Shit just got serious?

[Croak]

http://www.theprovince.com/mobile/iphone/story.html?id=5184540#ooid=MyeGFwMjpZcv5uI4R0s3vybBwtfUnKrI

[The Shepherd]

That's part of the reason why I'm selling the Beemer and bought a Nomad. I'll go slow with the GF on the back and make lots of sweet noise out of the V&H pipes.

I'll save the real riding for the track from now on.

[ice-cycle]

I was surprised to hear the officer in the video treat passing on a double solid yellow as an offense.  In Ontario it is not.  The Highway Traffic Act, specifies obstruction of view and danger due to approaching vehicles, but not the marks on the road.

I routinely pass on double solid yellows, as the line of sight is often more than adequate for a motorcycle.

[blkhrt81]

I found it interesting that the officer in the helicopter suggested " doing them for street racing too" not because they were actually racing, but because he thought they could make it stick. I have always thought the double yellows meant no passing permitted but other than that, didn't look like unsafe passes to me. Appears that once you're over the speed limit, everything else you do is regarded as unsafe.

[Croak]

What's scary is that I did the "Duffy Lake" loop up to Lilloet on Monday, not knowing a thing about the "bears in the air", and relying on my radar detector and common sense to keep me out of trouble.  

I wasn't flying in the 100KPH zones (just going with traffic usually at ~20 over, max, from Horseshoe Bay to Whistler).  But there were bits of twisty 60KPH road that might have made it seem I was nudging the impound speeds.  SAFE bits, with good sightlines, I might add.  But had I been clocked at 40 over in those areas, I would have been just as impounded as the 200KPH squids.  

[Oxblood]

I was surprised to hear the officer in the video treat passing on a double solid yellow as an offense.  In Ontario it is not.  The Highway Traffic Act, specifies obstruction of view and danger due to approaching vehicles, but not the marks on the road.

I routinely pass on double solid yellows, as the line of sight is often more than adequate for a motorcycle.

In British Columbia you MUST stay to the right of any double yellow lines painted on the road. There are no circumstances in which it is permitted to cross them. Furhermore, while you may turn across a single solid yellow line, you MAY NOT pass. Period. No whining about how the road was clear and how it was safe to do so.

[ice-cycle]

Here I thought it was only Ontario that had morons creating stupid traffic regulations, e.g., the entire length of 17 is posted at 90 kmh.

Thanks for this though, as I will definitely change my practice while in BC next time.

[motrhead]

What a pile o' horse shit! I drove to Vancouver and back yesterday in the van, and on the way back traffic after Burnaby was 130km, past Abbotsford 140kmh...including semis. Where the hell were the frickin' helicopters then? I bet one in about fifty or a hundred vehicles is a bike...why are we being targeted? I was gong much faster in my van than I did on my last bike trip back from Vancouver!
 ...and where do I complain about all this? The Minister of Transport only replies with a form letter in my experience. As far as I am concerned any semi driver over the speed limit is FAR more dangerous than a motorcycle can ever be. Just because we can accelerate faster we are the targets?
 The 5 ton truck tailgating me on the Hope-Princeton with the smoking brakes was way more freakin' dangerous than even a 950 pound Goldwing could ever be!!!

[Kootenanny]

What a pile o' horse shit! I drove to Vancouver and back yesterday in the van, and on the way back traffic after Burnaby was 130km, past Abbotsford 140kmh...including semis. Where the hell were the frickin' helicopters then? I bet one in about fifty or a hundred vehicles is a bike...why are we being targeted? I was gong much faster in my van than I did on my last bike trip back from Vancouver!
 ...and where do I complain about all this? The Minister of Transport only replies with a form letter in my experience. As far as I am concerned any semi driver over the speed limit is FAR more dangerous than a motorcycle can ever be. Just because we can accelerate faster we are the targets?
 The 5 ton truck tailgating me on the Hope-Princeton with the smoking brakes was way more freakin' dangerous than even a 950 pound Goldwing could ever be!!!

I'm with ya here.  When I drive the #1 through the Fraser Valley, unless it's rush-hour backup you gotta be doing 130 at least, or you'll get run down by the semis.  But, lemme do 130 on the comparatively deserted highways in the interior, and I'll get stopped, ticketed, and likely impounded...

