I noticed some comments relating to cops giving attention to 116 drivers, which reminded me of this story...
about 5 or 6 years ago, I was in high school at the time and giving a friend a ride home late one night in my 280se. When I stopped in front of my friends house, a cop I hadn't noticed lit me up. Turns out he pulled me over for a "suspicious vehicle" and a bad tail light (which was BS) said he was looking for "gang bangers" running drugs and commented that he didn't see many cars like mine around. I cooperated and let him search my car, I didn't have any contraband and just wanted to get home. After a few pat downs, asking me if i "smoked weed" and the car search he let me go. As I pulled out I saw the k-9 unit drive by, I think he was trying to hold me there long enough for the dogs to arrive and give my car a sniff...
The searching and general harassment was likely a result of me being a young guy with long hair, but driving around in a clean old benz didn't help.
I have generally found that my car was less likely to be stopped by police (which is manily for random breath testing and which usually covers almost every car driving down a particular road).
Perhaps my hair was never long enough to be noticable.
That's a funny story!
When I was in high school in the mid-90's I stole Dad's black '81 450 SLC and took the boys for a joy-ride after a tough rugby match.
It was dark, and with six of us piled in like sardines, I was burning the snot out of the 450 around the neighbourhood... very soon a traffic cop pulled me over (and I crapped myself). Surprisingly, he wasn't concerned over my speeding or the smell of booze fuming out the interior - due to the speed I was travelling at, he thought the car had just been stolen!
...and so we carried on havin' fun in the Benz for the rest of the night.
Until recently, I was always getting pulled over for random checks. I was even followed into my driveway by the cops for a license/rego check, as I assume they thought the car was stolen. I have also been accused of being "on weed" on one occasion too haha (people are trying to persuade me to get a haircut, maybe that's why :D).
Tim
I've been pulled over twice in my 116 (no tickets, though). I've not even had it for a year!
In my case, I think it is the gold paint and the dark windows. The first time I was pulled over the cop asked me "Is this YOUR car?" to which I said something like "Well yes, sir, it is. Who's else would it be?"
Both times I was pulled over were what my cop friends call "fishing." (see something out of the ordinary that you can't pull someone over for (gangster car), then look for something small that you can stop them for (dim lights), only so you can hopefully find something bigger (drugs, drunk driver, etc).
It is annoying.
Wear a black dinner coat with black shirt and white tie; they'll get you every ltime.
Hemersam
P.S. Don't forget the white/black wingtip shoes, too, and smoke a cigar if you can while driving. If the police stop you, ask them if they want to see your rod. That should do it.
QuoteWear a black dinner coat with black shirt and white tie; they'll get you every ltime.
Around here, they'll pull you over simply for reasonable suspicion (lower bar than probable cause). IE, it could be the way you're driving, how your car looks, etc. Any way small reason to get a dog to sniff your car if they think something's amiss.
But, I live near the Cocaine Corridor in Florida (Interstate 95).
I do think there is some reason they pull over 116s more often and I think it has to do with the type of car and age. They pull over old Oldsmobiles, Buicks, Lincolns, (aka hoopties) etc for small things, too. The times I got pulled over, I got the distinct impression they thought I was slinging dope until they saw my back pack in the passenger seat and my lab coat in the back of the car.
Twice in less than 6 months in the 116, versus once in 6 years in my other car. >:(
Haha. This is all too coincidental. I got pulled over back in November....at night....in the rain. I was having a bad day anyway because I gotten caught in the rain in my W116. Got pulled over, got three tickets. No registration (didn't have title yet), no insurance (I knew that, but i had to drive the car that day), and incorrect tags on vehicle.(I knew that, too. I was just trying to blend in as best as I could)
Spent 45 minutes with two cops. They couldn't find the VIN in their system. (the car had not been registered on 15 years, so it had been purged). They thought the car was stolen, and they were looking everywhere to make sure all the VIN's matched. They even thought the VIN was on the engine block haha. I said no, there is just an engine number on there.
Here is where and why I cannot stand just plain stupid people. Remember I had the incorrect tag on my car? Well, it was a tag for a 2005 BMW M-3 that I have. They BOTH agreed that they had not seen that new of a Mercedes look so boxy. WTF?!?!?! I said what?! This is a 1976 Mercedes, not a 2005. They say, "oh...."
They threatened that they could take me to jail because I tampered with state property, (the license plate) but said they wouldn't since I had been honest with them.
During all of this time, I had my parking lights on, and my battery had run down to the point that the engine would not start. I asked the two cops for a jump start, and the said they couldn't and drove off......leaving me in the dark cold rain. Again, WTF?!?!
