I Got Pulled Over BY LEO

[o1marc]

Not me, I want to know how many of you were pulled over by LEO and the reason for it and the outcome. So many people here worried about every LEO out there targeting us for assassination.
I have spoken to LEO twice in my bus. Both times I was parked on a side of the road on Bainbridge Island in Seattle and I pulled over in Ky. to check out a mattress that had blown out of someone truck or trailer. The Seattle cop asked a few questions about no tag. I explained I had just purchased it that morning, here is my title, BOS, and proof of insurance. He says you really should have a temp tag. I said I am leaving your state tomorrow and will be heading to the east coast. He said have a nice trip and went on his way. The cop in Ky. was the same scenario. I was sitting in the seat reading the map when the loud knock on the door came, never saw him pull in. Started the usual interrogation at which time I gave him the same story as the other cop. He also said I should have a temp tag. I said in the state of Ga. I am allowed to drive on the BOS for 30 days. Right now we are at mile marker 14, I'll be out of your state in the next 10 minutes, heading to Atl. His reply was "Have a safe trip, be on your way."

What was your experience?

[HazMatt]

Never once in das Boos.
Assorted cars, scoots, and afoot.
Well, that's a different series of stories...

[Johnny Mullet]

I have never been pulled over driving the bus.

[superbusWI]

uhgh this is worth taxing my remembering-stuff-powers to the limit bud

obv not including incidents where i was NOT in my bus

1st) legally boondocking in a park n ride between port Washington and grafton WI, at about 430 am. officer woke me up with his strobe. i said something like "hang on lemee put some pants on" in an irritatedly sleepy voice at which point the strobe became a spot light. lol for sure. anyway he got a call about "a bus that had been vandalized". after providing ID, title, insurance (i lied about having insurance, failure to provide ins. card is a 10 dollar ticket, failure to carry is.. more) at which point i told him it was a violation of my 4th amendment rights for him to even be in official contact with me, and he gave me my 10 dollar ticket and went away. i went back to sleep.

2nd) parked at an independent truck stop in johnsons creek wi (the diner is friggin phenomenal if your ever in the area) for... dude like awhile. more than 2 weeks - air line on top of the compressor had busted in the exact wrong spot and i was having trouble repairing it. sherriff would park right in front of us for an hour or so while watching me try to patch ****, never made contact. finally got it to hold, high 5'd my son, tested the brakes/pressure/etc, then he got out of his squad and told us to hit the road, really pretty friendly guy overall.

3rd) at what was probably a loves, but not for sure … ah yeah it was outside of Jacksonville fl, had been there for less than 48 hours. left the bus in our pickup to go fishing, came back to a hvy rotater truck - those ones that can tow busses - and 6, yes, six LEO's with their AR's and 12 ga's standing around my bus while the rotator eyeballed his positioning. well i parked the pickup with my wife, dog, and kids at the other end of the lot and strolled on over, walked right into the middle of em, leaned on the hood and said "if you want a tour so bad, all ya gotta do is ask" … well it turns out there had been some bit of unrelated ruckus inside while we were gone and they for whatever reason wanted to make sure all the rabble was cleared out, hence the tow truck. i drove away ticketless and fully unharrassed

4th) uh driving on … 94? 90? one of em between Wisconsin dells, wi and Mauston, wi when i passed two staties having a window-conference in the middle pullthru freeway thing and just as i passed them my youngest kid stood up, smacked her brother with a .. fishing rod? bamboo stick? i dunno they spar a lot and they saw it happen. so he followed us for maybe 5 or 6 miles, vehicularly sparring with my chase car/wife for a position on my bumper before lighting her up so she'd move then lighting me up. i pulled over, he checked my title, DL, Ins (same $10 game there, then asked me about having all the required safety equipment on board. now this is about 45 minutes and 6 or 7 squad->bus->squad trips in to the stop. i'm in the drivers seat still, and 3 more squads have arrived behind him, my wife lit off toward the next exit after he jockey'd her out of her spot. I say to him, yeah. i got the drivers seatbelt, a fire extinguisher (always carry a fire extinguisher, one of my old rigs burnt down on the road, wasn't a bus.) and federal law doesn't require any type of restraint or safety equip. for the passenger compartment since busses are built to that standard already. he walked back to his squad, and 5 min later another officer comes up to the door. he says "you're gonna follow us. don't do anything else, just follow us." the 3 "add-on" squads speed off and the one who pulled me over, now with the other officer sitting shotgun, pulls in front of me on the shoulder.. they take off like a bat outta hell onto the freeway and i'm like oh **** - i can't go that fast, so i floor it and do my best, fortunately he realized what his mistake was and waited for me at the next offramp, where he led me into a pilot. the original officer then gave me a full vehicle inspection dot style, lights and whatnot, then wrote up a list of things i needed to change before being legal to operate in WI. i cited 4th amendment right to travel, which basically says if it's legal in one state it's legal in em all, unless specifically excluded by the us supreme court. now i gotta tell ya, this kid must've been just about ready to shoot me when i said that, his reply was "if i see you on the road again like this, you're going to jail. you're welcome for skipping the tow truck. have a nice day" hindsight 20/20 the constitutional law lecture probably wasn't a good call right then and there.


