My ninjette's in jail.

[CThunder-blue]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Yes, those radios can be a problem. However, unless you are riding w/no helmet, if he loses sight of you, then he can't testify that the guy that eventually pulls over is the same guy. Bike tags are pretty small so they aren't that easy to read.

Guys get away all the time, but some don't. I definitely wouldn't try it with a 250. But I'm sure I could get into a lot more trouble with a ZX-10R.

It's up to you how you live your life. If you do decide to run from a cop, don't expect sympathy from anyone if you crash your bike or worse. There was one idiot who ran from a cop and ended up drowning. He ditched his bike and ran into a shallow pond thinking he could hide. Hypothermia set in and he died. Natural selection takes place all the time. The guys who run from cops rarely only put their own lives at risk. Whether you ride a bike or drive a cage. When you run, you put everyone else around you in harm's way as well.

[kkim]

[Live2ride]

This reminds me of all the threads about how 250's are getting left behind in group rides with larger bikes on the straights. Idk about you guys but just because you can ride 100mph+ on the straights doesn't mean you should. I would never ride in a group that goes more than 5-10mph over the speed limit on average, it's unsafe at high speeds while riding alone and much more unsafe when you have other people riding with you.

I'm referring to riding fast in general, and running from police. If you think riding at 70mph in a 40mph zone is fun then think about a car misjudging your speed and pulling out in front of you. The dangers of riding a motorcycle are bad enough as it is, riding nearly twice the speed limit increases those dangers by much more than twice, I assure you.

[Liquidtoon]

With the debt our motorcycle police should get these...



I think if you go double the speed limit. (just a little faster than your 70 in a 40 ) it becomes wreakless driving and they can pull your license for a year. As far as leaving the bike I think you would regret it due to the compounding costs. If you can show you had insurance at the time of the ticket then they will drop that ticket.

[Live2ride]

kkim, I do agree with that statement but I have learned just as much from others mistakes as I have my own. That could just be the young and stupid stage talking though .

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

I can't tell if you're being serious or not. 30 over is well beyond a minor infraction. Add no insurance to that and the cop was well within his rights to impound the guy's bike.

Yes, I'm serious.

It depends on the circumstances. Doing 30 over through a school zone would be more than an infraction. But 30 over on an open road is no big deal. I'm considering risk to others.

Actually, now that I think about it, I actually was stopped a few years ago for doing 30 over in a school zone. The biker cop gave me a warning.

I'm still not clear on whether it was the speeding or the insurance or both that sent the bike to prison. I don't agree that "No proof" == "No Insurance". Maybe that's another stupid law over there. But once I had the wrong (expired) insurance cards in my wallet for the car, but had valid insurance. I wasn't stopped, but if what you say is true I could have lost my car if I had visited CA.

It really sounds like CA has become a police state. I'm glad I don't live there.

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

Natural selection takes place all the time.

That's pretty much what I say about guys that ride with no helmet.

[Liquidtoon]

Originally Posted by Oaklandish

where were you? I'd like to avoid this nazi

That isn't so bad, worst story about police EVER:
maybe this will help with feeling bad about a speeding ticket.

I was on my way home from a night shift (about 3am) while living in Hawaii doing about 45 in a 35. Cop pulls me over saying I was doing over 50. I know you shouldn't get in a pissing contest with police but...young and stupid....after it turned into a screaming match he cited me for speeding, which I crumpled up and threw at him...I know.. so he cited me for Open alcoholic bev in the car. There wasn't but he wrote it up and I went to court fought and won ! but in Hawaii even if you prove your innocent they can use it on your insurance and raise your rates.

[LazinCajun]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Sounds like the whole state of California is run by a bunch of Nazis or gestapo or KGB or somebody equally evil. The biker cop was probably only giving tickets under duress from his CO. Stealing somebody's bike or car for a minor traffic infraction is nothing but pure evil. As far as the insurance thing, they should have allowed you to call the insurance company for verbal proof.

Heck, why does ANY state require insurance for a bike? Its not like you are going to leave that big of dent in the SUV that suddenly pulls in front of you. Florida at least got that one right.

Evil? What if (God forbid) somebody going 30 over runs headfirst into soccer mom's stereotypical van with kids inside?

