I just read that law enforcement agencies in the State of New York will be setting up check points where ONLY motorcycles will be stopped for inspection. Citations are to be issued for any infraction of the law. These check points will be set up close to all motorcycle events and elsewhere. Bikers wanting to travel to New York might want to change their plans to avoid this discrimination. We are being singled out for select enforcement of the law. Talk about profiling. All bikers should boycott the State of New York until this practice ends. Bikers who live in New York should write, call, email, and write letters to the editor of their newspapers voicing their opposition to this violation of their civil rights. If you were planning on attending a motorcycle event in New York, write, call, or email the promoters of this event and tell them why you are not attending. This is wrong and needs to end NOW! This information was obtained from the American Motorcycle Association (AMA).

Otter
2006 Yamaha Stratoliner S
Ohio  

You're kidding, right?  Profiling is the biggest concern you've got?  When they set up roadside inspections for transport trucks and ticket or remove them from the road for faulty brakes and other mechanical deficiencies that might endanger every other motorist on the road, do you protest that too?  Get a life.  If your bike has mechanical issues that endanger you (pompous irresponsible attitude or not) and others sharing the same roads, and you haven't got sense enough to recognize them or get them taken care of, then you should be ticketed or hauled off the road.  And the sooner the better.  

Otter calm down, this is done in every state during any type of ralley. Most States aren't as vocal on telling everyone. I have been a law dawg for 25 years. Most cops don't want to be out on a road check in the first place and if they are treated respectfully, they usually let small stuff go. However, every rider should be law abiding and have all of their respective tags,insurance, and inspections up to date. Oh by the way, this is not a civil rights violation, seeing how the officers are not targeting one race. And in most states driving and riding is a priviledge not a right. A boycott will not help either, it only hurts the small resturants and business owners. The State doesn't care if you come or not. Take care and ride safe and Legal. Wag  

Wag488,

regardless of it being a civil rights issue, it is still wrong to target a specific type of vehicle ONLY because of some type of event that occurs!!!!

when was the last time you or anyone else or for that matter you have ever heard after an event at a local movie theatre, or after a jimmy buffet concert or after a home show at the local coliseum?  

i have been around awhile (40 years or so) and the only i have seen police stops are at nights on friday or saturday (not to say that other days they didn't occure, and of course road blocks to find someone)

i would hope to think that there may be better things to do for our tax payer dollars than to pull over a bunch of cyclists just to check for insurance, registration and such.  outside of the waste of both time and money it's just plain pathetic.

and as far as the other part of your arguement that it is a privledge and not a right, though that may be true, try and deny or take someones privledge away just because you want too.  you can't and neither can anyone else.  besides just because it is a privlege doesn't give anyone an arbitrary right to stop me anytime they like.  though the law may give law enforment (in some states) just to pull people over for no good reason doesn't make it morally right.  the states that do that despotic in nature.  

the law should be changed PERIOD, to not allow arbritrary stops, just because you (your agency) wants too.

thank you,
very respectfully,

rwreuter  

Good posting from both wag488 and herba,Otter what is the problem of being stopped driving anything at all,if you have a licence and your vehicle is road worthy ?if this is all good then you have nothing to worry about..  

The point is, if law enforcement is going to check for mechanical defects, license, insurance, or whatever, they have to stop ALL vehicles. That's why sobriety check points have been rules legal, they stop ALL vehicles. To stop certain vehicles, the police need probable cause. We don't want a police state. All my papers are in order and my bike is always in tip top shape, if it wasn't, I wouldn't be riding it. I'm not afraid to be stopped at any time. However, the cop better have probable cause to stop me. Just like he needs probable cause to search my bike, my car, my house, or my person. To allow law enforcement to violate our constitutional rights, we are no longer free men and America would cease to exist as our Founding Fathers pictured it to be. I would have no problem with New York law enforcement if they stopped ALL vehicles.  

