[ember1205]

I've had a number of out-of-the-ordinary encounters with police while driving. I don't believe any of them would truly fit the category of being stopped for a dumb reason as intended, but here are some funny anecdotes that I recall...

- Flew home from a two-week vacation into Boston, landed somewhere around midnight. Loaded everyone up in the minivan and got on the MA Pike to head back to CT. While driving through the Ted Williams tunnel, a trooper stepped out into the roadway and with both arms signaled me over (put his arms straight out, made two fists with palms up, and "yanked" his arms inward toward his body sort of like catching a football). He didn't move the cruiser but rather walked the 150' to the van. Asked if I knew what the speed limit was and I said "honestly, I don't". He somewhat snarkily pointed out that there was a sign over each lane, roughly the size of the my minivan, showing 45MPH and that I was going closer to 60. Told me to slow it down and get home safe.

- Super Bowl Sunday in 2001, I drove down to the local Domino's to pick up some wings and pizza. Leaving the parking lot, I misjudged the traffic light and my front tires hit the main road just as the light turned red. Made my left turn only to realize in about 3 seconds that the lead car waiting at the [formerly] red light was a town cop. Pulled me over. He pulled up tight behind me, then backed away, then just sat there. Approached, asked me for docs, and then asked if I had ever been to Washington, NH (I was living in southern NH at the time). I mentioned I had been to Mt. Washington and asked if it was the same place (genuinely didn't know). He left.

Another car showed up about 3-4 minutes later, and the next thing I know there's a different officer at my window and I can see a second cop in my passenger rear-view standing off of the back bumper with his hand on his pistol (still holstered). Cop at my window asks if I have any additional docs for the vehicle. I proceeded to hand him title application, reg application, LOAN application, odometer disclosure, odometer disclosure from vehicle traded in, temp tag slip from original purchase date, and then unfolded the window sticker to show him my name in the corner (I had ordered the truck). He stated "There has obviously been some sort of mix-up here, sir. We'll get this sorted and get you on your way as soon as we can."

When they ran the tag at the time of the original stop, dispatch told them that tag was reported stolen (hence all of the ensuing antics). What they eventually figured out was that the dispatcher had not noticed that the tag number of my truck matched a Recreational Vehicle tag number, and THAT was reported stolen out of Washington, NH. Basically, I had the same tag number as a quad.

Original officer returned and issued a written warning, stating that the stop was originally going to result in a citation, but he decided to issue only the warning as a level of appreciation for how calmly I conducted myself throughout.

- Early 90's, I was driving my sporty little toy car from my parents' house in western MA back to my apartment in southern NH. The northern route through MA (Route 2) opens up into a multi-lane, divided highway near Athol. As I hit this section around 2AM, I sped up to about 70MPH (speed limit 55MPH) and basically just held it at that speed in the right lane. Car gains on my from behind at a reasonable rate (not "flying"), pulls up alongside, and then turns on the interior light. I notice and look left. State trooper. He looks at me, looks down at his speedo, looks back at me, looks at his watch, looks back at me (this all took about 6-8 seconds), then just pulled away. I never slowed down until much further down the road when I saw some actual traffic on the road.

- Mid-90's. I had gotten a flat with my car, so I took my parents' Parisienne (land yacht) to drive my ex home. Late at night, had just had a short burst of a shower, and the roads were still coated with a bit of water. I hit a stretch of main road where the speed limit is 45 but the person in front of me is going anywhere from 25-40 (mostly on the lower end). I know the road very well and know there's a passing area coming. I drop back and then use the gap of space to build speed so I can pass when the lane opens. I time it perfect and pull out to pass going just over the speed limit. Just as this happens, at the next bend, oncoming cars appear. PLENTY of room left, so I continue and pull back in. Lead car is a state trooper and he whips around and pulls me over.

As he is getting out of his car to approach, another car pulls in behind him. Guy gets out of his car (not a cop) and gets the officer's attention. I have my window down and I hear him telling the cop that the car I was passing is some certain woman that is known to be a terrible driver and is constantly the cause of frustration for drivers in that area because she drives so slow. He states he would be happy to vouch for me in that regard (he was actually the car behind the cop when they went the other way and HE turned around when he was the cop was pulling me over).

Cop basically spent enough time talking to me to realize I wasn't drinking or doing anything stupid and let me off with a verbal warning.