BILLINGS A giant banana car traveling along Interstate 90 near Billings drew the attention of Montana Highway Patrol this week, but the traffic stop that followed offered a glimpse into the unconventional life of the man behind the iconic fruit-shaped vehicle.Learn more about the man behind the banana-shaped vehicle here: 'The world needs more whimsy:' Giant banana car draws attention, and a traffic stop, near BillingsFor Steve Braithwaite, it wasn't a surprise when a trooper turned around and pulled him over on Tuesday while traveling through Billings. After more than a decade driving The Big Banana Car, a giant banana-shaped vehicle, he's grown accustomed to attracting attention."I would say the first eight or nine years, I was probably the most pulled-over man in America," Braithwaite said.This time, however, the stop wasn't just curiosity. Braithwaite was headed west toward Seattle when a trooper noticed two boxes were partially blocking his license plate, which reads "Split.""I see the officer go any other way, and he looped around, and he actually had a legitimate reason for pulling me over," Braithwaite said. "It was a fair complaint, but we had a good chat.No ticket was issued, but the stop gained attention after Montana Highway Patrol shared photos on social media, drawing thousands of reactions and plenty of banana-related jokes from commenters.For Braithwaite, those reactions are part of the experience."Driving around in a banana and having all these people, all these smiles and waves, affects me. It actually does something fantastic, he said.The idea for the vehicle came more than 15 years ago while Braithwaite stood in line at a gas station. He noticed a banana near the register and began studying its shape, imagining how it would roll down a road. "I pictured it down the road, driving down the road, and started laughing," Braithwaite recalled. "I thought, if it makes me laugh now, I'm going to build it.Braithwaite began building the vehicle in 2008, spending weekends working on it before finishing the 23-foot vehicle in 2011. Underneath the fiberglass fruit is the bones of a 1993 Ford F-150 pickup truck.According to Braithwaite, other novelty vehicles have borrowed banana themes, but he believes his remains a uniquely big "peel.""There are similar cars where they've sort of made them look banana-ish," he said. "But this kind of is the only one." The Oxford, England, native has lived in Michigan for roughly 40 years and has spent over 15 years traveling across the country to share his bright yellow joy and fun curb-a-peel.But recently, Braithwaite made a major life change. After selling most of his possessions and putting the rest into storage, he hit the road full-time just last week."I recently sold most of everything I own and put the rest in storage, and I'm now on the road as a full-time banana car nomad, he said.Just a week after downsizing his life, he pointed the banana west and headed toward Seattle, traveling through North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Idaho along the way.Seattle was hosting a parade of art cars during its Solstice festivities."Mine just gets lost in all the craziness," Braithwaite said. "There's lots of crazy vehicles." After the Montana traffic stop, Braithwaite continued his visit with a stay at the Heart and Soul Alpaca Ranch in Whitehall. Couchsurfing is how he gets around the country, and he has a unique way of thanking his hosts."My thank you for people hosting me is to give them and their family banana car rides, and they're mostly strangers," said Braithwaite.Owner Kristie Swink told MTN that the visit quickly became one her family won't forget."Steve was so wonderful. He was super funny and very friendly," Swink wrote. "He took us for a ride in the banana car, which was so fun ... The next morning, he gave us the books and wrote a personal note to each of my boys in their books! Over the years, Braithwaite has heard nearly every banana pun imaginable, but one traffic stop in West Virginia remains his favorite and least expected.A police officer pulled him over after a stoplight and approached the car with a serious expression."The reason I pulled you over," the officer said, "was because back there, you peeled out.""He walked up to me real serious and said, 'The reason I pulled you over that light back there, you peeled out,' and he said it so straight-faced," said Braithwaite. The joke worked so well that Braithwaite nearly missed it."I was about to argue," he said. "I'm like, 'No, I didn't.' Then I realized, 'Oh my God, peeled out.'"Montana is only one stop on a much bigger journey. Braithwaite calls his next adventure the "World Needs More Whimsy Grand Tour."His goal is to continue south through Mexico and Central America before shipping the banana car around the Darin Gap and driving through South America. Eventually, he hopes to cross the Atlantic and continue exploring overseas.To help fund the journey, he sells coffee mugs, T-shirts, and children's books featuring the banana car. The vehicle has already taken him across much of the United States, including a whirlwind trip through Montana while he rushed to Los Angeles for a television appearance with rapper T-Pain.Through it all, Braithwaite said the banana car has taught him something about the people he meets along the way."There's going to be issues, but the nice thing about the banana car is people come to my aid," he said. "I don't think we realize anymore how wonderful people really are."Whether he's picking up new friends or getting pulled over by troopers, Braithwaite plans to keep spreading a little joy wherever the road takes him. The world is seriously low on whimsy right now, and driving around in a banana, it just brings it out of people, and it's lovely, Braithwaite said. I think I meet people at their best, and so I couldn't ask for a better life. It's so much fun.For more information on The Big Banana Car, click here. ...read more read less