Stopped By DPS Today

[carlson1]

how I wish that were true, ask any of the LEO's here and they will tell you for a fact that at any given time they can stop you for about 40 infractions or violations you didn't even know you comitted. I get stopped all the time, haven't gotten a ticket in quite a while, but still get stopped at least once a week and always get some thing about my plate or turn signal, the last one an officer swore to high heaven that I was not in compliance because my turn signals weren't at least 13 inches apart, no I didn't get a ticket

Wow, My last ticket was in 1964. I get stopped on average less than once every 10 years.[/quote]

No need in you buying a lottery ticket.

[JP171]

how I wish that were true, ask any of the LEO's here and they will tell you for a fact that at any given time they can stop you for about 40 infractions or violations you didn't even know you comitted. I get stopped all the time, haven't gotten a ticket in quite a while, but still get stopped at least once a week and always get some thing about my plate or turn signal, the last one an officer swore to high heaven that I was not in compliance because my turn signals weren't at least 13 inches apart, no I didn't get a ticket

Wow, My last ticket was in 1964. I get stopped on average less than once every 10 years.

No need in you buying a lottery ticket. [/quote]
yea no kidding, but it boils down to my riding a sportbike, they just want to see if I am going to try and run

[Mel]

Just to clear things up a bit. Somehow the "quotes" got screwed up.
JP171 wrote that he got stopped every week.

I wrote that I get stopped once every 10 years.

[srothstein]

how I wish that were true, ask any of the LEO's here and they will tell you for a fact that at any given time they can stop you for about 40 infractions or violations you didn't even know you comitted. I get stopped all the time, haven't gotten a ticket in quite a while, but still get stopped at least once a week and always get some thing about my plate or turn signal, the last one an officer swore to high heaven that I was not in compliance because my turn signals weren't at least 13 inches apart, no I didn't get a ticket

I have said many times that our laws have become so hard to read and understand, both from the language and the sheer number, that I could pull over almost any car if I followed it for one mile. The odds of finding a real offense in that space are too good. Of course, this is not a guarantee, but just a set of probabilities as an observation on the state of our laws.

As for the lights being 13 inches apart, this is the other half of the problem. Officers who do not know the law and enforce it properly. The actual law (Transportation Code 547.324) says the signals will be mounted as far apart as practicable and does not give a minimum distance. And they are not even required to be present on motorcycles. But we have so many laws that officers can stop people and make up things and the people don't know what is being made up and what is the law. If we had reasonable laws, officers could not do this.

And that is without getting into the discussion of whether the officers know the laws and make it up deliberately or are that confused themselves.

[JP171]

Like I said in my second post there, I ride a crotch rocket, alot of cops think because of the type of Bike I ride that I'm gonna run, yea they don't know me but no way in creation I'm gonna run, felony evading isn't somthing I want I have too much to loose for that foolishness. but if you read this you may begin to understand why I am so difficult when it comes to answering questions and allowing searches and seem to have a thing against LEO's I don't really but I do hold a hard line

[gigag04]

Ha - getting stopped for that. I don't really mess with bikes much, being a rider myself.

[Monson]

Maybe it's just me. My last ticket was 1968 (doing 60 in a 30 with my new Camero by small town cops). I was a LEO in the early 70's in California and a PI in Tennessee in the 80's. I haven't been stopped in 40 years. I drive an old pickup now which gets looks sometimes, but no stops. I know that in Cal. we used to give what was called an attitude test on occasion. The driver stopped would say something like "what are yous stopping me for" and that was fine. The driver who came at us with "what the did you stop me for??" was bound for ticket land. I know that the LEO community has changed. It's a lot more dangerous out there now...or at least that's my perception. I carried a .38 revolver and was denied hollow points or +P loads. I always felt like I was under gunned. LEO's have my full respect and gratitude for what they do and I can't imagine being rude to them or disrespecting the job they do by getting my panties in a wad over a where are you going or where have you been question. I've asked that many many times, partially out of boredom and partially because I just wanted to know. It just doesn't seem reasonable confronting a person who's job it is to run toward the gunfire because you perceive that they are violating you by asking a few questions unless the answers might be a problem.

[JP171]

Maybe it's just me. My last ticket was 1968 (doing 60 in a 30 with my new Camero by small town cops). I was a LEO in the early 70's in California and a PI in Tennessee in the 80's. I haven't been stopped in 40 years. I drive an old pickup now which gets looks sometimes, but no stops. I know that in Cal. we used to give what was called an attitude test on occasion. The driver stopped would say something like "what are yous stopping me for" and that was fine. The driver who came at us with "what the did you stop me for??" was bound for ticket land. I know that the LEO community has changed. It's a lot more dangerous out there now...or at least that's my perception. I carried a .38 revolver and was denied hollow points or +P loads. I always felt like I was under gunned. LEO's have my full respect and gratitude for what they do and I can't imagine being rude to them or disrespecting the job they do by getting my panties in a wad over a where are you going or where have you been question. I've asked that many many times, partially out of boredom and partially because I just wanted to know. It just doesn't seem reasonable confronting a person who's job it is to run toward the gunfire because you perceive that they are violating you by asking a few questions unless the answers might be a problem.

sorry but asking me irrelavant questions is like will smith askin his boss in the movie enemy of the state the shower question, tain't none of your business, I do not start out being a butthead but will go from nice to butthead in nothing flat if I believe your on a fishin expidition. oh and as far as cops running into gunfire, hmm lemme tole ya I will guarentee you I have been in more gunfire than about any cop out there, cept the ones that served with me. I do appreciate what LEO's do the risks they take and the thankless stuff they put up with but contemp of cop is not a crime anymore than lese majeste is, specially when the LEO begins the encounter with a tude just cause a guy is on a sport bike. and no Monson I am not making you the subject just responding to your points. and I also get a bit ticked when you answer the LEO's question and he asks the same question 5 or 6 times cause he doesn't like the answer, the answer is what it is, it ain't gonna change just cause the LEO doesn't like it.