I am so proud of everyone of you to show such an interest in our country's laws. I have spent all of my adult life fighting for the rights you are all talking about, four in the Marines and 25 as a cop. Just understand that the poor sap of a police officer on the street doesn't make the command decisions to make road stops. So treat them with the respect they deserve. Most of the time these are the young officers who are thrust out on to a street to perform these long drawn out vehicle stops. I stood out in the road from 10p until 2a in 23 degree weather one time while the command staff sat in a warm car sipping hot coco. We had two cars come through all night. Be sure that any large agency will have the proper legal scholars telling them what they are allowed to do. Just don't let your pride over load your pocket book. Ride safe Wag  

Reuter, please don't confuse my remarks as condoning the actions of any state or agency in regards to stopping law abiding citizens. You are correct on many points. 1. waste of time and tax payer money,
       2. pathetic
       3. etc.
I have worked road blocks after a Buffet concert, Elton John,

Just so you know my agency of 800 officer, doesn't allow such stops to target one group, even when they ride in to fight against the helmet law once a year with out helmets. Sometime you have to use common sense. Wag Out  

I agree with Wag488. Police officers should always be treated with the utmost respect. All directions from officers have to be carried out without question. These officers are following orders and doing what they have sworn to do, enforce the laws. Standing on the side of the road, or at a check point, is not the place to discuss your rights or if a law is constitutional. We have courts of law to do that. I'm sure the American Motorcycle Association will be taking legal avenues to stop this practice. By boycotting the State of New York businesses will have lost revenues and will be screaming at their elected officials to put a stop to these check points. Pressure will be brought to bare from all sides and this practice will end.  

rwreuter:
Wag488,

regardless of it being a civil rights issue, it is still wrong to target a specific type of vehicle ONLY because of some type of event that occurs!!!!

when was the last time you or anyone else or for that matter you have ever heard after an event at a local movie theatre, or after a jimmy buffet concert or after a home show at the local coliseum?  

i have been around awhile (40 years or so) and the only i have seen police stops are at nights on friday or saturday (not to say that other days they didn't occure, and of course road blocks to find someone)

i would hope to think that there may be better things to do for our tax payer dollars than to pull over a bunch of cyclists just to check for insurance, registration and such.  outside of the waste of both time and money it's just plain pathetic.

and as far as the other part of your arguement that it is a privledge and not a right, though that may be true, try and deny or take someones privledge away just because you want too.  you can't and neither can anyone else.  besides just because it is a privlege doesn't give anyone an arbitrary right to stop me anytime they like.  though the law may give law enforment (in some states) just to pull people over for no good reason doesn't make it morally right.  the states that do that despotic in nature.  

the law should be changed PERIOD, to not allow arbritrary stops, just because you (your agency) wants too.

thank you,
very respectfully,

rwreuter

I have been stopped and checked for all kinds of differnet crap since 9/11 because I could be confused for somebody of middle eastern ancestry.  I cannot tell you how many times I have been searched by airport security when the other people I travel with never get searched (many times traveling with the same people).  It happens.  Why?  Because the people involved with 9/11 were of Arab descent.  Which leads me to the checkpoints...it has been my experience that the po-po usually put up these points for a reason and it is for the "idiot" portion of people that ride and have created issues.  I cannot tell you how many people in the area that I am in create image issues by doing retarded things that make us look bad to the general public.  To be quite honest, I would like to see them do it in my area to get some of the unlicensed drivers off the road.

Do I have a problem with a checkpoint being set-up for motorcyclists only?  Yes I do.  Is there probably a reason for the police to do so?  Maybe.  However, we do have an element of idiocy that is more evident out there in the public eye because it is a motorcyclist.  Right or wrong, it is what it is for now.  

One thing I'd point out about Americade. It started as a GoldWing rally. Nice, and quiet. The people came in spent their money, mingled and left.
Over the last 5 years, there has been an upsurge in the number of people who believe they have certain rights. The right to bring extremely loud pipes into someone else's home. The right to ignore the rules of their host.
In this case, it's a state law that you must wear helmets, and your bike can't be stolen. Those are the rules. When the number of people breaking those rules went up, there are only 3 possible responses. 1) shut down the rally forever. The loud pipes and other problems go away. 2) Let them go at it and own the town for a week. That's called Laconia, and it already has a home. 3) Try to discourage the loud pipes, and other people who could make it less than enjoyable. Americade has generally had zero biker deaths each year. Laconia has 2 - 7.

While I find it a pain to go thru the checkpoints, I also understand how it happened. Just like drunk driving checkpoints on the 4th of July and New Year's eve. Those are also profiling. They are looking for people who've had too much, and drive cars, and they set up where they're likely to be.  

Okay have read both sides, much the same in New Zealand, and yes I am very much anti bureaucratic bull *** ..

Never seems to matter how much we fight the system it will win, so I play the game with the state and get on with my life, we are going to be dead along time so I figure it is better to ride my machine and enjoy it and life, than get all stressed over something I have no control of, no matter how much you disagree you will not win take care men...  

