Our first ever DOT helmet police stop.... yep
#31
05-01-2011, 11:18 AM
Tourer
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AMEN!!! Ask the motorcycle cop to see his helmet while he looks at yours.
#32
05-01-2011, 11:19 AM
For those of you in mandatory helmet law states, I just want to share with you guys whats going on here in VA. This weekend is the Virginia Beach Bike Classic down in Virginia Beach. Travis Trit was playing yesterday so me and my buddy decided to ride down from Richmond. A few miles from the event we got pulled over. Traffic was moving slow, cops were EVERYWHERE and they had bikes pulled over like fleas on a dog.
Now, we passed these two motorcycle troopers who looked directly at us and pulled right out after us. Both cops surrounded my buddy. They pretty much ignored me, and I easily could have kept going, but you don't leave your wingman (LOL, Top Gun reference). Anyways, like I said, they both went right to my buddy and explained to him this was a "Non DOT helmet stop" That he was being cited for wearing a non DOT helmet. Here's the kicker. HE WAS WEARING A FULLY CERTIFIED DOT HALF HELMET!!!!!!! I $hit you not. He took off his helmet, handed it to them and they did a full inspection. Verified the DOT sticker, squeezed and tugged on the helmet to make sure it wasn't a plastic toy or replica and handed it back to him, surprised. The one cop said my buddy was lucky as thats one small DOT. Smaller than he had seen in the past.
So they bent down, checked his inspection sticker, checked his plates were not expired and said to take off. Then the one cop walked over to me. I was about twenty feet back, visually bent down and verified my inspection sticker and plates and said "your free to go". I had my 3/4 open face DOT Buco and he didn't even look twice at it. It had the sticker in plain sight anyways.
So there you have it. YES, the cops were out doing full DOT helmet checks. Believe me, once we got pulled over we saw TONS of other bikes pulled over and I guarantee it was for helmet checks and not a damn thing else. Neither one of us were ever asked for our drivers license, registration nor our insurance cards, and the cops made it very clear this was a DOT helmet stop. This has never happened to me as I thought they never really checked that stuff, but be aware...... at least in Virginia, it's going down, NOW.
Now, we passed these two motorcycle troopers who looked directly at us and pulled right out after us. Both cops surrounded my buddy. They pretty much ignored me, and I easily could have kept going, but you don't leave your wingman (LOL, Top Gun reference). Anyways, like I said, they both went right to my buddy and explained to him this was a "Non DOT helmet stop" That he was being cited for wearing a non DOT helmet. Here's the kicker. HE WAS WEARING A FULLY CERTIFIED DOT HALF HELMET!!!!!!! I $hit you not. He took off his helmet, handed it to them and they did a full inspection. Verified the DOT sticker, squeezed and tugged on the helmet to make sure it wasn't a plastic toy or replica and handed it back to him, surprised. The one cop said my buddy was lucky as thats one small DOT. Smaller than he had seen in the past.
So they bent down, checked his inspection sticker, checked his plates were not expired and said to take off. Then the one cop walked over to me. I was about twenty feet back, visually bent down and verified my inspection sticker and plates and said "your free to go". I had my 3/4 open face DOT Buco and he didn't even look twice at it. It had the sticker in plain sight anyways.
So there you have it. YES, the cops were out doing full DOT helmet checks. Believe me, once we got pulled over we saw TONS of other bikes pulled over and I guarantee it was for helmet checks and not a damn thing else. Neither one of us were ever asked for our drivers license, registration nor our insurance cards, and the cops made it very clear this was a DOT helmet stop. This has never happened to me as I thought they never really checked that stuff, but be aware...... at least in Virginia, it's going down, NOW.
#33
05-01-2011, 11:22 AM
Join Date: Mar 2006
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I wear a full face helmet and will probably never be stopped for a helmet violation. The irony is, my helmet is not DOT-approved; it's the Euro version of the Nolan N43 that I bought from a UK dealer online. Great helmet.
#34
05-01-2011, 11:25 AM
You can't really fight it, by getting into an argument witht hte cop ont he side of the road. Doing that will only make thigns worse for you...as they can come up with a reason to make your life fk'n miserable.
Easy move? Buy a DOT helmet, and quit worrying about if the next guy thinks you look cool with it on.
Don't like it? Join ABATE and become a part of the solution. Otherwise deal with it, and accept that when you voted for change, this is what you get.
Only fk'n dumbshits vote Liberal. Liberal mindset is that you need to be protected from yourself. It is their mantra, and voting for a Democrat is voting for a Liberal Socialist these days.....conservative democrats died with FDR (who BTW was a socialist).
~Joe
Easy move? Buy a DOT helmet, and quit worrying about if the next guy thinks you look cool with it on.
Don't like it? Join ABATE and become a part of the solution. Otherwise deal with it, and accept that when you voted for change, this is what you get.
Only fk'n dumbshits vote Liberal. Liberal mindset is that you need to be protected from yourself. It is their mantra, and voting for a Democrat is voting for a Liberal Socialist these days.....conservative democrats died with FDR (who BTW was a socialist).
~Joe
#35
05-01-2011, 11:37 AM
Road Master
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You can't really fight it, by getting into an argument witht hte cop ont he side of the road. Doing that will only make thigns worse for you...as they can come up with a reason to make your life fk'n miserable.
Easy move? Buy a DOT helmet, and quit worrying about if the next guy thinks you look cool with it on.
Don't like it? Join ABATE and become a part of the solution. Otherwise deal with it, and accept that when you voted for change, this is what you get.
Only fk'n dumbshits vote Liberal. Liberal mindset is that you need to be protected from yourself. It is their mantra, and voting for a Democrat is voting for a Liberal Socialist these days.....conservative democrats died with FDR (who BTW was a socialist).
~Joe
Easy move? Buy a DOT helmet, and quit worrying about if the next guy thinks you look cool with it on.
Don't like it? Join ABATE and become a part of the solution. Otherwise deal with it, and accept that when you voted for change, this is what you get.
Only fk'n dumbshits vote Liberal. Liberal mindset is that you need to be protected from yourself. It is their mantra, and voting for a Democrat is voting for a Liberal Socialist these days.....conservative democrats died with FDR (who BTW was a socialist).
~Joe
The NHTSA focuses on motorcycles because we are an easy target. That is we have fewer numbers then the cagers and too many of us don't stand up when we need to.
#36
05-01-2011, 11:53 AM
Now before we get all entangled in a crazy political and philosophical conundrum, the intent of the post was simply intended as a warning to those on the road that the cops are indeed on the lookout for non-DOT helmets. Something that I did not know they were actively pursuing.
#37
05-01-2011, 12:05 PM
Road Warrior
Of course that means I'll have to wade through pages of this crap for days waiting for the picture to post.
#39
05-01-2011, 12:22 PM
Ultimate HDF Member
Just wondering how many bikers in VA. may have been on a stolen bike but were told to keep going because they had on the right helmet, lol.
