Unmarked police bikes

[crash harry]

Can't say I'm a hell of a big fan of unmarked vehicles for traffic enforcement. I tend to think that an obviously displayed disco car slows people down much more effectively than the back-of-your-mind fear that somewhere out there one of those carse *might* have cops in it. I've been pulled a couple of times by mufti cars and I know it hasn't changed my driving one bit. But I sure as hell slow down when I see a HP car.

Mufti cars for other police work? Definitely. There are some parts of the job where they absolutely need to be subtle. Or even sneaky. And that's fine. Good. Necessary. I just don't believe that traffic enforcement is one of those.

So do I think that unmarked bikes will make much difference? Not really. They'll pull a few bikers who want to give them a race, but nothing much would change. And would the officers on the unmarked bikes not still have to be in uniform? Which would make them rather obvious anyway I would have thought. Just like you get used to looking for the little lights in the back of every Falcon/Commodore/Maxima that you pass these days, you'd look out for the guys on touring bikes in flouro yellow jackets.

[scumdog]

, you'd look out for the guys on touring bikes in flouro yellow jackets.

And there's bugger-all of THEM on the road eh!

[FJRider]

Some of 'em might be short sighted and we all know how clearly displayed a lot of motorbike number plates are..

I believe that is often a failing of the older members...

[dpex]

So do they have lights and sirens as well? Otherwise how would they pull someone over?? Would it be entrapment if the undercover bike appeared to be egging you on in a "race"?

What are NZ's laws regarding entrapment anyway?

You make an interesting point, Bend-it. Do we have entrapment laws? I presume there must be something in the statutes.

You also make a very good point about 'mufti' bikes upping the game. I very often note fellow motorbyclists pootling along till they see my lights in their mirrors.

And despite my collected years which should have, by this time, prevailed some wisdom upon me, I freely admit to being guilty of much the same reaction. Mumble.

Some soul, some time ago, posted a vid about a British copper following some dude doing naughty things. At one point the copper actually asserts the rider has seen him. 'Both' were doing some pretty hefty speeds during the ten minutes of the vid.

I'm hard-pressed to believe that the copper 'should' have let the perp continue after the first few infractions, much less the 50-or-so he consequently committed.

Interestingly, the copper was often quite scathing of the rider's skills, but I couldn't see much wrong with his riding.

Hmmm. Interesting questions you've posited, Bend-it.

Any real lawyers of KB?

[dpex]

And there's bugger-all of THEM on the road eh!

See? Here's another interesting thing.....You really do come up with some interesting observations.

When I ride in jeans and my leather bomber-jacket, black helmet with smoked visor down, I wave and most bikers wave back.

But when I get togged in my fluro jacket and pants (my wet weather gear...which is totally warm and dry) plus silver helmet and clear visor, less than half wave back.

I have to admit I do take some pleasure from turning up at some country pub where, parked outside, are dozens of perfectly polished bikes, with their perfectly polished riders, all done up in expensive leathers, complete with fluttery trim....and me on old Team Zimmerframe. Me in my fluros and Team Z looking like a candidate for the worst-kept bike in New Zealand (it's all cosmetic...Her heart is very well looked after).

On such occasions I get almost utterly ignored, despite my warm and cheerful personality.

But when I turn up on TZ, all washed and polished, and me in full leathers, complete with obvious "Fuck! That's guy's gone down more than once" scuff-marks, I quickly become an attraction.

And then I sit around listening to these folk rattling on about how they did 'this' on 'that road' and I have to say I allow an internal smile.

These folk seem to be often weekend warriors with imaginations well beyond their skill-sets. But geez, they all look so cooooool.

Like the Mongrel Mod dude I closed in on just before the first 35K corner going South from Taupo to Turangi. There he was, looking all mean and everything, tooled up on his ape-hangered Fat-Boy. Giggle.

And yup. He took up the challenge. I must say, that after he grazed the rock outcrop and stayed in the saddle was a small salute to his ability or luck. But it fucked his head, eh?

On the next 'We recommend 45Ks' corner, I drifted around him and waved as I passed. I watched him in my mirror as he pulled over to make/take a very important cell-phone call.

I 'almost' turned back to invite him to do a track-day; or maybe even race a bit.

BTW: I was in my full Fluros at the time. Nothing worse than an apparent geek fucking up the head of a cool-dude, eh?