Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Motorcycle only roadblocks ?

Apparently NY is having roadblocks targeting motorcycles only ? Any one familiar with this, know any more details ?

Any one here of anything like this elsewhere ?

Illinois was doing something like that last year over at a popular road along the Mississippi River, targeting and checking motorcycles for proper license endorsements, registration, and insurance. They towed any bike that didn't meet all requirements, I heard over 100 bikes a day.

Maybe they're checking to see if they got their lotto tickets....

that is sooooo against the law!!!! contact the AMA and get an attorny!!!! they can randomly check vehicles but they must be a balance of cars, trucks and bikes. they cannot pick just one without doing all

So, the N.Y. State Police are claiming these are "Safety Checks", huh?!

Well HECK, everybody "knows" that ALL motorcycles are relatively "unsafe" compared to cars and trucks!!!

And so, I'm surprised ALL the motorcycles they stopped weren't taken away!!!

(though the above is meant as a joke of course, I wonder how much these road blocks were instituted as a REACTION to a lot of EXCESSIVELY LOUD motorcycle exhausts that many motorcyclists think sound so "cool"...and NO, I'm NOT going to get into ANY debate around here now about how some of your EXCESSIVELY LOUD exhausts supposedly "save your life" everyday out there, folks!...I'm JUST sayin' here that often WE, the motorcycle riding public, bring down this kind of CRAP upon ourselves...THAT'S ALL!!!)

Being from upstate NY, Ive had a little experience with it. I've actually written a letter to the governors office, with no reply yet (and this was last ridin season). What's happening is cops set up a DOT-style check with a "motorcycles only" sign, and require all bikes to stop. They have been known to chase down bikes that didn't. They then proceed to go over your bike with a fine tooth comb, checking pipe volume, baffles, inspection, registration, license, helmet, etc. While I haven't been subject to it myself, I have had friends get pulled over, and one got a ticket for a non-DOT helmet. They've done it in Fishkill (a town about 15 miles from my home), they did it at Americade, at Am-Jam, at the Rendezvous, at every event where they know there will be bikers with alot of cash. It's a scam to make money, and last I knew there were lawyers involved. I believe AMA has filed suit.. not sure.. either them or ABATE. The latest news was that the stops will no longer be "motorcycles only"... so essentially what that means is there will still be stops, and they will still target bikers, but without the sign. I've lived here since I was 5, if yer wondering why i sound cynical. And Dwight, while I agree there's no need for EXCESSIVELY loud pipes, no one brings a wanton violation of the 4th Amendment (illegal search and seizure) upon themselves.

Uh huh Craig, they sure DO!!! Whenever "they" are inundated by request after request from the none riding public out there, WHO as you know out-number us 10-to-1, then "they" feel "the vast majority of people are behind them" in this action, whether or NOT it's a violation of 4th Amendment, OR of ANY Minority's "rights"!

(that's the way it IS, unfortunately, and that's the way it will BE generation after generation to come, unfortunately!...BUT "unfortunately" I don't share some of my fellow motorcyclist's ideas about how they feel it's THEIR "right" to disturb the peace of those poor unfortunate other 90% of the folks who will never know the joys of sittin' their azz on a motorcycle and ridin' it around!)

I agree that there are quite a few d-bags out there that feel the need to over-compensate thru their tailpipes. And there are even a few that are too loud that just dig the way it sounds. I actually refuse to take my baffles out because the one time I did I felt it was excessive (before you label me a sweetheart, understand my pipes are pretty loud without them... though I don't feel they're obnoxious, and neither do my neighbors). I also feel that these people risk the very rights they proclaim to support and protect with their recklessness. Especially when you consider that beyond the occasional run-in with a cell-phone cager loud pipes do absolutely nothing to make you safer. THAT SAID, no amount of whining or lobbying SHOULD enable the constabulary to violate a constitutional amendment. Enforce the laws, fairly... but to single out a segment of the population is a tragic inequity. I daresay such a thing wouldn't be tolerated if the group were BMW drivers or soccer moms.

I wonder if they are giving tickets for not wearing seat belts?

Clay

Post deleted by chy

Yeah Ian, THIS sort'a stuff NEVER happened before THAT guy came around, huh?!

(sometimes some o' you guys REALLY crack me up 'round here!!!)

Gee, I see others are getting emboldened by the flagrant and unconsequenced violating of the AUP by some.

Why don't we just do away with "No Politics" section of said AUP since it is so often wantonly disregarded.

Well, don't blame them solely here, Bill.

I admit I slipped in a rather sharp and jagged little shot at Senator Wannabe earlier in another thread with my reference to "With us or against us"-"Loyalty" and that mindset in the "cop culture".

(but yeah, at least I WAS subtle about it...weren't you proud of me, dude?!)

I don't know, Bill. Sometimes "dogs", even with really good hearts and basically pretty nice "dogs" in general, can sometimes be a bit "temperamental" and not exactly open to leanin' stuff.

(take my dog Moose for instance...that dude is REALLY a good dog overall, but GEEEZ, every friggin' time I take him to the dog park he just HAS TO hump every other friggin' dog in the place!!!...AND the dude is FIXED TOO!!!...must be that excessive "Alpha Dog" thing, ya know!!!...I just tell everybody that that's his inner-Bill Clinton comin' out!!!)

Years ago, the police set up roadblocks on every exit from sunny Burton and stopped every bike trying to leave town.
It turned out there had been an armed robbery at one of the banks and a bike was used as the getaway vehicle.

Now, there was two things wrong with the police reaction,
1: by the time the roadblocks were in place, the villans would have been long gone if they had stayed on the bike
2: if the villans had gone just a couple of streets away from the bank, they could have dumped the bike, got in a car and been waved through the roadblocks with a cheery smile and an apology for the delay

The roadblocks were in place for hours

The stupidity of it still annoys me to this day, over 20 years later

I would assume that the states that are stopping bikes also require motorcycle license endorsements. Are there states that don't? I guess it's kinda like unlicensed motorists or license check. I've been stopped in my car for license and registration checks but not yet on my bike.