#143268 - 14/02/2003 10:25
Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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Oops.
On my way home after work at about 3am, apparently I blew right by this cop at about 100mph. Didn't see him at all. The Valentine 1 doesn't help if the cop is pacing you. In fact I wasn't even paying attention, just totally zoning out and listening to my music really loud. He gave me a sobriety test and the whole bit. Sent me on my way with the "cheaper" of the two tickets that he could have given me.
What a guy. Thanks.
Hopefully some nice people that I know can "fix" this for me...
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//matt
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#143269 - 14/02/2003 10:32
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: ithoughti]
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addict
Registered: 02/04/2002
Posts: 691
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sucks, how i hate speeding tickets, fastest a cop got me was 92 in a 55, wrote the ticket for 86. And there is nothing like a good lawyer who can get them dropped to a non-moving zero point violation! 
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Oliver
mk1 30gb: 129 | mk2a 30gb: 040104126
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#143270 - 14/02/2003 10:33
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: ithoughti]
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enthusiast
Registered: 10/09/2002
Posts: 285
Loc: DFW Area, Texas, US
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well it could have been worse
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Mark.
[blue]MKI, MKII & MKIIa, all Blue, and all Mine![/blue]
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#143271 - 14/02/2003 10:53
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: ithoughti]
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Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 08/02/2002
Posts: 3411
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Where?
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Mk2a 60GB Blue. Serial 030102962
sig.mp3: File Format not Valid.
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#143272 - 14/02/2003 10:55
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: genixia]
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old hand
Registered: 17/07/2001
Posts: 721
Loc: Boston, MA USA
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Where?
Massachusetts. 93 North in Stoneham, about 1/4 mile from the Rt. 95 North exit.
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//matt
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#143273 - 14/02/2003 11:53
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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The Valentine 1 doesn't help if the cop is pacing you. Yep. Everything I've read on the topic of speeding tickets drives home the concept that a radar detector is only one tool, and you've got to know and be prepared for the other possible methods they use to clock you. Here in CA, pacing and KA-band radar are the two favorite methods. And unlike some radar tickets, a pacing is ironclad in court.
Even before I got the radar detector, I always would constantly maintain a visual scan for highway patrol, including scanning for unmarked cars, which isn't easy. As I approach groups of cars from behind, I'm making a mental checklist of the vehicle types, based on what I know is/isn't used as unmarked HP vehicles. If I'm unsure about any one of them, I slow down as I approach.
As I get closer to them, I start using various identifying characteristics to rule out the "unsure" vehicles. Sometimes it's very tough, requiring that I approach closely enough to see if there are DMV tags on the license plate corners (government vehicles are exempt from needing the tags).
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#143274 - 14/02/2003 12:03
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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As I get closer to them, I start using various identifying characteristics to rule out the "unsure" vehicles. Sometimes it's very tough, requiring that I approach closely enough to see if there are DMV tags on the license plate corners (government vehicles are exempt from needing the tags).
You've GOT to be kidding me. You're looking for a little sticker on the corner of their license plate just so you can go an extra 20 or 30 miles over the limit? All the while I'm sure you're giving your undivided attention to the actual task of driving the vehicle, I'm sure...
Sometimes, guys, it's just easier to stay closer to the limit. I know this opinion is unpopular around here, and I've had my share of tickets, but when it comes down to having to look for tiny stickers on the license plate, that's where I give up and say the cops have won.
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#143275 - 14/02/2003 12:11
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: tonyc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I only look for the stickers when I get *real* close.
Maintaining a constant scan of the surrounding traffic and shoulders, and making sure I keep my distance from other cars, makes me a better, safer driver than if I were blithely oblivious to my surroundings and concentrating merely on whether I'm under the speed limit. By tracking each and every one of the other cars on the road, and observing their movement and behavior, I'm in a better position to react safely to unexpected situations. High situational awareness makes one safer, not less safe.
Note that I never "blow by" other cars when I'm exceeding the speed limit. I always slow down when I'm among other cars, and only pass them carefully at a slight speed difference. The only time I'm really going fast is on an open stretch of road with no other nearby cars.
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#143276 - 14/02/2003 12:14
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: ithoughti]
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enthusiast
Registered: 18/02/2002
Posts: 335
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when is it considered wreckless driving? I thought it was around 20mph above the limit.
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#143277 - 14/02/2003 12:19
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: eliceo]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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when is it considered wreckless driving? That's ``reckless'' driving. ``Wreckless'' driving would be something else altogether.
