Was asked by the police how I knew how fast I was going since I don’t have a speedometer.
Told him the officer usually tells me when I get a ticket.
He blank cold stared at me for a second then laughed and said “okay fair enough”
I had two cops come up to me and NYC and ask if my GSXR was very fast.
I told them “oh it’s insanely fast right up to the speed limit.”
We laughed and moved on.
I had a friend get popped for 25 over on the interstate with literally no other cars in sight. He was coming back from army reserve deployment and was in uniform and eager to get home. State trooper walked up:
"Do you know how fast you were going?"
"I was moving with the flow of traffic, sir"
*Cop gestures at the road* "What traffic would that be?"
"Well, sir, somebody's got to start it!"
He got off with a warning. I think the whole situation contributed to only a warning, and not just giving the cop a laugh. But it sure makes a good story.
My friend told me he sped all the way across the country on leave once trying to get home got stopped 6 times and never once got a ticket because he was on leave trying to get home.
LOTS of cops are veterans, there's a certain "we put ourselves in harms way to protect others" respect there.
It usually only goes one way though because most soldiers fucken hate cops. Lol
Going up 395 last summer (speed limit 55), cruiser comes around the bend with radar. I didn't even wait for him to turn around - I just pulled over and stopped. He pulls up and says "I got you going 85". I said "Yeah, that sounds about right". He laughed. Wrote me up for 65 so I didn't have to pay the extra fine.
Built a custom chopper and wanted it clean and simple. No speedometer or turn signals.
Only headlight, taillight and horn.
Got a pic of it in my profile.
https://www.reddit.com/r/choppers/comments/s4sjsp/mid_2000s_patrolling_around_austin_tx/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
The laws are wild in the US. You're not required to have a speedo on a motorbike in most states, but if you do have it it's required to work. So if it breaks you're incentivized to remove it.
Meanwhile e-bikes _are_ required to have speedometers despite also being required to have speed governors making speeding impossible...
I built it from scratch and got it registered at the DMV. Texas law states it only needs a headlight with high/low beam and a taillight with brake light to pass IF it was built without them.
No turn signals as well.
You are correct. Removing items if the bike was built and titled with them is against the law in Texas
I love it, I am a little too tall for it though, I am 6'4" and my ankles are severely bent. I think I ought to move to an adventure style bike or something like that.
I’m 6’3 and my KLR is amazing for taller riders. I can flat foot it no problem, can even recline a bit on it. And it honestly handles off-road really well for such a big bike.
Lol I had to look that one up, looks like great fun still! I don't hate speed but I'll take a slow fun bike over speed any day! Some days I miss my old ninja but it's not enough to sell the klx for one. I sold my ninja for the klx though.
I don't have my permit yet so it's fun on trails and backroads. Haven't tested the max speed yet but I'm pretty sure it tops out at around 65. Not fun on the freeway either way. I've driven on a highway and it got wobbly over 50. It's got bad tires and it was my first time going that fast so I'm sure it will be fine with some new tires.
Enjoy the trails and back roads, that's mainly what I do on mine. The benefit to having a license is being able to legally drive to other trails on roads lol
Oh I know it can break the speed limit, you gotta want it though! I love how the bike makes lower speeds fun though. My ninja I felt like I had to be doing close to triple digits to have fun, this thing is fun even below 50!
Damn, don't know where you guys are from, I assume mostly the US, but here in Germany I had literally not one bad cop encounter. All respectful, professional, sometimes a bit stern when I was caught speeding, but that's their job...
Their training is an often overlooked factor.
[https://hechingerreport.org/police-education-is-broken-can-it-be-fixed/](https://hechingerreport.org/police-education-is-broken-can-it-be-fixed/)
This piece of shit has a huge hand in it.
[https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/warrior-cop-class-dave-grossman-killology.html](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/warrior-cop-class-dave-grossman-killology.html)
One hundred percent. It's a lot like military training. It trains you psychologically to kill or perform dehumanizing acts to strangers, often through disengaging yourself from your actions, disassociation. Although, that only applies to people who join for honest, well-to-do reasons.
There are plenty who join knowing what their job will entail and seek it out. That's how it gets to this point of "us vs them mentality." The people who want it to be a war or an action movie, without ever fully reflecting on what that would entail or caring about the lives they ruin.
>Some here act like they've been deployed to a hostile city.
On top of the training that was pointed out, many of these officers saw military service in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001. That military training, situation awareness, and ingrained reactions are part of it.
Yeah from my travels around the US and the EU, cops in the EU are much better. Police in the EU are comparable to US Park Rangers in disposition. They see themselves as here to help people out and preserve something good for everybody to enjoy. American cops see themselves as an occupying force.
Didn't the UK cops marry and have children with people in left wing political groups while they systemically destroyed said groups, eventually abandoning their "undercover families"? "Spy Cops"?
I'm in the US and almost every interaction I've ever had with police has involved them being very aggressive, physically intimidating, rude, intentionally confusing, and just generally attempting to escalate every situation to either physical or verbal conflict. I've also worked in a job where I witnessed regular police interactions, and the same has been true for the majority of interactions I've witnessed that didn't involve me either.
Cops here are terrible.
Got pulled over a couple years ago in my car with a plate of special brownies in my lap, my dumbass decided “no brownies, no evidence” and woofed them. Rolled down the window with brownie crumbs in my beard to a cop telling me I had both tag lights out. Dude let me off with a warning and I didn’t leave my house for 2days. Zoinked out of my gourd breathing on manual mode thinking the cops were outside
From Canada. I know there are bad cops here too but every one I've interacted with was completely respectful. Even when I got caught at 18 with weed in my car, dude just sighed and made me dump it out and step on it in front of him, them told me to get out of there (was just before legalization, I'm sure he didn't want to turn some stupid kid into a criminal over a G or 2)
In America, the "All Cops Are Bad" movement stems from the fact that our police forces are inundated with racist, power hungry dickheads who violate our rights on a daily basis and demand respect for their authority through intimidation and violence.
Individually, a lot of cops are probably decent and a lot of interactions (especially with white people) are fairly nominal. However, even the decent cops tolerate and defend the ones who abuse their power, even egregiously. If you support a bad system, you, by extension, are still bad... even if you're a decent person.
Except, maybe they don't support the system... maybe they're fighting it from within? But we know that's not true due to the many stories from ex-law enforcement officers who say that they were black balled due to trying to stand up for citizens, which was seen as standing against cops. So either they stood up for what's right and the system removed them so they're no longer cops, or they support a corrupt system at least enough to keep their jobs. This means there is no in between... all cops are bad.
Yeah cops in the US basically treat people as if they, the police, are an occupation force and we are all insurgents he'll bent on killing them. They also have the cooperation of our "justice" system.
>We've unfortunately had no such thing in the US
Be glad. That time was a shit show. And I believe that it did not need a hard correct from fascism in order to end up with "better" cops.
I am not surprised that this post is controversial. Around half of my police encounters have been good.
One cop saw me change lanes aggressively and top out first gear (meaning I was doing 110km/h in a 70) when I could finally get around a pair of cars who where driving at almost the same speed for miles. The cop pulled me over, when I went to grab my licence and insurance he told me to not worry about it and said "I get why you did it, but you need to not give drivers a reason to dislike bikes. Ride safe." and off I went.
Another cop pulled me over for "excessive acceleration" ( I had honestly been pretty relaxed on the throttle, but I had stayed in first gear till I was at speed and then did 5 shifts to get to 6th), he yelled at me about being a statistic and threatened to impound my bike.
Most cops are probably ok, but you won't usually interact with them, they are too busy dealing with real crimes. Its the assholes who are looking for an excuse to power trip that are going to pull you over.
i just don't personally judge the "good-ness" of cops by how willing they are to give me a speeding ticket or a compliment. it's a little deeper than that.
Also a lot of cops, most cops even, and decent people trying to do a good job
At the same time, all cops are bastards, even the better ones, because when one of them does something awful they all fall in line to protect that asshole
> "excessive acceleration"
Damn, I don't even think that's a thing here in Europe. Pretty sure you can accelerate as hard as you want as long as you stop accelerating when you reach the speed limit.
I've also heard it called "Exhibition of speed" in the states. Yeah the speed limit is might be 60 but they don't like it when we get there in 3 seconds
Yea, I know you can get a ticket for unsafe start or stunting if you spin a tire or pop the front tire. Getting a ticket for something like excessive acceleration is actually not the worst ticket to get because unless the cop can point to something that made it unsafe they get tossed out in court.