I'm not trying to lecture the OP. I think he realizes the gravity of his situation, but the cop was doing his job to keep people safe. Don't blame him.

[ScorpionNinja]

Originally Posted by 02ninjaeastbay

I got my ninjette impounded today. I was being stupid, and had just gotten off work at 7am and wanted to go home and sleep. Well long story short, I had gone 70 in a 40 and a BMW motorcycle cop pulls me over, and I didnt have my insurance card on me, etc. Well, needless to say, i'm on the market for a new bike.

Get a S1000RR. Next time the Cop wont be able to catch you!!!

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by LazinCajun

Evil? What if (God forbid) somebody going 30 over runs headfirst into soccer mom's stereotypical van with kids inside?

I'm not trying to lecture the OP. I think he realizes the gravity of his situation, but the cop was doing his job to keep people safe. Don't blame him.

Seriously? A soccer mom? What the heck is she doing in my lane anyway?

More than likely, she would just wonder what that thud was and keep going. At least that's what they do around here.

I don't blame the biker cop per se, I'm sure he was under a lot of pressure to issue tickets from his CO.

I DO blame the state for having laws like that on the books.

[CmichRider]

The law is the law, whether you agree with it or not. Any time we choose to ignore the law, we should expect to deal with the consequences. The cop was doing his job, and the OP seemed to totally understand that he was in the wrong.

[Live2ride]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Seriously? A soccer mom? What the heck is she doing in my lane anyway?

More than likely, she would just wonder what that thud was and keep going. At least that's what they do around here.

I don't blame the biker cop per se, I'm sure he was under a lot of pressure to issue tickets from his CO.

I DO blame the state for having laws like that on the books.

I rest my case...

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by Live2ride

Looks like a cage made an illegal left turn in front of a bike.

Looks like the bike got rear ended by a cage.

Another illegal left turn by a cage.

Somebody, not sure which one, was driving on the wrong side of the road.

Another cage makes an illegal left turn.

Note that left turns across traffic are only legal AFTER yielding the right of way to oncoming traffic. The speed of the other vehicle is not an excuse. This is unfortunately a rather common type of bike accident. I sure hope all the bikers made it OK. If they were wearing helmets, there is a good chance that at least some of them did.

Except for the Harley, I'd bet that most of those photos were of vehicles going in excess of 100 mph.

I'm not saying that doing 70 through a residential area is super smart, but sometimes there are mitigating circumstances that warrant being left alone by the cops.

For example, when its gusty, the Ninjette can be tossed around and cause the rider to lose control at low speeds. Because the wheels are gyroscopes and are responsible for keeping the bike upright, going faster actually makes the bike much more stable in gusty wind conditions. Going slower makes it worse. The sweet spot seems to be about twice as fast as what the gust is.

Also, for safety reasons, I like to follow the car ahead no more than 3 seconds behind. More than that, and people with bike blindness will turn in front of me (see photos). So sometimes I have to go a little faster than the speed limit in order to catch up.

So technically I am breaking the law when I do that, but am I wrong for wanting to ride safe?

[LazinCajun]

So ride 30 over and copmlain about nazis. I hope you don't kill anybody.

[kkim]

Nazis... All of youz!!!!

[CThunder-blue]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Yes, I'm serious.

It depends on the circumstances. Doing 30 over through a school zone would be more than an infraction. But 30 over on an open road is no big deal. I'm considering risk to others.

Actually, now that I think about it, I actually was stopped a few years ago for doing 30 over in a school zone. The biker cop gave me a warning.

I'm still not clear on whether it was the speeding or the insurance or both that sent the bike to prison. I don't agree that "No proof" == "No Insurance". Maybe that's another stupid law over there. But once I had the wrong (expired) insurance cards in my wallet for the car, but had valid insurance. I wasn't stopped, but if what you say is true I could have lost my car if I had visited CA.

It really sounds like CA has become a police state. I'm glad I don't live there.

I'm glad you don't live here either.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by LazinCajun

So ride 30 over and copmlain about nazis. I hope you don't kill anybody.

Ok, Now I'm really getting off topic. In FL, I think that most cops are decent guys.

[SOAPBOX]
A nazi bike hating cop DID arrest me one time on trumped up charges. The DA threw it out without having to go to trial, but that was after all the hassle of being arrested.

