Kiwi Cops - The Biff verdict

[Biff]

Being a half decent kinda chap I'm not the sorta guy that generaly ends up on the wrong side of the law. Apart from the occassional 'stop n check' or 'slowdownyabastard' lecture.

Having been here (KB & NZ) for a couple o' years now (from somewhere else) I like to think that I've managed to aquire enough cop stops to form my own verdict about Kiwi cops.

Back in the Ewwww.K (Taffland) you don't see anywhere near as many cops on the open roads as you do here. And mufty (traffic) cops are even rarer. So it was a bit of a shock when I moved here and earned two x $200+ speeding tickets during my first month or so on the roads. It was an aclimatisation period I guess. Getting used to the lower speed limits (100k on the highway felt soooooo slow), the lazy, dangerous and half arsed way the roads are re-sealed - leaving shit loads of loose grave on the roads , especially on freakin corners (*rant*) etc.

Although the second time I was ticketed was because of one anal cuntree cop (I cant be arsed to go into it again).

Anhyhoo - as it stands today:

1st stop - 134Kmph (100 limit) - Ticket. Nice cop.
2nd stop - 89Kmph (in a 60 limit yards from entering a 100) - Ticket. Wanker of a cop.
3rd stop - 112Kmph (in an 80) - Let off. Nice cop
4th stop - 130+Kmph (100 limit) - Let off !!!! Two nice cops. They liked my bike. Mild lecture.
4th (attempted) stop - Signifcantly over the limit. I wasn't sure whether (s)he was after me, so I kept going. At speed.
5th stop (Thurs this week) -No Wof. oops. Genuine oversight. Let off. But she'd check up on me in a week to ensure I'd manage to WOF the mighty Biffbird.

So the majority of the time - providing you're pleasant enough (and decide to stop) the odds are that you'll get a break.


My verdict on Kiwi cops - On the whole a decent bunch.

Thumbs up from here.

Your turn Lou.

[Motu]

In these situations someone is always an arsehole - if it's not the Cop...it must be you.

[Big Dave]

Yeah - I've been fairly treated. 50-50 caution to booking ratio. Some were petty, but the plod not unpleasant.

Some, as reported here, I could do nought but hold my hand out.

Anyway - lately I've ended up interviewing them. 'OK yeah, sure, sorry, now what do YOU think about these bus lanes and...etc etc.'

[texmo]

In these situations someone is always an arsehole - if it's not the Cop...it must be you.

LOL well put.

[Blackbird]

Well said Rhod - my view too. My detector has (touch wood) helped me avoid tickets for a few years but in all my dealings with the HWP, the cops have been fine and I've got away with far more than I really deserved to without penalty. In 31 years in NZ, I've only met one genuinely unpleasant cop and that was about 5 years ago on SH1 a few k's north of Bulls. He did me for towing a trailer with the car at 105km/hr. Whilst this was admittedly breaking the law, it was the way he went on at me when he pulled me over, you'd have thought that I was public enemy No 1. That experience hasn't in any way diminished my respect for the cops though, they have a s**t job to do.

[Lou Girardin]

My verdict on Kiwi cops - On the whole a decent bunch.

Thumbs up from here.

Your turn Lou.

I couldn't possibly comment.
Except to say, my last business contact with a cop was with a site member. I wasn't impressed with being accused of speeding when I damn well knew I wasn't.
I also think I was breath tested by bussaman one morning. He was cool, more interested in talking bikes than anything.
I get the impression Scumdog and Spud would be firm but fair.
But as we've all heard there are quite a few wankers out there. As there always will be.
My real complaint is with their weak-kneed, arse-kissing, lick-spittle bosses.

[pixc]

For the most part I respect the police force. Its a fairly thankless job really. From what I heard the pay isnt that great considering the crap they have to put up with. I think they do a fantastic job. If I speed and I get caught..I deserve a ticket. I know the rules...they are there for a reason even if I dont quite understand the odd one or two. I admit ..the odd policeman might be a bit 'scratchie' but it doesnt mean they are all like that. I had a minor disagreement with a mechanic today..that doesnt mean all mechanics are assholes? I was having a bad day...apparently so was he.

