Pulled over for???

[Skateguy50]

First of all I want to thank Im Faster (I'm sure that nickname in no way reflects a tendancy to exceed the posted speed limits )for the work that you do for our communities as an officer! I have a lot of respect for anyone that puts their own safety on the line for others, and I say that with 10 years on a fire department. Over the years I have been stopped several times for probable cause and I totally understand that it is a tool that law enforcement has to do their job. Only one time did it bother me and it was the officers attitude, not the reason for the stop, that irritated me. He stopped me for going through a yellow light on an empty street going through a very small town at 11:00 at night with my family asleep in the car. He berated me and wanted me to appreciate that he was ONLY going to give me a warning this time. Don't get me wrong, I know there are times when you need to present yourself as the person with authority for a variety of reasons, but it's not always WHAT you do or say that makes the lasting impression, it is HOW you do or say it. If that officer had just lost the attitude and explained why he stopped me, ran my DL and plates, and told me to have a safe trip I would have long ago forgotten the incident. If I had clearly blown a red light I deserved a ticket too but I didn't and he never claimed I did. I believe it is pretty common for people with authority (I'm not limiting that statement to law enforcement by the way, could be me with my teenage daughter explaining what time to be home!) to forget that they should treat others with respect as they would expect themselvs or their family members to be treated.

When a patrol car is driving down the interstate at 5mph above the posted speed limit with the rest of traffic are they breaking the law themselves? The answer is yes (unless of course they are displaying lights and sirens, your answer may very by state.....). Does that mean they deserve a ticket because they are a danger to themselves and society at large because they are exceeding the speed limit by 5mph? Not in my book. Is driving a MC without eye protection in Mn illegal? Yes, and a probable cause for a stop. Is driving away from a gas station a block or two with your shield still up a safety hazzard? Doubtful.

Out here they drive down the highway going 90+ all the time, if they stay at 65 they are only patrolling the same group of traffic the entire drive. Also saw an unmarked cruiser following a big mobile command center truck do a very close pass on the right to a car that got between him and the truck with no blickers on either lane shift. Think that is 3 violations?

Anyways they dont question how I do my job, so I wont question them. Just try and avoid doing anything to warrant being pulled over and its all good.

 

[Planecrazy]

One other thing I forgot to mention in my last post. NOTHING makes me angrier when I'm driving than a police officer who is blatently ignoring the law and speeding or driving recklessly without any obvious agenda. They are supposed to be setting a good example for the rest of the drivers on the road, yet it is all too common to see an officer speeding excessively, making illegal U-turns, running stop signs or red lights, etc.

Now I understand that sometimes there may be a legitimate reason for some of the activity that seems "pointless" to other drivers, but at least have the courtesy to turn on your "gumballs" and pretend you're off to a official "event," for crying out loud! I have a great deal of respect for LEO (one of my best friends is one) and the job they do, but some of them seem to have forgotten that they are the "face" of the law and need to always be conscious of "how it looks" to others...

Regards,

 

[Skateguy50]

LOL as I am typing this a trooper came to my desk looking for directions to a meeting.

Anyways I dont worry to much about what they do, they are trained specially to drive like that right?

My unlce owns an autobody shop that has contracts with the local police and ambulances, they give him LOTS of business.

 

[Macguyver]

One other thing I forgot to mention in my last post. NOTHING makes me angrier when I'm driving than a police officer who is blatently ignoring the law and speeding or driving recklessly without any obvious agenda. They are supposed to be setting a good example for the rest of the drivers on the road, yet it is all too common to see an officer speeding excessively, making illegal U-turns, running stop signs or red lights, etc.

Now I understand that sometimes there may be a legitimate reason for some of the activity that seems "pointless" to other drivers, but at least have the courtesy to turn on your "gumballs" and pretend you're off to a official "event," for crying out loud! I have a great deal of respect for LEO (one of my best friends is one) and the job they do, but some of them seem to have forgotten that they are the "face" of the law and need to always be conscious of "how it looks" to others...

Regards,

Here here! Well put. It is all too common to see the local O.P.P. (Ontario Provincial Police) whizzing around town like the sky is falling, only to see them pull into Tim Hortons to get a coffee.

 

[alke46]

A lot or respect for LEO's goes out the window when you see or are told 1st hand about the off duty ones that get pulled over for running 20+ mph over the posted limit and when asked for ID, just pull out their badge or police ID and are told to keep it down. Then as soon as they leave, get right back up to the excessive speed that they were doing and just laugh it off.

Granted they are probably the 10 % of all arrogant LEOs who are not bound by the same laws as the rest of us, but it still p*sses me off that they do it.