[Oxblood]

It's all politics. It's the old "hooligans on bikes" thing. But oh no, soccer mom in her overloaded minivan yakking on her cell phone while balancing a cup of joe at 120 or 130 is not a problem. We are a minority, and will be treated as such. Like some other less than popular enthusiasts, while our hobby, passion, call it what you will is perfectly legal, we are all maligned by the majority for the actions of a few incredibly stupid people.

[veefer800canuck]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/08/07/bc-motorcycle-highway-crashes.html

[Kootenanny]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/08/07/bc-motorcycle-highway-crashes.html

Oh, fer cryin' out loud.  Somehow, I think there may be deeper issues here than excessive speed...

[bubba zanetti]

Really folks .. .what is new about this ?

Want to feed into the hype and be "spokesperson" for the riders in question ?

I know (personally ...)  not a single person or friend  who ...whose motorcycle has been impounded.  I ride 20 to 30 over in my day to day riding. Have not had a problem.

[Stealth1100]

This is a big part of the reason I moved south of the border years ago. Canada is becoming more of a nanny-state all the time.

It really makes me sick! These namby pamby people who can't take the raw reality of the world (like people driving fast and dying in M/C accidents, etc) want the government to protect them from having to hear of the "horrors" of crashes on the news. So let's legislate and oppress any kind of freedoms so people don't hurt themselves, or God forbid, upset us, the lilly-livered populace.

A message to you freedom-sucking politicos, bureaucrats and soap-boxers: Go turn off your TV and radio, move to a nice quiet little town, go eat your macaroni salad in your nice quiet, safe, fenced-in backyard and leave the rest of us alone to live our lives! Oh, and by the way, take your freedom-sucking, rights-abusing cop friends with you. We don't need 'em out here in the real world. We take care of ourselves.

Personally, I'd rather die with my guts spread out over half the countryside than waste away in some warm, comfortable old folks home watching these "horrors" on the evening news with my dentured, drooling room-mates.

[Hardware]

Thread title reminds me of...

[Baz]

Really folks .. .what is new about this ?

Want to feed into the hype and be "spokesperson" for the riders in question ?

I know (personally ...)  not a single person or friend  who ...whose motorcycle has been impounded.  I ride 20 to 30 over in my day to day riding. Have not had a problem.

Of course you pretty much live in one of the "least" patrolled areas of BC Mr!

[GetFuzzy]

In British Columbia you MUST stay to the right of any double yellow lines painted on the road. There are no circumstances in which it is permitted to cross them. Furhermore, while you may turn across a single solid yellow line, you MAY NOT pass. Period. No whining about how the road was clear and how it was safe to do so.

When I got my license, way back when, you were allowed to pass on a single yellow provided it was safe to do so. Also back in the good old days they also painted white lines across the highways at 1 mile (or was it kilometers?) intervals to facilitate catching speeders from the air.

[motrhead]

When I got my license, way back when, you were allowed to pass on a single yellow provided it was safe to do so. Also back in the good old days they also painted white lines across the highways at 1 mile (or was it kilometers?) intervals to facilitate catching speeders from the air.

 Yeah, I learned the same...and it was definitely in the Professional drivers handbook, along with a few other rules of the road that weren't covered in the car drivers manual. When did the single yellow line law change?

[Aero]

The so-called street racing law in Ontario was one reason why I decided to return to live in the UK. Empty roads covering long distances yet ridiculously low speed limits and no legal recourse if my car or bike was impounded even if the case was thrown out of court just seems like a strategy for fleecing road users. There was a case where a guy in Toronto was in snarled up traffic so lane-split a short distance to an exit. A cop saw him, charged him with 'stunt driving', took his licence and impounded the bike. The charge was eventually reduced to 'making an illegal lane change' but it still cost him $1000 in impound fees and the loss of licence for a week stayed on his record so his insurance went up. Sure, he should have just stayed snarled up in the traffic like a good boy....

[GetFuzzy]

Surprised no one has challenged it in court, supposedly where you're innocent until proven guilty. Might as well make all the cops judges to streamline the justice system.

[Huron52]

Surprised no one has challenged it in court, supposedly where you're innocent until proven guilty. Might as well make all the cops judges to streamline the justice system.

In the eyes of the cop you are guilty!  And that "stunting law" has made them judges!

As for being challenged in court ... it has sort of.  In the eyes of the law makers they think this law is working. It's getting the bad people of the road ... right?

