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Admitting Guilt or Authority Recognition?
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pglaves
#13338
That depends on the officer and his wife/partner and whether he is in a good or bad mood at that moment. He might take it as an "oops" and smile when he goes by. Or he might decide - if he actually had your speed, instead of the saved speed from his last stop, to do a U turn and come get that bad biker. I think the outcome is mostly out of the rider's hands.
Edit Added: By outcome I mean whether to stop a rider or not. As for to cite or not, the rider's attitude and demeanor will mean a great deal usually.
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Visian
look out!!!
I use the rear brake in that situation so that the bike doesn't nosedive. Then pray he doesn't have instant-on radar or lidar.
TEDZEMLICKA
Member
Arkansas State Trooper said my failure to slow down was the reason for my ticket.
TEDZEMLICKA
Member
P.S. Slowed way down for South Dakota State Trooper from 8 over in 80 MPH zone. It didn't help at all.
dieselyoda
Active member
I have stories of being stopped in large trucks and given a proctological. Not recommended. Can get ugly. May be taken out of service.
OM
LEO got tough enough jobs from being shot at from a marginalized individual, to hubby/wife disputes about over cooked eggs all the way to TA's and OD's.
Not for me, never had a 'dozer talk back at me or try to shoot me.
I get pegged for speed, when they come out of the rhubarb with the bling on, I always, always, pull over.
Me bad for speeding, me really bad man for putting someone else at risk to do their job.
brownie0486
Well-known member
Heading west on rte 60 through Globe, Az., I was clipping along 15 or so over coming into town in light traffic. From across the street and up a ways, I see the light bar come on and then shut off but he doesn't move. Slowed to limit asap, flashed the running lights back and waived [ a thank you ] as I passed by him for the consideration.
I really think running with those running lights, it being a GS and not a super sport, that I was wearing a hi viz yellow jacket all came together for the officer to determine I wasn't a young rider who needed some "adjustment".
I think you just may have something about wearing a high viz yellow jacket and the type of bike. There have been many times when riding a little aggressively and encountering a LEO they have looked and ignored me.
This most likely doesn’t work now but back in the seventies, my cousin, a RCMP officer told me to always hit the brakes when seeing a LEO before the radar was locked onto my speed. Without the speed locked, I’d be free of a ticket.
pglaves
#13338
I am pretty sure that now it takes much less than a second - maybe just a few milliseconds.
Last figures I was aware of was deceleration of 8 feet per second to cause the radar to try another reference.
OM
This is a question with a thousand answers. LEOs are individual people who have differing opinions, attitudes, and moods. They will individually determine their criteria for who gets stopped. Will “slowing” affect their decision, probably. Not slowing certainly can influence it, if you are over their criteria for a stop.
Radars are constantly providing a speed to the officer if they are transmitting. They indicate the speed of the strongest radar return. Some radars can provide a 2nd reading on the fastest vehicle, but the officer must visually determine which vehicle is the fastest. A common example is a larger vehicle behind a smaller vehicle (truck/car or car/motorcycle) causing target resolution errors. There are numerous other errors the officer is trained to recognize and avoid.
Use of LIDARs is rapidly increasing. They are extremely accurate and give you the speed and distance of the vehicle that is in the aiming optic. The LIDAR beam is a couple of inches wide, versus the radar beam which is usually yards wide. Most of the errors seen in typical radar units are not even a factor.
Personally, I rarely gave a speeding ticket to a motorcycle rider unless there was some other notable problem. First because they actually stopped (many don’t, I will not pursue due to the high risk). Second because they stopped and are usually polite and respectful.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Radars are constantly providing a speed to the officer if they are transmitting. They indicate the speed of the strongest radar return. Some radars can provide a 2nd reading on the fastest vehicle, but the officer must visually determine which vehicle is the fastest. A common example is a larger vehicle behind a smaller vehicle (truck/car or car/motorcycle) causing target resolution errors. There are numerous other errors the officer is trained to recognize and avoid.
