posted May 03, 2002 06:57 PM
Edited By: fish_antlers on 4 May 2002 00:07
caution to ALL British Columbia riders... READ THIS!! posted by nexm aka bog from http://vrombc.com
quote:
I think guys, now there is something to be really concerned about!!! Don't want to loose your Driving License? Be very, very careful... no, I'm not talking about the idiot drivers who didn't see you, but about those honest and righteous traffic officers who server and protect us... or pretend to do so. Today, if you get pooled for going more then 30km over posted speeding limit, the chances are you going to loose your license for 2 years right at the spot. And your bike impounded on top of that. Or if you decide to start a little faster at the traffic lights, it could be taken as the racing, and same thing, your license will be gone. The cops have the power now, and it's all left to his discretion!!! Over the years, although I've been stopped by a few cops for whom I did have respect, but that's only a few. Most of them were just acting like total assholes, displaying pretty much every wrong kind of behavior is out there, and no mater if you were nice to them yourself or not. Word dickheads fits for those cops the most. It never failed to amazed me, that thought in my mind: Maaan, this job does not seams to required much IQ. I could point out a few dozen places in Vancouver just from top of my mind, where that police officer would "server and protect" us much better.
At the last BCCOM meeting a few days ago that was one of the topics. That the cop can take away your class 6 so easy, that is so scary, and there is really not much can be done. And what's scary? That the decision about loosing your license or not, is not up to the cop, or rather, up to his current state of the mind; like did he had his donut yet or not, or maybe he had an argue with his wife or a boyfriend last night and didn't get it, or he just red this posting... or whatever. At the BCCOM the suggestion was to write, write, and write letters by hand to MLAs and any other politician you get the address too.
Anyone knows any addresses or even emails, hey, post it here. I'm planning to write 1000 letters this year, to every politician in BC and Canada, and although my option about them is same as for traffic cops, what the hell else we can do?
I just heard that a few riders just lost theirs licenses on Squamish highway, and it seams that lots of riders gonna loose theirs as well this year. The worst is, that to anyone I've been talking lately, everyone has one and only thing on theirs minds... to run. And that's extremely dangerous. It's a little different riding fast and hard on open and empty highways, with lots of twisties and no traffic, that's what we enjoy and crave the most... but it's the whole different story when you try riding like that in the traffic, in and out between cars, trying to loose cops chasing you, when your agitation is high.
Am I wrong or ill informed if I say that the whole thing started when teenagers, in theirs supper-dupper sporty cars, started killing themselves and others, while racing cars on the streets this and last year? Do we have any racetracks in BC? Big, FAT - NO!!! So for many, that's the choice, the street. Who is the most visible if the street racing happens, the car drivers or we the bike riders? Hey, we are about what, 1% of the total motor vehicles on the streets? So that new crap introduced by cops now, combined with what's going on with ICBC and insurances, will that kill the motorcycle business in BC as we know it? The big chance is... it could. Only time will tell. But guys and gals, we better start doing something... write those letters right now... or start blaming yourself - why the heck you got a sport bike in the first place.
I also suggest, get a little serious and listen sometimes what is said at the BCCOM meetings (you like them or not) or else your enjoyable bike riding years might be soon over and you will not even know how and when that happened.
posted May 03, 2002 07:32 PM
I'm glad you mentioned it!!!!! You know FA I never though of that!!! Thanks for the heads up! I guess I'll have to sell my bike now or buy a goldwing, I don't know what's worse. Yeah the last time I was pulled over by a Cop he gave me the third degree for using hand signals instead of my turn signal and because I had my gixxer painted all white, quote " Why the paint job, don't your signals work..this thing isn't stolen is it" Yes officer because I had the bike painted it's stolen. Shit he ran the vin # and was just being a prick, another time in Burnaby I cut down the shoulder to turn right, I was four cars back and was only doing mabey 10mph and he came flying around the corner behind me with his lights and siren blazing and can you blelieve this he asked about the paint job, once again after runing my vin he told me how I could get killed
riding down the shoulder like that. And for good measure he handed me a $80 fine for the infraction. So needless to say I don't ever never ever ride down the shoulder! And because hand signals aren't valid make sure your indicators work!
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it's nice to be nice to the nice
posted May 03, 2002 08:17 PM
Shit, after reading that I am having second thoughts about crossing the border to attend SBW! Maybe I'll just spend my Yankee greenbacks down here in the states and let those assholes harrass someone other than me! Grrrrrrr.
posted May 04, 2002 12:20 AM
wtf? hand signals aren't legal? since when? fucking license tester made me use them in the class 6 test. well that sux, since i dont have any signals on my bike right now.
