Being that I accidently and only very occassionally exceed the speed limit... rolleyes.gif , I have some things I do to avoid the very kind and forgiving LEO's. tongue.gif Please, exclude radar detectors in this thread. They are what they are.
For me, I seem to have better visibility from my full face helmet on a bike than from driving a car. I'm nearly constantly scanning road sides, obvious hiding places, oncoming traffic and rear view mirrors while riding the few straights I ride. I don't really get much of a thrill in hammering it for speed on the main highways and straights so I generally ride around 75 or so. If I feel like going faster, I always use a "front door". I always use turn signals when changing lanes, don't ride erratically, and come to a full stop at stop signs.
When on the small, less traveled county roads in the mountains, I don't worry about it as much. I nearly always slow down on the few straights because high speed just doesn't do it for me there. When coming into the curves again, I frequently speed up significantly, set up for the curve, then just power through and out without regard for speed. I figure if they want to come after me in the curves, good luck in catching me. I know how to end that battle quick but that's another subject.
I ALWAYS obey the speed limits in towns no matter what size. Take it easy around churches in small towns, schools, etc.
Other than that, I just let it rip in the twisties. It's when out of the twisties that I get concerned.
Anyone else have any "avoidance methods" up their sleeves? goofy.gif
PS: Of course I'm going to slow down.
Think like a cop.
I set my cruise for 5 over the speed limit and forget about it. tongue.gif
Actually, the only time I got a speeding ticket on the bike, I was doing everything I was supposed to do. It had just rained and the roads were still very wet. I'm heading north on I-205 in Portland, which is a three lane highway. I had just gotten into the right lane because the car in the middle lane was throwing up too much water and there was another vehicle coming up in the left lane. Just as I'm creeping past this guy, I notice a car coming down the on ramp. Being that it was raining out, visibility was poor, and I'm probably going to get squashed between two cars, I decide to speed up and merge into the center lane to remove myself from this dangerous situation. Bam!!! I see sex lights turn on up ahead and I knew I was fuct. pissed.gif So much for listening to what my MSF instructor told me. dry.gif
It is not evading if you they are not close behind you with lights on. tongue.gif
I try to go no faster than 10-15 over, or at least a bit slower than the fastest vehicle around when on on straights, highways and open areas. Coming to an actual full stop at a stop-sign in an empty intersection? blink.gif hmm. can't remember the last time I did, must have spotted a cop nearby for that to happen. I basically spend a lot of energy looking for cops, all while being fully aware of that with the wrong cop at the wrong place at the wrong time, there is nothing I can do and I will pay for it.
I guess the two highest-risk scenarios for me are:
1) Some local tight-ass cop nabbing me for acceleration between lights in traffic, I usually split to the front and open the throttle a little to make some room, then slowing down to 5-10 over.
2) Some cop coming around the corner when passing slow cars on a double yellow, there's nothing dangerous about it, I am selective about where to do it and make sure I have plenty of margin and visibility, but it's a reckless driving offense nontheless..
So I guess it's the luck of the draw, a cheap price to pay compared to the fun we're having! I am in general more concerned with getting in an accident than getting a ticket.
MFP, your safety is more important than avoiding a ticket. Well done! fing02.gif
Avoid the fast lane if possible. Almost all of the speeding tickets (in multi lane situations) are written "from the fast lane" (don't ask how I know this).
Change lanes slowly as to not attract LEO's trained eye searching for "pattern driving"
If you do see a trooper, slow down to show that you are an "aware driver" and have seen them. If you continue or speed up this in itself can be cause for them to decide to actually stop you as opposed to letting you slide (don't ask how I know this).
Strictly observe the speed limit in small towns and cities. Also make complete stops (don't ask how I know this).
Generally in California the CHP do not ticket for speeding on the open highway until it exceeds 10mph over the limit. For lake County it's 15 over (don't ask how I know this). Actual mileage may vary. Also, good luck trying to get confirmation of that policy on paper!