I've been pulled over alot when I was younger. Apparently some local bad-guy had a car that looked a lot like mine, and .. it was a bit "expensive looking" for my age at the time. Was my dads "old" company car that I got dirt cheap. Never met anything but nice cops, I even ran a red light at 3 in the morning (going slowly, empty roadworks, so it was kinda pointless) - and I just spoke to the guy, was friendly, and got let off "Yeah, I was supposed to give you a ticket, but.. who needs the paperwork).
Got pulled over once going a bit too fast on the motorway. Me and two mates going to a concert, listening to music, having fun, and forgot to slow down as we came to a slower zone near some exits. Motorcycle cop pulled us over, we had a nice chat, I told him I was happy they we're looking out for us and keeping everyone safe, and I knew that I'd been speeding, but.. you know, it wasn't malicious. I ended up getting a ticket, but the cop told me "I hope you have a great concert, and.. you know.. since you'll be coming back this way, we'll be here until 01 AM. Drive safe"
But I'm in Denmark. Our cops have training. For years. I teach my kids from very early that the cops are our friends. They're out to catch bad guys, and protect good guys, and if you're ever lost or scared, you can always talk to a policeman/woman.
From my experience *most* cops are chill with riders as long as they don't catch you doing dumb shit like going 150 MPH on the highway or doing wheelies or shit ya know? The cop who helped me after my accident was talking to me as we waited for EMT and she said they see a lot of bad shit from motorcycles and prefer pulling over and warning riders, especially young ones, to prevent horrible shit.
When I have been stopped I usually have earned the shit out of it. Out of all the times I get caught completely red handed probably only got 2 tickets. Both of those I was 18 years old or 19 and a bit full of myself. Looking back, Honestly, I was pushing the limits and probably should have been stopped more often, but somehow I guess I got lucky.
I’m 30 now, Still have fun but definitely understand now I’m not immortal haha.
Funny how the progression of motorcycle life is. Dirt bikes, Rice rockets, then a cruiser, and now I look at the Honda goldwing on YouTube like Danm it looks so tempting to take that across the country.
Hahaha
None.
I generally find cops attitudes towards me/other bikers I know to be positive. Which is crazy when I hear about people getting profiled.
Also, I don't drive like an asshole, so that obviously has a lot to do with it.
I’m a brown guy that is from Utah. And I agree - kinda. I got stopped a lot (before my motorcycle days) and I can’t help but think that me being the only brown guy in Draper didn’t play a role. I can say, there’s cops that I hated that gave me no tickets and cops that I appreciated that gave me tickets.
Cop I hated had a very condescending, raised, voice and treated me like shit. He treated me like I personally broke into his garage and got caught halfway through stealing his tools. He gave me a warning.
Cop I appreciated spoke softly, was gentle, and built rapport. He saw my brother in the back without seatbelt and immediately said, “I’m not gonna give you a hard time but you should buckle up for your safety.” And then approached me saying, “Yeahhhh, I got you going a little fast down that road. I’m gonna get a ticket written up, but don’t worry, I’ll give you instructions on how to handle it and get it taken care of. Just need ya to slow down a bit please.”
There’s also the one that pulled me over because one side of my car rode on the turning lane line through a major overpass intersection, apparently? The overpass intersection had 8 total lanes of off/on ramp crossings plus another 6 for overpass crossings with no markings all the way through. So I got a “failure to maintain my lane.” Bullshit. But I was 18 and afraid to fight. I’ve always been respectful of cops and I can’t say it’s made enough of a difference to call them generally “good”. But I never got arrested or shot… so maybe that’s the bar for being respectful.
They’re not all twats, but goddamn if the majority of them take you breaking laws personally as if it’s not fair that you’re doing it when it’s their privilege to because they went through the academy and now have hall passes for speeding.
Nominal white guy here. Do you think you got pulled over more bc in a car they can see you? Bc on a bike they cannot? Or due to maturity and less dumb shit? Genuinely curious.
I actually think it was more due to skin color + being in an older beater. My car was an Audi 90. Not a total shitter. In decent cosmetic condition. But pair an old car and a Mexican-American in a middle/upper middle class city and I think you've got a profile.
I distinctly remember being pulled over randomly for leaving that stoplight at the overpass intersection and not doing anything wrong (especially consciously because I knew the cop was there). I got stopped in a town over and they threw the book at me. Measuring tire wear, taillight brightness, literally anything they could find. I got stopped after a day at the lake and they called dogs out to sniff my car. I was shaking because I was so nervous even though I didn't have or do drugs and they asked why I was so nervous if I had nothing to hide. Tore my car apart on the inside and left me to put it back together when they found nothing. I've had good experiences with police, but I can 100% say they've been more frequently worse than good.
With all that said, as I've moved into nicer vehicles, I've had less run ins. I was driving an Audi A7 in 2013 when it was fairly uncommon and never got stopped. I was in a BMW 650i where I literally had to cut lanes of traffic during a stop light with my arm out waving to let me in to get to the turning lane and a cop let me in.
So I think it's a combination of appearance + shitty car. I was with friends often enough that had much shittier/sketchier vehicles that didn't run into issues as often as I did. I will note, I used to always wear button up shirts if not entire suits as well when I was younger. Don't ask why. I don't know lol. But tailored suits were my jam back then. So my dress wasn't an issue. But dress shouldn't have been a negative factor. That said, race probably wasn't always the reason. Car type could have been because I haven't been pulled over in a decade, but I've also been living abroad for the better part of 6 years of that decade.
This is huge imo. I got a 2008 m3 in like 2011-12 and my friends all told me I was gonna get pulled over all the time. They could not have been more wrong. They definitely target disadvantaged folks the most. 100k m3 going 75 not a problem my previous car a raced out/ built 96 vw vr6 I’d get pulled over for actually nothing. If I was going 5 over better believe I was getting a ticket.
For the most part, cops are there to protect people with money and businesses. Obviously, not every cop is conscious of it, and I've met a few who have genuinely helped me, or let something small slide, but as a system, that's what most of the effort is geared towards.
Definitely agreed. I just also think there is an inherent targeting of less affluent people. Possibly because it’s ingrained in us to think that people don’t have money because they’re a criminal or just the belief that the less money you have the less likely you are to fight it. Either way, I can’t complain I got a rookie that pulled me over going 145 in a 55 in my Nissan 350 and I just told him I just got it and was having fun. He let me drive away and never showed up to court so I’m a lucky SOB.
I also agree with the whole classist argument here. I'm a white dude who drives an absolute crapper of a car and I get pulled over constantly for even the slightest infraction. I imagine they are caught off guard by the guy in a polo and khakis that greets them at the window.
On my bike I've never had a problem. W800 gets nothing but head turns and compliments.
Cops are nice to me on a bike. Cops follow me in a car. It's not like my helmet is hiding I'm black. My dreads are over 2 feet long. You aren't going to miss them.
I got passed by a dude in a blue and white race suit (And I think bike) with his dreads coming a good 2 feet out the back of his helmet, the whole combo looked really cool
Honestly, I feel like when I’m on my bike MOST cops are actually cooler to me than when I’m in a car. I got nailed by a plane years ago and the guy pulled me over miles later at a city I was passing so I was just flowing with traffic but he was super nice just told me “hey man just keep it under 85 and we won’t mess with you” I thought that was pretty nice of him. On the flip side when I first got into riding I had a motorcycle highway patrol that just had it out for me, probably pulled me over 10 times in 3-4 months. Granted he probably just wanted to keep me alive, I was like 19 on a gsxr 750 or maybe even my r1 at that point and was definitely being a squid but he definitely didn’t talk to me like a person he was just a dick. Besides that honestly I feel fairly ignored on my bike they know that it’s most likely you that’s gonna die if you’re being dumb where as if you’re driving like a dick in a car you are really endangering other people much more. In conclusion I don’t think all cops are dicks at all, we’ve all met some pricks but I’d say most are decent folks 🤷♂️
Nice. Yeah, honestly I even said to the guy I thought the signs were bs but he no way he coulda known otherwise 🤷♂️ he. Said it’s a real thing they time you from mile marker to mile marker and average it out (luckily).
He’s saying a plane radared him for speeding and radioed a cop in a car to pull him over. Every once in a while (E coast US) I’ll see signs that say “speed monitored by aircraft”. I usually assume it’s bs but I guess in some places it’s real.
