After last night....

[Jane Honda]

After yesterday evening's run in with the "Law", I thought it would be a good idea to open this forum up for discussion and comment. Anyone who has an experience with receiving a citation while riding a bike is welcome to share their experiences with the group so that perhaps someone else in the same situation might have some direction. Have any ideas on how to fight moving violations and win? Do you have any suggestions on how to avoid a citation in the first place?
Lets hear it!

[Fly n Hawaiian]

So what happened at bike night ? What did I miss?:wow8:

[dansrc51]

cops showed up and told us to go home. No tickets that I heard of, and they could have been a$$ holes about it but they didn't. Looks like we need to find a new place to go after bike night. :ride: West Eugene is a good idea, but out of sight out of mind would be better. Also, this is my best advice for avoiding a ticket. that, and Always pull over. It really pisses them off when you run. just be honest and cool and in my experience they might let you off.:idunno:

[Jane Honda]

Here is a fairly informative website to help you fight a ticket. Granted, it is mostly california based stuff, but from what Ive read, some of it can help here as well...

http://www.helpigotaticket.com/

[R-666]

I want to locate a new spot... gona cruise a bit tonight and do some looken around... see what we can find. The ticket thing.... Just be straight up with them... they respect that alot more than being a punk. I learned the hard way....lol :angel:

[kneedragger26]

...I heard about you naughty boys and girls.....:frown:

[r1speedemon]

just bend over and take it... i have had one "not bad" experience with a cop and i am pretty sure some strings were pulled on that one :) cops like to harass sportbike riders, thats just the way it is

[kneedragger26]

just bend over and take it... cops like to harass sportbike riders, thats just the way it is

....yep.



:moped:

[Summer4ever]

Definitely just be straight up... and polite. Cops can write you or not on their discretion...so if you are an ass, your going to get written for as much as they can write, if you are respectful, you may get off with no tickets. Alot of cops ride sportbikes too..( and do crazy things on them...lol.. I know from experience) but yes, unfortunately there are also ******* cops out there that hate sportbikes... but that's probably because they have "Little Johnson" issues... :shhh:

[Jane Honda]

Definitely just be straight up... and polite. Cops can write you or not on their discretion...so if you are an ass, your going to get written for as much as they can write, if you are respectful, you may get off with no tickets. Alot of cops ride sportbikes too..( and do crazy things on them...lol.. I know from experience) but yes, unfortunately there are also ******* cops out there that hate sportbikes... but that's probably because they have "Little Johnson" issues... :shhh:

:laughing: Hehehe...

[kneedragger26]

but yes, unfortunately there are also ******* cops out there that hate sportbikes... but that's probably because they have "Little Johnson" issues... :shhh:
with capitals too. Thats funny...:thumbup:

[Xusia]

First, let me rant for second. Traffic enforcement is largely BS - it's about the money not safety. For the those ******* cops, it also probably gives them wood to exercise some sort of control over others. This is a condition known as megalomania. Unfortunately, people with megalomania are drawn to occupations where they can exercise perceived power such as the military or police. All this adds up to little chance you will get away without a ticket (unless you actually GET AWAY!).

I'm polite and have rarely been "let off." When I do get a ticket, I generally try to then make myself as big of a pain in the ass as I can. The goal is waste more money than they get from me. I plead not guilty and reschedule my trial a couple times. I try to figure out the officers schedule by looking at the duty log and schedule on his day off if I can. I've had them not show which always puts a big smile on my face. I research the law I am charged with and make a plausible defense soI can take up as much of the court's time as possible during the trial. All in a polite fashion of course. I have actually had my trial postponed before so the cop could get a traffic engineer to offer expert testimony. He is apparently the only one for Eugene, so his time is valuable I would guess. AWESOME that I wasted a good 1.5 hours of his day too! In all fairness, it's his department's fault the road I was on in that case was grossly under posted (posted 25, generally accepted traffic engineering principles - and federal law, I might add - dictated 40). Court is such BS too, I still lost because the traffic engineer basically said federal law was a guideline (as opopsed to law) they weren't held to (crock of ****).

I would prefer the police pull you over if an infraction occured, check your license, insurance, etc., but not give you a ticket unless you were truly doing something that was reckless or careless. 20mph over with little traffic and no peds? Please; who cares?!? It's perfectly safe, despite the fact it's technically against the law. If I didn't think it was safe, I wouldn't be doing it. I have no desire to hurt myself or anyone else. Let people go after checking them out and the police might find citizens are on their side again. As it stands now, I am so fed up with the way the police department is run I will vote against ANY ballot that would benefit the police, and I don't care who else it hurts. I don't like to admit that, but it's the truth.
:mad:

[Jane Honda]

Here is my basic take on the whole deal...

