Do red or cars with racing stripes make better rabbits?

[IXLR8]

I know at least once on my trip, a guy and I took turns being the rabbit through two states, kinda sharing the workload. I'd be cruising along, and suddenly he'd catch up and pass me, waving as he passed, then take the lead. Half an hour later, I'd do the same. Teamwork! It was pretty cool!

I would be too scared to be your rabbit, with that big stalker strapped to the dash!

[TSi+WRX]

It is interesting to note the various reasons that people choose to buy an RD, or to become an RD/countermeasure enthusiast. There is the Mustang crowd who is indeed out to speed for the fun of it, whether they are in a hurry or not. The BMW crowd who isn't enjoying the speeding so much as the driving experience, and gets carried away. There's the family sedan guy who simply got one too many tickets for one reason or another -- running late for work, etc... -- and just got fed up and decided to fight back. There's the truckers and long distance drivers (salesmen, retired and frequent vacationers, etc...) who just want to hedge their bets since they spend so much time on the road. And there are people like me who actually very rarely speed, but are just fascinated by the technology and the thrill of the cat-and-mouse game with LE. Even with a V1, I still pretty much stayed under 10 over PSL most of the way to Floridia and back.

^ Although I typically fit in the last bracket (my local area commutes and errands, and although I typically hover in the < 10+ or, at most, < 15+ cut-off, I pretty much never speed on my local surface streets), I also confess to, very occasionally - and particularly on longer road-trips - going into the "hyperspeeder" territory.

But that's where I see things a bit differently.

I'm of the firm belief that as with anything automotive, it's a "pay to play" game.

Yes, we've already paid once (or more) to procure such countermeasures so that we may speed - if that's our true intent - but I also believe that it is unavoidable that, if you are such a speeder, that you *will*, at some point, fail the odds, and will incur enforcement action (whether it be just a verbal warning or a citation, I would still count that in the "loss" column).

I know at least once on my trip, a guy and I took turns being the rabbit through two states, kinda sharing the workload. I'd be cruising along, and suddenly he'd catch up and pass me, waving as he passed, then take the lead. Half an hour later, I'd do the same. Teamwork! It was pretty cool!

In a true "wolf pack," as I would consider it, I think that is accepted practice, if, truly, all drivers involved are speeding with such intent (i.e. to either have fun, or, alternatively, to simply make good time, as safely as possible).

[Doc What, son?]

Sure takes stress out of driving to have a good RD, and a CruiseControl-using Rabit going the pace you want.

[o2bad455]

I've used tailgaters as rear decoys on occasion. They don't normally volunteer, but simply follow too closely. I don't mind being the rabbit, but when someone's too close and I trip into a trap, I've avoided the ticket at least 3 times by simply lifting and letting the LEO note the tailgater at a slightly higher speed. In this situation, the trick is to avoid tipping off the tailgater too soon (e.g., just lift and don't hit the brakes).

[Whistler1]

I recently completed a trip through several western states, using a rabbit saved my bacon several times.

Whistler1

[swarga]

Well, any rabbit is a good rabbit, but I would have to say yes, a rabbit driving a "ticket magnet" vehicle is an even better one.

The last time I was pulled over for speeding, I had just been passed by one of those jacked-up monster pickup trucks - the ones with the big knobby tires and a center of gravity halfway to the moon - doing at least 90 MPH. If ever there was a vehicle that was unsafe to speed in, that would be it; one emergency lane change or even a sharp curve and this thing is tipping over. Of course, the CHP officer ignores all of this and pulls over the bright yellow Corvette.

I've owned this car a little over 3 years. Before buying it, my last speeding ticket was in ~1993. Since I bought this car I've had two more speeding tickets. I'm still the same, I still drive the same - the only thing that's changed is the type and color of car that I drive. The inescapable conclusion is that the color and type of vehicle does have an impact on whether you get selected for a traffic stop.

I love my Corvette, but my next car is going to be dark grey in color and it's going to totally blend in with the crowd rather than stand out from it. Something like a BMW M3 or a Lexus IS-F - still fast, but conservatively styled so as not to leap out of the crowd and scream "Hello, Officer!!"

I'll let those guys with the flashy cars will be my rabbits.

[Stealth Stalker]

The thing with rabbits is that so many people don't know how to use them wisely. I see so many people latch on to a rabbit and stay right behind him, and that's about as bad as having no rabbit at all. You have to keep your distance and stay back, giving him a good quarter mile lead. That way, when the cop sees him, he's already focused on him before you even come into sight. He's already hit the lock button and committed to the rabbit. But if you are too close, then he sees two speeding cars, and the easiest thing for him to do is to catch the straggler. Jungle rules. It's suicide. Then you are left being the guy that all cops hate, which is the pussy standing there crying, "Why didn't you get the other guy?"

BTW, different cops have hard ons for different cars. The flashy sports car thing is pretty universal, but there are exceptions. More experienced cops may choose to hassle BMWs over Vettes. I did. These days, Vettes are usually older, more experienced drivers (unlike in the early days). BMWs are ninety percent young yuppies, which all cops hate. It's about the driver, not the car.

[TSi+WRX]

BTW, different cops have hard ons for different cars. The flashy sports car thing is pretty universal, but there are exceptions. More experienced cops may choose to hassle BMWs over Vettes. I did. These days, Vettes are usually older, more experienced drivers (unlike in the early days). BMWs are ninety percent young yuppies, which all cops hate. It's about the driver, not the car.

^ But the car sometimes indicates, as you said yourself, the driver.

Enforcers are human beings. They carry prejudices, recognized or not, just as any of us do.

And yep, different people "hate" different things.

[Stealth Stalker]

^ But the car sometimes indicates, as you said yourself, the driver.

Exactly. So they end up making generalisations about who drives what. High-end cars are the first to get stereotyped, but that's not always bad.

I gotta say that a Subaru of any kind is probably a safe choice. It may be the fastest thing on the road, but I'd say most cops don't know one Subaru from the next. I don't. The Outbacker is the only one I could recognise. All the others are just those random, anonymous little cars on the road that all look alike. And so long as you don't dork it out with spoilers, neon, HIDs, and fart pipes, they are very non-attention getting.

[The Invisible Vervet]

I gotta say that a Subaru of any kind is probably a safe choice. It may be the fastest thing on the road, but I'd say most cops don't know one Subaru from the next. I don't. The Outbacker is the only one I could recognise. All the others are just those random, anonymous little cars on the road that all look alike. And so long as you don't dork it out with spoilers, neon, HIDs, and fart pipes, they are very non-attention getting.

Doubly so if it's a wagon, I might add...