Can you get stunting/racing ticket from a traffic complaint?

[gixxeranyone]

Let me speak in hypotheticals.

Lets says several bike were riding this weekend and possibly being stupid. As we went along, 2 cops sandwich us and pull over the entire group. When we were pulled over, we were not doing anything, completely following the law. However, a motorist called the cops and made a traffic complaint about several bikes. When the cop had us all in a group, he explained that a motorist called in a complaint about a large group of bikes, so he didn't just pull us over for anything. He asked "What should I do with you guys, what do you think you deserve?". In the end, we didn't get any tickets, after a speech he let us all go. However, the whole time we were standing along side the road, I was worried about how severe a ticket we/I could get. Could a stunting charge or speeding ticket for that matter have been given to us, even though the cops didn't see a thing?

Again, this is a hypothetical situation!!!!!

[FiReSTaRT]

It's quite possible. If he can somehow justify his belief that the witness observed stunting and that the witness correctly identified your group, he could charge you with it even if he knew that the charges wouldn't stick.

[strictlye]

agreed, you can be charged with anything. But probably not convicted in court. With that stunt driving charge you screwed before you even get to court which in itself is against the law. Can't sentence without a fair trial.

[jc100]

Speaking in hypotheticals again...I think it's likely the office was warning you that if hypothetically you were to do that again and a cop sees you then hypothetically you'd be up **** creek without a paddle.

[Rob MacLennan]

Hypothetically, yes.

Police to require surrender of licence, detention of vehicle

(5) Where a police officer believes on reasonable and probable grounds that a person is driving, or has driven, a motor vehicle on a highway in contravention of subsection (1), the officer shall,

(a) request that the person surrender his or her driver’s licence; and

(b) detain the motor vehicle that was being driven by the person until it is impounded under clause (7) (b). 2007, c. 13, s. 21.

[slowbird]

If the motorist happened to get a plate or a very good description of veh and rider, then ya....he could give you the ticket.

[gixxeranyone]

Hypothetically, yes.

Police to require surrender of licence, detention of vehicle

(5) Where a police officer believes on reasonable and probable grounds that a person is driving, or has driven, a motor vehicle on a highway in contravention of subsection (1), the officer shall,

(a) request that the person surrender his or her driver’s licence; and

(b) detain the motor vehicle that was being driven by the person until it is impounded under clause (7) (b). 2007, c. 13, s. 21.

but is a call from a cager considered reasonable grounds? How can the cop be sure the caller is telling the truth? Doesn't this leave alot of room interpretation. For example, if the caller says that he saw a group of bikes going 150km in an 80, how that can be reasonable or probable grounds, who knows if that person is accurate and not just saying it because they must have been doing that because that's what it looked like.

I truly do not agree with the concept that a cop can assume a complaint is fact and use that as reasonable and probable grounds to issue a stunting charge.

[strictlye]

I'm don't like my neighbour. The next time he leaves for work the police may receive an anonymous call saying he was driving erratically and endangering peoples lives.

[LiNK666]

Anything can be intrepted as stunting.

[DaytonaRon]

The 'officer' could very well write you a ticket for whatever he wants, as a few people have stated here. He could impound your bike, and issue you a summons (constitutionality of this racing/stunting law is yet to be decided) however if it was based on an eye witness account of the speed, and lacking a radar reading, this would cause serious problems for said officer and gaining a conviction. In order to testify to the rate of speed of a vehicle, the person testifying must be considered an expert. So unless this witness (busybody-rodent) was a physicist deemed an expert by the court for visually calculating the rate of speed of a motorcycle on the road, a conviction is near impossible. Even an officer, whose experience and visual speed guestimation is given some creedence usually has to rely on a radar device in order to substantiate his claims. A lay witness would likely not have that luxury.

In this case, a busybody rodent called in about a group of bikes. Likely no plates, or full descriptions of the riders allegedly responsible for this so called "stunting" and therefore no real evidence that this particular group had the rider or riders responsible.

The reason you guys didn't get charged is becasue the officer had no way of knowing which out of the group were the ones stunting, or if it was actually the right group he pulled over. No court would allow charges stemming from a fishing expedition to stick, if you had proper counsel and representation.

Alternatively, maybe he was just flexing his muscles and fibbing (oh this never happens right?) about the call, and wanted to just give you guys a scare. Either way, if he had concrete evidence, like a plate, or a full description plus a witness willing to testify, you can be someone would have been charged and walking home.

This law is ridiculous and quite frankly unconstitutional, and I cannot wait to see it get tossed when some judge who actually cares about the repute of our justice system tosses it out once and for all.

What else is ridiculous are the rodents that run around in their cages making calls about what they think is going on. I say we all save our rotten cheese and chuck some on the shoulders to distract these greasy tailed morons!

[Rob MacLennan]

but is a call from a cager considered reasonable grounds? How can the cop be sure the caller is telling the truth? Doesn't this leave alot of room interpretation. For example, if the caller says that he saw a group of bikes going 150km in an 80, how that can be reasonable or probable grounds, who knows if that person is accurate and not just saying it because they must have been doing that because that's what it looked like.

I truly do not agree with the concept that a cop can assume a complaint is fact and use that as reasonable and probable grounds to issue a stunting charge.

Credibility, details, descriptions, consistency, plate numbers.....

[nobbie48]

I knew some guys that flew model airplanes and got noise complaints phoned into the police after they started up. One day they showed at the park and unloaded their planes but didn't start them up.
Guess what? Someone phoned in a noise complaint.
Whether it's model airplanes or HTA would the police lay charges against the person making false reports? Is the Pope Jewish?

[Carriers]

Will say statement is all that is needed, so yes. You didn't get anything so why stress?

[Rob MacLennan]

I knew some guys that flew model airplanes and got noise complaints phoned into the police after they started up. One day they showed at the park and unloaded their planes but didn't start them up.
Guess what? Someone phoned in a noise complaint.
Whether it's model airplanes or HTA would the police lay charges against the person making false reports? Is the Pope Jewish?

That's the thing about needing a credible report. Officers would gauge the credibility of witnesses, before laying a charge. My problem is with the potential serious penalties, that would be applied prior to ever seeing a courtroom, with a charge that police might be less circumspect in applying.

One of the marshals, at Calabogie, once told me that they had a noise complaint phoned in to police during a bicycle event.

[omnivore]

When I was 18, I was driving (aggressively lets say) in my Daytona Shelby, along with some unknown fellow in his Mustang GT. We began playing cat and mouse on the highway, passing eachother at every opportunity, and even some opportunities that shouldn't have been taken.

When I got home, an OPP officer arrived shortly after. He claimed to have received a call from the fellow who said that I (he gave the cop my car's plate and description) had passed him on the shoulder at a high rate of speed, showering his car with gravel. I simply explained to the cop that the fellow in the other car is lying to him. I also explained that there was no crazy driving going on, just one car driver, mad at the other, becasue I may or may not have winked and blew a kiss at his wife who was sitting in his passenger seat, as we sat side by side at a stoplight at the edge of town.

If the cop wasn't there to see what went on, he cannot prove it. There can be a number of motivating factors for another motorist to make up a story about a sportbike. Maybe their nephew died on one last yr and they now have a hate-on for sportbikes.