Some of the strategies that have worked well for me include:

1. Choose your location wisely - know which places are stalked and patrolled and which are not.

2. Be the Quiet Storm - a gixxer wheelies in the woods, nobody sees or hears it, did it really happen?

3. Avoid Pissing off the Locals - wave when you pass, especially if the drivers make allowances for you. Keep it cool in settlements and villages.

4. Don't mess with The Man - if you do blatant and visibly illegal or questionable things such as bury your plate, not have signals or mirrors etc, then you are just messing with The Man, just asking him to get the ticket book out. In many cases The Man is a reasonable guy and will not start the script flowing unless there are multiples sins and crimes involved. Your sins, if you are smart, will only happen when the machine is rolling. Prior to that you should be squeeky clean with tags, registration, insurance, safety equipment etc all squeaky clean.

5. Stock Pipes Rock, Right? - although loud aftermarket pipes can certainly be fun, they do attract attention, and when you are doing a 100 mph standup that very well could be the wrong type of attention. Stock pipes keep you stealthy.

6. Check that Attitude - so, you get pulled over. Get that bike promptly to the side of the road, get that helmet off and let The Man know that you are going to get your papers out. Be careful that you don't surprise him or look like you are going for a weapon. Be friendly, cooperative, admit to being dumb but do not admit to any particular speed or crime. If you are not offered a warning, *ask* for one. All things are negotiable and the worst thing that can happen is you still get a ticket. If you are going to be cited for a particular speed, try to negotiate that down as well. Remember, try to engage as a fellow human, rather than as a criminal outlaw biker.

7. Highways call for a sacraficial lamb - when doing longer trips via highway, you will want to leverage a sacraficial lamb. Find someone who is going a little faster than your cruise speed and follow at a distance. Let that person be your mineshaft canary.

I am sure that there are some other good ideas useful before the L.E.O. encounter, during and after.

Post 'em up! :thumbup:

[rideboy5]

It was the first nice day of spring about 2 years ago and was on a street near the edge of town and since I saw only 1 car about 200 yards ahead of me ( opposing lane) and no peds, I twisted the right hand a little. Once I hit about 80,it was a 35,:o I saw his lights come on (unmarked of course). By the time he turned around and pulled up behind me, I was already stopped, helmet off and was getting my documentation out. He got out and was, as my experienc has found, very polite. He introduced himself and asked if I know why he pulled me over. I nodded. He took my papers and went back to his car. I'm screwed. Thats over twice the speed limit...... sucks to be me. When he returned he said he had a deal for me.He said he would only write me up for 65 mph so I wouldnt get the the $450.00 ticket but if he saw me in court he would tell the judge the truth. I don't know if he could really change his story in court or not but I didn't want to find out. It ended up costing me only $120 when I showed up to court. The point I'm trying to make is that If your decent and polite It may very well change the outcome of the encounter. If your going to get a ticket, your going to get a ticket. Politeness and respect ( even if you have to choke it down) can only help. I don't want to see any of my new friends on "Wildest police chases" Let that be the idiot's out there. Anyway, that's my:2cents:

[R-666]

Ya know... I think it really just depends on situation... we got pulled north of wilsonville for some complaints thru salem...lol we were making good time at the least...lol anyway- the officer let us go with a warning... being nice guy cause we stopped or he didnt have proof so the case wouldnt have stuck??? either way... no ticket... He did take our picture, which I hear is illegal but im not sure... oh well- The price we pay for how we play ya know.:ride:

[B-Rod]

I posted on another thread, that we should try that business park off Terry St on the outskirts of Eugene. Also check around Prairie Road area since that is on the outskirts as well.

[Xusia]

Both good ideas!

[388TH_A]

7. Highways call for a sacraficial lamb - when doing longer trips via highway, you will want to leverage a sacraficial lamb. Find someone who is going a little faster than your cruise speed and follow at a distance. Let that person be your mineshaft canary.
NOPE doesnt work i tried that and i was going slower then the rest of traffic and i moved over so that cars could get onto the freeway from the onramp but yet i got a ticket for speeding and i wasnt going as fast as he said i was going! but any who i went to court and just paid the ticket and let it go. But.... there was this Girl there at court and she got a ticket on the same day same place same cop same Speed and alsomost the same time. How f#@* up is that. But i already paid the ticket so i felt like i couldnt do any thing about it. so i let it go but i wonder if the case could still be opened up again because i didnt think that seemed right. seemed kinda fishy to me!!!

[Jane Honda]

hummmm..... :thinking: ....if you get a chance, read the stuff on that site about fighting tickets... Ive been doing some research and have been finding that alot of the violation codes for speeding read very similar between oregon and california.