[gamgee]

I've only been caught speeding once, but mine goes roughly...
*Pulled up in gore on my learners with passengers in the cage, cop got confused, and let me off, I think he thought I had my full licence or something
*pulled up after accelerating hard out of a corner, but not exceeding the speed limit, cop pulled me over for a 'licence check'...
* pulled up for following some old lady in her toyota echo a bit closely, and doing a bit of weaving side to side cause I was bored, got off that all fine, the funny thing was about 5 mins later i'd got stuck behind a vw of some description also doing a fairly low speed around 40km/h if he'd seen me pass her I would have deserved a ticket
* Then the one where I actually got caught speeding, was on a back road blatting through some twisties, then the flashing lights come roaring up behind me, first thing he says was something like "how fast do you think you were going back there?" then "well i'm going to have to give you a ticket because that speed was a bit silly for such a windy road" but but, you were going faster than me around the same windy road, is it somehow safe for you to do it?? and i wouldn't have been going fast if it hadn't been a windy road, all in all i'm indifferent about that one, I mean his lecture about going fast through windy roads was a bit hollow, but he seemed alright albeit a bit dense

[yungatart]

Cops are human and like all of us there are some good and some not so good. I know of some arsehole kbers too - it doesn't mean every one on Kb is one, though.I wouldn't want there job for all the money in the consolidated fund! I've been done once for speeding - if I'd been paying attention properly I would have seen in my mirrors and not done it.... my fault entirely!

[SuperDave]

Majority of my experiences with cops have been really good.

Pulled once on the FXR doing 78kph in a 50 zone - ticketed and demerits. Thinking about it the copper wasn't bad but I was being a real dick and was rude to him from the start.

Second run in was with a cop on the harbour bridge - bike broke down but managed to force it uphill over the square kerb onto the empty flush median type things separating the middle lanes with the clip ons. HP came and was very nice about it, choice guy who escorted me over the bridge once I finally got the bike to start up again. He blocked off a whole lane to allow me to pull out safely.

Another run in was with a mufti cop in Oteha Valley road. Had just been working on the ZXR and decided to take it out for a bit of a blat near my house, got a bit too happy with the throttle which saw me revving the nuts off the thing and splitting through traffic at about 140kph for a brief period. Pulled into the Mobil station to get some petrol and noticed the disco lights on the dash of the holden behind me. Mufti car with 3 coppers inside gave me a huge lecture and checked WOF and rego - I acted really submissive and apologetic and told them I didn't know what speed I had clocked. Worked out that they obviously hadn't got a lock on me. They let me off with a warning.

Pulled over once when I was still on my restriced in my parents car. Had done nothing wrong except pulled into an empty carpark in Wairau park to adjust my minidisc carkit. The cunt of a cop pulled me over and right from the start was a right asshole - intergating me as if I had stolen the car, flashing his fucken torch into my eyes to see if I was wearing contacts, and finally after going back to his car for 10 mins came back and told me to change my attitude as he handed me my licence back. I had done absolutely nothing wrong, was driving within my restrictions and not speeding yet this cop treated me like shit.

So more often than not I've had a pleasant dealing with cops, as a result I refrain from cop bashing as it's not really fair for me to be all anti-cops when the majority of my dealings with them have been good.

[Sniper]

They do their jobs like anyone else and anytime I have had a run in with the law I have been in the wrong and all the cops have been fucken legends.

[Skyryder]

Guess I must learn that Welsh accent Biff. I've never been let off a speeding ticket ever.

Some were buisness like about it. Got done..........in the wrong.......got the ticket, got over it etc. Others pontificate about how they don't want me to hurt myslef and have accident etc................like officer..............I DO?? The ones who realy piss me off are those that are all smiley and squeacky and then proceed to write out the ticket after zillions of yes offcer, no officer, absolutely officer, and just when you think you are about to be sent on your way out comes the 'pad.' With some it's all a fucking game. I suspect the real reason the police are losing public confidence is not the tickets but the road side manner.

[jtzzr]

Thankfully haven`t had any dealings with the law whilst on a bike(knock on wood) in the last 20 years, but have in a cage,and all of them have been relatively pleasant. So all in all Iguess the cops aren`t too bad in NZ. Looking gingerly at the screen cause I know Dover `s gonna be here soon.

[far queue]

I'm quite happy to get a bollocking from a cop on the side of the road, because while he/she is giving me a bollocking, and I'm being all humble and apologetic, I'm thinking "cool, bring it on, that's right, let it all out, this means I'm not getting a ticket". It usually works out that way - the cop's charming and I get a ticket, or cop's an ogre and I get off - bring on the ogre. I've never had a ticket I didn't deserve, and I've had lots of warnings and let offs when I also deserved a ticket.

I've met lots of cops over the years, when they're on the job and when they're off the job. They're no different to the rest of us, some great guys that go out their way to be helpful, some just doing their job, and a few wankers. Some bikers and some not. I'm talking about the frontline troops here, not the policy makers - that's a whole different thing.

[Edbear]

This thread...! Is this KB?