do i ride a bike the same way i drive a car - nope?

when i am riding down the rode with no traffic - i pretty much follow the posted speed limt - i slow down thru towns at what the speed is.

one thing i - if i come up to a stop sign and there is no traffic (alright, actually depends on traffic) - i will not always put my feet down. i will slow down and almost come to a stop and then release the clotch and move on. what is probably called a 'rolling stop'. could be ticketed for not stopping. what would you do - ticket or no ticket.

on the xpressway, speed limit 65. supposedly the law says max speed is 65 regardless. so i am doing 65 and i come up to a semi. the semi is going slower than 65 so i will be passing. i don't like the buffeting that occurs around semi's so i speed up to get around him. up to 80 or so. 20 miles over. once i get around i slow back up to 65. what would you do - ticket or not.

same passing thing on a two lane. speed up, past posted limit to get around quicker when passing. ticket or not?

when first at a stop light, i might accelerate more quickly just to get farther ahead of the traffic behind me.

if being followed closely by some car, again i would 'speed' to get away from them. then depending on the situation i would find a turn off and wait for them to pass. another thing i will do if i can is to pull way over to the right and signal them to pass me.

so in reality i am breaking the 'law', but also attempting to avoid being near other vehicles.

would most cops understand this or would they think i am just making up excuses.

and i am not talking about going along at 75 constantly in a 55.

 

Please submit your name, address and licensing information so summons' may be mailed to you.
Legitimate questions... guilty here too (for some things - tailgators being the real problem)
I want to thank the LEO's in Canada for being, for the most part - totally cool with bikes.
Way I see it, if you're an idiot rider, you deserve an idiots ticket.

 

In all the situations you posted,
NO I would not ticket you. The reasons seem acceptable and if you relay them to me in that manner, I couldn't see citing you...

When I was writing tickets, I always seems to watch for the aggressive drivers, comitting multiple moving violations in a short peroid I observed them...ie: following too closely, unsignaled lane changes, speeding, anything considered reckless...not only would I "get more" tickets per stop, but it always kinda seems that these guys were the ones that also had no seatbelt, expired or suspended registrations and suspended licenses...More tickets per stop, it was a good time management tool...do I make one stop for one violation for one ticket? Or do I make one stop for multiple violtions and get multiple tickets?

Plus this would give me more time to spend at the Harley dealership or the doughnut shop....lol

 

You ask questions that will may a variety of responses. If there are 50 LEOs here, you may get 50 different answers. Then again, you may get similar answers, but since we all ride bikes, while others don't, you may find our answers biased and not representative of the majority of LEOs.

Some officers are strictly by the book. Others use some common sense and understand that a small detour from the book isn't really "breaking the law".

Without seeing the individual scenerios also makes it very difficult to say.

 

LEO's are pretty cool with bikers where I live...the FOP even has their building in the same block as the the local bike club, so guys are blasting past them all the time. I've also done the rolling stop with an LEO in clear view, and I've never been stopped or questioned. I think behaviour and attitude on both sides has a lot to do with things like that...you show respect, you usually get respect.

 

Where I'm from (Alberta - just moved from there) I would expect to get a ticket for not completely stopping at a stop sign. Cops are very strict about this in Alberta. You only get a warning if you've got ***** (maybe) or if you're a LEO too. Otherwise you are fined. The rest, I'd expect some leiniency.

 

Not a LEO but I have noticed that they don't as a rule mess with bikers around here unless you are really being stupid. City and County officers are mostly cool .Got clocked the other day by a local city officer. He had me I was doing at least ten over in a city that gives no breaks as a rule, speed change of 65 to 50 on a highway. Notorious speed trap. He just flipped his lights on and off. The LEO's you have to watch around here are the state. DPS[state LEO's drive skunk painted vehicles] don't as a rule cut any slack and I have heard of some chicken **** and seen some chicken **** tactics by them. Its hard to respect them or their badge. Don't use this as an excuse to hijack the thread for a LEO bash and trash day.

 

I'm at work right now. I dispatch for a small town Police Dept in South Alabama. Did a quick survey of the nine ofc's on duty now and almost all stated wheather you put feet down has nothing to do with it. I reminded them that I can and do occasionally stop at a stop sign but just for a sec without putting feet down, all agreed there is no time frame as to how long the bike has to be there without wheels turning. All agreed the location ( stop sign on a country road vs. redlight in city maybe making right turn was way more important, traffic etc. but we all know there are exceptions AKA Some, not many here would give own mother ticket.

 

Usually, all forward movement of the vehicle must cease. No time limit for how long you must wait.

Think about it....If I was beating you with my nightstick...

Would you want me to "just slowdown" or stop?

Don't hate me for my bad sence of humor....

 

I'm guilty of these things as well but I've been warned that just because you're on a bike does not excuse you from the law. I guess this means that if the LEO feels you deserve the ticket you are guilty of not following the letter of the law and it may be wise just to pay it and not try to fight it in court.