[Baz]

Surprised no one has challenged it in court, supposedly where you're innocent until proven guilty. Might as well make all the cops judges to streamline the justice system.

They are attempting something similar with impaired driving laws here. While I despise impaired drivers, I do believe everyone deserves their day in court without '
pre-justice forced on them at the whim of a Police officer.

[CaptainSlow]

In British Columbia you MUST stay to the right of any double yellow lines painted on the road. There are no circumstances in which it is permitted to cross them. Furhermore, while you may turn across a single solid yellow line, you MAY NOT pass. Period. No whining about how the road was clear and how it was safe to do so.

Hi, just chiming in with a correction on the single yellow rule, you can pass "with caution" see pg 38

http://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/Getting-licensed/drivers3.pdf

[Oxblood]

I stand corrected on the single line. I was taught in driver's ed, professional driving school, and my motorcycle safety course that there was no passing on a single yellow line. You may cross it to leave the highway, but not to pass. Guess some instructors out there have some explaining to do.

[blkhrt81]

The problem I have with these roadside suspensions is that there is no recourse. As far as I'm concerned if after the fact the Crown doesn't get a conviction, the defendant should be reimbursed for any costs associated with it.

[Flyer]

Here in this jurisdiction the yellow line is a recommendation, not an exclusion.
It's easy to understand how a doofus alien, like myself, could run afoul of a painted-line infraction, ignorant of quaint local customs (for the purpose of revenue generation   ) and end up with thousands of dollars in costs after impound, cab fare, accomodation, lawyers, fines, lost work and travel time, NOT to mention higher insurance premiums all on the WITHOUT a legitimate guilty verdict.
Please also see the Ontario provincial "stunting" law, under which you can be roadside-suspended for standing on the 'pegs over railroad tracks, or merely to alleviate the discomfort of butt-burn.
COSSACKS!

For the purposes of section 172 of the Act, “stunt” includes any activity where one or more persons engage in any of the following driving behaviours:

1. Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to lift some or all of its tires from the surface of the highway, including driving a motorcycle with only one wheel in contact with the ground, but not including the use of lift axles on commercial motor vehicles.

2. Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to cause some or all of its tires to lose traction with the surface of the highway while turning.

3. Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to spin it or cause it to circle, without maintaining control over it.

4. Driving two or more motor vehicles side by side or in proximity to each other, where one of the motor vehicles occupies a lane of traffic or other portion of the highway intended for use by oncoming traffic for a period of time that is longer than is reasonably required to pass another motor vehicle.

5. Driving a motor vehicle with a person in the trunk of the motor vehicle.

6. Driving a motor vehicle while the driver is not sitting in the driver’s seat.

7. Driving a motor vehicle at a rate of speed that is 50 kilometres per hour or more over the speed limit.

8. Driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention, without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway or in a manner that may endanger any person by,

i. driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to prevent another vehicle from passing,

ii. stopping or slowing down a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates the driver’s sole intention in stopping or slowing down is to interfere with the movement of another vehicle by cutting off its passage on the highway or to cause another vehicle to stop or slow down in circumstances where the other vehicle would not ordinarily do so,

iii. driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to drive, without justification, as close as possible to another vehicle, pedestrian or fixed object on or near the highway

[Huron52]

Thanks Flyer!

I really like the line with "indicates an intention"  

Who's opinon?

yeah the guy or girl in the uniform .. that had a second to decide that maybe just is having a bad day.  

People don't realize what else is in that Ontario Stunting Law....

[Kootenanny]

These two really are a Catch 22:  

4. Driving two or more motor vehicles side by side or in proximity to each other, where one of the motor vehicles occupies a lane of traffic or other portion of the highway intended for use by oncoming traffic for a period of time that is longer than is reasonably required to pass another motor vehicle.

i. driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to prevent another vehicle from passing,

I mean, you wanna pass someone ahead.  You pull out, they speed up (yes, it happens!).  You speed up a bit more to pass (and here, the "50 km/h over the limit" law could really bite you).  AFAIK, most cops take a dim view of the (completely reasonable IMO) explanation that you really wicked it up in order to pass as quickly as possible, in order to spend the minimum amount of time in the oncoming lane.  (I mean, really...who passes without exceeding the limit...or if you don't exceed the limit, how can you get past without flouting provision 4 above?).