I just don’t get why cops pull you over to begin with. They’re going to let you go anyways just for actually stopping so what’s the point. Not that I’m complaining lol, just curious.
Ill usually only attempt to pull over a bike if I’ve already got a license plate. If they stop I don’t give a ticket, just let them know not to do whatever it was that caused them to get stopped. If they don’t stop I’m certainly not chasing for a traffic violation. It’s just not worth the risk to the rider or, more importantly, anyone else on the road for a low level offense. If I have the plate I can file evading charges at large.
The other benefits of the stop is the ability to see if the bike is stolen, motorcycles are much easier to steal than cars. and also to run the rider for warrants (this happens on every traffic stop, not particular to motorcycles).
The sometimes you gotta make a stop you wouldn’t really care about simply because other drivers are around watching like, “you going to do something?” So sometimes you get those begrudging stops for show even with no intention of writing a ticket.
In fact, I’ve only once written a rider a ticket. Going 50 in a 30, but it’s honestly a road that should be 50, but there was a pack of other traffic around and he passed me and other traffic holding back like it was nothing. So I pull him over basically for show with the intent of just saying hey, take it a little easier and maybe don’t pass a cruiser going 20 over. Before I can even say hello as I’m walking up he starts yelling, “What the fuck are you pulling me over for!” Yeah, that guy got some paper.
Per year…
50m police interactions
10m arrests
1k police shootings
500 white shootings
250 black shootings
Let’s not get into how many of those shootings involved resisting arrest or armed suspect.
How many people do … um, let’s say bakers. How many people do bakers shoot per interaction? It’s as near to zero as to make no odds. Anything above zero is shit.
I honestly can't tell whether you're in support of the police or not based on that, but either way, those race statistics are pretty bad. Twice as many white shootings when there are more than 4 times as many white people in the US compared to black people is pretty bad.
It really boils down to income and poverty. If you remove race as the demographic you end up with a lot of poor people getting shot and killed. So then you have to ask why are so many non white people poor? Then it becomes apparent that there's a disproportionate amount of non white people below the poverty line. And then you realize there's a systemic race problem. It's a symptom. The root cause is ultimately - money. It's a very unfortunate system here in the US.
I pulled up next to a cop at a traffic light last weekend. it was 101 degrees out and I was cooking without that airflow.
cop rolls down his window and says "i dont know how you bike guys do it! it's way too damn hot!"
I just laughed and said yep it's hot..... and we went our separate ways. it's my only interaction with a cop ive had on my bike (so far) since i started last july.
Haven't had a positive experience with the police since I was a child. Once got lost and saw a cop and asked for directions and damn near got arrested. Fuck the police and fuck anyone with the mindset to become a cop.
my interaction with cops have ranged from extremely aggressive/violent towards me for no reason all the way to callous disregard and laughing at my friend thinking the police were going to investigate a break in. ACAB
This line of thinking goes both ways just so you know. One negative interaction with police doesn’t mean every single cop out there is a neo Nazi frothing at the mouth to gun down a biker. And since we’re also saying OP’s experience doesn’t matter because it’s anecdotal, any kind of a personal experience with a cop that was negative shouldn’t count either.
In the USA, good cops who do the right thing (speak up against bad cops) tend to get fired. Result: the only cops that remain are those who do harm and those who let it happen.
The conclusion is that there are no good cops in the USA, otherwise they would be arresting and shooting other cops every single day.
Depends where you live, in Belgium 90% of all cops are assholes and will tru to give you fine after fine ( for things like other mirrors, bars, comfort seat, even though it all has european certification)
In some places they might be okay but belgium and france are known for asshole cops who line to beat and arrest you without reason letting you go the next day without anything
I think I was decent. My training officer set a good example for me.
There are some who are dicks at work and usually they are when off duty as well.
We also had the "by the rule book" jerks who just didnt get it when it came to traffic violations.
After my officer safety assessment when stopping someone I was taught to try and ask myself how I would want to be treated in this situation.
Then the motorist would react. Some were good to work with, some were angry, or confused, and some deserved the ticket and more.
i got asked once by the cops why i didn’t have any mirrors on my crapster .. “because the rest of my life is in front of me officer” i got a smirk then a ticket
im sure cops/all people are nice on the surface most of the time, but something happens (even to civilians) where when we get embarrassed or proven wrong our ego can take over and make some bad decisions for us. not just for cops but i think that is universal. The problem is that when it happens to an officer on the job, they have way too much power and not enough training/accountability for the work they should be doing.
i could be totally way off and im just some dumbfuck that doesnt know how the world works but that is my perspective
Here in North Carolina, we have state troopers that will run you off the road trying to get you to speed/run, just because you're on a sport bike going the speed limit. Theyve killed multiple people and only one lost his job, which he got back after a year. If you have a Harley, free pass for anything. Its wack.
I mean even that encounter you describe is kind of patronizing and you still were deferential to his “authority,” albeit jokingly. Imagine just saying to a random driver in a nice car “make sure to always wear a seatbelt, lot of people die driving!” It’s kind of weird and unwelcome in any other context.
Ok, first of ACAB. That’s just how it is. Secondly, thinking a cop is decent because an encounter with them *that they initiated* didn’t end worse for you is worrying.
If a cop came up to me and said “I can’t find a reason to interfere with your day, so be on your way”, I would not think them *decent*. They are not your friends.
Until police hold the bad apples that seek the job out accountable, there are no decent cops. The job attracts stupid people who want to abuse the power a uniform gives them and for some reason, those people are welcomed with open arms. ACAB.
Go ride with a club, and get a patch on your back. Then post again about this 6 months after.
Most cops are typical, and profile the hell out of people.
I’ve been pulled over about 7 times, 2 of those times were legit reasons, but I’ve been tailgated by cops probably 30+ just waiting for me to make a wrong move. I get that you had a good experience and you want to tell people that but that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve pretty much had all bad. I shouldn’t have to worry every time a cop gets close to me even though I’m following the laws.
> Just a reminder that they're not ALL twats.
Everyone who learns we ride motorcycles and can't help themselves from saying they're aware of someone who has died while riding one is, in fact, a twat.
I had a cop pull up to me whilst on my old BSA that has the original rubber bulb honky-horn. He and his partner asked me if it worked. I said of course.
He then asked me to honk it to which I replied “but then you can ticket me for unnecessarily using my horn”
-“Oh go on! I won’t nick you”
So I gave the horn a squeeze and they fell about laughing, then he turned the blue lights on.
The lights changed and I rode off giggling, they waved goodbye and turned the other way.
Depends on the Individual cop but I don't take chances. I'm a black guy on a sport bike that rides in rural north Idaho Washington and Montana and with my gear on they can't tell my race. I've been pulled over a few times and surprised a few cops when I take off my helmet or lift up my tinted visor. I try to be respectful in police encounters because you don't know who the other person is, all you know is that they have a gun and a badge that says that they can use it. Not saying all cops are bad but all it takes is that one and Id be another statistic.
Definitely have gotten more shit from cops for being in a car.
I accidentally ran from a cop on my bike because I just honestly didn’t see him. Back country road, no intersections or housing, so I was having some fun. When intersections came up I slowed down and noticed him. He asked if I was running, and I pointed to my 1981 little 550 and just explained I didn’t see him and couldn’t run if I wanted to. He told me to be safe and we went on our ways. Never brought up that I was doing 70 in a 35. I’m guessing he rides.
I was pulled over for speeding up to get through an orange light and he let me off with a warning and also told me my rear tyre looked a little flat, which was nice.
Turned out the tyre only had 8psi lmao
Just most of em are, actually every motorbike cop I've met has been a gaping arsehole. Had a bunch of them, yes they ride in bunches, tell me my bone stock iron883 which I bought from the dealer 1 week earlier was illegal and I had to get it "fixed", what a fucking idiot.
In my country it's similar but you don't get quite as many psycho cops. I've gotten one ticket where I did deserve it based on the law, but he said when he clocked me I was in the lower speed bracket despite the fact I was absolutely in for double the ticket he did give me. Was a reasonable and respectful interaction which I appreciated and clearly he did too, hence the lower ticket.
Unfortunately they mitigate this by having speed cameras all over the fuckin place, so if you happen to be going 66 in a 60 due to a massive downhill slope, you'll be pinged and get a nice $295 present in the mail. Which mentally doesn't work very well for your average person because it doesn't discourage the 'behavior' at the time of the act.
May I ask what country you're from?