That cop had a history of harassing bikers. I got arrested for riding on a bike trail in the middle of the woods. I was only doing 10 mph. However, after looking up his records, I found that he caught a guy with a four wheeler in the same general location, that was drunk, had open alcohol containers, and was shooting a gun at random targets. That guy got a $50 ticket for the open containers and warnings for the rest.

I mention this because I only started riding a motorcycle last year. Before that, nothing really more serious than an overdue library book. Then I get the bike and within a month I get arrested.
[/SOAPBOX]

[Jesse8931]

The op was in the wrong and deserved what he got plain and simple.

[dino74]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

I'm glad you don't live here either.

[HKr1]

So they impound your vehicle for No insurance now? When they pass that?

That freaking 30 day impound for driving without a Drivers license got me out there. Second/Next time they seize your vehicle for good.

Then I got my camaro back without rear window & all stereo eq gone! Showed the tow company $3600 in receipts( not including window), said they would give me 200.00. This after $750 to get it back

[Jesse8931]

Originally Posted by HKr1

So they impound your vehicle for No insurance now? When they pass that?

That freaking 30 day impound for driving without a Drivers license got me out there. Second/Next time they seize your vehicle for good.

Then I got my camaro back without rear window & all stereo eq gone! Showed the tow company $3600 in receipts( not including window), said they would give me 200.00. This after $750 to get it back

there not responsible for your stuff. lucky they gave you anything

[whiteboy]

Sounds like a few people here are angry at acop doing his job and 30 over is asking for it. The op seems to know he was wrong and seemed like he was ok with it how are other people calling a persons owing his job to protect people being called a Nazi lol. I don't go to any1 heres job and when they miss spell a word call em Nazis or anything lol. I plan to be a cop here soon and I see no wrong here by the cop. Idk if I would of put the bike in jail but it's up to him.

[rusninja]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

It doesn't really matter. Running from cops is stupid and you'll never outrun their radio.

if he tucked he'd look like a rolling egg! :O

[alex.s]

time for some explosives...

[LazinCajun]

Originally Posted by kkim

Nazis... All of youz!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

[n4mwd]

The OP admits speeding and not having proof of insurance. For that he should pay a fine and his bike should be detained until he brings in proof of insurance.

But keeping his bike for 30 days, and charging him for that time, plus another "redemption fee" is nothing short of a constitutional violation of excessive punishment especially in light of the fact that the impound fees will likely exceed the value of the bike. That is why this bugs me so much. I have a hard time believing that the people of CA would sit back and tolerate this injustice. Not just for him, but for anybody else too.

Think about it. If they have the authority to steal your car/bike for doing 30 mph over, then they can also change the law to steal it for doing only 1 mph over. So is that right?

To the other FL poster, yes, in FL they will impound for lack of insurance, but they will return it as soon as you can show proof. There is no 30 day minimum mandatory.

Some here have said that the cop was only doing his job. I agree with that. However, so was the bike. Why should the bike have to pay for the mistakes of the rider?

[LazinCajun]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Think about it. If they have the authority to steal your car/bike for doing 30 mph over, then they can also change the law to steal it for doing only 1 mph over. So is that right?

.....stuff....

Some here have said that the cop was only doing his job. I agree with that. However, so was the bike. Why should the bike have to pay for the mistakes of the rider?

a) With regards to the first part of this quote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slipper...ope_as_fallacy

b) And the second part: I know my ninjette occasionally talks to me, but I didn't know it could be kidnapped.

[Jesse8931]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

The OP admits speeding and not having proof of insurance. For that he should pay a fine and his bike should be detained until he brings in proof of insurance.

But keeping his bike for 30 days, and charging him for that time, plus another "redemption fee" is nothing short of a constitutional violation of excessive punishment especially in light of the fact that the impound fees will likely exceed the value of the bike. That is why this bugs me so much. I have a hard time believing that the people of CA would sit back and tolerate this injustice. Not just for him, but for anybody else too.

Think about it. If they have the authority to steal your car/bike for doing 30 mph over, then they can also change the law to steal it for doing only 1 mph over. So is that right?

To the other FL poster, yes, in FL they will impound for lack of insurance, but they will return it as soon as you can show proof. There is no 30 day minimum mandatory.