As to the comment by jeremy556 "It is not evading if you they are not close behind you with lights on.", I know you are probably joking, but recently a CHP was following me at high speed for over 3 miles on a twisty road and I did not see him until I hit a straight section. I pulled over immediately into a dead end driveway however he greeted me with his firearm partially drawn screaming (literally) at me admonishing me for trying to run away from him. He yelled for at least 10 min. He was so riled up that he demanded my keys. I tried explaining that with a passenger, full saddlebags, a valid licence, valid insurance, and a valid title for the bike I was not likely to fit the profile of someone who would be running away from him. I also tried to explain that with the wind noise I could not hear him at all. I also tried to explain that the pass I made was done safely even though I did slightly cross the yellow line, however he was stuck behind the truck I had passed, so it took him a while to catch up with me. He assumed because he was speeding to catch up, I must have been speeding too and trying to run. After giving me a ticket for crossing a double yellow and telling me how lucky I was that he was not impounding my vehicle, arresting me, and charging me with a felony for evading, he left with my keys and left me and my girlfriend stranded for over an hour until finally someone passed by and actually found him down the road and told him about it. There was no cell coverage and no homes in sight. The "driveway" I was in was actually just a gate to someone's open land. When he came back he showed me that he had hung the keys over the search light and said "go ahead and take them". When I tried I discovered that he had closed the door on them and badly bent my ignition key. After getting out and freeing my keys, he slowly bent the key back about half way. I finished the job and got on my way. Wrong cop on the wrong day! Traffic school, here I come!
I Pray a lot! rolleyes.gif
The guy who rides my bike is always speeding, but spends very little time in towns. Only problem is out in the back country hes doing at least twice the limit! blink.gif
I guess 80 in a 40 looks better than 100 in a 40! unsure.gif
baileyrock, Aug 10 2006, 08:46 PM
I Pray a lot! rolleyes.gif
Oh yeah, I forgot that one.
Being the son of a US Senator or other high public official could help too, the best however would be diplomatic immunity. biggrin.gif
Seems to be a theme, NEVER exceed the speed limit in towns, especially small towns, with cops that have nothing better to do than pull you over search and harrass you. Keep the speed, whether straight aways or twisties out on the deserted roads. Knock on wood I have met troopers out in the middle of nowhere occasionally while traveling at ridiculous speeds, yet they have never pulled me over, maybe because I always hit the brakes hard when I see them and they also probably know that I am going to a sparsley populated area to get my rocks off rather than a more urban area.
A little tekqnek I use, is to pass cars at a moderat pace....not blast by them on the pipe. After I have cleared them a bit then I gradualy power away. Seems to help with all the mary-mini vans ,and their cell phones callin the cops
richmerrill, Aug 10 2006, 11:55 PM
A little tekqnek I use, is to pass cars at a moderat pace....not blast by them on the pipe. After I have cleared them a bit then I gradualy power away. Seems to help with all the mary-mini vans ,and their cell phones callin the cops
There have been a few tiems when I have done the opposite, but I try to do the same thing. When they seem to let me buy I even give a little thanks wave, then dissapear into the turns.
I was joking about the evading. If there is a cop anywhere behind me within a reasonable distance with his lights on, I pull over at the first safe place, turn off ignition, get off bike, and remove helmet, and am courteous and I usually get off with a warning. If I get a ticket, I show up for court and it usually gets dismissed, or if I am guilty will plea no contest and pay the fine but not get any points.
If however, the cop is going the opposite way and decides to turn around and come after me, how am I to know that is his intention? I am not going to slow down and wait to find out.
Here's the thing. The general populous FREAKS when they're driving along and they see a LEO. The most simple thing I do is READ THE ROAD. If I'm approaching a bend in the road and I'm...well, doing a hair over the limit, and I see brake lights coming around that bend, I slow down. Simple. 9 times out of 10, there's a LEO on the other side of the bend in the road.
