How many tickets did you get???
 

I was about to go up the Dragon when I started to hear a LOT of people saying the troopers were hard on us... The question is how hard? How many got tickets and what for? I always hear how cool the cops are on the dragon, but that is from other cops on bikes.

I didn't have any trouble, but I wasn't really doing much more than speeding a little when the road straightened out... can't go too fast through those twisties unless you wanna end up down the hill :)

The only cop I encountered was super cool. He was telling us that he didn't plan on giving out any tickets. I think they are just there to keep the peace and stop people from doing something completely stupid.

I also heard someone passed an unmarked cop on a double yellow and didn't get a ticket, just a talking to. :driving:

I believe one of the Canadians below us got 2 tickets!!

Don't know what for though.

I thought they both got one. Regardless, do they need to pay them?

If they want to come back to Deal's Gap they do.
The White RX-8 driver was given a couple of tickets. The other Canadian guys received warnings.

must have been bad driving to get 2 tickets though....

+1 i have never been to an event where it seemed that the entire community was supportive of what everyone was clearly there to do. EVEN the LAW.:seeya:

Its possible that the THPD and BCSO (blount county sherrifs office) have finally realized that the more tickets they hand out and the more officers they setup per mile of roadway the LESS revenue the area is going to bring in. Did anyone see ANY officers on the NC side of the gap? I counted exactly none till you got out to the 4 lane highway. Saturday I counted at least 3 THPD and 2 BCSO around 5pm. Last year the mountain would have been crawling with cops (I had counted 12 MARKED cars, 4 marked THPD bikes, and one mobile crime unit in the 11 mile stretch from the lake to the TN/NC border). I see this as an improvement with law eforcement officials and the event attendee's and the other roadgoers. I bet the officers enjoyed there time on the side of the road ogleing everyone's cars as much as you guys did up at the village, so its kinda win-win, an it is unfortunate that some people got tickets, though those that DID get one (or more) I feel your pain, but its a part of what goes on up there and its just a cost to play the game.

Ive been fortunate to only get one ticket ever while on the Dragon, afterwards I got me a V1 and thats all there is to that.

yeah the Canadians were telling us that it still effects them b/c they do have to pay them and such. Me and my 4 points were lucky and didn't receive any.

I got pulled over for blasting a U-turn in Bryson city under a traffic light while following 2 other cars back from dinner. About 5 minutes later a county officer joined the city officer that pulled me over. There are questions about my reg being up to date, haven't gotten a ticket in about 12 years, I generally wear a button down shirt and I have 2 badges on my car for donations I make to officers funds in CT. I didn't get a ticket, but I did get directions to Wal-Mart when I asked the officer. They were cool, no doubt about it. Had this occurred in NOVA, my buddies would've been bailing me out of jail.

Speaking of NOVA, one of our crew did get pulled over for an illegal exhaust.... even though it passes TX inspection where the car is tagged, the driver still got a ticket. Not cool, NC/TN officers = cool

My Buddy (white Rx8) and Me (silver Rx7) (Canadian guys) both got tickets, heading to the skyway. "Improper lane change" we over took an old lady driving super slow, on a solid yellow line.(undercover, Jeep Cherokee) ($171.00). Then my buddy got two more tickets the next day on the Dragon, forgot his license and then the cop gave him another one for 50 in a 35. (Don't know the costs yet)

Correct, some old lady pulled out in front of us, driving about 10-15(in a 35). We waited a few mins, then passed her (in a no passing zone). Soon as we pull around her, there is a undercover jeep sitting at the side of the road. Chases us down, and pulls both of us over.

Do you know any contacts I can try, to represent me in court?

Just pay the fine.

i got ZERO tickets...well...then again, i was a passenger the whole time. ha!

IMO-YOu guys have no idea as to the level of difference between California CHP and the ones i saw at the event. First of all their there for our safety, like it or not.
It seem to me that they were very and i mean very forgiving of the activity taking place @ the Dragon. In Cali any where and any time there is a gathering of any MOD car activity you are most likely to attract the LAW.

