THE UTTER FAILURE OF THE POLICE

[county]

I'll wade back in.

There is some merit to X1Glider's argument that the police pick on motorists-and it's not just bikers but all motorists-as an easy hit.

Fucking cops...

[Mr.Black]

Fucking cops...

You forgot this

 

[sprk_sprd]

Must all motorcycle forums eventually turn into gixxer.com?  

[Papa Lazarou]

Must all motorcycle forums eventually turn into gixxer.com?  

Well, at least nobody has called anyone a Nazi or mentioned the Nazis.....whoops.

[BBB]

Well, at least nobody has called anyone a Nazi or mentioned the Nazis.....whoops.

Does mention of the Nazi's mean that Godwin's law has been invoked or does it have to involve the specific mention of Hitler??

[Papa Lazarou]

Does mention of the Nazi's mean that Godwin's law has been invoked or does it have to involve the specific mention of Hitler??

Yes.

[Formerly Known as Bigfoot]

We all bitch incessantly about bad drivers, how they kill & maim motorcyclists and small children while texting and driving drunk, yet when police make a traffic stop, they're jackbooted revenue collectors infringing on your rights.

Please quit with the factual posts.  It doesn't fit here.

[02Tac]

I stopped after the second. I don't feel anything when police are behind me. If you don't break the law, what's there to feel uncomfortable about?

That sums it up right there.

[Windblown]

My daughter and I had this conversation the other day. We're going down the road and she suddenly blurts out "Crap, there's a cop behind me!" I asked "So?" She says "I don't want to get a ticket."  I ask "Are you speeding?" She says "No." I say "Well then don't worry about it. Pay attention to what's in front of you." Of course in her defense she's been with me a few times when I've been pulled over. LOL

Right, wrong, or indifferent, I think most folks tend to worry a bit when a cop is on their six.  The list of reasons that one might get pulled over is lengthy if they're on the prowl. Hell I get a bit nervous too sometimes. I don't always come to a full stop, though I always carefully scan since I have no interest in becoming a road pizza.  I don't always follow the speed limit exactly though 99.5 percent of the time I travel at what I consider a safe and reasonable speed for the conditions and my lack of accidents backs up that claim pretty damn well.  I don't always have a current inspection sticker (I go over my vehicles both 2 wheeled and 4 wheeled better than the inspection guy does).  But all that sure doesn't stop a cop half my age and driving experience from writing me a ticket because it's "The Law".

I don't blame them, it's their job and all and they're nice to have around when actually needed. I'd just prefer to pay more in taxes so their bosses wouldn't feel the need to send them out to jump folks for chicken shyt stuff.

Edit: BTW, I've gotten tickets I fully admit I deserved as well. Those I grudgingly pay because I know in my heart they were warranted. It's the little BS stuff that annoys me, and makes me nervous when smoky is behind me.

[Mookie]

Please quit with the factual posts.  It doesn't fit here.

That was more of an observance than a fact.  It fits.  

[Karmak]

Fucking cops...

Not so, I have never been pulled over while on the FJR....

[rollnhot]

I have been pulled over on the FJR, fuckin' cops. I hear smokin' the weed makes folks a little paranoid.

[Royal Tiger]

Cops always mess with FJR's.  It's one of the few bikes that can't run away.



 

[Testcase]

I've never been messed with by cops on the bike. Back when I was driving a lowered Mustang with limo-tinted windows, I did. Even had a cop ask to search my car after pulling me over for the tint. *shrug* Last week, a cop pulled up on my stranded in snow storm bike after seeing me dump it and ragged me out for being a safety hazard, but it was clearly more general frustration with everything going on around us than just me. In both cases, I wasn't cited (not even for the tint).

I pretty much completely disagree with the writer of the article. Of course, I'm not in Australia and all I know about driving there I learned from Mad Max movies, so maybe if I was being chased by leather-clad shotgun-wiedling crippled mental cops in hotrods on a daily basis, I'd feel differently.

[BIWOZ]

Boris does tend to provoke people with his writing; it's his stock in trade.

However, in some Australian states (and he lives in one of them), there is a definite anti-motorcyclists culture within the government and police. Indeed, it has been said to the editor of one of our more respected motorcycling journals, by a Federal politician who'd had a "couple of sherries", that "If we could find a way to crush all those f***ing things you ride, we'd have them off the roads in a week".

Motorcycle riders are targeted. For example, at the recent Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island, reportedly (I wasn't there) every single motorcycle being ridden to and from the circuit was stopped by police for a full roadworthiness and registration check, and riders' licences also checked. Literally thousands of motorcycle were stopped and the delays were horrendous; I read up to four hours wasn't unusual. The same did not happen to motor vehicles.

One state forces motorcycle riders to pay an extra levy on their rego and CTP because they are "unsafe"; I think it's about $65 a year. The money is supposed to help improve safety; it doesn't. It is used in anti-motorcycle television propaganda campaigns, among other things.

Most states' road and traffic bureaucracies regard motorcycle riders as just two steps above drug dealers and one step above firearms owners.

Restrictions are for our "own good". Currently being "discussed" (discussed = legislation being written in secret) is mandatory "approved" safety clothing (jacket, trousers, gloves, boots and reflective vest!) ... helmets are already mandatory; forcing "returning" bike owners to undergo approved "retraining" (despite the fact they have a valid licence) OR cancelling your rider's licence if you don't have a bike registered in your name for XX years; mandatory unswitchable ABS; phasing-in of traction control; increasingly restrictive "endorsements" for MC licences (e.g. say for 250, then 500, then 1000, then >1000, separate offroad endorsement, pillion endorsement ... and so on).

We are not liked. I rarely do anything "wrong" on the bike (if anyone's around  ) so I don't stress too much about coppers.

But there is antipathy in Australia between riders and most police. It's a shame, because it needn't be like that.

(Disclaimer: Never been booked for ANY traffic offence in 44 years of driving/riding. I'm not a goody two-shoes; I just object to giving the government any more of my hard-earned!   Although I have had a parking fine ...)

[cbsnbiker]

Wow.

Is there an equivalent to the AMA in Australia?

[BIWOZ]

Wow.

Is there an equivalent to the AMA in Australia?

Nearest national body would be MRAA ... Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia; it has state affiliates. Trouble is, it's like firearms owners ... too many splinter groups, too much infighting, too much solidarity being frittered away. Meantime the legislators and bureaucrats do whatever the hell they like.

I ride AND own firearms ... I am the lowest of the low  

[BIWOZ]

Hmmm, was just involved in a conversation with a rider from the east coast. In that state (to remain nameless), if you have a solo motorcycle accident (e.g. oil on the road, gravel, cut off by someone resulting in a fall), the rider will still be charged with "Careless driving" and be required to face a court.

Oh ... nice!!  

[Formerly Known as Bigfoot]

Hmmm, was just involved in a conversation with a rider from the east coast. In that state (to remain nameless), if you have a solo motorcycle accident (e.g. oil on the road, gravel, cut off by someone resulting in a fall), the rider will still be charged with "Careless driving" and be required to face a court.

Oh ... nice!!  

Besides this coming from a rider from the right coast I'd like to see confirmation of this because I doubt it is at all true.

[TBone]

PSA:

The OP is an Australian, writing from Australia about Australian situations and policies.

If:

(1) you have not had a problem with the police here in the US or Canada, or
(2) you have had a problem with the police here in the US or Canada

Then:

It has nothing to do with the OP.


Thank you.

( and Australia has states too. )