"Do you realize how dangerous that thing is!"
Great story, well told, ydeardorff! *laugh* Yep, you've definitely experienced the effect of an exotic kit on our men in blue (or green or tan.)
I've been holding off on police stories because I actually don't have many for the Sterling, yet. My only explanation is that, even though I've been a Sterling owner/builder for many years, I've only had two street legal Sterlings (and the first one was only mine for two months) and I actually don't have all that many hours logged driving one. But now that my good one (red turbo) is legal and I am driving it more, I figure it's only a matter of time before I get stopped for some lame reason by a cop wanting to check it out.
That said...
With that first legal Sterling I had, I was stopped by the local Pittsburgh police within 48 hours of owning the car. It was funny, too, because the very last thing the previous owner said to me while I was driving away was "Be prepared to get stopped by the police even if you're not doing anything wrong! Enjoy!) At the time, I was doing 25 in a 35 zone, during the day, nowhere year any intersections. There wasn't a whole lot for me to having been dong wrong.
BUT, the car being so new, I admittedly did NOT have the correct plates on it yet and, truth be told, I was counting on being let off the hook the first time (if I got stopped) by playing dumb and showing them the pink slip to let them know that proper registration was legitimately in the works.
But they didn't harangue me about the plate. They were actually very lenient about that. Cool.
And later in the conversation, they DID actual admit that they just wanted to "make sure the car was legit"... said with a smile...which was their way of saying they just wanted to check it out.
But there was one really irritating thing in about the stop. Namely, one of the officers was absolutely totally fixated on how "dangerous" the car was. He must have repeated that sentiment at least ten times. He kept harping on the fact that it would be hard to get out of if you flipped it. Okay... granted. No argument from me. First of all, I don't think there are many cars whose doors work well after a roll-over accident; if you're unlucky enough to have rolled your car, you've pretty much committed to busting out a window anyway...if the windows are even still intact. Secondly...do you know how hard it would be to flip a Sterling?!? It's only 38 inches tall! That would be like flipping a car trailer. Not impossible, but not bloody likely. Third of all, though I know you can't control everything in life, I'd like to think I try to drive in a way that doesn't foster roll-overs. The canopy is incredibly strong and certainly won't crush in to the point that it would crush the driver. Not going to happen. I would much rather be in a Sterling than a Ford Explorer in a potential rollover.
But I didn't want to irritate the cops...who were generally being quite friendly about everything...so I kept quiet on these points except for saying something generic like, "Yep, that's why I try not to flip ANY car I'm driving."
But like I said, the cop was obsessed and he wouldn't let well-enough alone. He started talking about other hypothetical accidents a person could have in it. It was weird. It was like he was trying desperately to find some reason to hate the car while his partner stood there with a big smile, repeating "This thing is soooo cool!" over and over.
And the nay-sayer also pointed out that I didn't have a shoulder belt, which is true. I'm not sure if a shoulder belt matters a whole lot in a car in which you're basically lying on your back, but...we'll give him that one for the sake of argument.
Anyway, the whole 20 inquisition ended with him saying something totally friggin, idiotic like, "Well, enjoy your death trap!" ...at which point I finally had to editorialize a little. All I said was, "Yeah. Obviously this car isn't as safe as a Volvo in an accident, but it's at least as safe as a motorcycle, and I don't have any qualms about driving a motorcycle, and I think we can all agree that there are a WHOLE lot of people out there happily and usually safely driving motorcycles. That's all I'm saying."
Okay...shouldn't have said that. *laugh*
The guy spun on his heal and started his whole "death trap" rant, all over again, from the beginning, this time with even more attitude. So this time I very politely listened and agreed with everything he said (while his partner rolled his eyes at how much of a douche bag he was starting to be). He ended by assuring me that a Sterling is far, far more dangerous in ALL ways than a motorcycle. He might have actually gone as far as saying he'd "personally much rather be in an accident on a motorcycle that a Sterling."
I was thinking "fine by me, dude...that way no Sterling gets hurt in your dumb-ass hypothetical accident!" But I kept that one to myself and just nodded 'yes' to his statement.
So anyway, let it be known that the official word from the Rankin Precinct police is that a Sterling is more unsafe -- "in all ways" -- than a motorcycle. *thumbs up*
By the way, I hope none of us are ever in any serious accident in any car. For the record, there have been a handful of accidents involving Sterlings, Novas, and Eurekas that I've heard of. In all cases, the fiberglass body SUPERBLY absorbed forces of impact, and there was no incursion into the driver's compartment. I do not know of anyone every being Seriously hurt in a Sterling, etc. Just for the record.
If that cop ever has his hypothetically accident while riding a motorcycle, he better hope it isn't with a Sterling. Hell, it's so ramp-like, they'd probably find the guy two counties away...in a tree. And the Sterling probably would have scuffed paint and a bent windshield wiper. *laugh*