[BigMike]

Yeah, As For Being Nice To The Cops I Can Say From First Hand Expierence On Both Ends, That Dosent Really Work. Ive Been The One Writting Tickets And Been The One Reciving Them Too. I Pled Not Guilty On This Last One And My Court Date Is On The Second Of This Comming Month. If You Were Doing Something Really Wreckless, Most Cops Are Gonna Make An Example Out Of You And Ticket You. Very Rarely Will You Find A Cop Thats Gonna Pull You Over Just To Chastise You And Let You Off The Hook. Even If You Were Not Intentionally Doing Something Bad They Will Still Hang You For It Cause You Ride A Streetbike. I Know My Opinion Is Just One Of Many But This Is Coming From First Hand Expiereince On Both Sides Of The Law.... What Can I Say, If You Think Your Gonna Get A Ticket, You Are.... Or See How Far You Can Run, It Makes For Good News The Next Day..... Lol Dont Do That.

[Rebel]

Here's a great PDF tutorial on how to fight your ticket in court. It is primarily aimed at fighting speeding tickets that resulted from the use of radar, but much of the info would also be helpful in other types of cases. Download the file from Rebel.
Pay No Fine (http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=other&file=5400Pay_No_Fine.pdf)

Good luck!!

BEAT THOSE BASTARDS!! :twofinger :yell:

[Grampa Joe Joe]

Speaking from experience, most cops won't bother a bike rider. Don't get me wrong, their are some that just run you plate to see if you're endorsed. But, besides that a majority will just give you a thumbs up, or a look. If you are stopped, I hope you weren't doing something like a buck (100+) on the road, that will cost you. Me personally, if you're speeding I would probably just stop you, look at your bike, brag about mine, then set up a ride. That is if you not doing something that endangers your life or others. Later Joe Joe

[Summer4ever]

Me personally, if you're speeding I would probably just stop you, look at your bike, brag about mine, then set up a ride.
:bow: Grampa Joe Joe...you're AWESOME!!! We missed you on the ride yesterday!!! :mecry:

[Xusia]

If only more cops were like you. I'm quickly getting to the point where the lack of fairness in the courts simply making me consider running instead of pulling over... :( I may break the speed limit at times and lean hard around corners, but I don't go tearing up the back roads like my private race track. A little consideration for those with safety in mind would be nice.

[PaintedPretty33]

HAHA I've been pulled over only twice in my entire life... got out of both tickets.

1st time... "sped out of a parking lot and almost caused a wreck" #1 I didn't speed anywhere... I took the corner fast but not dangerous #2 I wouldn't have almost caused a wreck if you didn't try to flip a ***** in the middle of the street with on coming traffic... I never once almost hit a vehicle... you (the stupid cop) did!

I stayed polite... I was scared ****less cuz it was my first time being pulled over... he handed me something to read in a book and said because it was my first offence and he thought I was smart enough to learn from my mistakes he'd let me off with a warning.

2nd time... Old River Road (backroad) speedlimit is 55, one car in front of me and one behind... we were traveling together happend to go through a small town with a strip club thingy... we didn't do anything in town, drove the speedlimit and behaved... once we hit that back road we gunned it by the time we got pulled over I was doing 70 and was less than a car length behind the car infront of me (tailgating big time) sure dangerous... but we were on our way to a party so I didn't care at the time. Anyways my brother proceeds to inform me that those are the same cops who were in the parking lot of the strip club... me being smart... used my pretty eyes, unbuttoned the top button of my polo shirt and looked sweetly at the man... needless to say I was let off with a warning and the cop was horny as hell... I explained to the boys when we got to the party... they all teased me cuz they figured the cop would have stip searched me had I been wearing anything different.

I'd say us girls have it easy... most cops... or at least the ones around here will let a polite girl off easy with a warning... you get pulled over by a married cop and you're screwed!

Anyways I've been lucky thus far... I'm knocking on wood as we speak cuz with my luck, especially recently, I'll get pulled over and ticketed for something insanely stupid.

[parallax]

I have been pulled over 2 times here in lane county, both times it was a lane county sheriff.on north west expressway,,both times,,.The last time i got pulled over ,I was doing 62 in a 55,,he didn't like my bad attitude(need to work on my people skills..lol.) sooo he wrote me up for 78 in a 55 and threatened to write me up for no registration cause it took me about 5 minutes to find it in my paperwork under my seat....I am pretty sure the sheriff dept. gets to keep the money they generate from tickets,,seems you only see the familiar green patrol cars shooting traffic.

[Greyghost]

It's not probable that you can out run em, elude is worse ticket then speed, so be nice, just tell em you felt the need for speed, explain that the road looked clear and dry, speak tactfully with the officer as if he/she were your best friend. Pray that they will not write the MAX and then go to work and earn the money to pay the ticket. The county courts usually offer a payment plan. Been on both sides of the counter $$/00
daw****

[FJMam]

uh Dave, did you notice that was written in September?


Good advice regardless.
gottta pay to play.............sometimes

[roadrunner]

lol