Interesting read on the checkpoint issue. I live northwest of Toronto, Ontario and our laws differ slightly, as do our perceptions and concerns over individual rights.
Our Provincial Police (OPP) have a VERY aggressive anti-drinking-and-driving campaign and can be found set up most any night of the year on most any road. The inconvenience is minor and the benefits to the community are huge. On a couple of occasions I have made a point of contacting the Detachment Commander after getting stopped for a check to commend his men and women for providing a valuable service and definitely saving lives, while standing out in miserable weather for hours.
Three years ago, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, a woman driving a pickup passed a vehicle on a blind curve and hit a motorcycle head on, killing the couple on board the bike. A friend who attended the scene as a fire fighter said it was the worst carnage he’d seen in 25 years. They literally had to pick up pieces for yards down the road. The woman in the pick up was so drunk she didn’t even know she’d hit something.
I ride a Harley with louder than stock pipes and yeah, I’ve had my share of overly eager cops making up BS reasons to stop me and run me through the computer (just last week, actually) but I’d rather be the one talking to the cop at the side of the road than have my wife be the one answering the door to a cop who’s there to tell her I’ve been killed by some drunken idiot.
Is it profiling when they pick on motorcycles? You betcha it is. But if it’s YOUR stolen bike they catch or if they find a rider without insurance who was riding next to YOU, who benefits the most? You do.
I agree it’s a fine line between vigilance and over-zealousness, but as things stand right now, I personally have no problem with being stopped now and then for a courteous, professional roadside check. In the long run, it does more to protect my rights than it does to violate them.  

FLSTC01:
Interesting read on the checkpoint issue. I live northwest of Toronto, Ontario and our laws differ slightly, as do our perceptions and concerns over individual rights.
Our Provincial Police (OPP) have a VERY aggressive anti-drinking-and-driving campaign and can be found set up most any night of the year on most any road. The inconvenience is minor and the benefits to the community are huge. On a couple of occasions I have made a point of contacting the Detachment Commander after getting stopped for a check to commend his men and women for providing a valuable service and definitely saving lives, while standing out in miserable weather for hours.
Three years ago, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, a woman driving a pickup passed a vehicle on a blind curve and hit a motorcycle head on, killing the couple on board the bike. A friend who attended the scene as a fire fighter said it was the worst carnage he’d seen in 25 years. They literally had to pick up pieces for yards down the road. The woman in the pick up was so drunk she didn’t even know she’d hit something.
I ride a Harley with louder than stock pipes and yeah, I’ve had my share of overly eager cops making up BS reasons to stop me and run me through the computer (just last week, actually) but I’d rather be the one talking to the cop at the side of the road than have my wife be the one answering the door to a cop who’s there to tell her I’ve been killed by some drunken idiot.
Is it profiling when they pick on motorcycles? You betcha it is. But if it’s YOUR stolen bike they catch or if they find a rider without insurance who was riding next to YOU, who benefits the most? You do.
I agree it’s a fine line between vigilance and over-zealousness, but as things stand right now, I personally have no problem with being stopped now and then for a courteous, professional roadside check. In the long run, it does more to protect my rights than it does to violate them.

Excellent response.  Couldn't agree more.  Whatever it requires to make us all safer on all our streets and highways, I'm more than happy to cooperate to let it happen.  Regardless of your choice of transportation, there will always be risktakers who jeopardize others by there ill-advised actions, sober or otherwise.  My daughter's mother-in-law was hit head-on in her Jeep by a motorcyclist, last in a group of three travelling on a double solid line thru traffic on winding roads.  He strayed off the line between the lanes of traffic.  She and her passenger suffered very minor injuries.  The rider died instantly...in her windshield.  So let the guys paid to protect us (quite often from ourselves) do their job.  Heaven help us without them!  "Cheers" from a fellow Canadian.  

I agree with the professional courteous workers. For it to work, the officers should be like Caesar's wife (above reproach). If there is even the slightest perception that they are on a witch hunt, or a personal vendetta, they lose the public trust.
On the flip side, if you ride with loud pipes that actually meet the law, having the results of a sound test on the bike on the bike that show it meets maximum sound level ordinences would go a long way on the other side to show professionalism, and responsibility on the side of the biker. It would also get you out of there in scant moments. Plus, the police would be floored, and the look on their face would be worth the price of the test.