Running from cops?

[dicatirider944]

I was on a different forum that is directed at racing and riding a certain type of bike and they had started a thread about "running from the man"  I was a little shocked by this thread.  I just don't see the point of this thread as being cool.  If you opion is to run or stop for a cop is up to you.  But doesn't all these people telling stories about how they ran and got away with it in good forum?  So we should encourage people that have just got in to this sport and reading forums to get info on racing to be breaking laws?  I was just wondering what other racers would think of this?

[EX#996]

Running is stupid...

They have radios to broadcast the description of your bike or plate all over the airwaves.  If you do get away, what perils do you put yourself or others in?  A bike can be lethal to more than just it's driver.

If you've done something to get the ol' red and blues behind you, do the right thing and pull over.

Dawn

[HAWK]

I remember years ago hearing about guys that would go out on the weekends and try to get in a chase so they could out run the cops. Then it was in cars but the point is, it's not bikers, it's people with nothing better to do and the modern sport bike is just a better tool these days.

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

Once you've seen the aftermath of a bike hitting a car a 100mph, you'll think twice about speeding, much less running.  I think that's just one more part of the equation that got me off the road years ago.

[251am]

           Thinning of the herd. I could not care less what they do. What DOES bother me is when one of them crashes/dies or mames somebody else,  then they want pity or sympathy. Pretty weird.   

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Who ever knowingly runs from a cop deserves any and everthing that happens to them and also are responsible for anyone else who happens to get hurt or killed.

[Court Jester]

i've out ran a slew of them. but getting busted one time cooled my jets for sure. and i got lucky.

[Ridgeway]

The last time I was pulled over on a bike, the deputy had me clocked at significantly more than 70 in a 55.  He was going the other direction on a 2 lane road, but I saw him hit the cherries in my mirror and I pulled over, knowing full well that I could've have been out of sight and gone in any of 4 directions in 5 seconds flat.  I had the bike parked with my helmet off and wallet out by the time he got his squad turned around and caught up.

The officer gave me a verbal warning to slow it down a little after he ran my license and found it to be clean.  As he walked back to the squad, he said "Thanks for pulling over, I'd have never caught up to you"  This particular deputy was the former sherriff but lost the last election.  He had no reason to let me off the hook other than the fact that I did the right thing and stopped.

Show some respect, and you might just get it returned.

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Show some respect, and you might just get it returned.

+1 Got let off with what amounted to a verbal warnign by a state trooper. 90 in a 65 on my fzr600. Seen him coming the other way and he hit the lights, I pulle don teh shoulder before he even got turned around to get to the other side of the interstate. Looked at my license for a few sec and handed it back, told me to slow down and sent me on my way.

[dicatirider944]

Show some respect, and you might just get it returned.

+2
I'm glad to see some of these post that agreed with what I do.  I kinda went of the deep end on this other forum.  It just pisses me off becuase we are all judged by what others do on bikes.  Motorcycle riders are a small community.  We are all grouped in the same catagory regardless of what we do.  If some one is driving down the highway and sees rider A on a bike going by at 150 mph with cherries flying in the background they will instantly say f***ing punk.  Now if they see rider B on a bike going down the road at close to the posted speed limit, using turn signals, and wearing gear they won't give it a second thought or even remember it.  They will with out a doubt remember rider A.

[chaplain220]

Brad, good thread.  I long ago gave up conventional pursuit of bikes even though we still are allowed to pursue in Maryland, usually its a young guy with lots of good potential, but is making a stupid choice in running, cause anyone can go fast in a straight line, add grandma in the sedan, the adrenalin rush of havin the cops on yer tail, and a couple curves, and that life with so much potential is gone.  During the off race weekends I will usually meet up with quite a few streetriders, wow em with some race stories,(they don't know I'm slow), and try to leave em with a little wisdom, to include: get some real gear, dont run from the cops, and take it to the track.  I did however pursue one beautiful yellow GSXR a couple years back, a real bad guy we knew was running a lot of drugs into the community, I was doin okay out on the highway with em, but he took a long sweeper and jumped on a back road.  I could still see him as he cut in and out of traffic, getting real far ahead of me, but I knew something he didn't know, 90degree left hander ahead...stinks to be a bad guy who can't trailbrake! 8).   