Some here have said that the cop was only doing his job. I agree with that. However, so was the bike. Why should the bike have to pay for the mistakes of the rider?

Buy getting a driver license you are agreeing to there laws. And the op does not understand how it works. he can get his bike back tuesday if he pays his fines and can show proof of insurance. if he does not do that within 30 days they then give him 30 more days then off to auction.

[Cuongism]

Was the 30 day impound because of the speeding though? I thought the 30 day is only for driving without a license or with a suspended/revoked license. Basically that you have no privilege of operating a vehicle.

I'm ok with the severe punishment if it keeps past DUI offenders off the road.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by Cuongism

Was the 30 day impound because of the speeding though? I thought the 30 day is only for driving without a license or with a suspended/revoked license. Basically that you have no privilege of operating a vehicle.

I'm ok with the severe punishment if it keeps past DUI offenders off the road.

I just looked up the CA law and this is what I found:
http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/impound.html

I'm not 100% sure, but it looks like the 30 day minimum mandatory is for driving without a license and not speeding or lack of insurance. I did find on another page that a court can order cars impounded for lack of insurance, but a cop can't make that call.

In FL, they don't put the cars in jail for being driven by a nut without a license, they put the nut in jail for 30 days. It gets longer for a second offense. Makes more sense that way. Its just not as profitable.

[whiteboy]

Lol ok you agreed to your states laws when u got you license... So did the op. That being said is it fair that the bike is in lock up for mandatory 30 days? No. But if there was no punishment for the wrong people do then this world would be gone a long time ago. I think it's a bit excessive to impound the bike but that being said I bet the op doesn't go 30 over with no insurance agin. Therefor the punishment worked and did it's job while making the city much needed money... I say give that under paid cop a raise

[HKr1]

I never met anyone that had there car impounded for no insurance. Whats this Cali VC, or FL VC that states this??

[chef]

Brings back very unhappy memories for me reading this thread....short story is i was young,stupid & thought i was invincable cruising in my vintage mini cooper until i was spotted going through a red light in Australia.
I had the speed & handling advantage over the big heavy weight V8 police cruiser so did the rabbit run.
I was way ahead of them & thought i was home free till i saw 4 more cruisers converging from different points,still i gave it more
They eventually got me when i spun on a corner & they beat the crap outta me before & after pulling me through the window by the hair.
Lost the car,lost my job & had some time away & it was the BEST lesson i ever learned.
Never thought about hitting an innocent driver at speeds of over 100 mph at night!!
You did the wrong thing & got caught,do the right thing & accept the consequences.

[Alex]

Usually it's lack of valid registration, or lack of valid license, that gets it impounded, not lack of insurance. But the OP only mentions insurance. OP - does the bike have valid registration? Was your license in order?

[Alex]

Though before tearing Cali a new one for enforcement of strange laws, at least point out the constitutionality of Florida charging $1000+ tickets for plates that aren't clearly in view.

(florida statute#: 316.1926)

[n4mwd]

Yes FL laws are far from perfect. You can also get a $1300 fine for popping a wheelie. However, such a law is clearly biased against motorcycles in that a cage can't really pop a wheelie. Actually, I think the exact wording says something about "must maintain at least two wheels on the ground" so for the rare cars that can pop a wheelie, they are allowed.

The bikers in this state aren't taking these things seriously or these laws wouldn't exist. Still, we are better off than many in that we don't have to have helmets or insurance on bikes. I have both, but I hate mandated personal safety laws.

And despite the rare photos above, most cage-motorcycle accidents result in only minor damage to the car. I have been studying local motorcycle fatalities and so far the most significant cage damage was a scratch on a bumper (Trey Jackson 2009 RIP).

As to the insurance, ticket, impound thing, it seems to me that the OP left out a few details. It seems like there may have been some licensing issues.

I don't know about CA, but FL has two main types of suspended licenses. There is criminal and clerical. Obviously a judge takes it away for criminal reasons, but an insurance company can suspend your license for non-payment as well. And they don't have to tell you about it. And I think if you are under 18, the your school can take it away for various reasons (GPA, absenteeism, parking in the principals spot, etc.). Generally, they wont lock you up for driving on a clerical suspended license, but you can expect a bunch of fines and fees if caught. And of course, your car gets impounded for no insurance, but only as long as it takes you to get insurance.