so... this is getting long. 5th, through 9th all involve me buying a parcel of land that was totally legal to park/habituate an RV on and said habituation upsetting the curmodgeony townsfolk. each time i was parked on my land, each time it was a LEO + building inspector or town council chair. each time they had been "bombarded" with calls and didn't really want to come out and were super cool (especially considering i wasn't doing anything wrong) with no result other than well wishes being exchanged between all sides.


10th was jus the other day, south of Wisconsin rapids. my oil pan blew out (see relevant thread in int drivetrain mechanical section of forum) and i was on the side of the road. sheriff stopped to make sure everyone was OK, didn't ask for ID or anything, and moved along without a hassle.


… apparently i'm known around Wisconsin. i'll update you all when appropriate hahaha

[johnbloem1974]

I have driven my bus from Texas to Montana and back to Texas 3 times, then from Texas to West Virginia and back. Have yet to be pulled over...

John

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Drove mine home from auction purchase - southern WV to GA. Had insurance (with card) and temp tag in back window. School markings and lights painted over, wires cut (by school district, supposedly state law in WV unless next owner is also a school). Drove it around town a few times. Not yet stopped by cops for anything.


BTW, on the trip home, bypassed any open scales.

[Dog Rescuer]

I have driven from Florida to Montana to Virginia to Texas to California to Arizona to Montana in the last two years, and I have never been stopped by Law Enforcement.
However, I don't do anything illegal - and I always drive safely and courteously.

[o1marc]

The title is I Got Pulled Over, not I didn't get pulled over. I'm only interested in the cases where someone did get pulled over and why. There are so many stories here of people worried about getting the bus home. I think it is a lot of wasted text over something that rarely happens no matter who illegal your bus is going down the road. I think often the ticket you may get would cost less than the time and effort of going different routes. Some are going to talk about impound and such, but it would be from a dick cop who's not going to see your way on anything, this also is slim and none. My TC2000 got pulled over and impounded for no insurance. So I stress that if you have valid BOS, a signed title, and PROOF OF INSURANCE, you will most likely not have any issues after you get pulled over for driving like an idiot.

[Sleddgracer]

Originally Posted by o1marc

The title is I Got Pulled Over, not I didn't get pulled over. I'm only interested in the cases where someone did get pulled over and why. There are so many stories here of people worried about getting the bus home. I think it is a lot of wasted text over something that rarely happens no matter who illegal your bus is going down the road. I think often the ticket you may get would cost less than the time and effort of going different routes. Some are going to talk about impound and such, but it would be from a dick cop who's not going to see your way on anything, this also is slim and none. My TC2000 got pulled over and impounded for no insurance. So I stress that if you have valid BOS, a signed title, and PROOF OF INSURANCE, you will most likely not have any issues after you get pulled over for driving like an idiot.

perhaps there are others here on the forum that are interested or can learn from those that have had no problems

[superbusWI]

my experience with skoolies + LEO's would lead me to the exact same advice as o1marc's nearest above post - have as many ducks in a row as you can and you're mostly good. my issues with not providing insurance were exclusively my responsibility.

only places/times the authorities have automatically leaned toward impoundment was in flordia in the winter under specific circumsances - and that area is pretty widely known as a hard spot to boondock in anyways


that being said i'd also advise against spending too much time in ANY area/county/municipality that is known to have laws or tendencies toward towing, just read an article about Berkley, CA as an example. Portland (I've heard) is another rough spot these days. just my $.02

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Sleddgracer

perhaps there are others here on the forum that are interested or can learn from those that have had no problems

What do you learn from nothing happening? My point is it is so rare that it does, that I'm interested in how foolish someone had to be driving to get pulled over in a bus. What does it take to get pulled over in a bus?

[superbusWI]

Originally Posted by o1marc

What do you learn from nothing happening? My point is it is so rare that it does, that I'm interested in how foolish someone had to be driving to get pulled over in a bus. What does it take to get pulled over in a bus?

one kid standing up, grabbing a fishing rod, and then smacking the other kid right at the exact moment you pass a cop

outside of that it's my experience bus's are pretty invisible to the law, they just blend right in to traffic somehow - although i'm always driving pretty nicely anyway.

