Electric vehicle motorist responds to viral video showing trooper citing him
By Tony Peterson
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Minnesota (WCCO) — Electric cars are known for being quiet, almost silent.
For those who miss the roar of a muscle car, speakers can be used for effect. The sound from the speakers allegedly got Mike, an electric vehicle motorist, in trouble.
Mike and his car club friends were in downtown Stillwater earlier this year, on their way back home to the cities.
“We were thinking about stopping to get a bite to eat at one of the various pizza places in town,” Mike said.
A group of six cars stopped at the traffic light right across from a gas station. The light turned green.
“Here I am, at the back of the line. I make my way to the front. The light turns red. I stop,” Mike said.
A Minnesota State Patrol trooper, driving in the opposite direction, was also stopped at the light.
“The State Trooper looks at me. I look at him. As he drives by, we make eye contact. He continues, flips, pulls me over,” Mike said.
The car he was driving was a 2025 Dodge Daytona, an electric vehicle. It has a fratzonic chambered sound mechanism.
“You can rev it, but you have to be in park to rev it,” Mike said.
The car is equipped with three modes. The sport mode gives motorists the visceral feeling of an eight-cylinder Muscle car.
“Speakers on the outside and speakers on the rear,” Mike said.
Mike tried to explain the speakers to the trooper, but he wouldn’t listen and issued the citations.
“I didn’t want to argue with him, so I said, ‘I’ll see you in court,'” he said.
Mike has been waiting for a court date since June. The ticket still isn’t in the Washington County court system. In the meantime, a video of the interaction that was posted online has gone viral.
“We didn’t really expect it to blow up overnight. I was heading out to Chicago the very next day … and, like, my phone is blowing up,” he said. “I would hope the trooper realized his mistake and didn’t submit or write up the ticket.”
WCCO has reached out to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Mike says he’s been cited for loud mufflers when he was driving cars with gas engines.
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