Use of LIDARs is rapidly increasing. They are extremely accurate and give you the speed and distance of the vehicle that is in the aiming optic. The LIDAR beam is a couple of inches wide, versus the radar beam which is usually yards wide. Most of the errors seen in typical radar units are not even a factor.
Personally, I rarely gave a speeding ticket to a motorcycle rider unless there was some other notable problem. First because they actually stopped (many don’t, I will not pursue due to the high risk). Second because they stopped and are usually polite and respectful.
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brownie0486
Well-known member
Only time I wrote a traffic infraction was when the driver was asked if they knew why I stopped them. If they answered no, they got an explanation in writing. If they knew what they did, I asked them to please not do that again in my jurisdiction, have a nice day and they were back on the road. I'd give 15, they wouldn't even get stopped unless 16 over.
Anyname
Active member
Stupid game to play with other humans. What does it prove other than that drivers who won't confess have been told not to incriminate themselves? Lots of cops ask that question so they can tell the judge that you admitted breaking the law if you decide to contest the ticket later.
brownie0486
Well-known member
Stupid game? 97 out of 100 stops [roughly ] resulted in their leaving without even checking for wants and warrants. Perhaps you'd have had me give 100 tickets in 100 stops, and not give 15 over a pass, stopping people for 16 and over. When I did write one it always for the minimum 10 over even if the ticket would have been 100-200.00 [ in that state first 10 was 50.00 and every mile over was another 10.00. So, 60 in a 35 would have cost them 200.00, 50 in a 35 would have been 100.00. Not often, but when a ticket was challenged in court, they weren't given a break by the court because the ticket showed the infraction and a break on the fine already.
I don't give a rats ass what someone's been told, it's not a confession it's simply admitting they knew why I stopped them [ and they weren't asked for specifics, just that they knew why I stopped them. Perhaps feigning ignorance as to why you were stopped is what your atty might suggest. Feigning ignorance with me, got you the ticket [ which would have been written either way if I wasn't such a nice guy ]. As I learned over the years, the vast majority know what infraction they'd committed and readily admitted they knew they were speeding, blew the stop sign, etc.
What I've learned over many years on the streets is this. Leo's don't like being lied to like they're idiots, excuses made, etc. What we've seen here in these posts is just that. Up front, polite and honest more often than not gets you a pass. It has worked well for many here, including myself.
"Lots of cops ask that question so they can tell the judge that you admitted breaking the law if you decide to contest the ticket later". Never met one using that tactic myself, it's more a urban legend than fact. Sounds like you'd have gotten a ticket had I stopped you, because you wouldn't admit to violating the law. It also sounds like you'd have a bit of a tude if I asked, tudes got the full measure of the ticket due, with a notation that the operator had an attitude. Judges always like seeing that when determining whether to give them a break or not.
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kbasa
Well-known member
If they're parked on the side of the road here, it's laser and you're all done. Not much beam spread means you don't get a lot of warning, if any.
If I get bagged, I just pull over. If the cop is by the side of the road in front of me, I raise my left hand and put my right turn signal on to show I've seen him and am stopping. I try to stop win front off them so we're both safer in the "shadow" of their car After stopping, I take off my sunglasses and ensure my hands are visible from behind. On the bags works great. When I have to provide my papers, I ask if I can get off the bike to get them out and tell the officer which pocket I'm reaching into and what I'm going to pull out.
I also understand that my place to plead my case is not on the roadside. But I can demonstrate regret and not be a jerk, which helps. CHP wrote me a ticket once during the recession and when he handed it to me I said, "I finally got a bonus and I guess I know where that's going." He stopped, turned around, told me he was behind on his mortgage and that he'd be on vacation on a certain date range. I asked him if he was trying to help me and he gave me a huge shoulder shrug and said, "Ride safely, man." Didn't have to pay that one.
Me, my wife and Rob Nye were coming down from Oregon on CA97(?) one time and we were moving the mail in traditional Sled Dog Touring Team tradition. That road has long, long stretches with a couple miles of visibility, up there by Little Shasta and we were taking full advantage. Blowing by the trucks, Rob on Tina's RS, her on my VFR and me on my orange R11S, we were rolling true triple digits, making our way to Weed, Ca. and I5. We're riding fast, but thoughtfully, deliberately and carefully like the task demands.