 

[Planecrazy]

A lot or respect for LEO's goes out the window when you see or are told 1st hand about the off duty ones that get pulled over for running 20+ mph over the posted limit and when asked for ID, just pull out their badge or police ID and are told to keep it down. Then as soon as they leave, get right back up to the excessive speed that they were doing and just laugh it off.

Granted they are probably the 10 % of all arrogant LEOs who are not bound by the same laws as the rest of us, but it still p*sses me off that they do it.

Look, I understand that with this job comes a few "perks" like a "Get out of jail (or a ticket) free" card for minor indiscretions, but it's when they're "on duty" pulling this crap that ****es me off. If I'm going to get called on the carpet for it then they damn well better be behaving "above reproach" when representing "the law" in front of all eyes...

Regards,

 

[Billy Ricks]

Look, I understand that with this job comes a few "perks" like a "Get out of jail (or a ticket) free" card for minor indiscretions, but it's when they're "on duty" pulling this crap that ****es me off. If I'm going to get called on the carpet for it then they damn well better be behaving "above reproach" when representing "the law" in front of all eyes...

Regards,

I have a friend that was behind a LEO who was driving like an idiot. He got his attention and pulled him over. He said he was making a citizen's arrest and made him call out a Sergeant. He made the Sarge cite the LEO even though he didn't want to. The ticket probably got torn up as soon as my friend drove away.

 

[Guest]

I think any safety law, IE seatbelts, helmets, child seats or whatever shouldnt be a law at all. It should be MY choice, period, and period!

 

[mpls-ugly]

To the OP. Im in MN too and understand your frustration after riding all day and watching mostly HD guys with the bandana brain bucket and tank top. Its stupid but its legal if they have shades on. I think the cop was probably just looking to see how you react like if you had been drinking. He obviously didn't intend on writing a ticket for it so its not too bad.

 

[ddaniels]

Moral of the story.....wear the eye protection and be diligent about it.

 

[schlyme]

here in cali we have a hands free cell phone law( you can't hold the hand set while talking, need a bluetooff or ear piece) yet i see everyone ignoring this law(loes included) public services have an exempt if needed as part of there job duties( uc on a stakeout) but no one cares and the change lanes with out looking.
my brother got pulled over once because the soda can he was drinking outta look like a beer can whilst driving.

 

[Hap Call]

Motorcycle law summary:

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/PrintLaws.html

Hap

 

[ddaniels]

Your chart says in Ohio, yearly inspections are "random". I live in Dayton, been riding since around 1992, and have never ever heard of yearly inspections.

 

[bonanzadave]

T HD guys with the bandana brain bucket and tank top.

Followed one yesterday down I35. His glasses were on his head but not over his eyes. The fairing was working cause they didnt blow off.

 

[1_v8_merc]

That just reminded me, I picked up a six pack of beer, stopped to get gas at wawa. Drove by 3 cops in the parking lot, one of them had a bike too!

I drove by all of them, visor was up, and half of the beer was visible stickin out of my little ghetto rigged bag sitting on the back seat.

Never saw any lights behind me.
And I live in NJ too!

I always put my visor up at stoplights, like a habbit.
I usually do it because....

A.) it's hot as a mother outside!
B.) the gas fumes or something causes my eyes to burn

And that's exactly what I'd tell the cop.
If he doesn't like it, too bad, Im going to continue to do it anyways.
Because he's not the one that's gotta deal with the uncomfort, I do.

 

[airportcop]

Crazy stuff. Friend of mine told me today he got a ticket for no DOT helmet. Only had on a novelty brain bucket! Oh well?!

 

[DanTheMan]

Crazy stuff. Friend of mine told me today he got a ticket for no DOT helmet. Only had on a novelty brain bucket! Oh well?!

I was in Independence MO two weekends ago for a ship's reunion (crewmembers from the first ship I was stationed on). I noticed that it seemed everyone was wearing helmets, many of them wearing close to nothing else, but they had helmets (I figured there must be a helmet law in MO). My wife and I were riding back to the RV campground, and I didn't have my visor all the way down when I passed a cop, saw him make a left turn to circle around and catch me at the next cross street, but by the time ours paths intersected again my visor was down so we didn't get stopped. We were wearing summer protective gear too, no bare legs and arms either.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

After riding and teaching on course as an unofficial MSF instructor w/my uncle for three years, I finally managed to acquire and fix up my first bike at age 18. Was SUPER-PSYCHED!!!! I had spent the last three summers helping hundreds of riders prepare for and pass the MD licensing test. Although not licensed myself (too young at first), I was usually assigned to assist any riders that needed additional help or time with particular skills and I had great success with getting folks up to speed and back with the rest of the class. So, when it came time to take my test I was COMPLETELY confident. I knew the course inside and out, was a completely proficient street rider (except for not riding on an actual public street) and I had 3 years experience in all things related to the test. Piece Of Cake! Right?

