Conference vmsnet::car$note:carbuffs

    
    	Well, it appears that bad things do happen in 3's sometimes.
    
    	I mean, it would have been silly to make an illegal U-turn through
    	a yellow light WITHOUT a cruiser in the lane beside me, right?
    
    	But I got a written warning, so sometimes it takes only 1 good
    	thing to negate the three bad things.
    

    Slab! Got pulled over on Wednesday night for a rolling stop sign move
    by the Littleton locals.:)

    >	I mean, it would have been silly to make an illegal U-turn through
    >	a yellow light WITHOUT a cruiser in the lane beside me, right?
    
    well, you could have failed to complete the turn and hit a pole.. 
    
    no, wait, that was a Saab...
    
    ...tom

    I get the strong impression that Massachusetts has an unadvertised
    program on to write more tickets. Cops seem to be everywhere--I've seen
    more people getting tickets in the last couple of months than in the
    previous several years...

Massachusetts pays a 50% bounty to all the local towns to write speeding
tickets. They receive this money as a lump sum at the end of the year.  That's
why you have locals out on the Interstate trying to cash in on the big bucks.
If you don't like it, write your elected officials or move.

Jim 

    
    I took Option # 2 and never regretted it. Funny how old habits
    cling; yesterday I was driving up to Denver and happened to go
    by a statie shooting radar....at 75 mph. Eyes go to the speedo,
    foot goes to brake, heart goes to throat...all courtesy of the
    autopilot. Then I remembered I wasn't in the PRM any longer and
    the posted speed was 75 :)
    
    DAP
    

	Last night about 10:30 I was travelling on route 128 south at about
5-10 MPH over the posted speed limit in the left lane. Traffic was generally
moving at about the same speed. The middle lane to my right was full for a 
fair distance ahead and travelling just slightly slower than I was. (Pretty
heavy traffic for that time of night, I thought)...

	A car comes screaming up on my rear bumper and sits less than 10 feet
from it (maybe less than 5 feet! I could *not* see his headlights), as I
remain at the same speed and continue to pass cars to my right. At first I
think, what an @$$hole, then I notice the lights mounted on top of the car
(NOT FLASHING, mind you!). This goes on for possibly a 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Then
the he turns on his single white spot light on the roof, JUST TO LET ME KNOW
HE'S THERE! Eventually, when I had a safe opening to my right I pulled over
out of his way, just as I would do when any car behind that wants to pass.

	He continued to perform this stunt on subsequent cars up ahead as
evididenced by his continual use of the brake. Jerk, should be writing himself
a few tickets!

	Is this the right note to slam the cops?

    Perhaps he had heard of a two for one crawler sales going down at the
    local donut shop.:)
    
    I would suspect that this was the end of his shift, and had a hot date
    that he had handed a ticket to earlier in the day.:)

He didn't have to go too far for crawlers ... sounds like he had a bunch of them right 
in front of him.

I got a new car a few weeks ago (97' Mustang GT Convertible) and I swear to
you that everyone is trying to hit me!

The first night with the car, we went to the 99 restaurant.  It was a Tuesday
and it was 9:30pm as we were leaving. I was amazed at the amount of traffic
for a Tuesday at that time of night.  I had to take a left and cross traffic,
I waited for a good time and I pulled out onto the 3 lane road and I got into
the far right lane for going straight.

Right when you pull out, there is a stop light, it was red - so I was stopped.
Next to me was a Taurus wagon (that lane also goes straight) but once you
go through the light the road changes into a 2 lane road, and their is another 
set of lights - the left lane is for going straight at the light and the right
lane is for taking a right.

I was still in the right lane when the light turned green and we proceeded to
the next set of lights - the Taurus is right by my side (we are even) then
the wagon decides to take a right from the left hand lane.  She just turns
the wheel and just about took out the whole side of my car!  