[EX#996]

stinks to be a bad guy who can't trailbrake! 8).   

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Multiple point and squirts out of several turns is the biggest advantage on a bike to gain a huge distance very quickly without going very fast, next is the ability to pull over (when out of site) to stop and watch (just out of plain site) as the cop(s) go by, no more pursuit after you stash your leather coat (to be picked up later) and put on the different colored windbreaker you have stashed in the bikes trunk. I have to admit I might have been guilty of this one in the past, but it's because I knew that MOST cops in this area are generally real jerks to sportbike riders, but then they leave the cruiser bikes alone that are driving like idiots and have 140 decibal exhausts. I was never one to weave in and out of the bad drivers that are always driving distracted and slow as hell while taking up every lane on the multi-lane roads, but I will admit I would make my way thru the cattle (traffic) very effectively.

I don't encourage people to run, but I have encouraged them to 'AVOID' getting into a formal disciplinary situation by pulling over out of site ASAP and just taking a breather. I was never in a situation where my plate would have been able to be read, but had it been I would have pulled over immediately because once there is positive identification your screwed.

[jeremy271]

I have absolutely no comment on this one......... well at least a few of us got smart and went racing, right DA.... nevermind.

[Dr. Evil]

Wow!!!!
Sounds like we have some real life "Ghostriders" here.
(sorry, I can't find a flaming skull icon)
For some puckering excitment, check out the Ghostrider dude on google video...
OK, I guess it alright to run, if you are making money for the company, doing jobs that Americans won't do...
Running from a Motorcycle Officer would be just plain rude.

[Court Jester]

i swore i wouldn't do it again. but if it were a motorcycle officer, i might consider one last fling. just cause i hate harleys.

[imafrogg420]

Im majoring in criminal justice and wanted to be a cop all my life. but I gotta say from my experiance all the cops on my bike are complete  A-Holes (for lack of better words). I've never gotten a ticket on my bike. but pulled over plenty of times. like two weeks ago I had this cop giving me this lecture on how I was speeding and since I was with more than one rider it is considered drag racing and he is going to have to inpound my bike let alone the speeding ticket on top of that. I sat there with my mouth shut even though I was completely pissed off and was completly respectfull. now what happen was it was a back road with twisties at a 40 mph speed limit and I was doing like 60 ish but the cop never saw me. he said he heard me so he came after. when I saw the lights in my mirrors I was I pulled over and blah and sat there for an hour and got harressed. no tickets cus he never saw anythign!! so annoying.

not to rant but last week by friend got hit by a car while on his bike. totaled the bike and he was kidn of banged up. we were doing like 40mph going from stop light to stop light and when the cops came the cop told us this happen becasue "we were F'ing around and being wreckless"

So yea I'm sick of the negative stereo type.  but all this harrass ment and with as easy as it is to run on a modern sport bike. it makes me not want to stop any more. aklsdfhklasdhj rrrrrrrrrr i am so frustrated with it. I need to move to deals gap. and stick to the track ahh.  Ive ran before and honestly dont regret it, as bad as it sounds Im jsut being honest

[Ridgeway]

Moving to the gap to avoid the po-po would be counter productive.  They're known for their "racing" stings down there.

[barb_arah]

Whatcha gonna do when they come for you, Bad Boys, Bad Boys? Whatcha gonna do?  Whatcha gonna do?

[Fast4fun]

Normally I wouldn't reply to this thread 'cuz were all old enough to make our own bad decisions. But I was pulled over this morning on the way to work and was let go almost as quickly. A while back I asked a statie friend of mine if there is anything I can do to avoid a ticket and he gave me some advice that has come in handy over the years.  First, don't act like you don't know what you were doing wrong. This morning I saw the cop and headed for the right side median long before he got behind me. Second, understand that approaching a random car is a scary event for every officer even in the middle of morning traffic, much less late at night in the middle of nowhere. Always roll down your windows on the driver side, put your hands on top of the steering wheel, and if it's night, turn on your inside lamps. It puts cops at ease when they can see not only what you are doing but that you understand their predicament. Everything else is 'yes sir, no sir' stuff.  This has worked about 60% of the time. You just can't win em all.