WRONG!

I pulled up to the examiner when it was my turn, flipped up my face shield to listen to her direct me to the starting point of the test course. I drove the 25 feet to the start point where she had directed me to wait for her before starting the test. She walks up, hands me a document and says thank you. Confused I asked about the rest of the course and she very callously said "You failed." to which I, of course, said "Huh?". She said...

..."You just rode with no eye protection. Automatic failure."

Yep, she was right. I rode the 25 feet or so, in 1st gear at 3 to 5 mph with my shield up.

UN-REAL!

Was she right? Technically. Did I do anything wreckless or dangerous or against the spirit of the eye protection law? IMHO, absolutely not.

Came back the next day, refused to lift my shield for any reason. Passed the test with a perfect score.

There are laws and then there's just silliness. Unfortunately, the folks enforcing the laws are far too often unable to see the difference.


PS: For the record, I've always been a full face helmet wearer, regardless of the law and I simply cannot ride w/o eye protection. Yet, when I stop, my shield is almost always cracked or full open and I will often not close it until I'm underway and the clutch is fully engaged, freeing up my left hand to knock the shield down. If it's daylight, 95% of the time I wear shades under the helmet as well.

 

[makenzie71]

After riding and teaching on course as an unofficial MSF instructor w/my uncle for three years, I finally managed to acquire and fix up my first bike at age 18. Was SUPER-PSYCHED!!!! I had spent the last three summers helping hundreds of riders prepare for and pass the MD licensing test. Although not licensed myself (too young at first), I was usually assigned to assist any riders that needed additional help or time with particular skills and I had great success with getting folks up to speed and back with the rest of the class. So, when it came time to take my test I was COMPLETELY confident. I knew the course inside and out, was a completely proficient street rider (except for not riding on an actual public street) and I had 3 years experience in all things related to the test. Piece Of Cake! Right?

WRONG!

I pulled up to the examiner when it was my turn, flipped up my face shield to listen to her direct me to the starting point of the test course. I drove the 25 feet to the start point where she had directed me to wait for her before starting the test. She walks up, hands me a document and says thank you. Confused I asked about the rest of the course and she very callously said "You failed." to which I, of course, said "Huh?". She said...

..."You just rode with no eye protection. Automatic failure."

Yep, she was right. I rode the 25 feet or so, in 1st gear at 3 to 5 mph with my shield up.

UN-REAL!

Was she right? Technically. Did I do anything wreckless or dangerous or against the spirit of the eye protection law? IMHO, absolutely not.

Came back the next day, refused to lift my shield for any reason. Passed the test with a perfect score.

There are laws and then there's just silliness. Unfortunately, the folks enforcing the laws are far too often unable to see the difference.


PS: For the record, I've always been a full face helmet wearer, regardless of the law and I simply cannot ride w/o eye protection. Yet, when I stop, my shield is almost always cracked or full open and I will often not close it until I'm underway and the clutch is fully engaged, freeing up my left hand to knock the shield down. If it's daylight, 95% of the time I wear shades under the helmet as well.

Silly or not, you have to remember that laws are black and white, and they need to be. You break it, or you don't break...there is no "I just barely broke it".

Regulations that have gray areas...everyone finds a reason to be exempt.

 

[Planecrazy]

Silly or not, you have to remember that laws are black and white, and they need to be. You break it, or you don't break...there is no "I just barely broke it".

Regulations that have gray areas...everyone finds a reason to be exempt.

Technically you are correct, of course, but one likes to believe that our law enforcement community is wise enough to consider ALL the information available when dealing with any given situation, and use that information to properly dispense (or hold back on dispensing) the law.

Going back to the original post, the fact that our rider is demonstrating his intelligence by riding with full gear rather than the bare minimum ought to tell the officer that given another moment the likelihood was that the visor would have been lowered automatically. Instead, a lot of time was wasted "shaking down" an apparently mature and safe rider when it would have been better spent seeking out more serious infractions.

Perhaps the officer DID have an underlying reason for needing to stop "our hero," but I'm inclined to believe that it wasn't the case in this instance. I have been pulled over in the past, when an officer was on the lookout for somebody (or some vehicle) that matched the description of me or my vehicle, and in those cases the officer has gone out of his way to explain as much to me and politely thank me for my patience...

Regards,