Advanced Safety Course LLC

FALL 2024—TRAFFIC STOPS & TICKET AVOIDANCE (part 2 of 2)

LAST MONTH’S article on HOW TO AVOID GETTING PULLED OVER ended with, “Way to go Rickey Racer, you got yourself squeezed by the man anyway. So, now that you’ve got the pretty blue lights in your mirrors, and you’re the main attraction for all the rubber-neckers passing by, you’re reduced to trying to cut your losses.” This month we’ll discuss some thoughts about where we go from there.

WEAR THE GEAR—"ATGATT”. Of course, we should all do this before heading out on every ride, as Police Officers like to know that we’re safety conscious. Some riders do like to exercise the “right to ‘bare’ arms” (and heads); however, wearing all the gear will not only save your hide during an unscheduled dismount, but it will also demonstrate that you purpose to ride responsibly and take motorcycling and its risks seriously. And since you obviously care about your own safety, you probably also care about the safety and well-being of other motorists as well. When Officers realize this, they may not be quite as hard on you. A Motor Officer once told me (and others in the meeting) that the least likely motorcyclist to get a second look from a Patrol Officer is someone who’s dressed like a highlighter in high-viz gear, and riding a quiet touring bike.
For we are each responsible for our own conduct. (Galatians 6:5)

PULL OVER SLOWLY. When you see all those lights come on, you know they mean business, so it’s hard not to panic. Just slow down a bit, look for a safe place to stop, use your turn signal to let the Officer know you’re pulling over, and decelerate smoothly. If it takes a few minutes to find a safe place to “face the music”, he or she won’t mind at all.

ASSUME THE POSITION. Police Officers want to know that you’re not a runner—or worse—a “gunner”. Of course, you're an upstanding citizen who escorts elderly ladies and their poodles across the street, but they don't know that yet. Put the Officer at ease by turning the motorcycle off, removing the key, and taking your gloves and helmet off. Remember to keep your hands in plain sight and sit still.
Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:11)

HAVE YOUR DOCUMENTS HANDY. You should always carry your current license, registration, and proof of insurance with you, but don’t start rummaging around for them as soon as you’ve stopped. Tell the Officer where you keep your documents and ask if it’s okay to get them—never block his view of your hands, and where you’re putting them. If you carry—good for you—just hand your CCP to the Officer along with your other paperwork. Legally, you don’t have to do that anymore but do it anyway because you’ve just shown him or her that you’re among the most upstanding, responsible, law-abiding citizens in the country, and have had a thorough and clean background check.

DON’T BE A HOTHEAD. Don’t suck-up, but genuinely appreciate the officer for what he or she does—you can even offer to pray for them. If you give the Trooper a bad time, it probably won’t go well for you. Even if you’re outraged at some injustice, you still want to be as polite and respectful as possible. Then when you challenge the ticket, defer your court date for as long as possible. This way, the officer may not remember enough by that time to warrant following through on the ticket. Plus, there’s always a chance the officer won’t appear in court, and the ticket could be dismissed.
Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save yourself a lot of grief. (Proverbs 21:23)

RIDE AWAY SLOWLY. If you do get a ticket, don’t go squealing off in a rage. Just put on your turn signal, look for oncoming traffic, and pull out slowly and calmly. If you don’t receive a ticket, be grateful!

Hopefully you’ll be able to avoid serious consequences by following the steps listed above. The big take-away here is that our Police Officers have a difficult, and sometimes dangerous job, and they will literally risk their lives to keep you safe. They deserve the utmost respect, and by pulling you over to get you to slow down and ride more safely, they may have just saved your life.

Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God’s emissaries for keeping order. It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government. (1 Peter 2:13-17 MSG)

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God bless you with His Most Amazing Grace,
Kurt Repsher

09/2024 TRAFFIC STOPS & TICKET AVOIDANCE PART 1

HOW TO AVOID GETTING PULLED OVER:
In next month’s Part 2 of this article, I’ll offer tips for dealing with an encounter with a police officer; however, the best scenario is obviously to avoid getting pulled over in the first place. To begin, let’s get a few things cleared up right away:
- I’m not advocating speeding here—the purpose of this article is ultimately to promote rider safety. Traveling at excessive speeds on public roads is incredibly irresponsible and could easily become deadly.
- Technically, riding at even 1 mph over the posted speed limit is speeding, and you can be ticketed for it—but there’s an expected, and even “unofficially acceptable” speed that’s somewhere between 5 and 15 mph over the posted limit.
- Speed is not always the cause of an accident, but often the more significant hazard is created by vehicles moving at different speeds as they travel together on the same road.

All that being said, here are some ways to help you stay safer and ticket free:

CONSIDER USING A “SCOUT”. Keep some vehicles ahead of you, and if they start slowing down—maybe you should too. Look for brake lights as far ahead as possible—there could either be a hazard or a speed trap down the road; and if you spot a big rig slowing down for no apparent reason, the driver may have heard something over his CB radio indicating he should do that.
When Moses sent them off to scout out Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and then into the hill country. Look the land over, see what it is like. (Numbers 13:17)

BE A TRAFFIC “INSIDER”. If traffic is moving faster than the speed limit (and when isn’t it?!), try to stay within a similarly paced group—most likely, the first or the last vehicle in the group will be the ones that are pulled over.

IS IGNORING THE SPEED LIMIT ILLEGAL? Yup, but with no other traffic around, try to stay closer to the posted limit—too much over, and the local police will almost certainly want to get better acquainted with you. Conversely, if you’re the conservative rider who’s always traveling exactly at, or below, the posted limit, law enforcement can interpret that behavior as a red flag, or even a hazard, since most traffic exceeds the posted limit. Trying to remain unnoticed can often bring you the kind of attention you’d like to avoid—because they’ll be watching for signs of impairment, distractions, or other possible shady activity.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6)

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE, THERE MIGHT BE FIRE. Sometimes there are multiple speed traps on the same road, so if someone tries to run, they’ll be stopped by another patrol car right down the road. So, if you pass a police officer who already has a customer, stay alert—there might be another one somewhere up ahead.

KEEP YOUR BIKE LEGAL. Improperly mounted license plates, excessively loud exhausts, inadequate or illegal lights, etc., etc… will give the police excuses to pull you over. More unwanted attention….

GET OUT OF TOWN. If you’re itching for a spirited ride, head up to the mountains and find some good switchbacks and twisties! Hopefully there won’t be as much traffic, and the speed limits won’t change as often, which makes it easier to keep track of and comply with them.

WAY TO GO RICKY RACER, somehow you got yourself squeezed by the man anyway. So, now that you’ve got the pretty blue lights in your mirrors, and you’re the main attraction for all the rubber-neckers passing by, you’re reduced to trying to cut your losses. So, what do you do now?!
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

STAY TUNED, AND DON’T CHANGE THAT CHANNEL! Next month, we’ll discuss HOW TO (HOPEFULLY) AVOID THE TICKET, or at least reduce the likelihood of getting one, if you get pulled over anyway…

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God bless you with His Most Amazing Grace,
Kurt Repsher

What a great weekend so far at NCBike, with N2 Track Days and Yamaha Champions Riding School.