upon a right turn. The light went red just as I approached it, but knowing pretty much precisely how the long red-to-opposing-green delay is at most of these intersections, I upshifted and powered through it, making a bit of noise in the process.

The cop had been sitting at the opposing side of the intersection to my left, first in line, waiting to proceed forward into the space I was now sliding through. Had I looked, I'd have seen him as I approached the turn.

I pulled over. He appeared a bit angry, and I figured I wasn't getting out of this. But like the first time, after a brief and amicable chat during which I basically admitted that I had been driving like a douchebag, apologized, established the fact that I wasn't on drugs or intoxicated but merely exercising bad judgement, I drove away with nothing more than a verbal warning to "cool it down."



Factors which I attribute to my luck in these matters:

1: From the outside, my car looks more or less stock. It's lowered, but not slammed. My 15" wheels are not at all flashy. I have no stickers of any kind on the vehicle anywhere. My brake calipers are the color of 20 year old brake calipers. My exhaust, while a tad louder than stock, is not offensively so. I don't have a rollbar, or an aftermarket steering wheel, or racing seats or harnesses. IOW, apart from the two gauges on the A-pillar and the one in the eyeball vent, the car does not advertise itself.

2: I don't look like a hippie, or a punk, or a ricer. My haircut is usually short but unremarkable. I typically wear Hawaiian shirts and jeans, which around here is the standard dress code for "young professional in the tech industry who pays his taxes and doesn't cause trouble." I shave.

3: I am courteous and polite w/o sounding like a douche. Seriously- my grandmother, God rest her soul, racked up more traffic citations than I did during the last 10 years of her life, which I attribute primarily to the fact that she always argued with the officer. My position on a traffic stop is this: You are busted. You are the proverbial kid whose hand is in the cookie jar when the lights come one. This is not time time to rationalize or justify. If it comes to that, you can make your case before the judge later on. But the goal here is to avoid seeing His Honor in the first place.


Here's to hoping that my luck holds.

I agree with this with one exception.. If they haven't actually seen you do anything, never admit to anything.

Otherwise the above worked fine for me last night, expired tags and no ticket ;)

I'd add a #4 to your list Joe because my experience pretty much parallels yours with this addition...

#4 Don't be a 20something...

There are some things that suck about being a bit "older" than most of the crowd here but the fact that LEO's tend to not mess with me when I KNOW they've seen me do something mildly stupid isn't one of them. Sav's list is also good but I think he's better at looking contrite than most which helps.

This rule takes precedence over all over rules. Actually, it's the only rule.

Rule #1 - Be white or you're fucked. (However, white people don't realize this and think all the other rules are applicable.)

Yep. Because its all part of the fucking global machine to oppress everyone.

To your 'white people dont realize this..'

Get out of Kalifornia, go live somewhere sane, drop the chip on your shoulder, and realize that the world is not full of closet racists just waiting to bust person x because of y. I have no doubt that in your fucked up corner of the world there are plenty of racists. But frankly in terms of race relations the entire bay area strikes me as some island of regressive crap compared to the rest of the country.

Regarding what to do when pulled over.

Most cops (beleive it or not) signed on to stop killers and racists and crack dealers. They did not dream of citing illegal modifications when they were in 6th grade or whatever. Generally if you cooperate with them, keep your fucking hands visible (wait to get your paper work out untill the cop asks) they will not go Nazi on you. On two separate occasions if the police wanted to they could have put my ass in jail. I have gotten two total speeding tickets ever. One was in a construction zone, the other in a residential neighboorhood with kids around. Frankly if I had not gotten a ticket I would have been pissed in that case becuase I HATE people who speed in residential areas and I was speeding.

Elected officials on the other hand come in a much wider range of flavors as near as I can tell. And guess what. If the captain get a call from the mayor saying that he better be all over some 16-28 year olds in Civics and WRXs to prevent possible street racing F&F style, the captain will do it. Regardless of weather the order is given because some bitter old rich bitch called in the complaint and reminded the mayor of how much she donated or not.

I think im at 6 or 7 but only 2 are on my driving record as of last month :)

Ignorance is bliss, isn't it?

So CO is progressive compared to CA? I think the mountain top your wooden shed is built on has made your brain cells hypoxic.

Its just that the Bay Area sucks. Thats going by the reports I have gotten from everyone I have known who has lived there. And it's not really representative of all of CA either, let alone all of the US.

Hate to disappoint you, but the vast majority of the people in this country are not seething closet racists.

And anyone from the Bay talking shit about the air quality here is pretty laughable.

There is definitely something to this, though to a large degree, I think it's very much related to my #2.

A person in their 20s who has a respectable haircut, is clean-shaven, wearing a shirt with buttons on it and pants that fit correctly, is, in my experience, more likely to be viewed as "an adult" that someone in their 30s or even 40s who has long, spikey, or unkempt hair, is wearing a T-shirt, a ball cap, etc.

You know the old saying about how the suit makes the man? There is truth here.


There may well be an element of truth in this, and yet, I've never been quite clear on where I personally fall on the spectrum.

To be certain, my name does not denote whiteness. My demeanor and diction are that of an upper-class good ole' boy (meaning that I occasionally say y'all and have just a bit of a southern twang which comes and goes, but I am also capable of pronouncing the word "nuclear" correctly, and have never used the definite article "them there.") In terms of physical appearance, the rather complex breeding choices made by my parents and grandparents have produced a rather unusual offspring, in that I look neither white nor Spanish. My skin is a tad darker than your average Caucasian (basically, I look like I have a tan all the time) and I do wear a Clark Gable / Ringo Starr mustache (depending on how long it's been since I trimmed it), but God help me if I let my hair grow out or even attempt a beard- either one results in a mess of tight curls that would look entirely appropriate with a keffiyeh and a AK-47.




Harsh...

I've lived in quite a few places over the years. Florida (north and south), Georgia, Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, NYC, and I have to say, SoCal tops 'em all. I left here a year and a half ago, spent some time finding myself, so to speak, and was very happy to return this past month.

Yes, we have the most draconian smog laws in the western hemisphere. But the flip side of this is that we have, on average, the most easy-going, nonchalant LEOs I have ever seen. You have to really try to get pulled over around here.

Heck, I remember a couple of years ago during a club run through the mountains, we did manage to attract the attention of a patrol officer. He tailed our group of a dozen or so cars for a while, before we decided (of our own accord) to pull over into a clearing. The officer came to the front of our group, spoke for a few minutes to the group leader, and let us go about our business. Now if that cop had wanted to, he could have written a dozen referee tickets right then and there, and if he'd really wanted to, he could have made a pretty good case for Speed Contest, or at least Exhibition of Speed.

But he didn't.

I think you're correct as well Joe, the image you present definately makes a difference. I'd be inclined to disagree with only two points, I don't think a clean, tucked-in t-shirt makes a big difference, nor do I think a ball cap worn the way they were intended to be worn has much effect either. If you're a slob in a thrashed t-shirt with your hat on backwards, you're probably not going to make a particularly helpful impression.

You're also spot on about how low-key the CHP is, in the situation you described the WSP (WA state) would have written everyone for contest of speed, reckless or other major infractions assuming they didn't arrest everyone and impound all the cars. The local LEO in WA tend to be even more "enthusiastic" in their pursuit of revenue.