...I speed smart. In my area, I know where they hide most of the time, and I slow down around those areas.
I watch my mirrors religiously, and I'm ALWAYS looking for LEOs. A lot of what I do to not get pulled over comes from years of experience driving fast in my car.....for one, I will ONLY open it up 100% (and keep it open) when I can see for a long way up the road...and I know there's not much behind me...
There is a huge difference between exceeding the speed limit and stupid speeding. My definition of stupid speeding would include exceeding the posted limit by the amount requiring mandatory court appearances, or speeding combined with aggressive riding. I think in all instances, if your stupid speeding - your boned. If your just exceeding though, my recent experience says you have a better than even chance of walking away with a verbal or written warning - 4 stops in the last year an a half but only one ticket.
Dave's rules - Ride like you have at least some common sense. Never speed in school zones. If you think he/she is coming after you don't try to run. Pull over in a safe place - for you and the officer. Take off your helmet and dark glasses. Have the correct documents. Be polite! Be truthful. And PRAY
+1.gif
Most of the Police / Troopers I know in my general area say when it comes to bikes they usually tend to look for the "erratic" behavior more so than simple speeding."Simple" meaning 10, ( maybe 15 mph on 4 lanes ). Complete stops, turn signals, etc. seems to go a long way. Was going out of town, meet Police, truck is passing me in left lane, Police make U-turn...pull him over, City Hall...paying water bill, Policeman walks over says "didn't have radar on the other day but flipped it on cause knew if he was passing YOU he had to be flying".....have trouble reading speed limit signs myself. goofy.gif
being courteous has never, ever proved helpful at all. I've always got the ticket for exactly what they clocked me at, regardless on how curteous and apologetic I was. Jeremy must be lucky if he can get them dismissed. If I'm lucky I can get them amended to defective equipment, but it takes a lawyer to do it. Got a ticket once on my bike earlier this year, doing 83 in a 65 on the interstate.
cozye, Aug 11 2006, 10:28 AM being courteous has never, ever proved helpful at all. I've always got the ticket for exactly what they clocked me at, regardless on how curteous and apologetic I was. Jeremy must be lucky if he can get them dismissed. If I'm lucky I can get them amended to defective equipment, but it takes a lawyer to do it. Got a ticket once on my bike earlier this year, doing 83 in a 65 on the interstate.
A lot of the time, the cop doesn�t show for court, so that it is a freebie dismissed. The other times the judge will usually let you plead guilty or no contest and get a fine with no points (no insurance hit).
Then, if you have a case that creates doubt as to your guilt, you can get off that way.
I brought in a PPT presentation with GPS data, google earth images, photos from the location, etc that showed how it looked like I was in a school zone where in fact I was over 300 feet past it.
Wicking it up a little on deserted country roads seemed like a safe bet to me.
At least untill last saturday. Radared @ 56 in a 35 and now the ungrateful recipient of an exceptional driver's award. rolleyes.gif Did catch a break though as the ticket was written for failure to obey posted signs rather than for speeding. Less $$$$ and no points.
In KY, the cop not showing up for court doesnt' work anymore. It's probably a difference in state goverments, courts, etc.. I've also never heard of anyone around here getting off by pleading their case. They never take the word of the defendant. Like I said, best case around here is to lawyer up (i have a guy who does it for $50), and get it amended. No points, but you still pay the fine.
Lastchance, Aug 10 2006, 10:02 PM
Think like a cop.
mmmm donuts!
The only thing that ever worked for me was my badge. I must say the other day we were doing 15 over the posted limit and a CHP was oncoming. He just flipped his lights and motioned for us to slow down. I gave the thumbs up as we passed.
cozye, Aug 11 2006, 09:28 AM
being courteous has never, ever proved helpful at all. I've always got the ticket for exactly what they clocked me at, regardless on how curteous and apologetic I was. Jeremy must be lucky if he can get them dismissed. If I'm lucky I can get them amended to defective equipment, but it takes a lawyer to do it. Got a ticket once on my bike earlier this year, doing 83 in a 65 on the interstate.