What a pleasant atmosphere @ the Dragon. I wish i had my FD, In any case i ended up rocking my Mazda3 all 318 turns of the beautiful 11 mile course.

let's set up a caravan for next year....no way I'm missing it in 2010.

A must event for all Rotary Lover. BEST mix of Mother nature and Motorsport.:driving:

do it!!! i would love to see more people from back home attend this event

you guys got screwed for making the wrong move at the wrong time. Had you waited the lady would have gotten teh ticket for slowing down traffic, I'm almost certain of that.

the Dragon is 11miles long and 318 turn in total. From the beginning to end, the whole entire section of the national park is double solid yellow line "no pass" you just need have patience . Unlike Californians most of the people i ran into in while driving my Monster MAZDA3 looking for places to take photos, allowed me to pass by.

ONLY WHEN THEY HAD A CHANCE TO PULL OVER THAT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had one follow me right when I turned onto 28 for 5 miles on the way to the dragon at 5am on Sunday!

I do remeber a lot more activity in 07, dawn is the best time to go out for a drive!

I didn't get any but us other Canucks were followed a good ways down the 28 back to the lodge on Friday night and given a stern warning by an NC officer to stop speeding. I think he was recently off duty because his Ford Explorer was unmarked and there was no equipment or lights, and he was still in his uniform.

Talked to a guy in the Corvette.
His son and his sons friend... I think they were the guys in the 4 door stripped out thing, and something else that were in the overflow parkinglot..

The dad told me (all pissed of btw) that the son and friend were following a "Blue Mazda of some kind" and the mazda pulled over, 2 wheels off into a pull off and waved them by, going slow. And they went around "without crossing the line" and got pulled over on the spot by a LEO who was further ahead and watched the pass.

They both got tickets for Illegal passing supposedly.

/shrug

BEST QUOTE EVER! truer words have never been spoken of the Dragon :driving:

Yeah tell me about it, I know it was the wrong timing, as soon as I started to over take the old lady, and saw the Jeep on the side of the road. :banghead:

I had no issues with the police while on the dragon but everywhere else was a different story.

As Brian said, it was my car that the driver got ticketed in while passing through NOVA. She said that all they wanted to see was the registration and insurance, show them the insurance but she didn't know where I kept the registration info. I keep the registration in the folder along with the owners manual but in Texas we're also required to have a vehicle registration sticker in the windshield, guess the NOVA guys were blind and couldn't see the bright blue/white sticker right above my inspection sticker. She got ticketed for my radar detector too. :banghead:

After I left Brian's I got pulled over in Ohio and spend 2 hours in the back of a cruiser while two Akron cops and their dog tore apart my car, and I do mean tore apart. The pulled my storage bins out, took off my kick panels, pulled the spare out, poked around under the dash, crawled under and prodded around every fender well, and snooped around under the hood before the officer with the dog did the 'I don't know' gesture to the other officer after pointing at various things in the engine bay. Originally he said he pulled me over for following too closely, though I had about the same distance between the car in front of me as everyone else did around me, and loud exhaust which I'll give him since it is a touch on the loud side, but I feel that the real reason was that I have OOS plates and my car was covered in days worth of road grime and a bit on the faded side which automatically meant I was up to no good. Suppose my long hair and goin' on 26 hours without sleep also added to their suspicions. :/ The found a magnet in my car and gave me all kinds of grief over it as well as having a gas mask in the car with me. When all was said and done, the officer who initiated the stop gave me a warning for following too close and sent me on my way without as much as a thank you for your co-operation or any kind of apology for costing me 2 hours.

All was well for the remainder of Ohio, all of Illinois, MO and most of OK where I got stopped again...for exhaust. I explained to the officer that I had already been stopped twice for it and showed him the warning from the Ohio officer and I was on my way without any fuss. Really cool guy actually.

damn that would have drove me insane

Lol - welcome to my pain gentlemen. Growing up in VA I've learned much about our officers. My bro-in-law is actually a state trooper so I dont get hassled much in the central/richmond area, but everywhere else its a different story.

Our NOVA cops are actually cooler than the ones you find in many of the smaller townships, etc.