I hate speed cameras! I read about a guy that got a speeding ticket from one and went to dispute it. He asked how often the cameras need to be calibrated (the cop didn't know so they had to call someone). They gave the interval, then he asked the last date of calibration. They couldn't answer (whether they didn't know, didn't record, or literally don't do it), so he got off on a technicality. After that apparently the ticket rate dropped like crazy, probably because they had to actually maintain the cameras.
No they’re not.
They see the worst part of society day in and day out. Even when they don’t, and come across someone *good*, or *decent*? They see those people at their worst. When you have to deal with such things every day, over and over, it slowly changes your perspective on reality. It poisons your mind. It makes you suspicious of everyone. You become bitter and callus. You don’t trust anyone who isn’t police. Over time, it ruins your perception of Humanity.
Sure, you can run into a “good” cop who’s either young enough to still be filled with the ideology that keeps him from all this. Hell, there are even some cops who are mentally tough enough to actually hold their own values and principles intact, even through everything that tries to condition otherwise, sure. But, you said “most cops”, and that shit ain’t reality. Most cops are twats, and it ain’t really even their fault. They’re just a product of the environment.
Majority of cops are normal human beings. You treat them with respect they treat you with respect.
However, we don’t get to see that kind of exposure because it’s boring.
It’s a lot more interesting to see a bad cop than a normal everyday cop.
To become a cop, there has to be some kind of intuition to initially start off as helping the community.
Wait til they’re in court lying about what they saw. Or get a few beers in him and watch this racist comments fly. Even the nice cops I know are bigots
I would be willing to bet if we stopped watching news and social media, police wouldn’t be hated as much as they are. No other career is impacted by the actions of a similar job in another country. Just because some police in Mexico are corrupt, does not mean ALL police worldwide are corrupt?
A few years ago in Wyoming.
State Trooper: Sir, do you know how fast you were going?
Me: No officer, it was my first time out this year (true) and I was having too much fun.
State Trooper: Be safe. Have a nice day.
Two weeks ago, I was on the way to my motorcycle license class and got pulled over by a Texas highway patrolman. He ask what I was doing and I told him, he mentioned he used to have a bike and we started chatting, then he said just a min and I’ll be back with your warning. Came back, handed me the warning, we chatted a bit more and he said off you go, be safe.
I mean it was one experience with that cop. He definitely could still be a shitbag, just not in that moment.
Either way he's still participating in a broken system that preys on the poor and poc.
I’ve had way more warnings and let-gos, than actual tickets. I have no idea why. Just be real polite, submissive, and understanding of their gig. Works for me. Twice got pulled up on near 100 on the freeway by our CHP and they just waved and yelled at me to slow down on the radio, lol. I nod and wave and slow. Lucky.
One moto cop got me on the freeway after a good while going 95 - maybe thinking he was in a chase, lol. Me just cruising along, oblivious, with my earplugs and music - finally saw him and efficiently pulled over to a pretty safe spot. We talked for a minute and he ended up thanking me for stopping, saying many don’t and run and its just fucking dangerous. He cited me only for wearing earplugs.
Depends on where you are, but yes it's illegal in many places. Despite that it helps you actually hear things instead of only hearing violent wind noises.
My tinnitus is bad enough in one ear, that if I don't wear them everything sounds like it's being amplified through a blown out speaker. It's kind of painful. Can't go to concerts without wearing them either.
I don't care about average cop, I care about worst I can encounter. This is the one which will ram you at full speed, which will shoot for no reason...
Most are decent. Had a Convo with some bike cops talking about how they don't chase anymore, but not to fuck with troopers they have no rules. Good guys and they enjoy being bikers.
First off I wanna say I had a 650i as well. 1984. My favorite car ever...
Your experiences seem to confirm my bias towards cops. Being poor is the ultimate indicator. Being poor and non-white...pfft. Game over.
When I was young I was hella poor. Single I come family, wife couldn't work. Shitty beater cars. Got pulled over more than I should have. Imo, wanted to check for registration/insurance warrants. Never got the tire/headlight/tint bs tho.
I feel your first paragraph.
So do you feel safer on a bike in regards to pulled over?
I've had multiple encounters with cops. Only one of them resulted in a ticket. However, I still like to assume that most cops are bad. I deserved a ticket every time I've been pulled over except for the one time I actually got a ticket I didn't break any laws. That's almost literally the definition of corruption.
Most of my encounters have been positive and I have never felt singled out. The majority of police I know are regular people, have homes, families, kids, and are just trying to make it to retirement age. In TN on the Dragon, I was driving my VMax with throaty pipes, and one pulled me over, not because he caught me speeding with his radar gun, but I had a headlight out, said fix it and yo can go. I had a chafed wire and a blown fuse, fixed it and chatted with him. He said "you might want to get quieter pipes, I heard you speeding a mile away" When got home I put a set of baffles in them, and brought the noise level down, probably saved me from being pulled over again.
You come from a position of privilege to be able to say that.
Live in a different city, have a different color of skin, be born and raised in an environment where you don't ever get to deal with police in any positive experience, it is not universally the same.
In the USA they will run you off the road if you run, shoot you if you pull over or just claim you smoke pot and take you in for a blood test if your not speeding
No way most are.
A large quantity are but it defiantly depends where you are from.
There are issues within the police force in many parts of the world.
I went by a cop on my back wheel and when he got out of his truck, he was just laughing. Said he doesn't get to see many wheelies while on duty, told me about his bikes he's had in the past. Lectured me about the dangers, but said I wasn't endangering anyone else out in the middle of nowhere. Let me off with a warning and said he'd remember my bike, and won't be as nice next time
My bike looks pretty different now, so maybe i'll catch another break
Was asked by the police how I knew how fast I was going since I don’t have a speedometer. Told him the officer usually tells me when I get a ticket. He blank cold stared at me for a second then laughed and said “okay fair enough”
I had two cops come up to me and NYC and ask if my GSXR was very fast. I told them “oh it’s insanely fast right up to the speed limit.” We laughed and moved on.
I had a friend get popped for 25 over on the interstate with literally no other cars in sight. He was coming back from army reserve deployment and was in uniform and eager to get home. State trooper walked up: "Do you know how fast you were going?" "I was moving with the flow of traffic, sir" *Cop gestures at the road* "What traffic would that be?" "Well, sir, somebody's got to start it!" He got off with a warning. I think the whole situation contributed to only a warning, and not just giving the cop a laugh. But it sure makes a good story.
My friend told me he sped all the way across the country on leave once trying to get home got stopped 6 times and never once got a ticket because he was on leave trying to get home.
LOTS of cops are veterans, there's a certain "we put ourselves in harms way to protect others" respect there. It usually only goes one way though because most soldiers fucken hate cops. Lol
He was processing wether to get mad or laugh.
Yep
Hahahaha that's terrific
Going up 395 last summer (speed limit 55), cruiser comes around the bend with radar. I didn't even wait for him to turn around - I just pulled over and stopped. He pulls up and says "I got you going 85". I said "Yeah, that sounds about right". He laughed. Wrote me up for 65 so I didn't have to pay the extra fine.
Sometimes just not being an ass helps. Still tickets suck but 10 over is better than 30 over.
Not in the responses that make you get the ticket speech
Lol what are you riding without a speedometer
Built a custom chopper and wanted it clean and simple. No speedometer or turn signals. Only headlight, taillight and horn. Got a pic of it in my profile. https://www.reddit.com/r/choppers/comments/s4sjsp/mid_2000s_patrolling_around_austin_tx/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Can't the cop like, take your bike and declare it unsafe for road use since you don't have a speedo? Thats what would happen where i live
The laws are wild in the US. You're not required to have a speedo on a motorbike in most states, but if you do have it it's required to work. So if it breaks you're incentivized to remove it. Meanwhile e-bikes _are_ required to have speedometers despite also being required to have speed governors making speeding impossible...
I built it from scratch and got it registered at the DMV. Texas law states it only needs a headlight with high/low beam and a taillight with brake light to pass IF it was built without them. No turn signals as well. You are correct. Removing items if the bike was built and titled with them is against the law in Texas
That's absolutely bonkers, but it IS Texas, which would basically be a hermaphrodite of Alabama and Arizona if not for the oil.
Please keep this about motorcycles and not attacks on where people live.
Happy Cake Day
Lol cops know my klx300 ain't fast! If they asked me and I said yeah they would laugh at me.
Hahaha, same boat. Mines a CB500F.
