Another year of harrassment for California motorcyclists?

[larryboy]

I see that all the grant money has been handed out by the state for "safety" enforcement on motorcyclists. Even though we have this data:


"The grant will assist in efforts to deal with traffic safety problems and to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions. While traffic deaths from all causes declined by nearly 39 percent between 2006 and 2010 in California, state and federal officials anticipate that figures will show a slight rise in 2011. DUI deaths remain the largest sector, at nearly 30 percent of traffic fatalities. Recent trends show increases in two new categories – distracted driving and drug-impaired driving."


From here:

http://elkgrove.patch.com/articles/m...g-to-elk-grove


A quick google search turns up articles over the last month for pretty much every city in California.

I noticed a distrubing trend during Motorcycle Awareness month last year. Out of all the motorcycles that I would see during my riding around, a solid 85% of them were on the side of the road with the police inlcuding me. I don't think that is what's intended by "motorcycle awareness" campaigns.


I really don't see why motorcyclists are included in this grouping?


Activities that the grant will fund include:

• Specialized DUI and drugged driving training such as Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE).
• DUI Saturation Patrols
• Motorcycle safety enforcement
• Speed, red light and stop sign enforcement

Motorcycles are an extremely small segment of registered vehicles in California...800,000 motorcycles versus 22 million others.


Things I'm going to do to prepare for another year of harrassment...light and safety check of every bike before I leave the house. We all get lax, I'll get that turn signal bulb this weekend...tire is about bald, but it's summer, I'll run it a little longer. Got my new tag in the mail, but it looks like it's good until the end of the month, it's not.


Gotta have my ducks in a row because I'm gonna be one mouthy SOB the next time I get pulled over.


I routinely see drivers smoking weed driving down the road and they're gonna pick on me because I ride a motorcycle?

[bobnoxious67]

Originally Posted by larryboy

."



...Gotta have my ducks in a row because I'm gonna be one mouthy SOB the next time I get pulled over. ...

No fuckin way...

[el queso]

How are you getting motorcycle harrasement out of that article? There's just one bullet point stating that part of the grant goes to "Motorcycle safety enforcement."

At least in the LA area, cops seem pretty easy on motorcyclists. The last time I got pulled over the cop asked me why I did what I just did. I told him that I had no excuse, that it was stupid mistake, and he let me go.

[tedder]

Originally Posted by larryboy

From here:

http://elkgrove.patch.com/articles/m...g-to-elk-grove

patch.com is not a reliable source. It's effectively a federated advertising network with amateur journalists.

[buddoggin]

I ride pretty much everyday here in southern Ca and haven't been stopped since 2006.

[Bill Harris]

Originally Posted by buddoggin

I ride pretty much everyday here in southern Ca and haven't been stopped since 2006.

You do realize that you just jinxed yourself, Bud...

--Bill

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by Bill Harris

You do realize that you just jinxed yourself, Bud...

--Bill

Do you believe in Rabbits feet and Gremlin Bells too?

[BanjoBoy]

Originally Posted by buddoggin

I ride pretty much everyday here in southern Ca and haven't been stopped since 2006.

Sure, my Momma ain't never bean stopped, butt she's purdie damn slow too.

[buddoggin]

Originally Posted by BanjoBoy

Sure, my Momma ain't never bean stopped, butt she's purdie damn slow too.

I may be slow but I sure am old...

[windmill]

Up here in Washington, it has gone the other direction, I see virtually no traffic enforcement by the State or city police except for a few select locations. Even commercial vehicle enforcement is noticeably down.

[daveinva]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

Do you believe in Rabbits feet and Gremlin Bells too?

You don't?? You need to watch that nice lady's video again.

[little foot]

California a whole other country.

[tedder]

Originally Posted by little foot

California a whole other country.

Indeed. We believe in proper grammar and not marrying cousins.

[ttpete]

That's all federal money (our taxes) from those nice folks in DC who were voted back in.

They don't do catch-and-release here in MI. The state AG said if they stopped motorcyclists, they also had to stop all of the cars and trucks to avoid discrimination. Same thing for DUI inspection lanes. Stop everyone or nobody.

[LuciferMutt]

Originally Posted by larryboy

Gotta have my ducks in a row because I'm gonna be one mouthy SOB the next time I get pulled over.

Good luck with that.

What were you stopped for last year?

Unfortunately, way too many motorcyclists think it's cool to ride to bars. Thus, I'd wager a guess that there are lot of drunk motorcyclists around on Friday and Saturday nights. Could be part of the DUI enforcement to stop and check...

On the other hand, if you are seeing bikes pulled over during "non-drinking hours" that's bullshit, IMO.