I have owned many make of cars over the years and I can say that there are certain cars that are "targets" for police. Weather they think the drivers are younger in their hot hatch, who knows. OK here is the question for seasoned owners and to answer you will have to have owned a few other makes before the MINI to be able to judge this. Do you feel the MINI is a target and gets pulled over even if it's slightly over speed limit? You know what I am talking about. The soccer Mom's van whizzes by at 80 mph and MINI takes the heat.....

 

Tire noise around corners has been a big thing in alerting the cops to my presence. Although you're in control, if it makes noise, you "arn't in control."

 

Never been stopped in the MINI (other cars,... ahem...yes, but not the MINI.) I've never even SEEN a MINI pulled over.

I HAVE heard that red cars get tagged more often, but because of the color...it's been said the color gets picked up by the radars easier. CROCs, any input?

 

39,000 spirited miles.... not stopped yet..... paying attention, knowing the roads and speedtraps, and V1 FTW....

But, yes, cops love squeeling tires.... attracts them like donuts.

 

No no no no...this is the "new millenium"...it's not "donuts & coffee" anymore...it's "cappuccino & bagels!!!"

 

Here in the home of Krispy Kreme, it's still donuts.

 

 

If I was still working in law enforcement I would be looking for HONDA's especially primered with multicolored panels and coffee can sized exhaust.
I would also search YouTube for videos that show where their favorite hangouts are.
Oh! and let me not forget the Scion group, I'd keep a close eye on this group of 16-24 year olds.

Most MINI's appear to be owned by respectable drivers so I don't personally think they draw as much attention to themselves as the
previously mentioned groups.

 

Nope, not yet. I had one close call, but luckily the Civic behind me was in more of a hurry. Only time I had DPS come up to me in a MINI was when I accidently ran my wife's cabrio out of gas on the freeway (she had something covering the gauge).

 

Tisk, tisk, tisk... Does your wife know that you are blaming her for having something in front of the gas gauge??

 

Oh yeah. I got the dumb a$$ speech . The one that I should have had the display on miles to empty instead of MPH.

 

To be fair, that was taken at the Dragon during MOTD. High concentration of MINIs in that particular environment almost guarantees LEO activity.

(I have got to remember to watermark my shots... though that one was kinda crappy. )

 

I've encountered just the opposite a few weeks ago. I had been cruising down the tollroad in Chicago at a higher than posted limit with a few other vehicles (minivan and other non-descript sedan) matching my pace and switching lanes to get past the light (yet slower) traffic. Being somewhat observant of my surroundings, I noticed a State Trooper about 1/4 mile back in my mirror moving up quickly. I downshifted, got in the center lane, and engine braked back to the speed limit. Meanwhile the other vehicles that had been following me continued on at their higher rate, oblivious as to why I would suddenly slow down. The trooper pulled up alongside and paced me. She was glaring at me and motioned "5-5". I nodded and put my hand up in acknowlegement. The trooper then floored her cruiser, and went after the minivan. 30 seconds later, trooper-gal was quick to put on her blue & reds and pulled over the clueless soccer mom in the minivan, while the little sports car got a free pass. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, though...

 

Liz has gotten pulled once in her 06 CR R50.

Thankfully nothing of the same has occurred to me and Siva (Escort Passport 9500ix FTW!). I keep my speed in check ever since I got ticketed in 2002 (non-MINI), and the 9500ix reminds me of my speed every time it goes off, so luckily I can keep my foot from going too far.

 

Lot's of cops like MINIs. Some even own them.

 

The only time I've ever had more than a second look was for a well known speed trap just a couple days after delivery- WA is a front plate required state and it's too easy to notice a missing plate on a black car.

He rushed out of his spot onto the freeway, but as soon as he dropped behind me and noticed I had the temporary plate he sped past at about 15mph over and nabbed somebody else from the carpool lane

 

At a Boy Scout camporee sponsored by the NJ State Police last autumn, I had a chance to talk on the side with a State Trooper. No one else was within earshot.

I mentioned that when my wife drove an hour away and took I-78 she routinely did 80 in the 65 zone along with the rest of the traffic. No one got pulled over. However, whenever she saw a car weaving in and out of the lanes, that car got pulled over within several miles and ticketed. He said that when the traffic was keeping pace with itself at 80, the Troopers looked for the weavers, careless drivers, and those who blizted at 90. I complimented the Trooper on this tactic, saying it ensured safe driving for the rest of us. Twas a good goosing because then we chatted about speed traps.

In a speed trap, if just a few cars are exceeding the speed limit by a lot, and he could pull over only one, he'll go for the more distinctive car. Easier to track. And if he's a stationary speed trap, he'll radio ahead and peg the most distinctive car or two (depending on how many Troopers are stationed ahead on the side of the highway) who then motion those cars over to the shoulder to get ticketed.

Red does stand out, in any group of cars, along with yellow. But so does blue within a tan bunch, white within some dark cars, a black car in a light color group, etc. They opt for the easier, more distinctive, one to peg. And of course, the shape of the car, like SUV or minivan, makes it easy to tab. He did mention that smaller cars like MINIs and VW Beetles can get hidden by the big gas guzzlers on the Garden State Parkway which probits trucks, as well as by the big rigs on the Turnpike.

CROC 411

 

I've had 2 red MINIs and my current one has a checkered roof. I've never been pulled over by a cop I do get some nice comments from them occasionally though.

 

I trust that they found you quickly after you rolled your Mini?

 

what's a "5-5"?

 

5-5 means 55 mph speed limit on that hiway

CROC 411

 

I gather she is trying to convey the speed limit is 55 MPH.

GotMINI

 

Lucky... Yes to an extent but I feel that what saved your bacon that day was your situational awareness.

My number one rule of thumb is to always be aware of your surroundings while motoring. The fact that you checked your six (checked behind you) was what saved you my friend... Luck played a very small part in this particular scenario.

Motor On and always keep a wary eye out, especially to the rear.

 

ive been pulled over 3 times in the MINI.

ive noticed some of my other friends with all blacked out cars get stopped more than normal as well.

some cops around here think the "murdered out" look looks like a drug dealers car...

 

I may be way off on this theory but - I believe that the stance of the R50's actually act like a B-1 regarding radar and bounce it to the vehicle behind Just my humble inocent niave opinion...