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Bitt Faulk
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#143278 - 14/02/2003 12:44
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: wfaulk]
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old hand
Registered: 20/07/1999
Posts: 1102
Loc: UK
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Surely you should actually get some sort of bonus for wreckless driving?
I've been doing it for 20 years now...
pca
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Experience is what you get just after it would have helped...
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#143279 - 14/02/2003 13:26
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
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Over the past several years, I've gotten a number of speeding tickets along the lines of "86 in a 65" where the average speed on the road was probably 80. Them's the breaks.
I've personally had good luck in court. If you hire a local attorney who knows how the system works (in Houston, you want David Sprecher, great article there, by the way), they'll probably charge you the face value of the ticket and will, with high probability, get you out of it. Most recently, for me, I got written up for two things: speeding and having the address on my drivers license out of date. I got off the speeding part and had to pay a fine for the out-of-date address. I can deal with that.
More generally, I've lived here long enough that I know where most of the speeding traps might be on my daily drive. It kills me to slow down on certain big, empty freeways, but I've seen too many cops there, and they've got plenty of places to hide.
On the longer drives out in the middle of nowhere, it's usually not worth it to fight the tickets, since you would have to drag your ass out to the Nowhere County Courthouse. That's what defensive driving is for...
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#143280 - 14/02/2003 13:53
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: ithoughti]
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 13/04/2001
Posts: 1742
Loc: The land of the pale blue peop...
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Over a 100mph there is a growing movement in the uk that would have you jailed for that and you would be certain to get a 1 month ban so be thankful you are in the uk
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P.Allison fixer of big engines
Mk2+Mk2a signed by God / Hacked by the Lord
Aberdeen Scotland
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#143281 - 14/02/2003 14:03
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: tfabris]
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old hand
Registered: 18/08/2000
Posts: 992
Loc: Georgetown, TX USA
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Even before I got the radar detector, I always would constantly maintain a visual scan for highway patrol, including scanning for unmarked cars, which isn't easy. As I approach groups of cars from behind, I'm making a mental checklist of the vehicle types, based on what I know is/isn't used as unmarked HP vehicles
While driving on I-10 near El Paso I saw a TX State Tropper in an unmarked GREEN DODGE INTREPID!!! I saw it only because all the lights in the darkly tinted windows were flashing and they had someone pulled over... The nerve of them to use cars that aren't all white or all black and not a Caprice Classic or a Crown Vic!!!
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Dave Clark
Georgetown, Texas
MK2A 42Gb - AnoFace - Smoke Lens - Dead Tuner - Sirius Radio on AUX
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#143282 - 14/02/2003 14:10
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: davec]
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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One time I saw like a dozen undercover cops pull into this place. I was surprised at the different cars they were in. One was even in an old junker oldsmobile from the 80's. But I doubt those cops are assigned to catch speeders.
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#143283 - 14/02/2003 14:19
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: ]
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veteran
Registered: 19/06/2000
Posts: 1495
Loc: US: CA
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Older cars become "pool" cars, which are used by officers when their assigned car is out of service for maintenance or repair.
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Donato MkII/080000565 MkIIa/010101253 ricin.us
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#143284 - 14/02/2003 14:31
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: ithoughti]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 05/01/2001
Posts: 4903
Loc: Detroit, MI USA
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Blame it on the car!
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Brad B.
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#143285 - 14/02/2003 14:49
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: davec]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I saw a TX State Tropper in an unmarked GREEN DODGE INTREPID!!! I saw it only because all the lights in the darkly tinted windows were flashing and they had someone pulled over... Seeing an unmarked bluegray Dodge Intrepid pull someone over right in front of me was one of the scariest moments I've had, short of actually getting a ticket. I had no idea they were running Intrepids up until that day.
The worst part is, this one didn't even have the flashing lights in the windows. This one had its factory blinkers and corner-trim lights programmed to flash in a pattern. The only light inside the cabin was the red light mounted behind the rear-view mirror. This car was completely stealth.
It was witnessing that incident which made me start checking license plate tags. Because with that car, the license plate tags are the only way I would have been able to detect it until he hit the light switch.
Everyone in CA probably knows about the white Camaros with the LED lightbars by now, because they were publicized. But there aren't very many of those out there. Cars like the Intrepids are what really scare me.
Currently, some of the criteria that I use to rule out cars at a distance are:
- Japanese/German? CA Highway patrol is always US models.
- Sedan? Apart from the occasional Ford Bronco, CA Highway patrol is always a sedan.
- More than one human silhouette in the cabin? CA Highway patrol is always one driver.