Top things they like pulling you over for - tint, radar detectors, exhaust and county/inspection stickers. They dont care where your car is from, if it doesnt fly in our laws, you're screwed.

Pleasures of being a "commonwealth" state!

At least none of you went to jail....

I wasn't exactly happy, lol. Thankfully they let me have my phone and didn't cuff me. My feet were doin' a reverse pigeon toe cause the cage was so close to the seat and I'm 6'2"

While I was sittin' in the cruiser watching them I saw the officer on the driver side literally yanking my bins out. I was angrier than I have ever been when I saw that cause I thought for sure that he just grabbed it by the lid and ripped it out. I was shaking in the back of the car but after asking him what he'd done he said he had taken the screws out with the screwdriver in the mini tool kit I kept in that bin. The part that irks me most was that he never asked for consent to search, or at least I don't remember him asking. I don't remember the entire conversation leading up to that point but he was asking why I only spend 2 days in CT and remarked that it was odd that i didn't spend more time considering the distance from home to where I was. I was a bit confused at that point because I wasn't aware that I had to spend any specified amount of time in any location and he must have noticed the blank look on my face and proceeded to tell me that 70 was a know drug runners route for crap coming in on the east coast. That's when he asked me out of the car and put me in the cruiser. Typing this out is starting to bring it all back.

I didn't get any of that though looking back I wish i had. I was heading for Nutsid's place, tired, and just wanted to get back on the road. About 20 minuets before that my throttle cable snapped and I spend an hour fashioning up a new one out of the wires that used to run to the A/C so I was in no mood for arguing at that point.

She said one reached in and ripped my brand freakin' new V1 off the windshield and tossed it in the floor.

I wanna say she told me that the cop threatened to take my V1 but I just don't remember. I don't ever plan on goin' back to NOVA any time soon and if I do the car will be quieter and hopefully won't draw any attention. The two that got her were sitting one in front of the other whith their lights on as if they had just finished with some other unfortunate soul when I went by them in the lead car, she was bringing up the rear.

Oh, I forgot that it was the officer who initiated the stop first day on the job so I'm thinkin' he wanted to be big man on campus and himself a big drug bust on his first day.

Ohio highway troopers are the worst. I'm shocked i never got ticketed there....

reading all this crap makes me feel a little better getting that ticket 10 miles away from nantahala village...

There's your problem right there Kevin, not to sound like a dick but in my experience, and from talking to a bunch of cop friends, first thing you do is apologize profusely then make up some excuse, lame or not. When I got pulled over in Bryson City for blasting that U-turn the cop followed me into a parking lot. When I saw him following me into the lot I knew he was after me and I knew I was fucked, so I immediately pulled over, rolled my window down and said,
"I'm very sorry officer did I do something wrong"

Yes you did, you know why I didn't blue light you?

No Sir, I'm very sorry, & thank you for not blue lighting me. What did I do?

You pulled an illegal u-turn under a traffic light

I'm sorry sir, I was following a few friends of mine who are in this great town for the weekend, we're lost, looking for a grocery store which is why I pulled in here, I am unaware that a u-turn under a light is illegal here. I'm very sorry for that. In CT, if it's not marked No U-turn, No turn on red, anything like that, it's allowed. I'm very sorry & I'll be sure to spread the word to all my companions so we don't cause you officers any more unneeded trouble.

Well lemme see your license and reg and if everything checks out I'll let you off with a verbal warning.

Thank you very much Sir. To the best of my knowledge everything is totally acceptable as far as that goes. (which is true, becuase I paid my reg 2 years ago just never got it becuase the car was under the knife and coulsn't pass an emmisions test, which is why I still have '07 tags. I made some mention that a few friends of mine had just had a wonderful dinner at antonios and we're looking for a grocery store for some acetone for my car and some breakfast for tomorrow, small talk kinda stuff. Then the COUNTY cop shows up)

Do you have and drugs, alcohol, guns, knifes other weapons in the car?

Yes Sir, I have a pocket knife on my person. If you like I'll step out of the car with my hands on my head if you would like to take it from me

No, that won't be necessary, do you mind if we search your vehicle?

Not at all, Sir.