I got the charges against me dropped, but I still owe over $200 in court costs. I just can't win for loosing. What is wrong with this picture? The good guy always gets the short end of the stick, huh? Grrrr!
I've been stopped by police twice in my life (75 years old), once for speeding (honest missing of the speed limit reduction in Austin, Texas) and once by a "new" gung-ho state trooper. The latter stopped me because my inspection sticker had expired (Texas does not notify you concerning inspection renewal-you're on your own). My wife and I were just enjoying a Sunday afternoon drive in the country in a 1978 Oldsmobile 98 (before I saw the light, obviously), looking about as white middle-class American as you can. What a dink he was; I had to go to the county court house later and talk to a judge, who said, "oh, that guy is a pain in the ass," and dismissed the ticket. I'm all for law enforcement and against crime (yea!), but there will always be a few cops who want to push you around a bit. My guess is that if my Olds had been newer, this may not have happened. BTW, I think some police in Texas have a tendency to pull minority people driving an old car over much more frequently than Anglos driving a "nice" car. But then again, who knows for sure.
Hemersam
P.S. As for the "old car" thing, I haven't been stopped by police in Dallas yet, driving my '78 280SE. I keep all the paperwork in order and never speed (well, almost never).
I'm shocked to see a trend of w116s having been pulled over. As mforcer said, RBT or random breath testing is indiscriminate but I've managed to avoid them too. White car, clear windows and baseball hat worn forward seems to do the trick but I believe the cops round here are more interested in unregistered vehicles, speeding vehicles, hoonish behaviour. Oh wait, I fit all three categories at the moment ;D
Nah, legal disclaimer here. I haven't actually driven the 350 since rego lapsed late december. I have two months left to register it but some work on it has to be finished first. Speeding and hoonish behaviour still applies though. ::)
Quote from: UTn_boy on 14 January 2011, 12:20 AM
They BOTH agreed that they had not seen that new of a Mercedes look so boxy. WTF?!?!?! I said what?! This is a 1976 Mercedes, not a 2005. They say, "oh...."
LOL!
What a load of hokum! You guys are not in the wrong car, you are in the wrong country! - and yes, WA cops seem to train by watching silly US cop shows on TV. The best place on Earth for a W116 addict to live , guys, is ... I'm not going to tell you so it doesn't get spoiled. And I'm moving there when I retire, with my W116, my lovely darling wifey, and beautiful, beautiful baby if she'll want to come by then.
I have not been pulled over in my 280S (Knock on wood) even though I have been going quite fast in my area. But I have had a few stare downs by the local Fuzz. I attribute this to three things, first, my car is new in the area (and I still have the california plate up front) Second my car is brown (frankly I think it is the only brown car down here!) and third, for the older cops, I think they find it odd that a 42 year old is driving something that they think an old man should be driving.
Well, there is one more thing... people do say I look like someone famous, but I still can't get them to tell me who ;D
manny years ago i had a favorite game how to agonize the cops and not always they could catch me once they tryed to pull me over in my manual shift 280SE they couldnt catch me by a long shot my 280SE was fast but not so fast it was more about the car handling , they came to my house later offcourse , and i think its 20 years ago when i had a 635csi (yes a bmw hope you guys dont hate me now ;))at that time the cops had W201 190 diesels they couldnt even read my licenceplate so far away i was :) but it dont takes just an powerfull car its more the car handling i did it once in my glory days with an 1987 daihatsu cuore , they tryed to agonize me back but never they could get the smile of my face they really really hated me back then :) even when i was walking the pulled me over :) i am not into that annymore these days by the way
Not really on topic, but ....
A while ago I took my newly bought w114 ( black ) ambulance to a job in Belgium. The waiter who served us dinner every night was trying to talk me into to selling it, insisting that it was a hearse.
Turns out he and a friend were rather tipsy and navigating home way back when, when they came across an alcohol control. The driver put on the appropriate lights, they assumed somber expressions and notched the speed back.
They were waved on.
He's wanted a hearse ever since.
( Disclaimer: This poster does not in any way or form condone the act of driving when tipsy )
It's does look like a hearse to be honest, everybody stops and stares when I ride by, old people don't like it so much.
Edit: Atrocious use of the English language.
here it doesn't matter who you are, you can and will be breath tested.
Yep, I've been through a few of those lately. The last one involved a jocular conversation with regards to the 6.9... The constable thought it was quite a classic car.
Tim
QuoteEdit: Atrocious use of the English language.
Haha,. not so bad. English is atrocious anyway!