Its questionable boondocking - above any other skoolie related activity - that brings in the boys in blue.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by o1marc

The title is I Got Pulled Over, not I didn't get pulled over. I'm only interested in the cases where someone did get pulled over and why.

just because you posted this im going to post my....


Ive never been pulled over by LEO in any of my busses...

[o1marc]

Didn't take long for this to completely derail.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Didn't take long for this to completely derail.

My train of thought derailed once. There were no survivors.

[Dog Rescuer]

I feel bad that I did not post exactly what was being sought after...

I have never been pulled over for being overly sensitive about what gets posted on my forum / thread.

[HazMatt]

(To the three of yas
ROFLMFAO!!!

Originally Posted by cadillackid

just because you posted this im going to post my....


Ive never been pulled over by LEO in any of my busses...

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

My train of thought derailed once. There were no survivors.

Originally Posted by Dog Rescuer

I feel bad that I did not post exactly what was being sought after...

I have never been pulled over for being overly sensitive about what gets posted on my forum / thread.

[emoji106][emoji111]🤙

[Elliot Naess]

65,000 miles in Millicent since 2007; pulled over once – plus a somewhat unique event.

Background:
Most trips, I pull a flatbed/stakebed trailer with all sorts of Stuff.
Going to and from Burning Man… the Stuff would fill a three-page list.
Going to Kinetic Sculpture Races, the Stuff is primarily one or more large pedal-powered vehicles.
Either way, everything is tied down with ratchet straps.

Case 1:
Once, we were heading north on I-5 to a Kinetic Sculpture Race in Oregon or Washington, when the California Highway Patrol pulled me over.
The officer did not come walking forward, so I walked back to him.

His concern was that one of the tie-down straps at the rear of the trailer had come loose and a steel hook was touching the pavement. In itself, that was harmless enough, since the strap was otherwise well secured to the trailer and there were Two Gazillion other straps to keep the load secure.

But steel on pavement throws sparks, and sparks start fires.

We both looked everything over, I told him a bit about Kinetic Sculpture Racing, and he wished me a safe trip and a fun weekend.
Not a word about the bus or about documents.




Case 2:
The other case… was one year when I was coming home from Burning Man.
Obviously, on any trip, I stop frequently to check for loose straps and anything else that might be amiss.

I was approaching Sacramento when I felt it was time for such a stop. And as luck would have it, the Antelope Scale (Weigh Station -- Highway Patrol Truck Inspection Station) was closed – according to the sign – so I pulled in to use that safe place, away from the traffic lanes, to stop.

Well, the Scale was closed at the moment, but not deserted – there were two or three California Highway Patrol officers present, and they “opened the place for me”.

Obviously, I started by greeting the officer and telling him why I had pulled in there in the first place.
Then we talked and pointed and told stories and generally had a fine visit about Burning Man and the bus and whatnot related thereto.
I was there something like an hour or maybe even two.

The one thing we did nothing of… was the sort of inspection of paperwork and vehicle-condition that the Scale exists for.

[family wagon]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

His concern was that one of the tie-down straps at the rear of the trailer had come loose and a steel hook was touching the pavement. In itself, that was harmless enough, since the strap was otherwise well secured to the trailer and there were Two Gazillion other straps to keep the load secure.

But steel on pavement throws sparks, and sparks start fires.

The one time I've been stopped in the bus was in a rural area in western Idaho late in the summer and just after dusk. It was more-or-less the same as yours, but involved the "on the spot" tire chains for the rear wheels. One of those had rotated to a point where a chain loop was just able to bounce and skip on the pavement surface, dispatching a spark every few seconds. I'd heard the noise, but not being educated about the hazard, thought nothing of it.


The officer stated why he'd stopped me, I asked whether it would be acceptable for me to crawl under and put a nylon zip tie on it, and when that was done he sent us on our way.

[Elliot Naess]

There are many areas of the country where wild-fires are not a serious concern, but here in California we are losing whole towns, and lives by the dozens.

Clearly, the severe five-year drought we had... had a nasty effect besides dead lawns.

Late last year we lost the town of Paradise and several smaller communities, with 70+ lives. Worst wild-fire in California history.

In the last four years -- 2015-2018 -- more than half the county where I live has burned, with thousands of homes, including those of several friends of mine.

Some years further back, a string of small fires broke out along a road, and became quite a large disaster. Turned out... someone had towed a small car along that road, and a tire had gone flat, and the rim had thrown sparks for many miles.

A decade or two ago, driving down I-5, I came upon a string of fires in the center median -- roughly a fire every quarter mile or so. After some miles, I caught up with the culprit -- a large mower pulled by a tractor, cutting the dry grass in the median.

Once in a while I see a Fire Department car pulling a motorist over -- for throwing a cigarette out the window, it seems safe to say.

So... yeah. Thanks for being careful with sparks!