Busted on "Maiden Voyage"!

[VYPR BYT 94]

That's right, you read correctly... Busted on my “Maiden Voyage”!
My name is Mike. I'm a first time Viper owner, long time Viper lover and VCA newbie.
Anyone who knows me would really find humor in this story because I'm “Mr. straight lace”. I always get on my wife for going the wrong way in the parking lot of Wal-Mart, not wearing her seat-belt, speeding, u-turns and stuff like that. She never gets busted for anything... then there's me.
I live in Ohio and found my dream car, a 1994 RT/10 Roadster for sale in North Carolina. I hired a transport company to have a driver meet me there with an enclosed truck on a Saturday afternoon in early March. I made the plans a week in advance and of course, as Murphy's Law would have it, it was raining that day so I never got to test drive it. 1½ weeks later the weather broke and was beautiful... like 70 degrees but I was busy all day. I sat down at 8:45pm and by started watching TV. Then by 9:00pm I got up and said” Hey, I need to drive my car and see if there is anything wrong with it”.
I took it on the the highway south for 2 miles and turned around for home. I carefully found the left lane on a long straight with no traffic in it for at least a mile ahead. I literally opened it up for 8-10 seconds max and then gently slowed down and got in the right lane. The car was perfect but the happiness was short lived.
-- So here I am in my new Viper, first time on the road with it, getting a ticket! (115mph in a 65mph zone.) To make matters worse, I'm wearing slippers and these fuzzy lounge pants with polar bears on them! And of course I didn't plan on this so my insurance card is still on the counter in the kitchen on the stupid pile of mail! Likewise my Drivers license is at the house too.
So now the cop is looking at a guy with no ID, a Viper with temporary tags, no proof of insurance and the dude is wearing pajama-pants and slippers. I don't know know how he kept a straight face. The final straw to this ordeal was my wife made a joke as I left the house and said “Don't get a ticket! ”
So later that night we were brushing our teeth getting ready for bed when she suddenly spit tooth-paste all over the mirror and said, “OMG, do you know what day this is?... It's St. Patrick's Day!” How 'bout that, I tested it on National “Pepper the Highways with as many cops as Possible” Day! (I don't drink so that holiday just means Green Milkshakes at McDonald’s to me.)
-- So in an effort to make lemonade out of lemons I decide I should have an appropriate signature...

 

[KNG SNKE]

You my friend have made an unwise decision. Hopefully it doesn't haunt you. Enjoy your vehicle and keep those eyes peeled

 

[JonB]

St. Pattys Day Green Viper too.... 115 in a 65......lucky (?) you only got a speeding ticket!

GOOD LUCK....

 

[Reloader15]

Radar Detector...... Saves me all the time

 

[jdeft1]

Great viper story! Glad you've kept your sense of humor!!

You're lucky you didn't spend the night in jail with those cool jammies! You'd be the talk of the clink...... haha

 

[eucharistos]

...... I'm wearing slippers and these fuzzy lounge pants with polar bears on them! ....

welcome aboard


_________________________
While I am watching you....I am not preschool enough to say:
“Robert smells bad and looks worse” OR “Robert looks bad and smells worse”

 

[JohnnyViper]

good story.....welcome to the VCA

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

Great viper story! Glad you've kept your sense of humor!!

You're lucky you didn't spend the night in jail with those cool jammies! You'd be the talk of the clink...... haha

Yeah, no dought i'd be quite popular! I guess you gotta laugh at yourself every now again. Thanks JDEFT1

 

[Hyno]

Get yourself a V1... it's saved me more times than i can count.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

thanks for the welcome eucharistos and johnny viper... this look like a really cool family to be a part of.

 

[FrgMstr]

Well, at least you already have one hell of a story. Gonna be hard to top that one. Keep on enjoying it, and invest in a Passport 9500ix. For safety of course.

 

[lagalaxy13]

Congrats on the car. Nice to have another Viper in Ohio.

 

[agentf1]

Join the club. I got a ticket on my way home from picking up my Viper at BJ Motors. To make matters worst, my wife was following me with the original exhaust in the back of the pickup and the **** gave her a ticket also. I am all for obeying the law but we were mixed in with traffic which was ALL doing 70mph and this statey decide to single out the person in front of me, me and my wife which was behind me out of the group and give all 3 of us tickets. I could see if I was doing 80 or 85 but everybody on the road was doing 70 and it was in an area where the speed limit should have been 70, not a unsafe speed at all.

In comparison to you I got lucky. If he wrote you up at 115 you will be getting at least 6 points and probably losing your license. I REALLY hope he cut you a break. I also hope the rest of your Viper experience is as good as mine.

 

[Vic]

Nice literary style! Fun read! Sorry bout your troubles, you'll get over it.

Cops on the east coast sound like self-important Deputy-Dogs, out to save the world. Of course there's cops like that everywhere, but I think the Cal Hwy Patrol is a bit cooler, overall. That been my experience, anyway.

 

[Fatboy 18]

That made me laugh, Great story, not so good getting a ticket, but hell if your gonna get a ticket make sure its a good one

I guess you could tell your wife that you did find something wrong with the car ......The Gas pedal sticks
Welcome to the VCA

 

[ghengishahn]

Been there done that but not on the maiden voyage. It is humbling though. Two things the officer said to me that I will never forget. At the opening of the conversation he said "aren't you a little old to be doing this" And at handing me the ticket he said "nice car"

 

[01sapphirebob]

That is a great story!!! Welcome to the VCA!!!I con only imagine what the cop was thinking when he walked up to the car. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask.