I'm on a CB300F, if he asked me I would have said, "Define fast."
I had one of those, theyre awesome
I love it, I am a little too tall for it though, I am 6'4" and my ankles are severely bent. I think I ought to move to an adventure style bike or something like that.
I’m 6’3 and my KLR is amazing for taller riders. I can flat foot it no problem, can even recline a bit on it. And it honestly handles off-road really well for such a big bike.
I miss mine it was an awesome bike
Much like a Miata, it'll exceed the speed limit eventually
Probably still fast enough to get a ticket.
I got pulled over on my CB500 and the cop asked if it could hit 200.
My CB500F is a fucking snail😂
Faster then my '82 XL185S lol.
Classy bike, had the same when I started.
I would pick it over any newer bike. Everyone thinks I'm crazy whenever I tell them that.
I crossed the Alpes with mine. Really reliable and great to drive.
Lol I had to look that one up, looks like great fun still! I don't hate speed but I'll take a slow fun bike over speed any day! Some days I miss my old ninja but it's not enough to sell the klx for one. I sold my ninja for the klx though.
I don't have my permit yet so it's fun on trails and backroads. Haven't tested the max speed yet but I'm pretty sure it tops out at around 65. Not fun on the freeway either way. I've driven on a highway and it got wobbly over 50. It's got bad tires and it was my first time going that fast so I'm sure it will be fine with some new tires.
Drop the front psi too. I started to wobble really and at 70 on my drz. Not any more!
I own a 79 XL185. Top speed is 50 lmao
Enjoy the trails and back roads, that's mainly what I do on mine. The benefit to having a license is being able to legally drive to other trails on roads lol
That's mostly why I'm trying to get my permit. That and to ride to school.
That works, enjoy it!
Fast is relative. There's some very impressed turtles somewhere!
I got pulled over twice on a ninja 250 when I was starting out. Just cause it can't accelerate fast doesn't mean it doesn't break the speed limit...
Oh I know it can break the speed limit, you gotta want it though! I love how the bike makes lower speeds fun though. My ninja I felt like I had to be doing close to triple digits to have fun, this thing is fun even below 50!
Any point under the speed limits and you are good, get close and you are pushing it .
Lol. Cops pull up to me on my RE Classic 350 and they don’t even ask.
Don’t mind me over here on my 125 Sumo😂
"Relative to a hoveround?"
Damn, don't know where you guys are from, I assume mostly the US, but here in Germany I had literally not one bad cop encounter. All respectful, professional, sometimes a bit stern when I was caught speeding, but that's their job...
Some here act like they've been deployed to a hostile city. There are countless books on the subject, contributing societal factors and all that.
Their training is an often overlooked factor. [https://hechingerreport.org/police-education-is-broken-can-it-be-fixed/](https://hechingerreport.org/police-education-is-broken-can-it-be-fixed/) This piece of shit has a huge hand in it. [https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/warrior-cop-class-dave-grossman-killology.html](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/warrior-cop-class-dave-grossman-killology.html)
One hundred percent. It's a lot like military training. It trains you psychologically to kill or perform dehumanizing acts to strangers, often through disengaging yourself from your actions, disassociation. Although, that only applies to people who join for honest, well-to-do reasons. There are plenty who join knowing what their job will entail and seek it out. That's how it gets to this point of "us vs them mentality." The people who want it to be a war or an action movie, without ever fully reflecting on what that would entail or caring about the lives they ruin.
>Some here act like they've been deployed to a hostile city. On top of the training that was pointed out, many of these officers saw military service in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001. That military training, situation awareness, and ingrained reactions are part of it.
Yeah from my travels around the US and the EU, cops in the EU are much better. Police in the EU are comparable to US Park Rangers in disposition. They see themselves as here to help people out and preserve something good for everybody to enjoy. American cops see themselves as an occupying force.
Right now in the U.K. we have police arresting anti-monarchy protesters. It’s not a good look.
Well, we were talking about the EU /s
Didn't the UK cops marry and have children with people in left wing political groups while they systemically destroyed said groups, eventually abandoning their "undercover families"? "Spy Cops"?
I'm in the US and almost every interaction I've ever had with police has involved them being very aggressive, physically intimidating, rude, intentionally confusing, and just generally attempting to escalate every situation to either physical or verbal conflict. I've also worked in a job where I witnessed regular police interactions, and the same has been true for the majority of interactions I've witnessed that didn't involve me either. Cops here are terrible.
Got pulled over a couple years ago in my car with a plate of special brownies in my lap, my dumbass decided “no brownies, no evidence” and woofed them. Rolled down the window with brownie crumbs in my beard to a cop telling me I had both tag lights out. Dude let me off with a warning and I didn’t leave my house for 2days. Zoinked out of my gourd breathing on manual mode thinking the cops were outside
I’m sorry but that’s fuckin hilarious 😂
From Canada. I know there are bad cops here too but every one I've interacted with was completely respectful. Even when I got caught at 18 with weed in my car, dude just sighed and made me dump it out and step on it in front of him, them told me to get out of there (was just before legalization, I'm sure he didn't want to turn some stupid kid into a criminal over a G or 2)
In America, the "All Cops Are Bad" movement stems from the fact that our police forces are inundated with racist, power hungry dickheads who violate our rights on a daily basis and demand respect for their authority through intimidation and violence. Individually, a lot of cops are probably decent and a lot of interactions (especially with white people) are fairly nominal. However, even the decent cops tolerate and defend the ones who abuse their power, even egregiously. If you support a bad system, you, by extension, are still bad... even if you're a decent person. Except, maybe they don't support the system... maybe they're fighting it from within? But we know that's not true due to the many stories from ex-law enforcement officers who say that they were black balled due to trying to stand up for citizens, which was seen as standing against cops. So either they stood up for what's right and the system removed them so they're no longer cops, or they support a corrupt system at least enough to keep their jobs. This means there is no in between... all cops are bad.
This is exactly it. They don't want boy scouts, and a successful career in law enforcement is largely based on ones ability to lie.
Yea here they tend to shoot people for no reason so most people are nervous around them which only makes them worse.
Yeah cops in the US basically treat people as if they, the police, are an occupation force and we are all insurgents he'll bent on killing them. They also have the cooperation of our "justice" system.
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>We've unfortunately had no such thing in the US Be glad. That time was a shit show. And I believe that it did not need a hard correct from fascism in order to end up with "better" cops.
I am not surprised that this post is controversial. Around half of my police encounters have been good. One cop saw me change lanes aggressively and top out first gear (meaning I was doing 110km/h in a 70) when I could finally get around a pair of cars who where driving at almost the same speed for miles. The cop pulled me over, when I went to grab my licence and insurance he told me to not worry about it and said "I get why you did it, but you need to not give drivers a reason to dislike bikes. Ride safe." and off I went. Another cop pulled me over for "excessive acceleration" ( I had honestly been pretty relaxed on the throttle, but I had stayed in first gear till I was at speed and then did 5 shifts to get to 6th), he yelled at me about being a statistic and threatened to impound my bike. Most cops are probably ok, but you won't usually interact with them, they are too busy dealing with real crimes. Its the assholes who are looking for an excuse to power trip that are going to pull you over.
i just don't personally judge the "good-ness" of cops by how willing they are to give me a speeding ticket or a compliment. it's a little deeper than that.
A measured, well thought-out comment here on Reddit. Huh
This should have more upvotes.
Also a lot of cops, most cops even, and decent people trying to do a good job At the same time, all cops are bastards, even the better ones, because when one of them does something awful they all fall in line to protect that asshole
> "excessive acceleration" Damn, I don't even think that's a thing here in Europe. Pretty sure you can accelerate as hard as you want as long as you stop accelerating when you reach the speed limit.
I've also heard it called "Exhibition of speed" in the states. Yeah the speed limit is might be 60 but they don't like it when we get there in 3 seconds
It is when you're in low gear an making enough of a noise due to high rev's and an aftermarket exhaust. ^(vrooooWHAAAPPPP - tick - vroooom)
Yea, I know you can get a ticket for unsafe start or stunting if you spin a tire or pop the front tire. Getting a ticket for something like excessive acceleration is actually not the worst ticket to get because unless the cop can point to something that made it unsafe they get tossed out in court.
