What would you prefer?

[Parlane]

You can't really count breath test stops. Jacko wants to count the number of times you've been stopped on a bike just coz you're on a bike.

If we started counting every stop, you could hardly blame the Popos for the stops for obviously legitimate purposes i.e. someone driving/riding like a real dick.

Still, Jacko just likes bitching, so maybe I'm being too harsh.

I have known friends to be pulled over for "random checks" before though. These are cars though, not bikes. I assume the only reason I don't know bikers being pulled over is because I don't know enough bikers.

But my friends have definitely been pulled over in cars in Auckland for these random checks.. One of them was clearly racial stereotyping though, he had to go through a huge hassle of phoning up his auntie and getting her to explain that he really was allowed to use the car. He wasn't speeding, he wasn't driving dangerous etc. Wasn't going "suspiciously slow" either.

As a biker, I don't feel like I have been targeted though. It might be the bike I ride, it might be my ATGATT attitude, hell, it might be because I don't speed when I see a cop (Oh, and luck ofcourse)

^ I haven't been riding long enough for this to actually mean much though. Ask me again in 20 years if I have been targeted and I will be able to give you a more definite answer.

[Jack Miller]

Just coz your mind closed with a clunk doesn't mean that everyone's has.

Thing is, we can't change the past, but we can change the future. Or maybe you'll disagree with that too.

Harumph.

As you yourself have said, the force has it's share of good and bad enforcers, just like every human community. Until you can guarantee that you have found a way of eliminating the bad, then bad enforcing will continue to be part of the force's future - and you can't change that.

[Katman]

They do but these are the vehicles with higher concentration of people who cant drive vs car type, Holdens & people movers are almost a 1-1 concentration. So if PIGs are going to target, these should be whats targeted. Admittedly the PIGs shouldn't target but the people running the show have no fucking idea about what their doing (like any big business) & thus targeting will continue

and SUV's if you actually take a look are probably no worse than the average car driver I've found, it's just their big so we tend to notice more. I have found people movers to be much worse

I have plenty of car drivers (including SUVs) failing to give way and pulling out in front of me - but I don't hit them.

How could that possibly be?

[Parlane]

I have plenty of car drivers (including SUVs) failing to give way and pulling out in front of me - but I don't hit them.

How could that possibly be?

I am pretty sure you are Jesus.

[Gearup]

I have known friends to be pulled over for "random checks" before though. These are cars though, not bikes. I assume the only reason I don't know bikers being pulled over is because I don't know enough bikers.

But my friends have definitely been pulled over in cars in Auckland for these random checks.. One of them was clearly racial stereotyping though, he had to go through a huge hassle of phoning up his auntie and getting her to explain that he really was allowed to use the car. He wasn't speeding, he wasn't driving dangerous etc. Wasn't going "suspiciously slow" either.

As a biker, I don't feel like I have been targeted though. It might be the bike I ride, it might be my ATGATT attitude, hell, it might be because I don't speed when I see a cop (Oh, and luck ofcourse)

^ I haven't been riding long enough for this to actually mean much though. Ask me again in 20 years if I have been targeted and I will be able to give you a more definite answer.

A sensible post for a change P.

[buellbabe]

Imagine the problems I'd have selling that to my boss.

I set up a stall at a roadside, and put up a sign saying 'voluntary stop and chat to a motorcycle Popo, but only if you want to'.

After a day of sitting and speaking to the 2 motorcyclists who can actually be arsed stopping, and watching the hundred or so others ride past, I'm guessing it'd be pretty hard to sell that to my boss. No matter how good the 2 interactions were, I'd have wasted a degree of time.
...........

OMG! So many comments i want to reply to but this one I just had to...Seriously, I WOULD stop...out of curiosity!
For the record I have been pulled up by a cop who admitted that I was doing nothing wrong and apologised cos all he wanted to do was gawk at the Buell cos he happens to really like them.
How could I be mad at that???

In answer to the original question, surely its a no-brainer? Engagement has gotta be better than enforcement.
OK so working out just how that 'engagement' happens might be a bit of a headache since there are so many negative attitudes out there.

Jeez if I am doing something stupid (and I do my best NOT to) and get nailed for it then boohoo I would suck it up, not bitch about police harassment.

When are people gonna start taking responsibility for their own actions, I am so sick of listening to/reading about people whinging about how unfair their speeding ticket was.

Crikey everytime I have been silly enough to speed on a road likely to be patrolled and have been caught I have made sure my helmet is off, licence out and a smile on my face before the cop is half out of his car. I firmly believe that my NON attitude is why the cop has always shown leniency and in some cases just given me a stern talking to and let me off completely.