I guess it all depends on the cop. I've been let off with a warning 3 times in the Chicago-area, after being polite and having all the paperwork in order. It seemed clear to me they had bigger fish to fry, and minor traffic infractions was just an excuse to stop people, they all seem surprised that I actually had a license and insurance. The one time I got nabbed by a state trooper, he had the ticket written up a split second after I'd stopped, but then again his sole job is to enforce traffic, I was not a little annoyance on his way to catching drugs or "real" criminals, I was the real deal for him. He did give me a little discount and explained to me how I should proceed for automatic traffic school w/no points. If you're in an area with small-town uptight cops ticketing for every possible violation, you have my deepest sympathy.
However, when you say being courteous doesn't work, well, try the opposite, I'm sure you'll find there could at least 10 more citations coming your way. If you piss them off, they can dish it out pretty good too, impounding your bike and whatnot.
i ride like a bat out of hell on my road
and i mean that it has been in my family sence 1927
its mine i remove the posted signs
the speed limits are purposly made too low
i hate cars
there is no reason why somone with years of riding experence should have to go the same speed as a 15 year old who is inept in a cage
small towns will rip you a new one
laurence county GA $800 for going 96 in a 70 on I16
not out of planed speeding just about 150-200 miles of the same boring crap
even the judge said it was absurd
rule 1 though dont run
they know theu cant stop you unless they hit you
and its not worth it
a buddy of mine is 23 and now has no legs pull over and take it dont run your not faster than a radio
Avid One, Aug 10 2006, 08:43 PM
... recently a CHP was following me at high speed for over 3 miles on a twisty road and I did not see him until I hit a straight section. I pulled over immediately into a dead end driveway however he greeted me with his firearm partially drawn screaming (literally) at me admonishing me for trying to run away from him. He yelled for at least 10 min. He was so riled up that he demanded my keys. I tried explaining that with a passenger, full saddlebags, a valid licence, valid insurance, and a valid title for the bike I was not likely to fit the profile of someone who would be running away from him. I also tried to explain that with the wind noise I could not hear him at all. I also tried to explain that the pass I made was done safely even though I did slightly cross the yellow line, however he was stuck behind the truck I had passed, so it took him a while to catch up with me. He assumed because he was speeding to catch up, I must have been speeding too and trying to run. After giving me a ticket for crossing a double yellow and telling me how lucky I was that he was not impounding my vehicle, arresting me, and charging me with a felony for evading, he left with my keys and left me and my girlfriend stranded for over an hour until finally someone passed by and actually found him down the road and told him about it. There was no cell coverage and no homes in sight. The "driveway" I was in was actually just a gate to someone's open land. When he came back he showed me that he had hung the keys over the search light and said "go ahead and take them". When I tried I discovered that he had closed the door on them and badly bent my ignition key. After getting out and freeing my keys, he slowly bent the key back about half way. I finished the job and got on my way. Wrong cop on the wrong day! Traffic school, here I come!
OMG, what an a-hole!
I use a V1, and try to follow a "speeding sponsor" whenever I can on the freeway. That's generally effective, but there's so little traffic here that that's often not possible. I try to stay within 20 over when I can, since that's the ticket I can afford. A new law here in OR makes 30+ over or 100+ extremely expensive.
I try to stay within 10 over around town, and not piss anyone off. I'm definitely profiled by LEO's and get zapped regularly, but not pulled.
