Date:         Fri, 16 Jun 1995 12:46:14 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         feets1st@ocala.com (Kevin Murray)
Subject:      Re: Is owning a van probable cause?

Perhaps we could amuse ourselves by taking an informal (no pun...) survey
as to the cultural "dress code" us volkswagen enthusiasts abide by. There
certainly seems to be enough evidence to support the theory that we are a
trendsetting group as I personally have yet to spot a volkswagen of any type
which carried a human garbed in polyester...


>On Thu, 15 Jun 1995, Ben Heavner wrote:
>
>> I'm planning on driving my '77 non-hippie, normal colored, van from here
>> in Lubbock to Tacoma WA for school.  What are you all's experiences with
>> getting stopped/harassed by police for driving a van?  Being an 18 year
>> old male probably doesn't help... have any of you actually been pulled
>> over and serched for drugs?


1. If someone stashed drugs in a bus 10-12 years ago (77 give or take a year)
   a dope sniffing dog would be hard pressed to earn his/her keep finding it.
2. If drugs were found, imagine what kind of mind numbing legal spaghetti a
   fellow like atty; Johnny Cochran could weave! Can you carbon date a roach?

I did have a rather tarnish eye'd friend remark what a lovely little stash
place the space behind the gas tank access plate would make... ; )

A personal reply on the hippie/bus theory.....


   In january of this year my wife and I drove from Florida to NYC via I-95
to visit friends and attend a series of business related seminars. Planning
to spend a week or two we packed our 72 BondoBus pretty full and headed up
the interstate.  By the time we reached S. Carolina the temp had dropped to
a little above freezing whereby we popped up our blanket to close off the back
from escaping heat and fired up our little propane heater. Well bundled up we
continued north.
   For those East Coasters who are familiar with I-95 you are invariably aware
that the speed limit is almost exclusively 65mph throughout Florida, Georgia
S & North Carolina -UNTIL- you get to an area just north of Richmond Virginia.
There (for all of 3.2 miles) the speed limit recedes to a posted 55mph.
   To shorten an altogether too long missive, we were pulled over by a pair of
Richmonds finest for speeding (64 in a 55mph) and were thoroughly searched as
my wife and I stood beside the road in freezing weather for well over an hour.
As my wife's body temp dropped, her ire rose and when she inquired as to why
we were being searched the pleasant rookie replied "But maam, this here road
is the pipeline for drugs to the north"

epilog:

    They never searched my wife (who under the parka could have concealed the
    entire Columbian Drug Cartel)
    Frisked me loosely, then once I removed my parka (see above) and they saw
    my pony tail, frisked me again considerably more aggressively....
    Never opened the closet (we have a westie interior), or checked under the
    rear seat/bed.
    But DID look in the engine compartment and asked me to remove the panel
    that covers the gas tank access area.....


go figure....

Kevin Murray -FeetsFirst Films

65 Beetle, 65 SingleCab, 67 PanelBus
67 Beetle, 69 Beetle, 72 Bus, 74 412