Paranoia is just in your imagination
I've collected a couple of Sp30s over the past 35 years ('87, '96) and on each occasion a 'victim' of over-zealous cops - yes, I would say that.
But down in the Scottish Borders are some of the UK's best and quietest roads which make motoring still a pleasure. The last thing you want are two shady characters eating Yorkies whilst sitting in a white Vauxhall Senator tucked up a farm track! Failed the observancy test there, then.
Where were they in 1985 when, on the M8 (and purely for research purposes) I confirmed the owner's manual data that the turbo wastegate and the rev limiter on a SAAB 900S Turbo-16 both cut in at exactly 5800 rpm in 5th?
If I may go off on a tangent - although the topic is still stealth taxes, the following appeared in 'The Scotsman' (a bit of social comment here???)
Driving German is the ticket to a fine.
Luxury German cars are twice as likely to end up with a parking ticket on the windscreen as cheaper vehicles, according to figures from Scotland’s biggest cities. In Glasgow and Edinburgh, makes such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen are given parking fines out of proportion to their numbers on the road.
While some will jump to the conclusion that drivers of swanky and expensive German motors are more likely to risk parking illegally, others might suggest the prestigious marques are being targeted by jealous traffic wardens.
Edinburgh and Glasgow councils provided a detailed breakdown of the percentage of all parking fines handed out to drivers of every make of car. These numbers were compared with DVLA statistics to create a league table of the most ‘over-ticketed’ cars.
Top spot goes to Mercedes, whose cars make up fewer than 2.8% of all vehicles on the road but get 5.7% of the city’s tickets. Second is Audi owners, who have 2% of all cars but 3.2% of tickets, third is Volkswagen at 6.6% of all cars and 9.5% of tickets, and fourth is BMW at 3.4% of all cars and 4.7% of Edinburgh’s tickets.
The figures also reveal the apparently most law-abiding - or perhaps overlooked - motorists in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Fords, according to the DVLA, account for 17.3% of all cars on the roads but in Edinburgh they get 14% of tickets and in Glasgow 13%. Rover owners make up 5.5% of all cars but get under 3% of tickets in the two cities.
While disgruntled luxury car drivers may mutter that they are the victims of a class war waged by wardens who love to target motors they cannot afford to buy, a leading Scottish psychologist believes such drivers are more inclined to take risks and will regard a parking ticket as little more than an occupational hazard.
"An owner of an expensive car is more likely to take the risk because they will be more able to afford the parking fine.
Former Conservative MSP Nick Johnson, who is both a driver and a seller of Mercedes cars, admitted: "I think there is a certain arrogance attached to owning an upmarket car.
A spokesman for Mercedes-Benz, who added that he drives one and has never received a parking ticket, said: "We encourage our drivers to stick to the law, which is why some of our cars include speed limiters. Of course our cars have a kerbside appeal, which is why they will attract more attention."
...I've never had a parking ticket...