I had to slam on the breaks and turn quickly to the right to try and avoid her.
I did avoid her - and I proceeded to follow her into the Shaws parking lot
where I parked next to her and I asked her "what are you doing", "did you see 
me"? etc.  I told her the next time she cuts someone off, they might not be
only 4'11" and female - it might be a large muscle man who may not be as nice
as me and to drive careful.

----

The next day, I was heading home from food shopping and I was approaching
a double light in down town Hudson, MA.  The 1st one was green and I 
proceeded thorough at 20mph and I could see the next one was green as well.  I 
could also see the traffic from Main St was stopped at their red.  I got
into the intersection and this woman in a chevy p/u took her foot off the
brake and slammed it on the gas and she came darting out into the intersection
and she almost slammed right into me.  I maneuvered the car almost up into
Poplins corner glass window - my heart didn't get out of my throat for
a good 30min.

---

Those have been the worst 2 things, but there has been about 4-5 a day.
Everyone wants to pull out and hit me.  

I started to keep my headlights on all the time, but it's not helping.


Louisa

Cheer up Louisa, the cops will pay extra attention to you as 
well. :-)

daryll

    Louisa,
    
    You should never buy an invisable car!  I some time wonder if my car is
    visible.
    
    Dave

    
    I was going to by a "arrest me red" color, but I decided against it due
    to it would catch a cops eye.  So I got this dark deep forest green
    that changes color depending on where the sun is.  I guess I should of
    got the red so others would see me to :<)
    
    Louisa

...you got a "cloaking device" on that 'stang?

Maybe the other drivers are just horsing around with your Mustang.

and looking to saddle you with lots of bodyshop repair bills.

    
    Okay - Hold your horses - your all to whitty for me :-)
    
    

    Louisa! Have the same problem with my truck. I had a 4x2 toyota that I
    believed was made of foo-bha metal. Metal which is cursed. I am going
    to do some marketing for a gag decal for folks like yourself and
    myself. A Large Bulleye that is magnetic that says 'Hit me! I am brand
    new!" 
    
    Even my 4x4 seems to have allot foo-bha metal. Scratchs apear out of no
    where, even if you garage it. There goug in the finish where I leaned a
    wooden handled rack against the truck. Wierd...

    I checked into insurance on a new Mustang GT convertible...  it
    cost $1k more a year than a new 3-series BMW (!)  The GT's must
    gravitate towards accidents.
    K

>I started to keep my headlights on all the time, but it's not helping.

    Too bad. Those guys and their motor cycles seem to feel that it works
    for them. But then again, I will admire the motorcycle, but won't own
    one for that reason.:)
    

RE: .131

Most of that is due to the 8-cylinder in the Mustang.

    
    My last truck cost me 700 for the yr in insurance.  My husbands new 97
    F350 dump truck also is only 700 for the yr.  My GT is 1200 for the yr
    (and I wont even be driving it for 3 months out of the yr)
    
    Oh well.  I love this car!  Not to mention that I got it for 8K under
    sticker and 4K under list!!!  I worked for this baby for 2 solid weeks,
    about 3-5 hr a day and I pitted 3 dealerships against the other.
    
    At one point I was singing papers on a Cobra at one dealership, when
    another dealership beeped us.  We told them we were buying a Cobra and
    they begged us to come back and talk to them.  It's a long story, but
    I'm happy.
    
    Louisa

RE: Mustangs

The problem is a lot of kid have these cars and piss off a lot of drivers
with the things they pull.  Many people have no patience for drivers of
Mustangs and Camaros.  You have to be twice as careful if you drive one
because some drivers will be out to get you.  I usually give Mustang and
Camaro drivers a lot of room and just let them do whatever they want, but
I'm in the minority.

It could also have something to do with the new car scenario.  Many drivers
expect people with new cars to be more careful.  They will cut off a new car
long before they would do the same to an old junker because they feel the
new car driver will do everyting within her means to avoid an accident.

Jim 

    re:133
    
    	A lot of motorcycles from the early '80's on don't even have on/off
    switches for the headlights anymore. You start the bike, they come on.
    
    	Ray