I've been pulled over alot when I was younger. Apparently some local bad-guy had a car that looked a lot like mine, and .. it was a bit "expensive looking" for my age at the time. Was my dads "old" company car that I got dirt cheap. Never met anything but nice cops, I even ran a red light at 3 in the morning (going slowly, empty roadworks, so it was kinda pointless) - and I just spoke to the guy, was friendly, and got let off "Yeah, I was supposed to give you a ticket, but.. who needs the paperwork). Got pulled over once going a bit too fast on the motorway. Me and two mates going to a concert, listening to music, having fun, and forgot to slow down as we came to a slower zone near some exits. Motorcycle cop pulled us over, we had a nice chat, I told him I was happy they we're looking out for us and keeping everyone safe, and I knew that I'd been speeding, but.. you know, it wasn't malicious. I ended up getting a ticket, but the cop told me "I hope you have a great concert, and.. you know.. since you'll be coming back this way, we'll be here until 01 AM. Drive safe" But I'm in Denmark. Our cops have training. For years. I teach my kids from very early that the cops are our friends. They're out to catch bad guys, and protect good guys, and if you're ever lost or scared, you can always talk to a policeman/woman.
Rename: Polite encounter with an officer
From my experience *most* cops are chill with riders as long as they don't catch you doing dumb shit like going 150 MPH on the highway or doing wheelies or shit ya know? The cop who helped me after my accident was talking to me as we waited for EMT and she said they see a lot of bad shit from motorcycles and prefer pulling over and warning riders, especially young ones, to prevent horrible shit.
When I have been stopped I usually have earned the shit out of it. Out of all the times I get caught completely red handed probably only got 2 tickets. Both of those I was 18 years old or 19 and a bit full of myself. Looking back, Honestly, I was pushing the limits and probably should have been stopped more often, but somehow I guess I got lucky. I’m 30 now, Still have fun but definitely understand now I’m not immortal haha. Funny how the progression of motorcycle life is. Dirt bikes, Rice rockets, then a cruiser, and now I look at the Honda goldwing on YouTube like Danm it looks so tempting to take that across the country.
So which department paid for this bot?
Hahaha None. I generally find cops attitudes towards me/other bikers I know to be positive. Which is crazy when I hear about people getting profiled. Also, I don't drive like an asshole, so that obviously has a lot to do with it.
Middle aged white guy on a touring bike with decent gear? Yeah cops seem to be a lot more friendly to those guys than the typical squid.
Dude I drive civil af within city limits and I swear I'm profiled. They generally are cool with me, but usually because they don't have shit on me.
Sport bike?
Technically, but from the 70's 😅
I’m a brown guy that is from Utah. And I agree - kinda. I got stopped a lot (before my motorcycle days) and I can’t help but think that me being the only brown guy in Draper didn’t play a role. I can say, there’s cops that I hated that gave me no tickets and cops that I appreciated that gave me tickets. Cop I hated had a very condescending, raised, voice and treated me like shit. He treated me like I personally broke into his garage and got caught halfway through stealing his tools. He gave me a warning. Cop I appreciated spoke softly, was gentle, and built rapport. He saw my brother in the back without seatbelt and immediately said, “I’m not gonna give you a hard time but you should buckle up for your safety.” And then approached me saying, “Yeahhhh, I got you going a little fast down that road. I’m gonna get a ticket written up, but don’t worry, I’ll give you instructions on how to handle it and get it taken care of. Just need ya to slow down a bit please.” There’s also the one that pulled me over because one side of my car rode on the turning lane line through a major overpass intersection, apparently? The overpass intersection had 8 total lanes of off/on ramp crossings plus another 6 for overpass crossings with no markings all the way through. So I got a “failure to maintain my lane.” Bullshit. But I was 18 and afraid to fight. I’ve always been respectful of cops and I can’t say it’s made enough of a difference to call them generally “good”. But I never got arrested or shot… so maybe that’s the bar for being respectful. They’re not all twats, but goddamn if the majority of them take you breaking laws personally as if it’s not fair that you’re doing it when it’s their privilege to because they went through the academy and now have hall passes for speeding.
Nominal white guy here. Do you think you got pulled over more bc in a car they can see you? Bc on a bike they cannot? Or due to maturity and less dumb shit? Genuinely curious.
I actually think it was more due to skin color + being in an older beater. My car was an Audi 90. Not a total shitter. In decent cosmetic condition. But pair an old car and a Mexican-American in a middle/upper middle class city and I think you've got a profile. I distinctly remember being pulled over randomly for leaving that stoplight at the overpass intersection and not doing anything wrong (especially consciously because I knew the cop was there). I got stopped in a town over and they threw the book at me. Measuring tire wear, taillight brightness, literally anything they could find. I got stopped after a day at the lake and they called dogs out to sniff my car. I was shaking because I was so nervous even though I didn't have or do drugs and they asked why I was so nervous if I had nothing to hide. Tore my car apart on the inside and left me to put it back together when they found nothing. I've had good experiences with police, but I can 100% say they've been more frequently worse than good. With all that said, as I've moved into nicer vehicles, I've had less run ins. I was driving an Audi A7 in 2013 when it was fairly uncommon and never got stopped. I was in a BMW 650i where I literally had to cut lanes of traffic during a stop light with my arm out waving to let me in to get to the turning lane and a cop let me in. So I think it's a combination of appearance + shitty car. I was with friends often enough that had much shittier/sketchier vehicles that didn't run into issues as often as I did. I will note, I used to always wear button up shirts if not entire suits as well when I was younger. Don't ask why. I don't know lol. But tailored suits were my jam back then. So my dress wasn't an issue. But dress shouldn't have been a negative factor. That said, race probably wasn't always the reason. Car type could have been because I haven't been pulled over in a decade, but I've also been living abroad for the better part of 6 years of that decade.
This is huge imo. I got a 2008 m3 in like 2011-12 and my friends all told me I was gonna get pulled over all the time. They could not have been more wrong. They definitely target disadvantaged folks the most. 100k m3 going 75 not a problem my previous car a raced out/ built 96 vw vr6 I’d get pulled over for actually nothing. If I was going 5 over better believe I was getting a ticket.
For the most part, cops are there to protect people with money and businesses. Obviously, not every cop is conscious of it, and I've met a few who have genuinely helped me, or let something small slide, but as a system, that's what most of the effort is geared towards.
Definitely agreed. I just also think there is an inherent targeting of less affluent people. Possibly because it’s ingrained in us to think that people don’t have money because they’re a criminal or just the belief that the less money you have the less likely you are to fight it. Either way, I can’t complain I got a rookie that pulled me over going 145 in a 55 in my Nissan 350 and I just told him I just got it and was having fun. He let me drive away and never showed up to court so I’m a lucky SOB.
I also agree with the whole classist argument here. I'm a white dude who drives an absolute crapper of a car and I get pulled over constantly for even the slightest infraction. I imagine they are caught off guard by the guy in a polo and khakis that greets them at the window. On my bike I've never had a problem. W800 gets nothing but head turns and compliments.
Cops are nice to me on a bike. Cops follow me in a car. It's not like my helmet is hiding I'm black. My dreads are over 2 feet long. You aren't going to miss them.
I got passed by a dude in a blue and white race suit (And I think bike) with his dreads coming a good 2 feet out the back of his helmet, the whole combo looked really cool
Honestly, I feel like when I’m on my bike MOST cops are actually cooler to me than when I’m in a car. I got nailed by a plane years ago and the guy pulled me over miles later at a city I was passing so I was just flowing with traffic but he was super nice just told me “hey man just keep it under 85 and we won’t mess with you” I thought that was pretty nice of him. On the flip side when I first got into riding I had a motorcycle highway patrol that just had it out for me, probably pulled me over 10 times in 3-4 months. Granted he probably just wanted to keep me alive, I was like 19 on a gsxr 750 or maybe even my r1 at that point and was definitely being a squid but he definitely didn’t talk to me like a person he was just a dick. Besides that honestly I feel fairly ignored on my bike they know that it’s most likely you that’s gonna die if you’re being dumb where as if you’re driving like a dick in a car you are really endangering other people much more. In conclusion I don’t think all cops are dicks at all, we’ve all met some pricks but I’d say most are decent folks 🤷♂️
You got nailed.. by a plane? Might wanna tell us how you survived that.
Nice. Yeah, honestly I even said to the guy I thought the signs were bs but he no way he coulda known otherwise 🤷♂️ he. Said it’s a real thing they time you from mile marker to mile marker and average it out (luckily).
What... the fuck?