Here in new Zealand, ive been driving my w116 for about two years now with bogus plates i pulled off a wreck, no registration or WOF.....and never been pulled over...very lucky...
Thats cheap motoring!
I reckon my luck will run out soon so car is off the road while i fix exhaust leak, electric window etc and then get legal.
Quote from: Major Tom 6.9 on 01 April 2011, 06:11 AM
here it doesn't matter who you are, you can and will be breath tested.
Not so much over this side. I mean, I've gone through heaps without "lights" on going about other duties and have always been waved on. It's not just me. IMO there's tolerance for certain vehicles like some trucks, buses and taxis and other working vehicles that aren't the usual suspects when it comes to catching a DUI driver. But I agree anyone could fall foul of the law, speed wise or by driving recklessly, let alone a crash, and once that occurs, along comes a mandatory breath test for sure no matter who or what you are. But IMO an ambulance would make an ideal vehicle to smuggle drugs, people, weapons, even fruit ::) Yeah that's right, fruit. I've never been pulled over for a vehicle search at one of the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zones check points out my way.
Mwahahaha!
Quote from: Major Tom 6.9 on 01 April 2011, 06:11 AM
here it doesn't matter who you are, you can and will be breath tested.
The following conversation actually occurred after a random stop on a country road while returning from a country lodge meeting ( dressed in tuxedo, white shirt and black bow tie) after he checked my drivers licence.
" Doctor Babe, I'm a patient of yours, breathe into this bag ".
As I don't drink and drive it didn't matter but he will get older and need a prostate check sometime .....
Bill
Quote from: WGB on 09 April 2011, 07:08 PM
" Doctor Babe, I'm a patient of yours, breathe into this bag ".
As I don't drink and drive it didn't matter but he will get older and need a prostate check sometime .....
I'm living in hope, that by the time im of age for those checks a less invasive technique will have been developed - theres NO effing way im EVER gonna go thru that ::) I'm running out of time though..
Quote from: Major Tom 6.9 on 09 April 2011, 07:38 PM
I'm living in hope, that by the time im of age for those checks a less invasive technique will have been developed - theres NO effing way im EVER gonna go thru that ::) I'm running out of time though..
I've had a few bouts of kidney stones over the years but fortunately have always managed to pee them out. I absolutely dread the noninvasive removal technique.
koan
Quote" Doctor Babe, I'm a patient of yours, breathe into this bag ".
As I don't drink and drive it didn't matter but he will get older and need a prostate check sometime .....
Bill
Haha. Bill, this reminded me of an episode of House. He meets a patient, who happens to be a cop, in the clinic. The cop is somewhat of a jerk (much like House himself and many cops), so he is of course deserving of some passive-aggressive punishment. The cop is chewing on some nicotine gum, so Dr. House explains he must take his temperature ... rectally since food and friction from gum chewing can affect basal temperature. It was a pretty classic scene by Hugh Laurie imo.
Re drinking, they do road blocks in this area during Bike Week, Speed Week, Spring Break and all the other stuff that comes around. Generally, they try to block off any u-turn areas in the medians ... But if they haven't, you're sure to see dozens of cars making u-turns to avoid the road block and the breathalyzer if they seem suspect. I find those things annoying.
I don't know about taxis and buses here since we have few of either, but tractor-trailers are stopped quite a lot. A cop friend of mine works for FDOT, which mainly just patrols transport vehicles. Says there's a bit of a meth epidemic with some of those drivers seeing as they need to stay awake for so long. There was one recently that exploded on the high way; it was actually a mobile meth lab in the trailer.
And yes, Oscar, I think you've got the smuggler's dream-mobile. Get in a road block, just cut the lights on and act like you're off to some mishap 8)
Whoaa there Dr Bill, luckily I won't be around you if I ever need the finger up the date routine, my recipie for keeping on the right side of Mr Plod is to always carry my copy of the Police Commissioned Officers diary in a
prominent place in the car, since I sponsor the damn thing every year I get sent a copy of it, so figure I might as well put it to some good use. Haven't had to wave it casually directly hopefully under an officers nose yet,
fingers crossed.
I got pulled over in my 450SE and the guy just wanted to have a look at the car as he was thinking of buying one.
I pointed him at a few forums and we chatted for 20 mins after which I let him have a quick drive, he has been back since to visit and seems keen as hell.
A comment on a non benz forum made me laugh though, a member stated "Nothing says I grow dope in my shed like a 70's Mercedes" lol
Not a W116 (yet!), but I've gotten loads of harassment in my W114 and W123's. Most recently, I had a W124, which seemed immune from such things...for some reason the older ones aroused the most suspicion.
