Apparently, driving as efficiently as possible doesn't score plus points with the cops :-)

On my commute back home, I have a 4.5mi stretch of road which is a slight downhill almost the whole way and is just absolutely perfect for the NAH. I can make it from top to bottom without a drop of gasoline and almost no change in battery level going 40 mph the whole stretch. Only problem - street is 3 lanes and has a 50 mph speed limit.

Generally when there is traffic around me I drive with the speed limit, but otherwise go 40mph. This one night I was coming home from work pretty late (1am) and figured, what the heck, no cars on the road, lets work on FE ;-) Well half way down the hill I pass a stopped police car, then see it start up, close up behind me and ta ta... lights start flashing and off I stop to the right. The cop came over and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi (<-- thats the first time I have ever been pulled over, wasn't sure what to say)
Cop: Would you like to tell me why you are going so slow?
Me: Well since this is a hybrid vehicle, whenever I go under 42 mph the car travels using only the electric motor and thus it is very fuel efficient.
Cop: How much have you been drinking today?
(I got pretty annoyed at that point)
Me: I never drink.
Cop: You never drink while driving, or you never drink before driving?
Me: I dont drink, period.
Cop: Count backwards from 10.
Me: 10, 9, 8, ... 1, 0.
Cop: 0?
Me: Yes 0. Its a number. It represents how much gas I have consumed since the top of that hill. It also represents how much I drink. Is there a law against driving slowly to conserve fuel?
Cop: I will ask all the questions.
Me: You have already asked all the questions. I would like to have your name and whatever identification number you use. After that, feel free to give me a breathlizer test and unless you plan on citing me for something, I would like to be on my way.
Cop: Have a nice day in that case.

At which point he just turned around, walked back to his car and took off like he was on a race track... prb burned more gasoline in those 3 seconds than I do in a week...

As far as I am aware the verbage for driving too slow is something along that lines that you are going under the speed limit and are holding up more than 3 cars on a single lane, and there are no problems with the vehicle that would warrant driving slowly. So given that there were no other cars on the road that night I was pretty sure that I am well within my rights to drive slow, although now that I think about it while speaking with the cop I prb should have kept my mouth a little less open :-) But that darn comment about drinking just really got to me given that I am totally against alcohol...

Anyways, moral of the story, drive slow to up FE, but not so slow that you are attracting cops! :-)

No offense, but driving slowly late at night is a trademark of intoxicated drivers. Be happy you have LE that are on the lookout.

I love that story! And all your answers/questions. But I am also grateful that the officer was on the lookout for a potential drunk driver. All winners in this story IMO.

It gets late early out there. - Yogi

Kinda like a line from Madagascar move..."just smile and wave..."

when i read the title, i was going to yell at you for being a danger on the road, but after reading it, i agree you were well within your right to drive slightly under the speed limit.

but yes, you should keep your mouth a little more shut if you get pulled over again, just be respectful, he's doing his job

I agree that the cop is doing his job, though I would think that since he can't smell any alcohol he should have dropped the issue a lot sooner. I was totally alert while speaking to him so it should have been very clear that I haven't been drinking. Also, I tend to be quite sensitive on the drinking thing as my grandfather was a total alcoholic and I have grown to be the exact opposite - I don't go anywhere near alcohol. So for someone to ask me if I have been drinking, multiple times... well lets just say it gets on my nerves real fast.

In my opinion the cop was more pushy than he should have been.

I will try the 'smile and wave' thing next time :-))

Good story...but put yourself in his shoes. If you are smart you treat everybody like a drunk until proven otherwise. Makes us all safer. If you want to be annoyed with the attitude he gave you, be annoyed with the idiots that drink and drive, we all lose. I'm sure you were a rare exception in all the stops he/she has made.

and all cops are like that....they only pull you over b/c they are pissed off at you for doing something. they'd get walked all over if they aren't aggressive. each time they pull someone over, they never know if it's some punk in there that has a handgun and doesn't want a ticket

can't blame you for getting frustrated though, he hit a nerve and that's definitely understandable. i only offer the be courteous advice for any potential future run-ins, because you'll never achieve anything from disrespectful

But... I have to say hindsight is everything. So you handled it very well. I've been fustrated at times and instead of holding back I let something out that should have been deleted. ;-)

:-)