| One
day while getting into my state patrol car at the Bay Side Seafood Restaurant,
a racy looking, young hot rodder approached me and asked, “Officer, how fast will
that Fury run?” Of course he was inquiring about the top miles-per-hour.
Well,
to that very familiar question, I had to reply, “I don’t know.” But, to say the
least, the question always started interesting conversation. And maybe, if he
was lucky, a peek under the hood. That is, if I was in the mood and had the time.
You
see, I really didn’t know. Because those ‘62, ‘63, ‘64, etc., model Plymouth Furys
had the biggest engine available from Chrysler at the time. Some said pistons
big as syrup buckets. With the four barrel carburetor kicked over in the double
duces, it sucked wind like a Boeing wide bodied 767, and about as much fuel.
Back
then, Chrysler installed stock vehicles with a speed-o-meter that only registered
up to 120 MPH. After the needle passed that mark and started pointing down at
your feet, you really didn’t know how fast you were going. And that is why my
answer was always, “I don’t know.” Honestly, I didn’t know and that kept’em guessing.
I had a patrol partner in Harris County onetime, when asked that question, his
answer was, “From daylight to dark in thirty minutes.” And that kept’em wondering
too. Hummm! Daylight to dark in thirty minutes. Now that’s fast!
What
I can tell you with a great amount of certainty, the vehicles purchased by the
State of Texas, then and now, are very adequate to do the job at hand. As officers
get older, experienced and seasoned in wisdom a bit, many of them had rather use
the radio more and high speed less. Plus, it is much safer for all concerned.
If a high spirited, challenging young driver ever thought about leading
a high speed pursuit, most often they wisely reconsidered when thinking about
radio communications and the spiked strips. I have had them pull over and give
up soon after a chase had begun. A real sensible thing to do.
Radio signal
airwaves are so fast, seldom does a driver ever win.
© Nolan Maxie
"Nolan Maxie"
June 1, 2010 Column
piddlinacres@consolidated.net |