I even had a W123 impounded once (I was driving on a temporarily-revoked license over a speeding ticket), and since they would not allow taking it out of impound without insurance that I couldn't get with a revoked license, I lost the car to the state (Georgia). A couple years ago another W123 was impounded for a parking violation when I was unemployed and I didn't have the money to get it out. I just considered it a loss, but now they've put a $5000 debt on my credit report over it. WTF California...
Mostly though I just got pulled over a whole bunch when driving my W114 240D, which was perfectly legal every time. I never got tickets in that car, but probably got pulled over 10 times in 3 years in Georgia and Washington state.
... as I posted a while back, it's where you are that does it. I'm gonna be in MD in a couple of weeks, and it will be taxis all the way. Not so bad out west, but Dixie is bad news for folks that like to DRIVE. The place to drive a W116 at will is ...
:-)
... Germany
And Australia.
Although the Northern Territory road are now limited to 130 Kph.
Thing is I regularly find space to wind my Wagon up to 100 Mph, and I suspect it will be the same in the 450's...........
Tony,
That quote about the shed is great! First week of having the car I got pulled over for a dim rear light. First thing he says is "is this your car?"
Around here, dealers drive one of two things: retired police interceptors or 70s hoopdies etc. Generally dark windows and bling jobs (bright paint, spin rims, etc).
I'm fairly certain in my car (being gold) and with my devastatingly dark windows, I'll get pulled over a bunch. Dark windows alone make you a target tbh.
Adam
I can't say that the police give my car too much attention. Where I live, in Australia, police officers are more on the lookout for mid-80's to mid-90's Commodores, as they're cheap, fast and as a result, are what almost EVERY young person drives around here. I drive a white '77 280SE, so the police, according to my dad, just think, "Oh, here comes grandpa" and tend not to give it any second looks. I once got waved past a roadside drug test, even though I had a newly-bought bottle of whisky on my seat in plain view, and my P-plates displayed. They pulled the Commodore behind me over.
EDIT: I guess it also helps that I don't drive like the 'typical young person', which means rocket acceleration, dodgy risk-taking, etc. I don't like pushing my car too hard, so my acceleration is typically very slow, and while I do 'take risks' on the road, they're completely within my control and I know for a fact, aren't stupid for the sake of being stupid or impressive. I'm a safe driver, and I only know a few other people my age that are the same.
Nice to see my post has sparked some interest. I've been away from my w116 for a few months now... miss it dearly.
I guess if a car is rare in you're corner of the world, it's bound to spark interest from the fuzz. In my area it's any car that's older than 20 years or so, as they salt the roads like it's the last winter on earth!
It's hard to ignore the attention I get from cops, parking enforcement and the like, If your car is recognizable in any way whatsoever people will notice and remember it, for good or bad.
Had just finished a rather long weeks work in Amsterdam yesterday, two cops on scooters tried to wave me over.
Ok, one of the the rear axles is making a horrendous noise ( getting fixed today )
My workmates said to me "The cops want you to stop".
My reply "They'll never catch us", and off we went.
:)
A lot of the motorways have been upgraded to 130 kmh over here just recently, will be saving quite a bit of dosh on speeding fines.
:)
Quote from: scraf on 21 May 2011, 12:26 AM
My workmates said to me "The cops want you to stop".
My reply "They'll never catch us", and off we went.
:)
Unfortunately it's not quite like that in Australia, we live in a nanny state here
... they were on a bicycle path, on 50 or so cc scooters, one stop light and I was on the ring road.
Didn't actually see them try and wave me down as it goes, was concentrating on changing lanes.
Meh if they really wanted you they would have radioed on ahead and had you intercepted.
hey How long would it take to drive from one end of Holland to the other at 130kph Scraf?
Wouldn't be over an hour would it?
Been pulled over once in Noth Georgia in my '80 300 SD. Had a headlight and tailight out. No ticket, officer just told me to fix it to avoid an accident. Couldn't even shut off the engine as the vacuum line had failed. Was actually a bit humorous, there by the side of the road clattering away.
Can't imagine a 116 being the target of suspicion, all of the vintage Mercedes I see around here are driven by distinctly non-threatening characters. Empasis on "characters". :)
Been pulled over three times now in the 300SD, without getting any ticket. But last night I received my third speeding ticket from dratted speed cameras. Oh how I loathe them...
Quote from: Raptelan on 06 September 2011, 11:03 AM
....... last night I received my third speeding ticket from dratted speed cameras. Oh how I loathe them...
Two words; "Tom" and "Tom".