[johnson0317]

Wow.

Little harsh.

[JP171]

I will apologize for being harsh to my friends here, but my position is unchanged, I just get tired of being stopped almost 52 times a year without real reason just to see if I am going to run. yes I do admit that as a general rule of thumb sport bike riders bring it on themselves due to most of us being very young(wish I still was) dumb and full of(insert appropriate word) I get grilled about where are you comming from, where are you going, what were you doing, have you been drinking, were you at work, what were you doing, so on and so forth, when your on the side of the road for 30 to 45 mins each time it gets old fast, then if I am in uniform I catch all kinds of grief and have even had LEO's say things like you military guys think you can get away with murder and aren't gonna get a ticket and think your too good for laws like everyone else. sorry but it gets to be a real pain. again I do most humbly offer my apology to anyone that may have been offended or believes that I have been too harsh and to the LEO's here I really do appreciate each and everyone of you and what you do for us in the civilian world, alot of the LEO's that I have worked with in the past I have always felt were justified by the behavior of the person being stopped or arrested, but as has been said here many times its the 1% that cause we the people to not like the other 99%.

[gigag04]

lemme tole ya I will guarentee you I have been in more gunfire than about any cop out there, cept the ones that served with me

Bold Statements...

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Please read both articles.

I'm sure it's the officers you contact that have the bad attitude...

[bci21984]

We could have the proverbial "danger" argument all day long. I guarantee I have come in contact with more knives, drug filled syringes, nasty drug coated razors, broken crack/meth pipes, felons, rapists, murderers, psycopaths, deranged, mentally unstable, blood/urine/feces covered people than you have in your military career, but we won't get into that. You have admitted that the sport bike crowd gets treated a certain way because of the actions of the ones that draw attention from the police. The runners, trick riders, lane splitters, stunters, and so on, have created a negative image for you in the eyes of the police. So you get stopped, he's fishing, you get attitude as you have stated and the cycle is continued. You are now part of the group that draws the negative attention. Try this next time you get stopped, realize that you are on a sport bike and are being perceived as the negative group of the sportbike crowd, if the officer fishes, dont get your attitude. Answer the questions and engage in a pleasant conversation and prove that you are not part of the negative crowd.

[carlson1]

100%

[steveincowtown]

The runners, trick riders, lane splitters, stunters, and so on, have created a negative image for you in the eyes of the police. So you get stopped, he's fishing, you get attitude as you have stated and the cycle is continued. You are now part of the group that draws the negative attention. Try this next time you get stopped, realize that you are on a sport bike and are being perceived as the negative group of the sportbike crowd, if the officer fishes, dont get your attitude. Answer the questions and engage in a pleasant conversation and prove that you are not part of the negative crowd.

First, thanks for your service as an LEO. It is not a job I want, or honestly would want to handle.

Second, the statement above amounts to nothing short of profiling. If an LEO has preconceived perceptions before they pull me over, that is their problem, not mine.

Third, I do not think having a "pleasant conversation" is required or needed. Showing respect does not equal "answering questions." I have the utmost respect for LEO's, but I do expect them to have the same respect for me if I choose to remain silent, not let them in my house, not search my car, etc.


LEO's have every right to ask any question they like, just as I have the right to not answer. The problem is that some citizens get bent when questions are asked, and some LEO's get bent when questions are not answered.

The world needs a little more respect....

[ScooterSissy]

The runners, trick riders, lane splitters, stunters, and so on, have created a negative image for you in the eyes of the police. So you get stopped, he's fishing, you get attitude as you have stated and the cycle is continued. You are now part of the group that draws the negative attention. Try this next time you get stopped, realize that you are on a sport bike and are being perceived as the negative group of the sportbike crowd, if the officer fishes, dont get your attitude. Answer the questions and engage in a pleasant conversation and prove that you are not part of the negative crowd.

First, thanks for your service as an LEO. It is not a job I want, or honestly would want to handle.

Second, the statement above amounts to nothing short of profiling. If an LEO has preconceived perceptions before they pull me over, that is their problem, not mine.

Third, I do not think having a "pleasant conversation" is required or needed. Showing respect does not equal "answering questions." I have the utmost respect for LEO's, but I do expect them to have the same respect for me if I choose to remain silent, not let them in my house, not search my car, etc.


LEO's have every right to ask any question they like, just as I have the right to not answer. The problem is that some citizens get bent when questions are asked, and some LEO's get bent when questions are not answered.

The world needs a little more respect....

In these scenarios, do the officers involved have absolutely no probable cause? I mean, are you 100% obeying all traffic laws. No speeding, you're signalling lane changes and/or turns, both wheels on the ground, etc etc?

If they're stopping you with no PC, you have a valid complaint (and should register the complaint). If you're giving them PC, you're bringing it on yourself.