[imafrogg420]

yea I agree with that cooperating with them just makes the whole process easier. playing dum is just insulting their intelligence.

[BRICKMAN]

I have been pulled over lots of times but only got one ticket on my bike back in 2000. The judge was cool and dropped to a lesser charge, that was the last ticket I have on my record so Iam doin good. One time I ran from the man at the time of the chase I did not think of the trouble I would be in, after I got away that's when I got some sense. I stoped riding on the street two years ago. Now my Corvette that's another story

[Jeff]

I ran once when I was like 16.  Was exhilirating but freaked me out.  Never again...

Since that day I've always made it a point to tell people in group rides that I would be the designated pull-over guy.  And in upholding that commitment, I've been in 2 groups of bikes where the cops have given chase.  I immediately pulled over and once both cop cars kept going after the group, and the second time there were like 6 cars.  One stopped with me and another guy while the others chased down the rest.  We got bitched at but no tickets...

It's just plain not worth it...  You risk your own life and everyone elses.

[funsizeracing]

yea I agree with that cooperating with them just makes the whole process easier. playing dum is just insulting their intelligence.

What intelligence?

Their not all bad, some are really cool.  Others just got shoved in lockers too much in highschool and this is their chance to carry a gun and push others around.

I always stop.  A friend who rode with us tried to run and paid with his life.  If I'm doing something wrong I'll take my ticket.

[OmniGLH]

#1 rule when running:  Only do it when you KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.

Otherwise you get a "Fleeing and attempting to elude" ticket.  Just ask DanO.  ;)

[cleezmo]

I don't understand how anyone would choose to run. Makes no sense to me whatsoever. The majority of the time it's the squids who fall into the murky category of "I Think I'm Faster Than I Really Am". If you're going to speed (and we all do), man up and deal with it if you get caught. Like several others have said, pulling over and showing respect go a long way. My dad told me a long time ago, there is no bike made that's faster than a radio...

Part of my dislike / lack of respect for runners is the same as my feelings about stunters: they give the rest of us a bad reputation. I can't tell you how many times I've met non-riders, and immediately after learning that I ride/race I get the questions or stories about seeing guys weaving in traffic, stunting down major interstates, nearly getting clipped by guys buzzing past at 100+, etc. Explaining that I always ride in full gear, that I generally do 70-75 on the Interstate, etc. seems to do little to their "you guys are crazy" perception.

We need all the positive PR we can get, these guys/gals who run aren't helping the cause.

[tigerblade]

A friend who rode with us tried to run and paid with his life. 

When was that?  

[tigerblade]

I don't understand how anyone would choose to run. Makes no sense to me whatsoever. The majority of the time it's the squids who fall into the murky category of "I Think I'm Faster Than I Really Am". If you're going to speed (and we all do), man up and deal with it if you get caught. Like several others have said, pulling over and showing respect go a long way. My dad told me a long time ago, there is no bike made that's faster than a radio...

Part of my dislike / lack of respect for runners is the same as my feelings about stunters: they give the rest of us a bad reputation. I can't tell you how many times I've met non-riders, and immediately after learning that I ride/race I get the questions or stories about seeing guys weaving in traffic, stunting down major interstates, nearly getting clipped by guys buzzing past at 100+, etc. Explaining that I always ride in full gear, that I generally do 70-75 on the Interstate, etc. seems to do little to their "you guys are crazy" perception.

We need all the positive PR we can get, these guys/gals who run aren't helping the cause.

Exactly.  People hate the stereotype sportbikes have, but it's not hard to see where that stereotype comes from.  I see way too many bikers acting like morons and I want to slap the snot out of them.  I can imagine what it's like when you're just part of the general populace, seeing some of those idiots.

[funsizeracing]

When was that? 

Two years ago.

[Court Jester]

Exactly.  People hate the stereotype sportbikes have, but it's not hard to see where that stereotype comes from.  I see way too many bikers acting like morons and I want to slap the snot out of them.  I can imagine what it's like when you're just part of the general populace, seeing some of those idiots.

yeah. Sorry about that. I'll try to do better in the future.

[tigerblade]

I'll try to do better in the future.

That's all I ask.