First Ticket for Apes (cops suck!)
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 91
Likes: 0
Does the law in his state say if you are sited for riding without a DOT approved helmet and do not have one with you they can remove the bike from the roadway at you expense?
I am not saying it wasn't a dick thing to do, and I am not justifing the actions of the officer, I'm just being practicle. If we are going to ride dirty we should know what to expect when we get caught.
I drive a sports car with blacked out windows and loud exhaust, my bike has loud pipes with no baffles and engine lights, I speed just about everyday. This being said, when I get pulled and ticketed and/or towed I simply say well, they got me that time but I have been getting away with it for ___Blank___. It sucks and cost a few bucks but we know we were breaking the law before we got caught.
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 412
Likes: 1
From: Northern Virginia
We don't all suck. The only motorcycles I've ever stopped were for ridiculous behavior, not equipment stuff. And I've still never written a ticket to anyone riding a motorcycle. A lot of cops ride, and the ones that do have bikes typically will just ignore bikes.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,248
Likes: 11
From: Queens,New York
he probally wants a bike so bad but his fat old lady wont let him and he has no ***** screw him no reason for that ****.give the ticket if you want but being a jerk is something else.
Tourer
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 444
Likes: 2
From: St. Paul, MN
I believe the justification is, in many cases once the bike is pushed off the road if he leaves and you may choose to get back on the bike and ride away, fall and hit your head he can be named in the lawsuit for negligence.
Does the law in his state say if you are sited for riding without a DOT approved helmet and do not have one with you they can remove the bike from the roadway at you expense?
Does the law in his state say if you are sited for riding without a DOT approved helmet and do not have one with you they can remove the bike from the roadway at you expense?
As others have mentioned, the state does not want the liability of having the bike struck, damaged, stolen, etc. People try to sue for everything. There is a strong likelihood most drivers would just hop back on and ride away without a legal helmet after the trooper left. There is a record the rider was stopped. Now, if the rider crashes or otherwise gets hurt, some ambulance chasing attorney sues the state for not protecting the rider from himself. It happens all the time. Welcome to Civil Liability. Who knows, it may even be policy of the State Patrol to tow in that state.
Bottom line is the OP knew he was riding with illegal bars and an illegal helmet and put himself in that situation. If stopped by a Trooper again, the same scenario will likely play out, so now all the risks and potential penalties are known. No bitching allowed if it happens again.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,105
Likes: 1
From: Dago
Tread lightly as there is a no LEO bashing on the forums. That being said. I never mess with people on bikes for any type of violation like helmet or bars. 15 inches above the seat is the law in Ohio. It's a gamble when you get stopped for something like that. It's all the officers discretion.
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Joined: May 2005
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It cracks me up when government tries to protect people from themselves. Honestly, if you want to put your health in danger by riding with a non DOT helmet, go ahead. What's next? Tickets for people that attempt suicide? Cops are people, and therefore you will encounter the good, the bad, and the ugly. The problem occurs because we have put them in a position of trust, therefore we need to weed out the bad and ugly who give the good ones a bad name.
health care, it's up to you (and the rest of us peons) to not suck the life out of the system.