i'm prolyl gonna get flamed for this, but i think the writer of the lette ris being a bit paranoid. i suspect he/she is talking about the new "dial a roadside suspension" thing that was recently enacted and was all over the papers a few weeks ago. an officer can call directly to the office of the superintendant [sp] of motor vehicles and request a roadside suspecnsion at any time. but i dont believe theres nothing u can do about it, as is suggested. i could be mistaken mind u. the letter just strikes me as being a touch misinformed. wondering about the hwy99 suspensions he mentioend tho. what's da 411 on dat shizit? were they really being idiots? i can imagine they prolly weren't. seems alot of cops mistake any spirited riding as insanely dangerous. they just dont seem to get how easy it is to ride at 2 to 2.5 times the speed limit. so if u'r doing like 160 in a 90 zone, it's really a rather relaxing pace, but they think it's suicide. assmittedly, as a cager, it prolly seems that way when we pass them. but really, if u'r gonna be a traffic cop & read riders the riot act every damn day, shouldnt ya be properly informed and trained first? i have only really been balled out once so far, and it wasnt as stupid as the examples provided above.
in any case, this is something that should be taken seriously and properly investigated. to that end, i ask what exactly IS the situation? what powers to the police now have, and more importantly, how are they wielding them? concrete examples?
posted May 04, 2002 07:53 AM
well freek.. the writer of this article runs a VERY large sport bike rider's club in Vancouver. What he says is very very far from paranoia.. it is the truth. I met him in person and he urged me to read his post and pass it along. Infact last week 2 Hyabusa riders lost their licenses for 2 years for going 60Kms over the speed limit on Cypress Bowl ...
There is NO recourse. There is NO dispute... They WILL pull your license and there's fuck all you can do about it... Basically the guys have gotten lawyers but it will take at LEAST ONE YEAR for the court date to be set up so they are fucked anyways..
BCCOM (BC Coalition Of Motorcyclists) is organizing a protest ride to Victoria on Thursday because of this law...
freek.. you'd better get some signals and mirrors and watch yer ass cuz this is no joke.
posted May 04, 2002 08:18 AM
The really scary thing about this is that there is no "innocent until proven guilty" .... they just take yer license, case closed.
ANYONE ridiing in BC should watch out! Big time!!!!
posted May 04, 2002 08:31 AM
IT IS THE TRUTH!COPS ARE NOW THE JUDGE AND JURY ON THE SPOT!This is being fought by alot of organizations and individuals.They have taken away our rights!Do what fish says and send leters.About using hand signals,I don't even have turn signals on the bike.Buddy of mine is fighting for his license back right now.Last week he pulled away from a stop light and roasted the tires alittle bit in his Mustang(no one else around to race)and the through him up against the police car,handcuffed him and called it streetracing.Took his licence for 2 years???The burnout was so little that there is not even any marks left on the road.To top it off the cop was in his personal vehical,off duty and followed him to where he was going.General concensus around here is you might as well run now,the penalty isn't much more and there's a good possibility of getting away.
posted May 04, 2002 10:00 PM
Hey Now! No Canada bashing here... as I'm a transplanted California boy, I know the difference having lived in both countries, the cops here might be pricks but at least they're not shooting at us or beating us by the side of the road, nuff said. Oh and by the way Cowboy, I like your new look ____________
it's nice to be nice to the nice
posted May 05, 2002 12:23 AM
well fuck me, they'v really done it this time havent they? fuckers thats just stupid. i'v had tickets for more than 60 over before. hell, i ride 60 over (in spurts) all the damn time! it's fucking nothing! i guess i shouldnt realyl be surprised. i really did half expect this when all the street racing deaths started becoming media targets. but i am surprised they took it quite this far. this is against our charter of rights fer goodness sake. i don't even know how the hell they enacted these new measures, shouldnt be possible. fuck, this pisses me off. so a few kids killed themselves (and in a couple cases others unfortunately). that doesnt mean fucking every single person up the ass who doesnt driuve like a fuckin granny.
besides which, most of the "granny" drivers i'v seen are JUST as dangerous as the fast drivers.
posted May 05, 2002 04:51 AM
Edited By: Dirty Pete on 5 May 2002 05:53
That is a quick and long leap toward a true Police State.
There is really only one way to fight this law, other than on an individual, case-by-case basis which will get you nowhere, and that is to band together as an association and hire a constitutional lawyer and a public relations professional.
The lawyer will choose one example of a 2-year roadside suspension and use it as a test case for a constitutional arguement that the law grants police excessive discretionary powers that are interfering with the constitutional right to due process granted by the Canadian Charter of Rights.
The Public Relations professional will make sure that the harmful results of the law make headlines on a regular basis and create some scaremongering over the impending Police State in B.C.
I suspect that once the police and lawmakers behind this travesty are cast into the public spotlight, the law will "go away" long before it goes to a higher court and embarrasses the B.C. government.
posted May 05, 2002 05:12 AM
It's not only in your Country!!! Here in New York City, we have had just what you described since 1999!!! It's called Operation Wreckless Driving...If you are caught speeding 105mph and over you lose your license and your vehicle, IF the vehicle is in YOUR name!!!Also if you drive wrecklessly ie; weaving in and out of lanes passing cars,wheelies,endos,burnouts,rolling burnouts and all that good stuff...