Ok, we're gonna check out your reg and license and get back to you

(Here is where I'm certain I'm going to jail, everyone else in the group too becuase the cop has the light on the '07 tag, and my up-to-date badge)

Cop comes back, reiterates that u-turns under lights are a no-no, I apologize again and point to the three other cars that turned around to get me and say that we're all in town and I'll be sure to mention to them so we don't cause anymore unneeded hassle for the law enforcement.

Have a nice night sir, and when you get back to CT, make sure they assign that tag to your car

My jaw FALLS OUT OF SOCKET, and I thank them again, wish them a very nice evening, then ask for directions to the nearest Wal-Mart so I can get some acetone to fix my car, and breakfast for tomorrow.

As soon as you start showing any aggression, you're fucked. Period. My pressed and white button down shirt probably didn't hurt either :rofl: niether did the badges front and rear

Some of us should've. Shit, I rolled by in the same caravan with a kinda loud exhaust and BLACK windows, I mean BLACK.

I'm pretty sure that's what did it. Blows man, that and the hair thing is really not cool. What can you do though.

You guys gotta look into Police fund donations. I'm telling you. The one in CT is called the One Hundred Club. It's something like $1,000 your first year, $250 after that, they give you a badge, a couple stickers, and a business card. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it. I got pulled over doing 52 in a 25, ( I was racing some little douche in an Audi S4, I was in my Cherokee and pulling on him through some back roads :rofl: ) gave the cop license, reg, and the little card. He comes back 10 minutes later saying he's gonna let me off with a warning, blah blah blah, gives me the card back and says

What's this?
This?
Yeah, this 100 Club thing.
Sir, it's for you and your family
(confused look)
It's a donation for CT officers, state troopers and correctional officers who are injured or killed in the line of duty. It serves to protect the families of the people that protect us.
Oh, cool. I just transfered in from NY, my captain told me to let you go
:lol:

TN side
 

I was just to the end of the tail when I noticed a TNST behind me. I pulled over tho the gravel like parking spot by the river, where other RXs had stopped. The tropper, no lights on, pulled over in the parking spot as well. I had already stopped my car and had step out as I noticed the officer approaching my car. He had a grin on his face and started to talked about how much he liked my car and the fact that he used to owned one back in the day. He went about to look and talk about the other cars that were in the area.
When I left on Monday, and as I was making my way to SC on highjay 74, I realized that I had passed a ST at arounf 80 MPH, (speed limit was 65), I slowed down and got on the right side lane. After a few minutes behind me he lit me up. I pulled over, turned the car off, sat the keys on the dash, had my paperwork ready and windows rolled down. He asked me where was the car registered at, since it did not came up on his system. After explaining to him about my recent work on the car he let me go. Drove another 500 miles and had one officer driving behind me to later turn around. No other issues and no tickets

All I'm saying is we seem to have the same the same gritty, defensive and aggresive personality. I filter mine on occasion. Between the age of 16 - 19 I got pulled over for
Running a yellow
low 40's in a 30
75 in a 55
35 in a 25 and
85 in a 55 - interesting story behind that one, cop pulls me over from the right lane ans says he caught me at exit 7. I told him thats impossible becuase I got on at 8,
no I caught you at 7,
here's my license, look at the address, why would I backtrack a mile to get on the highway,
I caught you at 7
you caught a red cherokee, I bet I can go to the Jeep dealership and point out 10 red cherokees, my mother even owns one. Do you think it's possible that maybe there was a nother red cherokee that you saw and not me?
He didn't like that and also hit me with failure to use a signal, seatbelt, something else too, when all was said and done it was ~$450.

Then I got a kick in the ass and almost ended up in jail becuase of my mouth. I learned to filter it when dealing with cops. Since 19 I have gotten pulled over for
47 in a 25
52 in a 25
no reg displayed
illegal left turn
got blue lighted for 85 in a 55 and when I started to pull over, he just drove off
I think there were a few others but most recently an illegal u-turn in an unregistered car. I didn't get ticketed for any of those. I changed my approach and it works for me, that's all I'm saying.

