Forums > Motorcycle Discussion > NYC Police is getting tougher on motorcyclists...

I've heard some talk about this on the ADVrider boards.  You'd think that with all the congestion problems bikes would be seen as part of the solution.

Makes me glad I live on this side of the river now.

That's not getting tough.  If true, that's actionable harrassment and endangering life.  However, I can't believe those stories; they sound like urban legends to me.

I will note that a NYS Trooper who stopped me on a bright Sunday afternoon last fall (allegedly for 68 in a 55, after U-ing to chase me) was astonished that I pulled over for him.  He confided that nowadays he seldom stops a cycle--"They all outrun us."  I smiled wanly and said that that wasn't my style. 

He let me go with a smile.

Ray

thanks for posting this. i voiced my opinion...

if this is true, it is going to be a tragic state of affairs to come. 

the fact is, a lot of riders of all ages & various socioeconomic backgrounds ride during the summer unfortunately without proper riding gear. t-shirts, shorts, sneakers, & a helmet sitting on top of their head, or those salad bowl looking things sitting on top of their head. if i were a cop and i saw a traffic violation & the rider took off sporting the improper gear i just mentioned, i definitely wouldn't hit him/her.

lane splitting is common here as we all know, there is nothing worse than sitting on a hot bike in the middle of a heat wave in traffic behind & surrounded by hot cages sitting inside being cooled by airconditioning. i do it and i probably would do it a little bit more if my bike was shorter and/or narrower but you have to be wise, pick your battles, and be extremely careful, among other things... i just hope this is an urban legend because i feel that whenever the NYPD gets extra incentive or a pep talk to go out there with a concentrated vengeance, bad things happen to people...sometimes innocent people.

lastly, what is the problem with wearing your visor up on a full face when it is legal to wear an open face?  

---------------------------------

"Riding is so much better..." SKDMRKS:MOTO:BKLYN j.r.l.a.

 

What I saw on the ADVrider boards indicated that they were going after non-glasses/goggle wearers only.  In other words, if you could make an argument that your eyes were protected by safety glasses/goggles they wouldn't bother.  I have no idea if this is true or not. 

 

I suppose the rationale is that Goggles + open face helmet is way safe or something?

 

One fellow claimed that he started from a stop, and didn't flip his faceshield for a few seconds, which is when he got pulled over. 

let me just say that this is an issue in Manhattan and not in UpState, or other places.  So keep that in mind.  This is NYPD in Manhattan that is being told to enforce. 

as a long time NYC rider, I can add that, I noticed the crack down last summer, where in certain popular neighborhoods all bikes would  get pulled over for a check. 

the issue that's causing this is that, every summer gangs of squids come down to Manhattan (20 or 30 riders) and pull stunts on the roads and make a lot of noise. 

Most of these kids don't own their bike or have proper paper work. 

So, city's crack down on squids is going to hurt all of us who ride in Manhattan.

I split lanes all the time, if I can't split lanes, i will not ride a bike.  If a motorcyclist is forced to be stuck in traffic along with all the cagers, I might as well sit in a nice, cozy, AC controlled cage too.

S

---------------------------------

here, here

squids? never heard that term before... care to elaborate on the analogy?

i've ridden with/in groups around the city when i had a sportbike and decided it wasn't for me. maybe i'm more low key and drawing that much attention to myself from the po-po isn't my intention ever. also, anytime i have almost had a close call or felt that the situation was a breeding ground for "something bad to happen" it was when i was riding with a crew. bike tours and special events are different, that isn't what i mean..i'm talking about just riding around with a whole bunch of people for no real reason, going nowhere in particular. and  you are right, some of the riders don't own bikes, ride around on stolen bikes, don't have licenses, let alone motorcycle licenses. but i think that has changed for the better more recently. dealerships are making it harder to ride a bike out of the showroom, more people are taking the msf courses... no? if not, maybe they should. my .02

what was this thread about again?

 

 

---------------------------------

"Riding is so much better..." SKDMRKS:MOTO:BKLYN j.r.l.a.

 

Refers to that guy in the t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, heading down Route 17 or what have you, riding his 'busa along for the past twelve miles doing a wheelie.

 

Over at urbandictionary.com, they've got a bunch of possible derivatiions for the term:  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=squid

  

very good, thank you for educating me.

Derived from 'squirly kid'

Stupid
Quick
Underdressed
Imminently
Dead

---------------------------------

"Riding is so much better..." SKDMRKS:MOTO:BKLYN j.r.l.a.

Splitting lanes in NYC is safer than driving behind stop and go traffic.  There were times in stop and go traffic the car behind me got a little too close.  Not my fault that the guy in the cage didn't get permission from his wife to buy a scoot...  Look if a cage could slip between the cars they would but they can't ha ha.

you can never assume that the car behind you can stop in time, or even see you. in a short stop, I always pull in between the cars in front.  you'd never want to give the car behind you to sandwich you to the car in front.  S

---------------------------------

 

Most state laws require eye protection.  If you have your visor up and don't have any other eye protection, technically you're in violation of the law.

Bottom line:  This is just like Seat Belt Laws.  It is an excuse to pull you over.  Nobody is at risk except you and as you may have noticed, this is anything but a free country.  More and more it is dictated to us how we should live our lives.

Tom L.

 

 

---------------------------------

"If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane...."

I just checked with a good friend on the NYPD.  We both ride with a few guys from Highway one at times.  He called one of them on his cell and asked.  The answer was there is no official or unoffical push to stop motorcyclists.   Right now the NYPD is extremely sensitive to legal action because of profiling so the chances of targeting a particular group are slim.

Naturally if you ride stupid then you most likely will be talking to the man. 

I have also been up and down the Westside Highway recently and have seen more police

 

The issue is eye coverage.  If a buddy and I take his CJ out with the glass flopped down, out come the goggles.  I actually wear a set of goggles with the full face from time to time.  Mostly in wet conditions as I can clear the goggles better thana visor and no fogging.

 

As to a crack down; you need to look at it in perspective.  I have some contact with the upper end of Highway, the information trickle down effect, and NYPD are looking to snare the unlicensed operators, the uninsured operators, the not legal bikes.  Unfortunatly that requires going where the bikes go and stoping groups.

 I supose the rational is the same as any "safety check point" where by you can gain entre into a vehicle or personage under the presumption of a safety violation.  Chances are if you are riding a bike out of class or it's not legal; a run of the operators paperwork may turn up other things of interest.

 Lane splitting is another matter, in NY its a moving violation and having seen kids on the cross bronx doing 30-40 cutting lanes; I agree.  Mind you I am not above using the shoulder by any means and feel that I'm generaly safer using the should at a light jog than being in stop and go. Guy I know got smooshed on the BQE that way, car bulled him over going for an exit and the trucker dind't see him down, firgured he had scooted and pulled forward.  Yeah I'll take the shoulder please.