I don't think it's so much P plater's per se that the cops go for, just young dudes. I only bothered to get my license a couple of years ago when I was 29. I'm still on my green P's, but I think because I look a bit older and have a beard and glasses, the cops realise they wont have much success intimidating me: they are always either friendly or disinterested. But if ever I had any dealings with police when I was a teenager (and I never actually did anything wrong), they were always ****holes - no exception. Though a few weeks back, I apparently accidentally went through a stop sign at a roadworks site in WA (didn't see it). The worker at the other end was just as aggressive as you described the policeman you ran into. It seemed like he just wanted to have a big argument. It was an honest mistake, there was no oncoming traffic and there was nothing I could do to make amends, so I just dismissively said "yeah alright" and drove off. That's been my only negative experience (except for a road rage incident with a psycho motorcyclist!).
