I got pulled over tonight.....

[go cytocis]

The officer who pulled me over was professional and as soon as he figured out he was wrong

Same thing happened to me this past weekend when I was pulled over on my duslsport for riding what the cop thought was an 'Off Highway Vehicle' on public roads. He apologized profusely once he saw his mistake!

 

[RemainIncognito]

I ride with both on just because it's safer. They don't shine that high anyway so, I just leave the high beams on. So far I havn't had anyone flash their beams at me.

 

[Zeroflat24]

I will disagree that cops "Usually have the very best intentions." Especially when it comes to motorcycles and guns.... god forbid you are carrying and riding a motorcycle at the same time. (I could elaborate but that would detract from this thread.)

ahhh yes, i have been there.

I ride with both on just because it's safer. They don't shine that high anyway so, I just leave the high beams on. So far I havn't had anyone flash their beams at me.

You should get an HID kit for your lights. My HID highbeam shines for miles

 

[agfish18]

Around my neck of the woods cops tend to pull you over just to check to see if you have a motorcycle endorsement as many around here dont. USUALLY when you provide proof that you do, as long as you werent doing anything too bad, they will let you go. However, it depends on the cop. But as many of you have said, I always try to be polite and treat the cop with respect. You usually end up with better results.

The oddest reason I was ever pulled over was because a Honda Civic peeled out next to me at a light and the cop only saw me, assuming I was the one who did it he pulled me over. My wife and I were both on the bike, and we provided all of our paperwork (license, insur., reg.) and explained that it was the Honda that was next to us that peeled out, he let us go. but I have been pulled over and been given a ticket for doing 4 over the limit by a cop who didnt give a crap that it was only 4 over. As I said before...it depends on the cop.

 

[Internet Annoyance]

the "Attitude test" works both ways,,,,,,,,, I have the highest respect for LEOs who are professional, but even the best can have a bad day or shift, I try to keep that in mind.

However, as I used to say in the military when told i had a problem with authority, I used to use this all the time after learning it from a another service member,,,,,,,," Too intelligent to take orders effectively"

So, yes,, dick heads are dick heads regardless of the profession and law enforcement attracts a high percentage of them,. I saw it in the military and after i got out. Psych testing of potential law enforcement candidates is heavily tilted to weed out the true crazys, but some get thru.

I have a whole routine i go thru when pulled over to make the officer as comfortable as possible, but i have been known for confrontations.

Locally, I get pulled over in 3 small towns on a regular basis, rarely ever a citation, but fishing expeditions. These towns are well known for reject cops who cant make it anywhere else,. Not all of them, but a percentage of their departments. (Troutdale, Molalla, and Canby Oregon) So,, Canby has been consistently bad for decades and had many problems there. I had a confrontation 2 years ago with the same officer on several evenings as i drive thru that town a lot. He was confrontational and just an all around A-hole, I told him a few words and he got really pissed off (one of them was Chickens**t) So, later i see him off duty at the local Home Depot, He still looks totally pissed off. (im betting he was pissed off 24/7) I sidled up behind him in line and muttered "Chickens**T" he glared at me, dropped his purchases in the checkout line and walked out of the store.

6 months later, local news breaks the story of the Canby corruption scandal,. Police chief fired, his buddy and officer arrested for steroid abuse and multiple other unseemingly conduct charges. Plus other things that didnt make the news with office hanky panky with a secretary screwing most of the department (My wife had the unpleasant task of working with her at another job). So, the point of this was,,,,,, there was a detective who reported much of this, and was retaliated against him and workplace bullying. demoted, and moved to night shift. THATS the guy i had multiple run ins with!!!

So i had mixed feelings, i felt bad for him about the workplace BS as I worked for a govt agency and went thru the same thing. But on the other hand, I NEVER took it out on civilians or people i came in contact with for my job,. This cop was probably very close to going postal, on the public and his coworkers, So I have sympathy, but there is help availible and inexcusable how he treated me and others i know who also had run ins with him.

