On 9/10/04 11:55 AM, "Nick Feickert" <thesuperflydisco@YAHOO.COM> wrote:

> How sterotypical. A bunch of dirty hippies with the munchies!! .It was cool to
> see a
> Westy though it was intentionally dirty!! I think we should start a new forum
> in which
> we keep track of all vanagon owners who get pulled over for some bogus reason
> just so Johnny Law can stick his nose in your van.  We do have rights!! I wish
> everybody knew that when a cop asks to search your van that you can say NO. I
> don't care if there is nothing to find.....don't give them the satisfation!
>
I have an apartment on W96 street in Manhattan - major exit from the
highway.  There are always checkpoints around there to keep track of us - I
mean to keep us safe.  Since I have to move the van from one street to
another a couple of times a week for street cleaning, I have the distinct
pleasure of being pulled over for "random" checks quite often!  The other
day I asked the cop what number I was.  He was confused.  I told him that if
the checks were truly random, they would have to have a number or some other
arbitrary method for deciding who to pull over.  He then stated that they
were pulling over trucks and vans.  I politely (OK, almost politely) pointed
out that this violated my rights as I have just as much right to cruise
through the checkpoint and get that parking spot over there as the driver of
a sedan.  I also noted that vans marked as handicapped transport were not
being pulled over.  I mentioned to him that it would be much more likely
that a terrorist would use a van with official markings like that to cruise
through checkpoints.  Then I told him that no terrorist in his right mind
would carry out a critical mission in a vehicle that has a 1 in 3 chance of
starting and a 1 in 5 chance of making it all the way to its destination!
Cory Sammons
84 Westy
99 New Beetle
Gardiner, NY
PS - when asked what I have in the van my standard reply is "My stuff" :-)