Date:         Sun, 9 Jan 2011 14:39:44 -0500
Reply-To:     Kevin Gilbert <kggilbert@MYACTV.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Kevin Gilbert <kggilbert@MYACTV.NET>
Subject:      Re: VW Van Profiling
In-Reply-To:  <AANLkTimou0Xs-arZJo1JAQzc7ww+SRbaSkD=4bcmVgxV@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes

Never been searched, just "checked out" while stealth camping. Once I
had a pair of headlights and a spotlight trained on my van from a
couple of feet away early one morning. I was sleeping at a PA 'no over-
night parking' trailhead parking lot. I assume the trooper ran my tag
- I'm clean - and decided I was ok. He left me alone.

Now, back in the days of my '66 Econoline van, well, things were
different...

Kevin




On Jan 7, 2011, at 2:26 PM, Peter Lapp wrote:

> Wow, maybe I just have good luck, but I've ALMOST never been pulled
> over in
> my van. And the one time I was, it was because my tail light was out.
> Now, that said, I have had the cops shine plenty of lights in my van
> while
> sleeping in parking lots. Let it be known that if you camp in a
> parking lot
> in Naperville, IL, chances are you'll have a cop shining a light in
> your
> windows at 5am, just seeing if "you're ok".
> I've never had any trouble with them being too mean to me, though.
> They just
> check in and then leave.
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 7, 2011 at 12:48 PM, Jamie Fitterer <fittdog8848@hotmail.com
> >wrote:
>
>> I used to drive my Van in ND and get pulled over all the time and
>> harassed
>> because my "Van" was associated with Pot smoking and hippies.  Now
>> maybe
>> when I was young I was doing somethings on the grey scale.
>>
>> In Montana, I have been pulled over multiple times and my vehicle
>> searched
>> once without cause.
>>
>> I will say it has been a long while since I have been followed and
>> pulled
>> over.  I di also make it through a DUI checkpoint being waved
>> through (which
>> really surprised me), but was bummed because I do not drink and
>> love to have
>> fun with them.
>>
>> Small price to pay for driving these awesome Rigs.
>>
>>> Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2011 12:16:23 -0500
>>> From: jfpoolio@GMAIL.COM
>>> Subject: VW Van Profiling
>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>>
>>> Warning: Long email/rant following....
>>>
>>> It's happened again, the experience that starts as no surprise and
>>> then
>>> becomes frustrating as I wait to get my drivers license back. By
>>> the time
>>> the cop is back to my van to apologize for the inconvenience I'm a
>> mixture
>>> of understanding, pissed, and frustrated. Today the cop confessed
>>> the the
>>> vehicle that I drive is a big part of why he tail-gated me for a few
>> miles
>>> and then pulled me over. "It had a lot to do with it" was his
>>> answer when
>> I
>>> asked if my vehicle was why I got special attention from him today.
>>>
>>> A few ways that I've modified my behavior at least partially
>>> because of
>> this
>>> re-currance:
>>> - Wearing a collared shirt, which I have done exclusively for
>>> years now.
>>> - Keeping my hair short, which I started doing after picking up 3
>>> seat
>> belt
>>> violations in a short period, I know I should always wear my
>>> seatbelt but
>>> the second and third were in situations where I still would likely
>> neglect
>>> to do so (parking lot hopping essentially))
>>> -Keeping my van in great condition (recently waxed, was washed
>>> yesterday,
>>> shiny/clean/straight etc.)
>>> -Keeping all registration/insurance current, my record clean,
>>> getting no
>>> tickets (except for the seatbelt violations) etc.
>>>
>>> None of these appear to have made the difference. I did notice an
>>> improvement in how things go after getting rid of long hair and
>>> moving to
>>> collared shirts only. They may still pull me over but I haven't
>>> gotten a
>>> ticket of any type since making these changes.
>>>
>>> I've been driving VW vans almost exclusively since the early/mid
>>> 90's and
>>> none of this started until 5 or 6 years ago with my Vanagon
>>> Westies. In
>> my
>>> younger years, while driving smoking/rattling/leaking bays and
>>> splits
>> there
>>> may have been a few laws broken, or at least bent, and I didn't
>>> worry
>> about
>>> the appearance of my van or myself yet I don't recall being pulled
>>> over
>> and
>>> know that I didn't get any tickets. There were a few road-block
>>> close
>> calls
>>> but they all worked out fine (miraculously). One funny one
>>> included my
>> van
>>> overheating and dying in a cloud of smoke while I was in a late-
>>> night,
>> party
>>> targeting, road-block. My van wouldn't restart and we had been
>>> cleared to
>>> go so everyone stumbled out of the van to push us off the road. I
>>> wasn't
>>> intoxicated but when my friends stumbled out of the back of the
>>> Westy to
>>> push one of them fell over and had to be helped back into the van.
>>> It was
>>> an odd scene, pushing my smoking van off the highway amid the
>>> flashing
>>> lights and then sobering up as the van cooled and we watched lots
>>> of our
>>> friends go through the road-block with some being ticketed etc.
>>>
>>> Does anyone else get extra attention from the police? I'm doubting
>>> that
>> I'm
>>> the only one but it could be the part of the country that I spend
>>> most of
>> my
>>> time in? Most or all of these incidents where I've been pulled
>>> over for
>>> little/nothing have occurred in North Carolina or Tennessee as I
>>> recall.
>> I
>>> rarely see VW vans on the road in this area so maybe it is a
>>> factor of my
>>> standing out more coupled with a vigilant police force? I'm
>>> actually glad
>>> to know (with confidence) that they are out there keeping an eye on
>> things
>>> (VW vans at least, ha ha). My biggest complaint is how long it
>>> takes for
>>> them to run my background check (or whatever they do back there
>>> while I
>>> wait). Maybe technology will improve and this will become a faster
>> process
>>> in the future. For the record North Carolina and Tennessee are good
>> states
>>> and good places to spend time. The cops are usually friendly as they
>>> interrupt my travels and I don't ever worry about needing to pay
>>> bribes
>> or
>>> other things that may happen in other parts of the world.
>>>
>>> O.K.,, thanks for the list therapy. I started typing this a few
>>> minutes
>>> after being pulled over and am no longer pissed or frustrated. I'm
>>> glad
>> it
>>> was a Friday and I could share this with the list and move on
>>> (until it
>>> happens again).
>>>
>>> Jonathan Poole
>>> '83 AC Westy
>>
>>