Alright, I have no problem with the police. Matter of fact I have a few friends who are police. My beef finally boiled over last night, when, as usual, on my "relaxing" night ride around town around 11pm, a cop decided to follow me around. I'm not talking he just happened to be behind me and followed me around.
I was turning around at McD's when he, a State Trooper, went past and through the light. I pull up to the light he just went through and I SEE HIM slowing down, then pulling a U TURN and whipping through a bank parking lot just so he can intercept me as I'm going by when the light changes. That pissed me off right there. Fine, he'll probably just follow for a while, right? Anyway, follows me for about 2 miles RIGHT ON MY ASS. I come up to the city circle (these are awesome, ours has always had one, anyway......) I whip around it and come to a red light. He is being clever and while I know he's there, he is taking his time...probably cause I'm going to do something crotch rocket crazy like. WHICH I DO! So we're sitting there at the light and I rev the engine up like I'm going to do drag, with him sitting 3ft right behind me. I'm losing my cool and I dont have the balls to just pull over and chew his ass out yet. Anyway, forward to the next light, which is red and AGAIN I get all crazy on the tach while he's still sitting there, right behind me. Finally a green and I, at the speed limit (35mph OooooooH!), go right, then a quick turn signal and left, stopping at the next stop sign. He goes right and pulls another U TURN and is now facing my rear again! WTF! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I could start screaming! Anyway, after some clever turns to where he couldnt follow anymore unless he would blow through red lights and stop signs, I went straight home and wondering WHY I cant have a pleasant night ride without being followed all over the place.
I'm kind of thinking next time I'm just pulling over right at the beginning. I have a few things to say about the whole thing, but basically, I'm losing my cool being followed for no reason and I dont like it one bit.
I was pulling away from my house at around 1am one night in my car and I had a cop pull out of the road ahead of ours just as I U-turned in our street. I came to a 4-way stop and he had his turn signal on to turn right. After I went straight through the stop sign he turned his signal off and followed after me... right on my tail. I was dark, but somehow I knew it was a cop.
Going into a slightly better lit part of the road near my neighborhood I drover under a street lamp and as he went under I saw the grill gaurd, Ford logo, radio antenna sticking out of the back, and light bar across the top window. An unmarked police car has been following me for almost a mile now. I make it to the highway and proceed south. The cop U-turns at the light and heads back the other way. What a duck. Tailgated me for 3 miles just TRYING to get me to go over the speed limit.
I hate that cops do this, and they do it all the time. I've complained to a couple cops I know about it and they explained it is because they get bored at night and following someone helps keep them awake. Appearntly it's just to give them something to do, and they're not always looking to catch someone.
I had a cop follow me the other week while I was riding. He was not only following me, he was tailgating me even though I was doing 5 over. Now I tailgate a lot, so I'm not usually upset when someone tailgates me, but he was really really close, like, no joke, 2 feet from me at times. If I had to stop any quicker than a casual stop, he would have hit me. So I was riding thinking 'wow this guy is a moron he's endangering my life'. I was getting pissed off and wanted to give him the 'slow down' hand gesture, but I knew that would have offended his inflated ego and he would have pulled me over and given me a ticket because he was probably a total duck. So I did the only thing I knew how: maintain my speed through all the turns to the point he could no longer keep up tailgating me in his big boaty crown vic.
I had a cop do that while I was on my bike as well... I didnt mind for the first mile but after that I pulled over to the right shut off the bike and put my hands up :thumb:
He left...
Did the MSF teach you nothing? Slow down... Pull over... Wave him by...
If he pulls over behind you, ask him why he was endangering your life.
Or... You could always brake check him... Then get the city to buy you an R6 :laugh:
I get followed all the time. THREE TIMES in the last month and a half I was riding behind a cop and they pulled over to let me by and then follow my ass till they get bored. One of those times I got pulled over and after the cop ran my plate he told me that he could barely read it and he pulled me over because after he punched in the WRONG plante number, it came up as a stollen bike. He said I should clean my plate. I hate the f%$king pigs harrasing bikers.
i have not had any issues like this yet . but i mean . you also have to think . there are alot of sports bikes out there ( no that our bikes are really sports bikes ) but the new fairing changes alot . if you dont know a bike from another bike then there just gonna think your the normal sports bike waiting to do somting stupid. it could also be someone called in on someone or a few ppl saying hey these guys are speeding. racing on the highway , racing in the streets, bla bla bla .so if they see someone that sounds/ looks like somthing some one described then there going to act on it . i'd say if it was me in that same place . if hes tailgating you pull over stop let him by see what he dose. if you can see if you can put his plate number on your phone with the date it happend. if it happens again . do the same thing . if it happens a third time. report it . it would seem as if its hirassment :)
I havn't been followed when i was on the bike. I get that treatment all the time when i am in the car. If a cop ever did that to me when i was on the bike i would pull off to the side and wave him by just as RVertigo said. I mean if they are going to pull you they are going to do it then and if not they are going to drive by looking at you. Not all cops are douchbags, just the rookies that get stuck on the midnight shift :laugh: :laugh:
Agreed then, pulling over next time. I'm half tempted to throw the bird while I'm at it, but I'm not sure if a gesture is against the law or not.
Quote from: middlem2 on July 18, 2006, 06:43:37 PM
Agreed then, pulling over next time. I'm half tempted to throw the bird while I'm at it, but I'm not sure if a gesture is against the law or not.
In Texas, I believe it is legal if it is kept inside the vehicle. Not sure how that works on a bike though.
It's probably enough for a traffic stop anyway :flipoff:- maybe a disorderly conduct-type offense.
This hasen't happened yet to me on my bike but it has happened in my civic. A cop followed me all the way from my High School to my house which is about a ten minute drive. This was at night though and he was probably board because we were the only two on the road.
middlem2: what part of Ohio do you live in?
as soon as you sit your ass on a crotchety rocket like ours, cops appear. i've only put 17 miles on my bike since i got it an i've noticed it twice.
it's like having a Crapmaro IROC and then suddening growing a mullet.
I'm in Darke County, Ohio. If you look it up, I think we have 20,000 people in the whole county and it is the largest crop producing county in Ohio. Greenville, where I live, has a population of 12,000. Seems a bit odd even for a town this size that this is happening. There are probably crimes they could be attending to out there instead of tailing bikers.