All they'd have to do to nail me is pace me in an unmarked Japanese minivan. I'd be toast.
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#143286 - 14/02/2003 14:59
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: DWallach]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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great article there, by the way Bookmarked it, am reading it, thanks!
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#143287 - 14/02/2003 15:09
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12343
Loc: Sterling, VA
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I use about the same method, Tony. I also don't have any trouble devoting enough attention to the road (other Tony).
I usually get tickets from speed traps, as I don't have a radar detector (and they're illegal here and I don't want to get into all that stealth stuff). I've gotten one ticket on an open highway, and that's because I thought the cop had left the road. Little did I know he was pacing me on the other side of the highway behind several other cars. D'OH!
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Matt
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#143288 - 14/02/2003 15:30
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: tfabris]
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old hand
Registered: 28/04/2002
Posts: 770
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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More than one human silhouette in the cabin? CA Highway patrol is always one driver.
not true. i was pulled over by CA HP a few years ago. two officers approached my car. i'm probably guessing that it was a training day kind of scenario.
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#143289 - 14/02/2003 15:36
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: Dignan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I usually get tickets from speed traps, as I don't have a radar detector (and they're illegal here and I don't want to get into all that stealth stuff). Aw, that's too bad. Yeah, the Stealth stuff is a PITA. I don't see how some states can get away with criminalizing a radio wave receiver. Do they also criminalize radio scanners?
I didn't have a radar detector for a long time either, because I'd never been nailed with a radar ticket. Had a pacing ticket once (the experience of which now has me checking every freeway onramp both in my side view mirror and over my right shoulder), but never a radar ticket.
Then, I got hit with radar twice in a row, once for an actual ticket ($300.00) and once only a couple weeks later for just a warning. Next purchase after that was the detector.
Little did I know he was pacing me on the other side of the highway behind several other cars. They have to maintain continuous visual contact with you during the pacing, in order for it to stand up in court...
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#143290 - 14/02/2003 15:37
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: image]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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i was pulled over by CA HP a few years ago. two officers approached my car. i'm probably guessing that it was a training day kind of scenario. Argh, there goes one of my easy "tells". SIGH...
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#143291 - 14/02/2003 15:44
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: ithoughti]
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addict
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 498
Loc: Virginia, USA
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If you are going 100 mph and "totally zoning out and listening to my music really loud", I think you deserve the ticket and more.
I don't have a problem with speed. I do have a problem with irresponsible speed. Consider yourself lucky that you only got a ticket and didn't kill someone.
-Dylan
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#143292 - 14/02/2003 15:53
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: Dylan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31602
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I mostly agree, Dylan. If you're doing over the speed limit, you need a heightened level of attention to the road and the other cars on it. The faster you're going, the higher that level of attention needs to be.
However, on my trip to CES this year, I saw some places in Nevada where it was was perfectly safe to do 100 or more and even be able to zone out a little bit. Perfectly flat straight road, visibility for many miles in every direction, not a car in sight...
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#143293 - 14/02/2003 15:59
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/08/2000
Posts: 3826
Loc: SLC, UT, USA
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He did say it was 3am... probably not much traffic.
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#143296 - 14/02/2003 16:45
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: loren]
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old hand
Registered: 31/12/2001
Posts: 1109
Loc: Petaluma, CA
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ready for my fun HP stories, i got 2 odf them for you. First i recived a ticket for being in the carpool lane, which i wasnt and the cop lied in court, BANF $290, and yesterday i get a thing int he mail becuase i got a ticket for having no front liscence plate BANG $338, both by HP, both for things that really have nothing to do with protecting and serveing the people, and it jsut goes to the already ovlery paid state of CA, ::SIGH:: really not much i can do but just pay out the money.
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Justin Larsen
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#143297 - 14/02/2003 16:47
Re: Got a $325 speeding ticket last night...
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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Seeing an unmarked bluegray Dodge Intrepid pull someone over right in front of me was one of the scariest moments I've had, short of actually getting a ticket. I had no idea they were running Intrepids up until that day.
It was witnessing that incident which made me start checking license plate tags. Because with that car, the license plate tags are the only way I would have been able to detect it until he hit the light switch.
I've seen several stealth CSPD vehicles here lately, all with normal Colorado license plates, complete with the tags. All the old stealth vehicles still had the external spotlight, but all of the ones I have seen recently have no distinct difference, until the lights are on.
Of course there is also the possibility that any of these stealth cars could be fake. Most of the news agencies ran stories about this after the Lacy Miller killing last month.
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