So discretion???? There is HEAPS of it out there.

As far as bike cops being experienced or not? I was at Manfeild earlier this year doing an advanced rider trianing day and one of the instructers was a bike cop. Jeez this bloke could ride! He was on his cop bike and holy crap it was a huge unwieldy looking thing but he threw it around like it was a trail bike, awesome skills. Bloody nice guy who contributed a lot to the riding and discussions. Been riding for years and his entire family are riders...



Rastuscat, cheers for the thought provoking thread.

[GrayWolf]

If you ask a lot of police about a motorcycle safety campaign, they'll think you mean hard arsed ticket writing aimed at anything on 2 wheels.
Another tangent would be to actively engage with the motorcycle crowd, and do what it takes to draw their attention to the stuff they can do to make themselves safer.
Thing is, lots of bike riders would tell the Popo to sod off if they started to dish out advice.
So, what would work best for you? Enforcement? Engagement?
Comments?

Engagement works well if the Police Riders do know how to ride. I know Andrew Templeton has done training with them here, and it would be interesting to know how high the training is when compared to say the UK Police.
That in itself would make a good start, if when stopped for being a naughty boy, you know this guy really does know his onions. The UK police riders do get involved with rider training, and believe me from experience they KNOW how to ride bloody fast, and have huge awareness even at high speed. Again I think that would be a good proactive action by the Police... to be involved at grass root as well as advanced riding levels.
Enforcment?? Well if the Police are involved in engagement and a bike cop stops you for being a prat?? Cant be anything other than a 'fair cop' can it?

[Pixie]

Shouldn't be your job to find out what might work mate. It's your job to catch people breaking the law. Given your thought provoking posts on this very forum, it's obvious you're a forward thinking officer who possibly excercises a bit of discretion where you feel its warranted.

If you pull me up after witnessing my truely awesome 160kph stand-up wheelie down the motorway through traffic on a Saturday morning, I'll take my medicine.

If you're hiding in the bushes on a deserted stretch of the plains and ping me at 113kph, while I'll take the ticket on the chin (I was speeding after all) but I'd have more respect for the officer if he offered a "Jimmy, you know the speed limit, I'm waggling my finger at you and teling you to be more aware of where we are probably hiding to catch some dangerous cunts"

Those are my thoughts.

Or he could ignore his drive to achieve quota,disregard the irrelevant 13 km excessive speed charge,and concentrate on "catching some dangerous cunts".
and regain some of the respect that cops are rapidly losing.

[scumdog]

Or he could ignore his drive to achieve quota,disregard the irrelevant 13 km excessive speed charge,and concentrate on "catching some dangerous cunts".
and regain some of the respect that cops are rapidly losing.

Soo...lemme get this right, if the actions of rastuscat in Canterbury were as you desired in your opening statement it would suddenly give respect to cops in say....Wakworth??

[rastuscat]

We used to have a quota. Now we can write as any as we want.

Smirk

[scumdog]

We used to have a quota. Now we can write as any as we want.

Smirk

Haha!
Yep, on the odd time I'm dealing with an obnoxiou twat that doesn't appreciate my efforts and shows it by at some stage using that classic line 'Yeah, go on arsehole, write it out, haven't you got anything better to do than fill yer qutoa'.

I reply in a mild manner "You've got it wrong sir (rarely ever a ma'am) I don't have a quota, it's not like pauas you know, we're allowed as many as we like."

THAT really smooths the waters...

[rastuscat]

Haha!
Yep, on the odd time I'm dealing with an obnoxiou twat that doesn't appreciate my efforts and shows it by at some stage using that classic line 'Yeah, go on arsehole, write it out, haven't you got anything better to do than fill yer qutoa'.

I reply in a mild manner "You've got it wrong sir (rarely ever a ma'am) I don't have a quota, it's not like pauas you know, we're allowed as many as we like."

THAT really smooths the waters...

We all have our favourites. Another two this week and I win a toaster. I always dream of saying that, but I value my career too much

[Parlane]

We all have our favourites. Another two this week and I win a toaster. I always dream of saying that, but I value my career too much

You've told us multiple times now! lol.

[scumdog]

We all have our favourites. Another two this week and I win a toaster. I always dream of saying that, but I value my career too much

Hmm, you must value it more than me - I've used similar to that.

(I suspect my boss sweats about the things I say - PC I'm not and NIDGAF.)

[rastuscat]

Hmm, you must value it more than me - I've used similar to that.

(I suspect my boss sweats about the things I say - PC I'm not and NIDGAF.)

Runs on zero quite a bit.........