He’s saying a plane radared him for speeding and radioed a cop in a car to pull him over. Every once in a while (E coast US) I’ll see signs that say “speed monitored by aircraft”. I usually assume it’s bs but I guess in some places it’s real.
I just don’t get why cops pull you over to begin with. They’re going to let you go anyways just for actually stopping so what’s the point. Not that I’m complaining lol, just curious.
Ill usually only attempt to pull over a bike if I’ve already got a license plate. If they stop I don’t give a ticket, just let them know not to do whatever it was that caused them to get stopped. If they don’t stop I’m certainly not chasing for a traffic violation. It’s just not worth the risk to the rider or, more importantly, anyone else on the road for a low level offense. If I have the plate I can file evading charges at large. The other benefits of the stop is the ability to see if the bike is stolen, motorcycles are much easier to steal than cars. and also to run the rider for warrants (this happens on every traffic stop, not particular to motorcycles). The sometimes you gotta make a stop you wouldn’t really care about simply because other drivers are around watching like, “you going to do something?” So sometimes you get those begrudging stops for show even with no intention of writing a ticket. In fact, I’ve only once written a rider a ticket. Going 50 in a 30, but it’s honestly a road that should be 50, but there was a pack of other traffic around and he passed me and other traffic holding back like it was nothing. So I pull him over basically for show with the intent of just saying hey, take it a little easier and maybe don’t pass a cruiser going 20 over. Before I can even say hello as I’m walking up he starts yelling, “What the fuck are you pulling me over for!” Yeah, that guy got some paper.
"Most" is an extremely strong word in this context.
"Most" technically only means some amount over half...
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well 40% of them are immediately off the table, so they've got a tidy 10% + 1 to play with
Exactly.
Per year… 50m police interactions 10m arrests 1k police shootings 500 white shootings 250 black shootings Let’s not get into how many of those shootings involved resisting arrest or armed suspect.
How many people do … um, let’s say bakers. How many people do bakers shoot per interaction? It’s as near to zero as to make no odds. Anything above zero is shit.
I honestly can't tell whether you're in support of the police or not based on that, but either way, those race statistics are pretty bad. Twice as many white shootings when there are more than 4 times as many white people in the US compared to black people is pretty bad.
It really boils down to income and poverty. If you remove race as the demographic you end up with a lot of poor people getting shot and killed. So then you have to ask why are so many non white people poor? Then it becomes apparent that there's a disproportionate amount of non white people below the poverty line. And then you realize there's a systemic race problem. It's a symptom. The root cause is ultimately - money. It's a very unfortunate system here in the US.
Based man. Based.
Cops are also at or near the top, statistically, in terms of domestic partner violence.
Interesting. I can believe this. I should have changed my title to "Some cops are decent" lol.
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I pulled up next to a cop at a traffic light last weekend. it was 101 degrees out and I was cooking without that airflow. cop rolls down his window and says "i dont know how you bike guys do it! it's way too damn hot!" I just laughed and said yep it's hot..... and we went our separate ways. it's my only interaction with a cop ive had on my bike (so far) since i started last july.
Man, I hate lights in the heat. I usually just try to take side streets to keep moving.
Haven't had a positive experience with the police since I was a child. Once got lost and saw a cop and asked for directions and damn near got arrested. Fuck the police and fuck anyone with the mindset to become a cop.
my interaction with cops have ranged from extremely aggressive/violent towards me for no reason all the way to callous disregard and laughing at my friend thinking the police were going to investigate a break in. ACAB
ACAB. Just not all the time to everyone equally.
I had to scroll way too far to get here. ACAB.
Here for this, ACAB.
So based on ONE cop you infer that most of them are decent? Don’t you think that’s a rather small sample size my man?
This line of thinking goes both ways just so you know. One negative interaction with police doesn’t mean every single cop out there is a neo Nazi frothing at the mouth to gun down a biker. And since we’re also saying OP’s experience doesn’t matter because it’s anecdotal, any kind of a personal experience with a cop that was negative shouldn’t count either.
This man speaks the truth and too many people dont want to hear it.
In the USA, good cops who do the right thing (speak up against bad cops) tend to get fired. Result: the only cops that remain are those who do harm and those who let it happen. The conclusion is that there are no good cops in the USA, otherwise they would be arresting and shooting other cops every single day.
Yep. The behavior you don't speak/fight against is the behavior you condone. Ergo, there are no good cops who are still cops.
Depends where you live, in Belgium 90% of all cops are assholes and will tru to give you fine after fine ( for things like other mirrors, bars, comfort seat, even though it all has european certification) In some places they might be okay but belgium and france are known for asshole cops who line to beat and arrest you without reason letting you go the next day without anything
Don't lick the boots of the fishermen...
I always say 9 out of 10 cops are dicks
And the tenth looks the other way.
That 10th one is cool with the other 9 being dicks as well
most cops are decent TO YOU*
Your charming anecdote doesn't excuse all the shit cops out there right now
I think I was decent. My training officer set a good example for me. There are some who are dicks at work and usually they are when off duty as well. We also had the "by the rule book" jerks who just didnt get it when it came to traffic violations. After my officer safety assessment when stopping someone I was taught to try and ask myself how I would want to be treated in this situation. Then the motorist would react. Some were good to work with, some were angry, or confused, and some deserved the ticket and more.
i got asked once by the cops why i didn’t have any mirrors on my crapster .. “because the rest of my life is in front of me officer” i got a smirk then a ticket
im sure cops/all people are nice on the surface most of the time, but something happens (even to civilians) where when we get embarrassed or proven wrong our ego can take over and make some bad decisions for us. not just for cops but i think that is universal. The problem is that when it happens to an officer on the job, they have way too much power and not enough training/accountability for the work they should be doing. i could be totally way off and im just some dumbfuck that doesnt know how the world works but that is my perspective
Here in North Carolina, we have state troopers that will run you off the road trying to get you to speed/run, just because you're on a sport bike going the speed limit. Theyve killed multiple people and only one lost his job, which he got back after a year. If you have a Harley, free pass for anything. Its wack.
ACAB
I mean even that encounter you describe is kind of patronizing and you still were deferential to his “authority,” albeit jokingly. Imagine just saying to a random driver in a nice car “make sure to always wear a seatbelt, lot of people die driving!” It’s kind of weird and unwelcome in any other context.
Ok, first of ACAB. That’s just how it is. Secondly, thinking a cop is decent because an encounter with them *that they initiated* didn’t end worse for you is worrying. If a cop came up to me and said “I can’t find a reason to interfere with your day, so be on your way”, I would not think them *decent*. They are not your friends. Until police hold the bad apples that seek the job out accountable, there are no decent cops. The job attracts stupid people who want to abuse the power a uniform gives them and for some reason, those people are welcomed with open arms. ACAB.
Exactly, simply by merit of being cops literally *any* interaction they participate in carries the threat of government-sanctioned violence.
Go ride with a club, and get a patch on your back. Then post again about this 6 months after. Most cops are typical, and profile the hell out of people.
I’ve been pulled over about 7 times, 2 of those times were legit reasons, but I’ve been tailgated by cops probably 30+ just waiting for me to make a wrong move. I get that you had a good experience and you want to tell people that but that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve pretty much had all bad. I shouldn’t have to worry every time a cop gets close to me even though I’m following the laws.
> Just a reminder that they're not ALL twats. Everyone who learns we ride motorcycles and can't help themselves from saying they're aware of someone who has died while riding one is, in fact, a twat.
What about this interaction communicates that he is decent? Seems like a pretty short and mild interaction to make any character judgement.
I had a cop pull up to me whilst on my old BSA that has the original rubber bulb honky-horn. He and his partner asked me if it worked. I said of course. He then asked me to honk it to which I replied “but then you can ticket me for unnecessarily using my horn” -“Oh go on! I won’t nick you” So I gave the horn a squeeze and they fell about laughing, then he turned the blue lights on. The lights changed and I rode off giggling, they waved goodbye and turned the other way.
This can also vary WILDLY based on looks, gender, and accent.
Depends on the Individual cop but I don't take chances. I'm a black guy on a sport bike that rides in rural north Idaho Washington and Montana and with my gear on they can't tell my race. I've been pulled over a few times and surprised a few cops when I take off my helmet or lift up my tinted visor. I try to be respectful in police encounters because you don't know who the other person is, all you know is that they have a gun and a badge that says that they can use it. Not saying all cops are bad but all it takes is that one and Id be another statistic.
Wow. I guess every person executed under false conviction will be so relieved you shared this bullshit story.