Dashed line passing zones in the mountains are definitely designed for cars. I generally pass when necessary, safe, and unlikely to be observed. Occasionally drivers will take offense, but I figure that's a personal problem.
offtopic.gif Sorry about the off topic but I have to vent! A couple of months ago I was back home visiting the family. I had turned onto the main drag going through town and I saw my mom, whom I had just missed heading towards her house. I turn around and head back to the street that I came off of only about 1/10 of a mile away. I hammered it, STUPID, and see a light bar come over the hill, I knew he was after me, I was making a right hand turn and he was in the turning lane, I had a 1/2 mile straight shot, 1 1/2 miles from my parents garage and a mile of that is very curvy, I could have easily run, but I did the responsible thing and pulled over. Now I didn't mind getting the ticket, I deserved it. What I didn't deserve was the blatent harrassment the cop gave me after writing the ticket, it went kind of like this:
Before he approaches me I have my helmet off, and my registration license and insurance in hand, I am extremely polite. He asks me if I live close by and I told him I grew up here but I live elsewhere now and I am going to college pursuing a major in criminal justice, I also throw in that I am a security guard for a local retailer when he asks what the work keys on my belt were for. After my attempts of "I'm going into your field of work and I am a security guard while I'm in school didn't work he asks me if I've been smoking marijuana. I told him that I had not and he said that he could smell it on me, I mean come on you just clocked me going 65 in a 40, had I been smoking marijuana I would have been doing 14 in a 40. He procedes to search me and ask me about everything in my possesion from my pocket knife to my house keys. While going through my wallet he finds my handgun carry permit. He immediatley becomes defensive starts yelling and asked if I have a gun, anyone with a carry permit knows that if you are carring and get pulled over you should immediatley inform the officer that you are carrying and present him with your permit. I explained that I was not carring because I had come into town from work and I was not allowed to have my gun at work. He then asked if I had stolen the bike even though I had presented him with all of my paperwork. He then preceded to check my VIN number. I finally got him to drop the marijuana thing by telling him that I was trying to get into law enforcement and I didn't use drugs because among other reasons a drug convition would make this nearly impossible. Finally he let me go with a ticket. Ironically, although he had written the ticket for doing 65 in a 40, I was actually in a 45. Since I have taken classes in criminal justice I know that if an officer suspects marijuana use one of the first things to do to confirm that suspision is to look at the suspects eyes to check for dialated pupils and bloodshot eyes, I had sunglasses on throughout the entire incident. In my opinion it came down to simple harrassment, he was just trying to shake me up and get me to spill something, but I was 100% clean. Once again sorry for the off topic but thanks for listening.
In my opinion it came down to simple harrassment, he was just trying to shake me up and get me to spill something, but I was 100% clean. Once again sorry for the off topic but thanks for listening.
[/quote]
So file a complaint comp13.gif Otherwise what's the sense of complaining>? Get it? Okay obviously too late for me. I'd say man up. If you are aware of the speed limits and exceed them and get caught, well you get caught warranty.gif Like someone else said school zones/construction areas....go blowing through there and you deserve one.
on mostly straight highways, it can work well surfing a half mile behind a cage that appears from behind and zooms past you. watching for their brake lights is of course the trick, but is less practical as traffic density climbs.
trekuk, Aug 11 2006, 04:57 PM
However, when you say being courteous doesn't work, well, try the opposite, I'm sure you'll find there could at least 10 more citations coming your way. If you piss them off, they can dish it out pretty good too, impounding your bike and whatnot.
Well before I moved out into the rural area adjacent to Louisville, I hadn't had a ticket in 15 years. Now, between my wife and me we've acquired 4 in the last 2 years. It's kind of a small town that a lot of commuters live in, 22 miles from downtown louisville. My wife got one for doing 13 over on our street (traffic school), I got one for doing 13 over on the interstate in my car (amdended), I got one for doing 45 in a school zone but got that one amended because I proved that the flashing light was not working and it never did. They fixed the light, but I still had to pay the fine which was BS. Defective equipment on their part shouldn't constitute as a fine on mine. The last one on my bike that I previously mentioned (83 in a 65) on the interstate I had 90mph indicated but knew that was high. I was completely nice, courteous and had everything ready when he walked up. When the smart a$$ state traffic cop handed my award to me, I told him that it was bull shit that they never give anyone a break or reduce the ticket and that I would see his a$$ in court. I then got on my bike, cranked it up to 10k a couple of times to sound off those staintunes, then proceeded to take off like a bat out of hell. I went from 0 to 65 mph in about 3 seconds and promptly let off at 65. I was po'd I reckon. Since then I've been doing 5 over on everything in this county and sticking to it. The cops around here are always a$$es and I've given up on being nice and courteous.