 

[Jance GTS]

I was "lucky" that I didn't get my Viper impounded on the first night...

I bought it in late January and had to wait out a snow/ice storm to have it shipped. I waited an entire month and when I got the car it didn't have a temporary tag, the tank was on empty and to since the previous owner was from Canada, my car had NOT been cleared with US Customs!

Why the US dealership, didn't have this taken care of before I bought it is beyond me... I drove it 3 miles to my buddies shop and 6 days later it was in a million pieces to make it my dream Viper.

Oh and if you get caught speeding just tell the cop that the gas pedal got stuck. Because technically it's true! It's stuck between your foot and the floor

 

[AFL in NJ]

Welcome to Viper ownership and the VCA, sorry about your ticket. I got my first ticket about 3 months into owning my Viper for "leaving the NJ tolls too loud and too fast for the officer's liking" and he wrote me up a Careless Driving ticket.....I still remember the state trooper's name Al Franke Jr.

I made 5 appearances fighting that bogus ticket and still got railroaded by a unjust court. (thanks Tinton Falls, NJ)

So if it makes you feel any better, it happens to all of us and when you get stopped the next time (and there will be many times you get stopped for all sorts of "probable cause reasons") just be polite and apologetic and when they ask "How's your record?" you can recount how excited you were driving your Viper for the 1st time and how you paid out that ticket and will be paying for 5 years with slightly elevated insurance premiums and that you were wearing pajamas and slippers like a kid at Christmas.....likely the cop will laugh and give you a warning.

I got a few warnings on the way to VOI 11 and used the line "11 mph or 115mph, I think I was using a lot of restraint" and sometimes it gets a laugh and mellows the situation.

Regards,
Aaron

 

[swexlin]

One helluva story. Here in PA, unless you were the Pope himself, that would at LEAST been a huge ticket with several points, and most likely an arrest on the spot.

Stay safe out there.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

That made me laugh, Great story, not so good getting a ticket, but hell if your gonna get a ticket make sure its a good one

I guess you could tell your wife that you did find something wrong with the car ......The Gas pedal sticks
Welcome to the VCA

Thanks Fatboy, I'll be sure and tell her that... Now you made me laugh! Good one.

 

[Ryan SRT10]

I ordered my V1 when i decided to get a viper and have never drove the car without it.

 

[cfiiman]

LOL, it always works that way, welcome to the club bro, and btw, I have a 94 too, best looking car made, hopefully your's is the faster red color

 

[Bobpantax]

Hi VYPR BYT 94. Visualizing the police officer walking up to the car and seeing you in what he must have thought were your pajama bottoms with slippers on was a hoot. You should have looked at him; started to cry and asked him if he had seen your Daddy with a quick follow up of: "Life is like a box of chocolates." He probably would have wet himself laughing and given you a warning. Seriously, welcome aboard. By the way, how old are the tires on the vehicle?

 

[jckrieger]

Good story! When I bought my GTS I was actually disappointed the car had a built in radar detector. I did some research and found out it was also a laser/radar jammer, and man, it's nice to have. The few times I've had tickets in other cars, I would have avoided them if I knew an officer was nearby or clocking me. With these cars, you KNOW you're the center of attention! I do try to avoid breaking any traffic laws, as in my other cars the officers felt sorry for me. Now they'll be envious!

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

Hi VYPR BYT 94. Visualizing the police officer walking up to the car and seeing you in what he must have thought were your pajama bottoms with slippers on was a hoot. You should have looked at him; started to cry and asked him if he had seen your Daddy with a quick follow up of: "Life is like a box of chocolates." He probably would have wet himself laughing and given you a warning. Seriously, welcome aboard. By the way, how old are the tires on the vehicle?

Hi Bobpantax, I guess I didn't think quick enough to cry on demand like that! The seller had documention for everything he ever did with the car... nice! If memory serves me correctly, I believe the tires have 1,000 miles and are 1 year old.
How old is "too" old? I'm guessing years are more important than miles???

 

[Mopar Boy]

Welcome to the club bro! One heck of a story too!

Its a pleasure to have you as part of the club, and I look forward to meeting you at one of the summers events!

 

[Bobpantax]

Hi Bobpantax, I guess I didn't think quick enough to cry on demand like that! The seller had documention for everything he ever did with the car... nice! If memory serves me correctly, I believe the tires have 1,000 miles and are 1 year old.
How old is "too" old? I'm guessing years are more important than miles???

Yes. years are more important. The older, the harder. The harder, the less safe. A cold day, hard tires, and a spirited push on the go pedal usualy means sever Viper bite. One year is certainly OK but check the side of each tire for each date just to be sure.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

In comparison to you I got lucky. If he wrote you up at 115 you will be getting at least 6 points and probably losing your license. I REALLY hope he cut you a break. I also hope the rest of your Viper experience is as good as mine.

Thanks agentf1, Actually it was the judge who cut me a break because he was laughing the entire time... kept comparing me to his mother-in-law... but I like to think it was the fuzzy pants with polar bears.
When all is said and done he looked at me and said "I think you were going 85 in a 65 right?" So that was at least the silver lining.

 

[carguy07]

So was it a local or state cop? Akron is now the autobahn until they get some more $.

Ohio.com - Fewer Akron speeders ticketed