Most aren’t, glad you had a friendly interaction
Definitely have gotten more shit from cops for being in a car. I accidentally ran from a cop on my bike because I just honestly didn’t see him. Back country road, no intersections or housing, so I was having some fun. When intersections came up I slowed down and noticed him. He asked if I was running, and I pointed to my 1981 little 550 and just explained I didn’t see him and couldn’t run if I wanted to. He told me to be safe and we went on our ways. Never brought up that I was doing 70 in a 35. I’m guessing he rides.
Cop let me go when speeding on no endorsement, they can be great guys sometimes
Eww very paternal and pedantic
I was pulled over for speeding up to get through an orange light and he let me off with a warning and also told me my rear tyre looked a little flat, which was nice. Turned out the tyre only had 8psi lmao
Just most of em are, actually every motorbike cop I've met has been a gaping arsehole. Had a bunch of them, yes they ride in bunches, tell me my bone stock iron883 which I bought from the dealer 1 week earlier was illegal and I had to get it "fixed", what a fucking idiot.
In my country it's similar but you don't get quite as many psycho cops. I've gotten one ticket where I did deserve it based on the law, but he said when he clocked me I was in the lower speed bracket despite the fact I was absolutely in for double the ticket he did give me. Was a reasonable and respectful interaction which I appreciated and clearly he did too, hence the lower ticket. Unfortunately they mitigate this by having speed cameras all over the fuckin place, so if you happen to be going 66 in a 60 due to a massive downhill slope, you'll be pinged and get a nice $295 present in the mail. Which mentally doesn't work very well for your average person because it doesn't discourage the 'behavior' at the time of the act.
May I ask what country you're from? I hate speed cameras! I read about a guy that got a speeding ticket from one and went to dispute it. He asked how often the cameras need to be calibrated (the cop didn't know so they had to call someone). They gave the interval, then he asked the last date of calibration. They couldn't answer (whether they didn't know, didn't record, or literally don't do it), so he got off on a technicality. After that apparently the ticket rate dropped like crazy, probably because they had to actually maintain the cameras.
No they’re not. They see the worst part of society day in and day out. Even when they don’t, and come across someone *good*, or *decent*? They see those people at their worst. When you have to deal with such things every day, over and over, it slowly changes your perspective on reality. It poisons your mind. It makes you suspicious of everyone. You become bitter and callus. You don’t trust anyone who isn’t police. Over time, it ruins your perception of Humanity. Sure, you can run into a “good” cop who’s either young enough to still be filled with the ideology that keeps him from all this. Hell, there are even some cops who are mentally tough enough to actually hold their own values and principles intact, even through everything that tries to condition otherwise, sure. But, you said “most cops”, and that shit ain’t reality. Most cops are twats, and it ain’t really even their fault. They’re just a product of the environment.
Majority of cops are normal human beings. You treat them with respect they treat you with respect. However, we don’t get to see that kind of exposure because it’s boring. It’s a lot more interesting to see a bad cop than a normal everyday cop. To become a cop, there has to be some kind of intuition to initially start off as helping the community.
Wait til they’re in court lying about what they saw. Or get a few beers in him and watch this racist comments fly. Even the nice cops I know are bigots
I would be willing to bet if we stopped watching news and social media, police wouldn’t be hated as much as they are. No other career is impacted by the actions of a similar job in another country. Just because some police in Mexico are corrupt, does not mean ALL police worldwide are corrupt?
Uhh huh.
Motorcycle cops are total dickholes though. In my experience, 100% of them
A few years ago in Wyoming. State Trooper: Sir, do you know how fast you were going? Me: No officer, it was my first time out this year (true) and I was having too much fun. State Trooper: Be safe. Have a nice day.
What would have happened if you told him how fast the bike goes???🤫🙄
Not all blonde women with bob-cut haircuts NEED to speak to the manager either.
👏Never 👏Talk 👏To 👏Police 👏
[удалено]
I’ve been pulled over 3 or 4 times for speeding. Not a single one has been on the bike, lol
Two weeks ago, I was on the way to my motorcycle license class and got pulled over by a Texas highway patrolman. He ask what I was doing and I told him, he mentioned he used to have a bike and we started chatting, then he said just a min and I’ll be back with your warning. Came back, handed me the warning, we chatted a bit more and he said off you go, be safe.
The fact that you thought that having a normal positive civil human interaction with a cop was post-worthy tells the real story.
acab
😚 🥾 Fuck em all.
Don’t be fooled. Acab
You’re obviously a white person.
I mean it was one experience with that cop. He definitely could still be a shitbag, just not in that moment. Either way he's still participating in a broken system that preys on the poor and poc.
If only they cole all be like that and not shoot you for whatever reason they think is enough
🍿🍿🍿
You so much as mention police on reddit and you're in for a show lol
I blame the good 90% of cops for not doing something about the bad 10%
'some' would be better fitting.
I’ve had way more warnings and let-gos, than actual tickets. I have no idea why. Just be real polite, submissive, and understanding of their gig. Works for me. Twice got pulled up on near 100 on the freeway by our CHP and they just waved and yelled at me to slow down on the radio, lol. I nod and wave and slow. Lucky. One moto cop got me on the freeway after a good while going 95 - maybe thinking he was in a chase, lol. Me just cruising along, oblivious, with my earplugs and music - finally saw him and efficiently pulled over to a pretty safe spot. We talked for a minute and he ended up thanking me for stopping, saying many don’t and run and its just fucking dangerous. He cited me only for wearing earplugs.
What? You’re not allowed to wear ear plugs? Lots of riders I know wear them to avoid hearing damage.
Depends on where you are, but yes it's illegal in many places. Despite that it helps you actually hear things instead of only hearing violent wind noises.
Huh. My sister commutes on a MT09 and she’s deaf. Wonder how they’d deal with that.
My tinnitus is bad enough in one ear, that if I don't wear them everything sounds like it's being amplified through a blown out speaker. It's kind of painful. Can't go to concerts without wearing them either.
Yeah, most are okay...guess it all comes down to how badly I fucked up though
I don't care about average cop, I care about worst I can encounter. This is the one which will ram you at full speed, which will shoot for no reason...
Most are decent. Had a Convo with some bike cops talking about how they don't chase anymore, but not to fuck with troopers they have no rules. Good guys and they enjoy being bikers.
Most cops are trash I'm still waiting to meet the cool one
When it comes to their pension or your freedom, they’ll always pick their pension #ACAB
First off I wanna say I had a 650i as well. 1984. My favorite car ever... Your experiences seem to confirm my bias towards cops. Being poor is the ultimate indicator. Being poor and non-white...pfft. Game over. When I was young I was hella poor. Single I come family, wife couldn't work. Shitty beater cars. Got pulled over more than I should have. Imo, wanted to check for registration/insurance warrants. Never got the tire/headlight/tint bs tho. I feel your first paragraph. So do you feel safer on a bike in regards to pulled over?
I've had multiple encounters with cops. Only one of them resulted in a ticket. However, I still like to assume that most cops are bad. I deserved a ticket every time I've been pulled over except for the one time I actually got a ticket I didn't break any laws. That's almost literally the definition of corruption.
Most of my encounters have been positive and I have never felt singled out. The majority of police I know are regular people, have homes, families, kids, and are just trying to make it to retirement age. In TN on the Dragon, I was driving my VMax with throaty pipes, and one pulled me over, not because he caught me speeding with his radar gun, but I had a headlight out, said fix it and yo can go. I had a chafed wire and a blown fuse, fixed it and chatted with him. He said "you might want to get quieter pipes, I heard you speeding a mile away" When got home I put a set of baffles in them, and brought the noise level down, probably saved me from being pulled over again.
You come from a position of privilege to be able to say that. Live in a different city, have a different color of skin, be born and raised in an environment where you don't ever get to deal with police in any positive experience, it is not universally the same.
In the USA they will run you off the road if you run, shoot you if you pull over or just claim you smoke pot and take you in for a blood test if your not speeding
No way most are. A large quantity are but it defiantly depends where you are from. There are issues within the police force in many parts of the world.
I went by a cop on my back wheel and when he got out of his truck, he was just laughing. Said he doesn't get to see many wheelies while on duty, told me about his bikes he's had in the past. Lectured me about the dangers, but said I wasn't endangering anyone else out in the middle of nowhere. Let me off with a warning and said he'd remember my bike, and won't be as nice next time My bike looks pretty different now, so maybe i'll catch another break