I'm a red victorian P Plater, driving a 99% stock Commodore VT. The only modifications are a painted engine cover and a new head unit.
I've been pulled over twice, both times for random breath tests, never a roadworthy check. Is my car roadworthy? Hell no, it's nearly 12 years old and I don't have the money or time to put new tyres, new bearings, new brakes, new transmission, new engine mounts, new heater core, new windshield or strip the tint. Is the car SAFE? Yes. The brakes work fine, the tyres have tread on them, the bearings don't get hot, the engine mounts are of no concern, the transmission is fine, the heater core leaks a little but I check the water regularly... The windshield crack is located right below my P plate.
My point is, I drive safely, I maintain my car to the best of my ability and I've avoided any trouble with the police so far. If a police officer was having a bad day and picked on me for whatever reason, He would find a million things wrong with my car. If a police officer wanted to, they could find something wrong with any car, I have no doubt. Because they arn't mechanics, they don't need to be. They write a canary and you need to spend your time proving to them the issue is resolved. The trick is to either A) Drive a brand new car, service it weekly or B) Don't be a tool or C) Don't get caught being a tool.
I've got mates who have had real troubles with this, and being 18 and a P player, of coarse, you're going to hear all the cop hating horror stories. But a particularly credible one is from my cousin, who is a mechanic for a BMW workshop down here on the Peninsula. He's got extensive experience working on a wide range of cars and a home workshop that makes 90% of amateurs drool. He has a modified skyline that he has been working on for years. It's his pride and joy, and it is 100% RW. But, as it's been said in this thread and across this forum before, you drive a modified car, you get noticed. He got noticed, and had a full roadside check done. He got defects for things like bald tyres which had been replaced that day with brand new ones. A slow day for the local police so they just find something to do.
Now I'm not saying all police are bad, my grandfather who passed recently and I respected deeply, was Chief Superintendent. In laymans terms, he ran the Armed Robbery Division for some time. Both of my uncles (Coincidentally, one of them being the father of said cousin) were police officers, detectives no less, in their respective sections. But there are bad apples in every bunch, and here on a car orientated forum, we're going to hear the stories of the bad apples. I mean, who here can honestly say you're going to start a thread saying "I was pulled up today for a breath test, the officer was really nice and polite and it was a pleasure to be tested". None, I'll bet.
My point is take these threads as they are. Those that say "Another whiney P Plater" are just as bad as those that say "I drive a fully sick VL turbo on my P's why do da copz hate me yo". These are all examples of someones personal experiences with a particular thing. In my experience, the police have been helpful, if a little standoffish. In my mothers experience, they've been lovely and the best of the best. In my fathers experience, they've been the scourge. All different officers, all different (mostly) situations and all different places.
tldr: Some cops are ****, some cops are good, some cars are ****, some cars are good, I'm just sad that policing and life in general seems to have lost the "common sense" and case-by-case outlook it use to have.