So the point here is,,,,,I refuse to take shit from anyone, but there is a difference of standing up for yourself, and not being a victim or a target, and another thing to escalate a petty dispute to disastrous consequences. Most conflicts arent worth it. learn to stand your ground but deescalate any pissing match. Most cops i know are quick to escalate. Allow the adversary to save face and not be humiliated. Bullys size up their adversary's and the best defense is not look like easy pickings. But keep in mind in traffic court or against a cop, you almost ALWAYS will lose. The point is not to get a ticket. not win a penis contest.
I have many years working with international military forces and security, worked the last 5 years for a govt agency with a lot of LE interaction, and a number of my family works in LE or retired LE, Cops see things differently,

 

[Zeroflat24]

Around my neck of the woods cops tend to pull you over just to check to see if you have a motorcycle endorsement as many around here dont. USUALLY when you provide proof that you do, as long as you werent doing anything too bad, they will let you go. However, it depends on the cop. But as many of you have said, I always try to be polite and treat the cop with respect. You usually end up with better results.

It is my understanding that a cop cant just pull you over to see if you have your license. Just like they cant stop you walking down the street and ask you for ID. If a cop pulled me over just to check to see if i had my license id be filing a complaint with that department.

 

[Internet Annoyance]

ummm, well here is where reality collides. First of all, you might or might not have success with filing a formal complaint.

Our local sheriffs dept has a bad history of issues. BUT if a deputy gets more than 3 complaints in a time period they have a formal review of his conduct and often have training scheduled and peer reviews, sometimes probation.

BUT, some depts,, they roundfile your complaints, and laugh about you, maybe even put on the Hotsheet for "known trouble maker"

Its universal in any LE situation is you ALWAYS back up a fellow officer. And usually your complaints go nowhere.

YES, it IS illegal to pull you over without "probable cause" also look up "Preponderance of evidence"
But i can tell you with first hand knowledge that any experienced cop will also tell you,,,,,,,,,

"If you cant find a traffic violation in 3 city blocks distance you need remedial training"

over the yellow line, headlights not bright enough, following too close, improper lane change, etc etc...

I can put the supreme court justices of my state behind the wheel and can find a probable cause to pull them over very quickly, So,,,,,,,,, pick your battles. As I said, in court, Cops rarely lose.

I have a very clean record these days,,,,, but some years back I had a traffic case and i had maps, diagrams, traffic safety studies, photos, 2 witnesses and a lengthy presentation. I was cut off very quickly and told by the Judge........

"I dont care what you say, as far as Im concerned, you are guilty" I filed a complaint with the Chief judge and the Oregon Bar association. My understanding he was reprimanded, but i still had the ticket on my record. Most traffic court judges are "Pro tem" meaning they are lawyers making extra money sitting as judges for small claims and traffic court, and most of these "Pro Tem" judges are losers at their profession, so they resort to easy money doing petty case law as a judge. You really dont have much of a chance in front of them.

As I said,,, its a dispute you will almost always lose,. So,, it pisses me off for bogus pull overs, and might be worth a formal complaint, But the whole idea is avoid the tickets.

I WANT a surveillance system that can read my dash and interactions, rewrites itself onto a DVR, but has a record and little placards i can place in view. (You are subject to video and audio surveillance) you HAVE to have this warning if used in court. (each state is different) but so MANY times i have had cops lie on the stand or in court. My wife says arent you worried about documenting you speeding or other violations im actually guilty of? yes, that is to be considered, but Im tired of cops who lie in traffic court. And the issue being decided is the citation, not how may times you sped over the speed limit and not gotten cited.

 

[go cytocis]

keep in mind in traffic court...you almost ALWAYS will lose

I have had very good success many times in court. It's usually speeding violations I end up ticketed for, and my standard defense is inadequate signage indicating the speed limit.

I have also claimed successfully that the laser radar the cop was using may have provided a false reading due to the open front wheel of a motorcycle.

Another time I was ticketed I was riding in a tight group & I submitted that the radar couldn't have possibly focussed exclusively on me.

Again, my strategy is to take my lumps quietly & politely on the side of the road and then let a judge tell the cop he's wrong!

Revenge is a dish best served cold afterall!

 

[Internet Annoyance]

Well your luck has been better than mine. I FIGHT every ticket in court, but most people rarely win, its a rigged system. If more people had a surveillance system on or in their vehicle, we could get a lot of police fired as many fib a bunch, there is extensive training on how to do it right, Most dont do it right and get a pass by the judges.

