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Mr. Luddite

On 10/31/2014 2:36 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 11:57:26 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 10/31/2014 11:17 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 09:52:28 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 04:16:42 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I understand where you are coming from but I guess I just don't see a
big threat to my freedom and rights. I am 65 and have never experienced
any form of this kind of harassment. Maybe I live a boring life.

===

When I was young and driving old beat up cars, I used to experience a
fair number of trumped up harassment stops. When I was able to afford
newer cars it stopped. I suspect it also happens a lot with minority
drivers because cops believe there is an increased likelihood of
finding something amiss.

A lot of these profile stops happen to minority drivers but in some
places they will harass everyone. (within 100 miles of the Mexican
border)
Rich looking white people, driving around in "normal" hours, generally
are left alone
When I was working 3d shift, I was stopped a lot for pretty much
nothing until all of the Monkey County cops got to know me.

Back in the mid 1980's four of us dressed in business suits were
traveling on I-95 in a dark blue Lincoln Town Car that was owned by my
boss. I've forgotten if it was in New York or New Jersey. We were on
our way to a business meeting with a customer. A State cop pulled us
over, peered at all of us, asked my boss for his license and
registration and went back to his car to "run" the plate and license
info. He then came up to the car, handed the license and registration
back, pointed at the windshield rear view mirror and told my boss that
he pulled us over because of a device he saw on it. He said he thought
it was a radar detector (apparently illegal in whatever state we were
in). It was actually a sensor for a automatic headlight dimming system.

I thought DC and Virginia were the only states near there with a radar
detector ban but who knows?
These days they are pretty useless anyway because all of these cars
with collision avoidance systems trip them.

It was in the mid 1980's. I don't know what the laws are now.

For giggles and something to play with, I just bought a 1988 Lincoln
Town Car. It's in very good condition with 90K miles. I bought it for
cheap bucks because the seller said it had an issue with the anti-theft
system that shut down the ignition and electrical systems every once in
a while when you went to start it. He had one of those battery
disconnect switches on the negative terminal and told me that when it
happens to just loosen the knob to disconnect the battery and then turn
it back in. He said it "reset" the system.

Turns out it had nothing to do with the anti-theft system at all. The
disconnect switch contact areas were completely pitted and corroded so
electrical contact was minimal. Loosening and tightening it again would
temporarily re-establish the connection but after a few starts it would
oxidize and die again. Took the disconnect switch apart, cleaned it up
and burnished it. Haven't had a problem since.

Car is a boat. It's like driving a couch down the road. Talk about
extremes. Going back and forth from a F-250 Super Duty to the Town Car
boat takes some adjustment.