Fire engines don't go faster. I once pulled over to let one go past me in a road with a 30mph speed limit. Soon after the limit went up to 60mph and I caught it up and would have overtaken it if it was something else.
I always supposed that they are painted red as a camouflage thing so that they can go through red lights undetected.
Red cars are pulled over more than any other car I have been told. I think cops have a bias against red cars, especially if they are driven by younger people.
Never had a red car myself, though. But I used to be pulled over quite a bit in other cars. Kind of have a heavy foot. Thank God for cruise control, though, especially with adaptive feature, where the car automatically adjusts to the traffic ahead. Set it and forget it--well not quite.
Upthread, someone mentioned a 2015 Subaru with just 90k on it. We have a 2023 Subaru Forester too with 125k on it. I actually prefer an Outback. They have a little more room than a Forester and they have a slightly higher clearance. Downside is they are heavier than a Forester with the same engine. They are a little underpowered.
Red cars are pulled over more than any other car I have been told. I think cops have a bias against red cars, especially if they are driven by younger people.
The idea that red cars get pulled over more often is commonly repeated, but the evidence doesn’t back it up.
Red cars are pulled over more than any other car I have been told. I think cops have a bias against red cars, especially if they are driven by younger people.
The idea that red cars get pulled over more often is commonly repeated, but the evidence doesn’t back it up.
Years ago I was waved down by a friendly New York cop while driving one of the red diesel VWs. (It was a quiet place on Staten Island) "Nice car", he said, "What mileage do you get?" and we had a pleasant conversation about diesel cars. That was the only time I've ever been stopped.
I've heard a probably made up story that at night bored police officers play snooker. They stop a red car then a yellow then another red then a green and so on until they get a black one. This would make red cars the most stopped.
I was pulled over a bunch of times in two different red cars but I deserved it. Except the one time on the freeway when the cop gave me a ticket for wearing headphones. He said it was illegal because you couldn't hear people honk. Me being me, I asked if they let Deaf people get driver's licenses. He was not amused.
Hmm... I'd take the cop's side in that one! Headphones can be a serious distraction and isolate you to some degree from the environment. Having experienced intermittent hearing loss I'm very aware of the extra concentration it takes to make up for the absence of audible cues from the car and from the outside environment - ambulances and fire engines, for example, even on the freeway.
But it isn't illegal to play music in your car so loudly that you can't hear sirens. It's the logic that escapes me, not the practicality.
Some states and cities do have laws about loudness of music in your car. These are all about other people rather than about you - the laws tend to say things like "if your music is clearly audible X distance from your car, it's illegal".
But it isn't illegal to play music in your car so loudly that you can't hear sirens. It's the logic that escapes me, not the practicality.
Interesting discussion... Perhaps we are talking about the difference between a distraction and a disability. In the case of a hearing disability, I think the person will be making conscious efforts to compensate with increased concentration on the visible environment.
I'd guess headphones can be a hazard while driving, but then I'd guess that handsfree cell phone use is a greater hazard and that's legal in California. So I would at least say the law is inconsistent.
I'd guess headphones can be a hazard while driving, but then I'd guess that handsfree cell phone use is a greater hazard and that's legal in California. So I would at least say the law is inconsistent.
For me, there's a clear difference between having a conversation with a human in the passenger seat and having a conversation with someone on the end of a phone, which is that the human in the passenger seat has the environment of the car available to them, and so automatically shuts up if a complicated driving scenario arrives, whereas the person on the other end of the phone just keeps blathering on.
But I think I'd also distinguish between listening to a lecture or an audiobook vs listening to music: I'm more likely to concentrate on the book to the neglect of my driving than I am to concentrate on the music.
Venturing into uncharted territory, about six months ago I submitted a claim online under the VW 12 year corrosion warranty (the car is 9 years old). Zero response, so I repeated the application a few weeks ago and got a call last week asking me to bring the beast in for inspection, which was done and approved by the dealer today. I asked when the work would be done, thinking that the next week or so were not very good, and was told it would take several months for VW to finish processing the claim. My wife's comment was that it sounds like the process for handling health insurance claims in the USA, and I think she is probably right - wear down the client until he dies or loses interest.
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I always supposed that they are painted red as a camouflage thing so that they can go through red lights undetected.
Never had a red car myself, though. But I used to be pulled over quite a bit in other cars. Kind of have a heavy foot. Thank God for cruise control, though, especially with adaptive feature, where the car automatically adjusts to the traffic ahead. Set it and forget it--well not quite.
Upthread, someone mentioned a 2015 Subaru with just 90k on it. We have a 2023 Subaru Forester too with 125k on it. I actually prefer an Outback. They have a little more room than a Forester and they have a slightly higher clearance. Downside is they are heavier than a Forester with the same engine. They are a little underpowered.
Years ago I was waved down by a friendly New York cop while driving one of the red diesel VWs. (It was a quiet place on Staten Island) "Nice car", he said, "What mileage do you get?" and we had a pleasant conversation about diesel cars. That was the only time I've ever been stopped.
Some states and cities do have laws about loudness of music in your car. These are all about other people rather than about you - the laws tend to say things like "if your music is clearly audible X distance from your car, it's illegal".
Interesting discussion... Perhaps we are talking about the difference between a distraction and a disability. In the case of a hearing disability, I think the person will be making conscious efforts to compensate with increased concentration on the visible environment.
For me, there's a clear difference between having a conversation with a human in the passenger seat and having a conversation with someone on the end of a phone, which is that the human in the passenger seat has the environment of the car available to them, and so automatically shuts up if a complicated driving scenario arrives, whereas the person on the other end of the phone just keeps blathering on.
But I think I'd also distinguish between listening to a lecture or an audiobook vs listening to music: I'm more likely to concentrate on the book to the neglect of my driving than I am to concentrate on the music.