With that said, I'm wondering if CA has the same type of thing and if they impound cars for clerical suspended licenses. Also, in FL if you don't have a motorcycle endorsement then you are treated the same as riding without a license. I'm wondering if that is also true in CA and if it will trigger an impoundment in spite of having a valid cage license.

[n4mwd]

Here is the exact law in CA:

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d06/vc14602_6.htm

Specifically, it says:

(d) (1) An impounding agency shall release a vehicle to the registered owner or his or her agent prior to the end of 30 days’ impoundment under any of the following circumstances:

(A) When the vehicle is a stolen vehicle.

(B) When the vehicle is subject to bailment and is driven by an unlicensed employee of a business establishment, including a parking service or repair garage.

(C) When the license of the driver was suspended or revoked for an offense other than those included in Article 2 (commencing with Section 13200) of Chapter 2 of Division 6 or Article 3 (commencing with Section 13350) of Chapter 2 of Division 6.

(D) When the vehicle was seized under this section for an offense that does not authorize the seizure of the vehicle.

(E) When the driver reinstates his or her driver’s license or acquires a driver’s license and proper insurance.

So (E) would probably be what applies here, or (D) if the bike really was impounded for speeding and lack of insurance proof. So it looks like the only time a vehicle is impounded for a full 30 days is when the driver can't get his license reinstated prior to then.

I'm starting to think there are fewer Nazis running the government of California than I originally thought. Maybe they all moved to Tallahassee which would explain our wheelie law.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Looks like a cage made an illegal left turn in front of a bike.

Looks like the bike got rear ended by a cage.

Another illegal left turn by a cage.

Somebody, not sure which one, was driving on the wrong side of the road.


Another cage makes an illegal left turn.

Note that left turns across traffic are only legal AFTER yielding the right of way to oncoming traffic. The speed of the other vehicle is not an excuse. This is unfortunately a rather common type of bike accident. I sure hope all the bikers made it OK. If they were wearing helmets, there is a good chance that at least some of them did.

Except for the Harley, I'd bet that most of those photos were of vehicles going in excess of 100 mph.

I'm not saying that doing 70 through a residential area is super smart, but sometimes there are mitigating circumstances that warrant being left alone by the cops.

For example, when its gusty, the Ninjette can be tossed around and cause the rider to lose control at low speeds. Because the wheels are gyroscopes and are responsible for keeping the bike upright, going faster actually makes the bike much more stable in gusty wind conditions. Going slower makes it worse. The sweet spot seems to be about twice as fast as what the gust is.

Also, for safety reasons, I like to follow the car ahead no more than 3 seconds behind. More than that, and people with bike blindness will turn in front of me (see photos). So sometimes I have to go a little faster than the speed limit in order to catch up.

So technically I am breaking the law when I do that, but am I wrong for wanting to ride safe?

Actually, most of those are in other countries where they probably drive on the left. That said, the first one is on snopes.com with full details. You should look that one up. The police reassembled that one after cutting everything out and take it around to show off the dangers.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Actually, most of those are in other countries where they probably drive on the left. That said, the first one is on snopes.com with full details. You should look that one up. The police reassembled that one after cutting everything out and take it around to show off the dangers.

I just went to snopes and found the one you were talking about. It says it was just like I said, illegal left turn.

Here is one that looks like an illegal lane change by a truck. (Sick photo warning). Of course they spin it like its all the bikers fault when he's not around anymore to defend himself. Simply put, a biker isn't going to ride into the back of a truck unless the truck makes a sudden illegal lane change.

[matha028]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

I'm shooting in the dark here because I'm not that familiar with CA law. But in general, a judge can do anything. He might also be more understanding if you can show the bike necessary for work or school.

The 30 day impoundment thing sounds like nothing short of organized theft. In FL, they will impound if the car doesn't have insurance, but the owner gets it back as soon as he can show proof. Usually that takes a couple of hours to get home and print an insurance card from an insurance website.

For bikes, we don't have to have helmets or insurance. I have both, but its nice to know I don't have to.

CA sounds like a really horrible place to live.

Lets not forget that most of the cops in FL will give you 24 hours to prove insurance. One accepted a picture of my card from my phone since it had the info. And another let me call her with the info when i got home because I had a card but it was "expired"