One of my rules is "Never Speed Alone"!
I've had something similar to this happen to me before.
In fact, yesterday, something similar to me happened. I called the SP in for an accident. When he got there the local PD stopped after having pased the incident previously three time. I made a comment about it and the SP went off on me about how busy they are, and yada, yada, yada.
When he was done I just looked at him and said, "Are you going to write an accident resport on this?"
I had a cop "tirade" on me once before and it got me to the point where I'm prepared to not be bullied. In every stop there comes a point where I know whether or not I'm not going to get our of the ticket. At that point I stop being Mr. KissAss and become Mr. PainInTheAss.
I have a very high opinion of police officers who remember that they are public SERVANTS. The rest who think that their badge allows them to be superior are very low in my book.
As for ticket avoideance, visit
http://www.motorists.org and
http://www.speedtrap.org.
Read the book, "The Speeders Guide To Avoiding Tickets." It's out of print but Amazon or eBay shuld have it.
Best,
Dan
BoyfromTN, Aug 11 2006, 11:16 PM
offtopic.gif Sorry about the off topic but I have to vent! A couple of months ago I was back home visiting the family. I had turned onto the main drag going through town and I saw my mom, whom I had just missed heading towards her house. I turn around and head back to the street that I came off of only about 1/10 of a mile away. I hammered it, STUPID, and see a light bar come over the hill, I knew he was after me, I was making a right hand turn and he was in the turning lane, I had a 1/2 mile straight shot, 1 1/2 miles from my parents garage and a mile of that is very curvy, I could have easily run, but I did the responsible thing and pulled over. Now I didn't mind getting the ticket, I deserved it. What I didn't deserve was the blatent harrassment the cop gave me after writing the ticket, it went kind of like this:
Before he approaches me I have my helmet off, and my registration license and insurance in hand, I am extremely polite. He asks me if I live close by and I told him I grew up here but I live elsewhere now and I am going to college pursuing a major in criminal justice, I also throw in that I am a security guard for a local retailer when he asks what the work keys on my belt were for. After my attempts of "I'm going into your field of work and I am a security guard while I'm in school didn't work he asks me if I've been smoking marijuana. I told him that I had not and he said that he could smell it on me, I mean come on you just clocked me going 65 in a 40, had I been smoking marijuana I would have been doing 14 in a 40. He procedes to search me and ask me about everything in my possesion from my pocket knife to my house keys. While going through my wallet he finds my handgun carry permit. He immediatley becomes defensive starts yelling and asked if I have a gun, anyone with a carry permit knows that if you are carring and get pulled over you should immediatley inform the officer that you are carrying and present him with your permit. I explained that I was not carring because I had come into town from work and I was not allowed to have my gun at work. He then asked if I had stolen the bike even though I had presented him with all of my paperwork. He then preceded to check my VIN number. I finally got him to drop the marijuana thing by telling him that I was trying to get into law enforcement and I didn't use drugs because among other reasons a drug convition would make this nearly impossible. Finally he let me go with a ticket. Ironically, although he had written the ticket for doing 65 in a 40, I was actually in a 45. Since I have taken classes in criminal justice I know that if an officer suspects marijuana use one of the first things to do to confirm that suspision is to look at the suspects eyes to check for dialated pupils and bloodshot eyes, I had sunglasses on throughout the entire incident. In my opinion it came down to simple harrassment, he was just trying to shake me up and get me to spill something, but I was 100% clean. Once again sorry for the off topic but thanks for listening.
End of thread · 30 posts recovered Wayback Machine snapshot 19 Oct 2006