We gas up, have an ice cream and get onto 5 to head down to Yreka for a hotel. We're just rolling it in the right lane, kinda 65ish. We're an hour out, so we might as well chill and roll on in. Some construction is ahead and the right lane is closed, so I check my left and there's a cop there in a Cherokee, right where I need to be. Where the heck did he come from? I was just looking back at Tina to make sure she was OK.
The cones are getting close, so I turn to look at him and I give him the upraised palm - "dude, wtf? you gonna let me in?" He backs off a little and Rob and I slide into the left lane in front of him. Tina's a bit back, maybe 10 seconds, watching us.
The cop puts the party lights on and pulls Rob and I over. Rob's got his high viz on and as the cop walks by, he says something like, "You can leave firefighter", so Rob leaves. The cop comes up to me. Rob was an IT guy back then, moving oil on tankers, not a fireman.
"Were you guys coming down 97 a while back?"
Well, yeah, I tell him. So he asks where we started.
"We started in Redmond this morning and have been all over Oregon today. Now we're wrapping up operations and heading to our hotel."
He starts gawking at the pile of junk on the back of my bike. "You guys camping, too?" His tone has changed for the kinder. "Is that how you guys travel?"
"Usually. The red bike is my wife. We've been on the road about a week and a half now with my buddy on the white bike." And I tell him all the places we rode. He's kind of amazed.
We start talking and he's got a Sportster. He tells me that he was getting reports of three bikes, a white one, a red one with a rider with a long blonde ponytail and an orange one traveling at high speeds, looking like they were headed somewhere. "You should know the truckers ratted you guys out." And he laughs a little. I call them "bastards" and he laughs a little more.
"Look, man. For me, a hundred miles on my Sportster is a long day. You guys waking up in a tent this morning and being all the way down here now? Serious respect, so I'm gonna let you go. But you better slow your ass down next time you come through my county, OK?"
"You got it, my friend. I appreciate it. And ya know, if you want to know about BMWs, check our club out."
He gave me a thumbs up and got back in the Cherokee. He followed me for a bit before turning into the median, but before he did, he slid up next to me and pointed at the S and gave me a thumb's up and a head nod.
Yep. That's me. An ambassador for the sport with cops everywhere.
Returning home from the Salt Lake Rally, twenty-five miles from home shortly after midnight, with hardly any other vehicles on the road when a colourful array of lights came on behind me. The officer told me I had no rear lights. I stated that yes the trailer lights were out but the trailer sat low and my bike lights were clearly visible. I honestly told him I did not know about the bike’s lights. I further explained that the trailer incident happened in the morning the day before and the Omaha BMW mechanic could not be bothered to check my bike or trailer I had replaced one fuse but did not realize a second fuse had blown.
While he was back in his vehicle checking my ownership and insurance I envisioned a major ticket and being told to get a tow. Instead he told me to lead the way to the next exit with my four ways and he would follow to shield me. From there I was to go north and then take the quiet two lane road, which ran parallel to the freeway. He left me at the exit.
Fifteen minutes later in a village, I was pulled over for a roadside stop and was asked by one of the officers how had my day been. Told that less than twenty minutes ago I been escorted off the major highway by a patrol officer for having no rear lights. He laughed and told me to have a safe ride home.
Two good encounters with LEOs within the hour.
While he was back in his vehicle checking my ownership and insurance I envisioned a major ticket and being told to get a tow. Instead he told me to lead the way to the next exit with my four ways and he would follow to shield me. From there I was to go north and then take the quiet two lane road, which ran parallel to the freeway. He left me at the exit.
Fifteen minutes later in a village, I was pulled over for a roadside stop and was asked by one of the officers how had my day been. Told that less than twenty minutes ago I been escorted off the major highway by a patrol officer for having no rear lights. He laughed and told me to have a safe ride home.
Two good encounters with LEOs within the hour.
