We spend a lot of time in our cars, especially if we have a long commute. Everyone knows how important it is to drive something safe, comfortable, and reliable. The last thing you want to do while driving is worry about risking your life, or whether your car is about to break down or not.
There are all sorts of cars out there, from gas to electric, from economy to sports, and they all get different levels of attention. For example, red and yellow cars are known for getting pulled over more frequently. They might look flashy, but if they increase your chance of getting a ticket, is it worth the trouble?
Cops may be looking out for hot red sports cars to pull over, but there is definitely one type of car that no cop would ever expect to encounter. I'm talking about a banana car. What is a banana car exactly? It is what Steve Braithwaite drives. Read on to find out what happened when a cop pulled over a banana car.
Steve Braithwaite is a 59 year old man from Michigan who like many other Americans, uses his car to get himself around. The only difference between Steve Braithwaite and everyone else is that he drives a bright yellow, banana car. While he was driving down the highway he attracted the type of attention no driver wants to attract: the attention of a police officer.
It was a cold morning on October 27th when the red and blue lights started to flash behind Steve Braithwaite and he started to suspect he'd be getting a ticket. Luckily that wasn't the case at all. The cop was just pulling him over to admire his car. "It was a really cold morning. I had seven layers of clothes on and my main thought was, 'How much colder was this going to make me? '"
The cop pulled Steve over out of curiosity over the vehicle. It definitely isn't something you see every day. The two of them struck up a conversation. Steve said, "I told him some Big Banana stories, and he was a really nice guy." The cop ended up doing a routine inspection on the vehicle, checking all the lights, but when he gave Steve Braithwaite back his driver's license, he included a $20 bill. Lt. Gregory Morenko, the commander of the police officer, said this about him, "Trooper Strouse is an awesome and humble person. I have no doubt he has done things like this his whole career."
Steve Braithwaites car is a redesigned 1993 Ford F-150 that he designed in 2011. For the past two years he's traveled the country in it. He calls it the Big Banana Car.
The car was built because of his love for hot rods. Steve said, "I love American hot rods and I've built hot rods over the years, and I just wanted to do something completely different and ridiculous, and that's why I built the Big Banana Car. I thought I might drive it two to three times a week, but then I thought, 'One day, Steve, you're going to drive it around world,' and it's just taken off."
He makes his money by offering to take people for rides in his unique car. He charges them whatever he wishes and usually stays with friends or at the homes of people he just met that day. "They realize, 'This guy's safe. We can invite him to our house because he's driving a banana. How dangerous can he be? If I was to do anything untoward, all they have to do is call the police and say, 'It's the guy driving the banana,' and police would know exactly where I am."