The guys still do all that stuff here, it hasnt really detered the bikers much...So, dont worry about it!!! It's new to you guys so after a while it will blow over, but just remember that you can still lose your bike!!!
posted May 05, 2002 05:40 AM
Here's something they should be looking at....In these cases where these "kids" were racing each other they weren't driviing low powered cars like most of us had at that age, but one case it was a fucking Porsche Boxter racing a suped BMW, the last kid was also driving a suped up BMW, we're talking $60-80,000.00 high performance sports cars for fucks sakes!!!!! no wonder they're killing themselves. what they should be looking at is mabey limiting the horsepower of the cars kids this age are allowed to drive i.e. a graduated licence, or like most car rental companys where you have to be 25yrs old to rent a sports car. If you drive around Richmond all you see is what looks like 19yr old guys in these types of cars, porsches, beemers, hell even done-up mercedes! Take away these kinds of cars from inexperienced drivers and mabey the death rate will come down instead of lumping everyone in the same category. I know When I was 23 and had my 86 GSXR I rode around like I thought I was Keven Schwants, now that I'm older I at least think before I twist the throttle open, something these kids haven't got the maturity to do.
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it's nice to be nice to the nice
posted May 05, 2002 09:03 AM
thats a good point u bring up j. but i do wonder how much of an effect that would have? will kids stop racing cause they have to drive a corolla instead of a bimmer? i doubt it. u'd have to go all the way to limiting them to Metros and the smallest hyundias. frankly, u could still kill urself pretty easy in one of those (i'v been driving a metro "professionally" for the last 3 months and they'r actually surprisingly quick). however, i would think that the embarasement of racing in a metro may be enough to discourage alot of it. mind u, i do see a number of kids drivin around here in suped up metros; how fucking sad is that? course i'm sure there's nothing done to the engine, they just have them tinted out, some aftermarket wheels, "xenon plasma" lights (hah!), and a stereo that takes up the back half of the car.
nevertheless, i think u'r on to something, and i suspect it may eventually be reaslised. we've move to graduated licensing after all (tho i dont really see how it works frankly), and i imagine the trend will continue on it's merry way.
just another case of a big problem with no good solutions.
posted May 05, 2002 03:37 PM
maybe this is a bit coldhearted, but let nature take its course. it is not society and government's job to keep stupid people from killing themselves. in fact it should be the opposite... ;P
we here in teh USA think we are safe, think again..
the bill of rights is trampled every day by the in-power folks.
yes you have freedom of speech, but if yousay something that pisses off one of these guys, you can find yourself in bad trouble, but not for speaking, they will find something else to do for you
power is a strange thing, the people that SHOUD have it don't want it and don't strive for it. the ones that shouldn't be incharge of anything more important than turning off a toaster oven after breakfast lust for the power and will do ANYTHING to get and keep it.
the politicians in the US are still scared of the civilian population, they are doing everything in their power to brainwash or convince people that they are stupid, unable to fend for themselves, that they aren't in control of anything they do, and that the gov't has to give them everything. the more people that believe this, the more power the gov't will get because those folks are giving up their right to freedom.
until the day when a politician could do whatever he wants with no recourse (clinton) there was some semblance of perhaps being able to maintain order. now you always have to wonder, how much money do they have to spend to stay in their little place of power?
anyways keep close watch, wherever you are at, because there is one more organization that is growing more powerful every day, and is attempting to make it a worldwide police state. a democratic style of government is not a perfect tool for governing. this isn't due to the idea being bad, but due to the votingpoulation not caring enough to do their job, and letting the small fringe groups control things. for those that don't have the option to vote, not much that can be done. for those that can vote and don't, they should shut their holes and suck it up.
anyways with a government that is given the ability to do what they do in BC, there are no more personal freedoms. they may say there still are, but once the population cannot affect their own government, they are screwed and time is only thing that seperates them fromt he eventuality of one prick being in charge of a 'my way or the highway' police state.
posted May 05, 2002 04:31 PM
At least this serves as a warning to all Americans (who aren't commie/socialist bastards). Let's hope that we don't go this way ourselves. Fight it!
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posted May 03, 2002 06:57 PM
Edited By: 
posted May 03, 2002 07:11 PM
posted May 03, 2002 07:32 PM
posted May 04, 2002 10:00 PM
thats just stupid. i'v had tickets for more than 60 over before. hell, i ride 60 over (in spurts) all the damn time! it's fucking nothing! i guess i shouldnt realyl be surprised. i really did half expect this when all the street racing deaths started becoming media targets. but i am surprised they took it quite this far. this is against our charter of rights fer goodness sake. i don't even know how the hell they enacted these new measures, shouldnt be possible. fuck, this pisses me off. so a few kids killed themselves (and in a couple cases others unfortunately). that doesnt mean fucking every single person up the ass who doesnt driuve like a fuckin granny.
