Bike Cop
Well-known member
I was going to post this on one of the other threads, but I thought it would be better if it had it's own.
From what I've seen, if a motorcyclist wants to run from the police, they will, and they will get away. They are faster than anything the police have, except for a radio, but we don't always have another car waiting ahead. If a rider is 100% committed to running, they are gone.
Last year I tried to stop a young man on an R6 who was cornered on a dead end road. We squared off and he rode right past me to get back to the highway, where he promptly took off at high speed. I didn't follow. Since I had some other investigative leads, I was able to show up at his house and the matter ended in criminal charges. One month later, he was followed by a police helicopter doing the same thing, and was arrested again, this time held for bail. He wasn't a bad kid but definitely made some bad choices. I would tend to think that most officers see someone that runs as someone who has a real reason to run, ie. stolen bike, wanted person, etc. The real danger that I'm seeing is that motorcyclists are running for much smaller reasons, and are either risking their own safety or other people's, in their escape.
Can we blame 172 for all of this? Would those that chose to run for a 172 charge run for a plate infraction? Would you run because your insurance slip was out of date? Where is the line in the sand that makes you decide not to stop for police?
From what I've seen, if a motorcyclist wants to run from the police, they will, and they will get away. They are faster than anything the police have, except for a radio, but we don't always have another car waiting ahead. If a rider is 100% committed to running, they are gone.
Last year I tried to stop a young man on an R6 who was cornered on a dead end road. We squared off and he rode right past me to get back to the highway, where he promptly took off at high speed. I didn't follow. Since I had some other investigative leads, I was able to show up at his house and the matter ended in criminal charges. One month later, he was followed by a police helicopter doing the same thing, and was arrested again, this time held for bail. He wasn't a bad kid but definitely made some bad choices. I would tend to think that most officers see someone that runs as someone who has a real reason to run, ie. stolen bike, wanted person, etc. The real danger that I'm seeing is that motorcyclists are running for much smaller reasons, and are either risking their own safety or other people's, in their escape.
Can we blame 172 for all of this? Would those that chose to run for a 172 charge run for a plate infraction? Would you run because your insurance slip was out of date? Where is the line in the sand that makes you decide not to stop for police?