I'm not saying be a groveling fool. I certainly don't take that approach, but the yes sir, no sir, thank you officer seems to go a LONG way

I disagree with that. In my experience, respect goes a long way. I'm not saying offer to stroke his ballon knot with your tongue, but like I said, respect goes a long way, as does admitting fault. If you defend wrong actions, you're fucked.

From my experience, and with people that fir my "profile" if you will, the cops are fishing. And I've been told this. Someone in their 30's, nice car, $200 sunglasses, pressed buttondown shirt really doesn't fit the norm of a drug user or dealer. What the cops are looking for are the Wall Street guy who's dabbled in coke to keep going, the lawyer who smokes some weed to relax, shit like that. By simply asking to search thier car, they're trying to figure out in one question, if they are that small percentage or not. By saying, by all means, search my car, you're basically saying I got nothing to hide, I'm not what you're fishing for. By refusing a search, you're basically admitting that there is something in the car.

On the flip side, if you're a total fucking retard like my shitstain younger brothers girlfriend and drive a beat to shit old whatever it was with bumper stickers like phish, and the greatful dead, it's 4:19 you got a minute? you're fucked from the start. It doesn't help that the dumbass was driving around with a bag under her seat. She refused the search, 10 minutes later the cop came back with a warrant and 30 seconds after that she was arrested. Basically, I've been told, always consent to a search. If you say "No," they'll just get a warrant and you'll be searched anyway. If you say yes, and there is something in the car, don't hesitate at all when you say go for it and hopefully the cop won't pick up on you're bluff.

Hey, this is the internet, this is serious business :rofl: & yes I did think you were being serious in mentioning that, my bad

That wouldn't fly with any of the cops up north, at least none in my area.

Yeah, if I said that to a cop up here, he wouldn't be laughing with me, he'd be laughing at me all the time thinking, you poor SOB

Nah, you mis-understood what the purpose of it is. It's for CT state troopers, officers, and correctional officers who are disabled in the line of duty. It's for the widows/orphans of the fallen. Think 9/11 victims fund without the corruption becuase there are like 5 people who tend to it. The money doesn't go to any state or local precincts, and I get to write it off on my taxes. I plan on writing that check, for whatever the amount is, for the rest of my life. If there was a national one, I'd donate to that one as well.

If your approach works for you, great. But I can tell you a few of the comments that seem to be enjoyed in TN or NC, won't go over well in CT, NY Metro or anywhere in MA or RI and that's where I'm getting my experience from.

sounds like NoVA. Probably around farifax county. I'd say get it db tested where it's registered and send in the receipt and a letter of account and they *should* throw it out.

Sounds more and more like this happened in Fairfax County. No they won't accept the reg decal on the windshield. They're stupid like that, and will not accept the inspections of other states legality if you're driving on VA roads--which is a catch 22, but usually can be dropped/complied with in court. They're really just banking on you to pay the ticket and send money without defense. I'm not sure, but you may be able to get an lawyer to stand in for your defense, but you'll probably pay more in retainer fees than actually paying the ticket. You may be able to continue your case until next year and go to court a few days before the dragon. But, I don't know if they'll let you continue that long.

As for the radar detector, they can not ticket you for it if it is un-plugged and not easily reached to plug in or power on. AKA, in the glove box, behind the seat, in the center console. Just be glad they didn't confiscate it.Sounds like you consented to the search. If not what was the probable cause?
Yeah, usually if you get the ticket for an offense in one day you do not get a ticket for it again... Most times.

I saw a lot of cops, even on the NC side. Everytime I came across one, I was stuck behind slow traffic though. I really wanted to show the troopers what my car could do, but the damn slow drivers kept messing it up for me. :)

I figure that if I can make the cop laugh, I might have a chance to get out of it if I otherwise wouldn't have been able to.

Ive been pulled twice in south east VA where i live, first time i think the cop was just having a bad day because i knew him, second time i blasted around a turn on the way to school because i was late for a class. I told him sorry i was late for class and didnt realize i was going that fast. I didnt honestly my suspension is pretty decent setup. He told me to slow it down and let me go on my way. There pretty decent here it also helps that im 20 and have a perfect driving record.