If a cop EVER gets caught lying on the stand, even in traffic court, follow it up, His career is over, the only credibility you have as an officer is your word. If caught lying, you are done. I won one where I questioned the officer, and pointed to my witnesses, and then held up a small recorder, reminded him there was a full accounting, walked him thru it, reminded him of his future employment scenarios, and then asked,
"Are you sure you dont want to correct your testimony on the record?" He admitted he might not have been certain and I won, one of my few victorys (I have had 28 tickets in 4 different countrys, ive only won 3)

My FIL hated giving tickets unless you really deserved it. Most depts HAVE a quota, people say it isnt true. But i know and worked with a lot of LE and yes, most have quotas. he was in trouble all the time for not meeting quotas, and he countered that he made more felony arrests than any other officer, didnt matter, Uncle Sugar wants his due.

havent you ever heard of a "Random Road tax"??? with budget woes and worrys,,,,,, most depts are being hit hard to raise revenue. I just interviewed for a job for parking code enforcement officer, The rest of the county and city is cutting budgets and laying off employees, but they are adding 10 parking cops jobs.

Ive read all the ticket books, taken classes and talked to a lot of cops,,, its VERY hard to beat a radar ticket and extremely hard to beat Laser. I have tried it several times. I was once interrupted by a judge and asked what qualifications do i have to question the officer on radar operation, I think i blew his mind when I said,
"Your honor, Im very glad you asked that. here is my military records for Avionics and radar training, as well as my Federal Aviation Administration aviation technicians license as well as my course work in related fields for radar systems for ground based and aerospace applications"

. Ill give him credit, he recovered quickly and still found me guilty. be prepared, you go into those types of technical areas you better be well versed in these topics. I was, and still lost.

Random road taxs,, thats what they are.

 

[go cytocis]

You should get an HID kit for your lights. My HID highbeam shines for miles

If you get ticketed for non-DOT lights (such as aftermarket HIDs) there's not a court anywhere that you're going to successfully fight that in!

 

[oh9bolt]

^ Lol where do you live that you would get ticketed for running aftermarket HIDS?

 

[iman501]

I'd rather risk a ticket for my HID's then not see as well as i do at night time now. Its more of a safety thing for me than just another mod to the bike

 

[oh9bolt]

There is a ton of chingaderas around where I live that run 10k blacklight HID's with no problems, now those should be illegal.

[up] iman!

 

[go cytocis]

^ Lol where do you live that you would get ticketed for running aftermarket HIDS?

Check your local state/provincial laws; you'll find they're illegal just about anywhere you might live.

 

[iman501]

Check your local state/provincial laws; you'll find they're illegal just about anywhere you might live.

So are about 80% of the exhausts on our bikes, along with any LED's thats some people have, and of course we all obey the speed limits 100% of the time. Sometimes you just have to pick your battles of what you're will to risk. I will be the first to admit that i have 55W HID's in both lights on my firebolt, a race pipe, along with some blue LED's on the bike. I've not ran into any problems from the law so far. I know I have the possibility of getting a ticket. But like i said, the lights make me feel safer. The Pipe is something that i really like, and the LEDs.....well they were just another mod....

But I will agree that the pink blacklight HID"s are a bit over the top.....

 

[oh9bolt]

^ This!

 

[go cytocis]

Sometimes you just have to pick your battles

Agreed!!!
That's why if I am going to get pulled over for anything, it's going to be for having a little fun speeding (safely of course!), not some illegal HID installation.

 

[oh9bolt]

So your bike is stock?

 

[iman501]

I wonder what the difference in price is on a "fix it ticket" vs a speeding ticket..... anybody have prior experience? I've only ever had speeding ones (in my stupid old civic to.....it wasn't even fun while speeding......)

 

[go cytocis]

So your bike is stock?

Nope, but modified within the letter of the local laws:
- Drummer exhaust is at the legal threshold of 96dB (as measured by local law enforcement)
- tiny white led mounted above the license plate in lieu of the cheese grater
- aftermarket led turn signals placed "as practically far apart as possible"
- stock reflectors replaced with small tabs of reflective safety tape

The law is silent on any of my other mods. The only thing I might get any grief over is my bar end mirror which technically is smaller in area than the law requires. If I ever did get ticketed, I'd fight it on the grounds that the mirror is convex and provides the same effective viewing area as a larger flat mirror.
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