Hozhead

So where did the huge flare up of "FTP" come from lately? And no, I'm not talking about File Transfer Protocol, I'm talking about the " the Police" phrase.

Yeah, so plenty of people get upset when they're issued a ticket for a traffic violation. I've been there, I've had tickets; some were legit and some were complete BS such as 'failure to stop' when I DID stop but no on the exact line the officer wanted to see me at from over a 1/2 mile away.

There are three primary things frustrating about police issuing tickets for traffic violations:
1) its now going to cost you money for the fine and for the higher insurance costs over the next three years.
2) your taxpayer dollars are paying an officer to write traffic tickets to you.
3) that officer could, theoretically, be solving "real crime" instead of issuing tickets.

There are a few things most people don't seem to consider when throwing around the FTP!
1) traffic laws are, for the most part, in place to make the travel on the road safe for you. Going 90 in a 45 may lead you to hitting a wall, going over a cliff or into a river.
2) traffic laws are also there for the safety of others. When you drive like an others are forced to taylor their driving to not hit you when they should be watching the other 156 things on the road that they could hit or be hit by.
3) police officers are there to "Protect and Serve" and, despite a few bad examples from time to time, they are out there protecting you, your family and your friends.
4) police officers also bust bank robbers, drug dealers, child molesters, rapists, murderers, etc.
5) police officers generally put their life on the line every day so being a little on edge make sense.
6) with the rapid decline of respect given to authority figures (parents, teachers, police, etc), officers are dealing with an increasingly belligerent public who view every interaction with an authority figure as an "us vs. them" scenario. When most of your day is spent dealing with people who aren't happy to see you and have little or no respect for you or your position, you'd have a few issues being polite and forgiving at all times.

If you truly believe in the FTP attitude, I highly encourage you to voice that opinion to an officer and decline any help they attempt to provide when you some day have your home robbed, your car stolen or you significant other attacked and mugged in the street. Please also remember to tell any officer to piss off when your bike is stolen and they're attempting to gather information to catch the criminal and return your bike or, at the very least, satisfy your insurance companies requirement for a police report.

BLIZANTHIMUM

its only FTP when they catch us being fuktards and we have to pay the piper

Crash_Dummy86

im right there with you on this. Even with all the trouble ive been in. Im a huge supporter of what they do. even if they may be a bit stricter on sportbikes. but then again.. you have to do somthing wrong for them to get you. we all know when we speed we might get a ticket yet we do it anyway. Im not mad when i get a ticket for doing 15 over.. im happy they didnt see me doing 60 over... They are just doin their job to put food on the tables for their familys, the same way we do our jobs.

djshwilly

i am talking about the ones who are a holes for no reason, or obviously got the job for the power reasons. There are a few- so to them

but
- a few ruin the reputation for everyone else.

riders and cops included.

BabyCakes10

haha ...somehow I have managed to get out of the 15 overs also though

Bungeeguy

I've had my house robbed. I've had my car broken into. I've had 2 cars vandalized. My old roomate had his motorcycle stolen. Every time the cops were absolutely worthless, they are typically complete a-holes to the public, and almost always total douchebags to us on motorcycles. I see them as nothing but tax collectors for a corupt system that views the public as a customer base. Hoz, I typically agree with you but when you say FTP is ignorant then you have not seen the same reality as others. The phrase exists because it fits!

tjdmobile

Dave, you beat me to it. The whole way to work, I have been thinking about this very subject and was going to open myself up to being flamed for saying what you did.

LazyJ

red and blue lights just give me siezures.........thats all Hoz

actually its just the bullshiit pullovers for petty shit like a blinker at 11pm at night that I DID use.....besides.....survey the freaking situation MR officer......look at the big picture before flipping you egotistical lights on........A: was there REALLY even ANYONE around but me....NOPE, B: Did I seriouly appear DRUNK or DOPED up before pulling me over (as in swerving or heavy breaking).....and C: did you bitch wife just piss you off so you decided you'd take her shiit out on me because you chose to marry her......( i think you know what i mean by this one)....as in just because your having a bad day and your bored mr. officer....doest give you the right to be a FDB

Bikejunky

but for different reasons.

psycon

AIN'T NOBODY'S BUSINESS IF YOU DO: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Free Country
http://www.mcwilliams.com/books/books/aint/

There is a difference between real crimes and consentual crimes. I belive there is a third category for POTENTIAL real crimes. It is the potential real crimes that we call traffic laws.

When I cut over into a lane in front of somebody (weaving in and out of lanes between the cars) this is a result of the law against lane sharing. If lane sharing were legal in Idaho I would not be going from lane to lane. Duh!

The police should not be focusing on potential real crimes such as traffic laws in the first place. No real crime has been commited...yet. That gets into the whole thought crime issue. They only do it now because we as a society have allowed them to do it. By them I really mean our STATE politician who make these laws, not the enforcement there of.

I have to have my blinker on for 3 seconds or about 100 feet. What is the time limit or distance to have your blinker on? For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

I respect the police, they are doing their job just fine. However, your choice in politicians could use a lot of help....


Oh, and another thing...BREAK SOME LAWS!!!

Tydd

I really don't have a problem with the police. I've even been cuffed and stuffed just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. After it was all over I thanked the guys for showing up.

They are doing their jobs. It as simple as that to me. Sure you are going to get the dick head who is going to enforce some obscure law just because he's bored. I mean for christ sake I got pulled over as a teenager on my peddle bike because I didn't have a headlight. WTF is that Bull?! I questioned it and he pulled out his little(BIG) law book and showed me any vehicle using the road is required to have a headlight during night time. Well F me running. Thanks for the info Mr. Officer. Did I ever put a headlight on my bike? Hell no. Did I ever get pulled over again for that? Hell No. Mr. Officer was just bored out of his mind I think.

So, break a law expect to get a talking to by Mr Officer. Don't want to talk with him? Learn EVERY single law that is out there and make sure not to break any of them.

CaptCrash

Be careful with the "one bad attitude cop means all cops are worthless" thing.

How do you think all sportbikers have a bad name? It's not because every sportbike rider in the country is a reckless dangerous jerk--a couple are and then the public applies that experience to ALL sportbikers.

Sure, there are jerk cops out there, but they are the minority and painting all cops with that broad brush just means....well, you're just like the soccer mom who stands by your bike at the grocery store and lectures her kids about how "people who ride those things are dangerous idiots--they should be outlawed".

Surely we're not a naive and prejudiced as the people who talk smack about us?

Slider

Hoz I couldnt agree more with what you wrote I can say that I will deffinatly tone down

Hoard

Some cops are ****s... some aren't.
Just like any other group classification out there.. you got your good ones and you got your bad ones.
Here in Twin we have 2 cops that ride. We dont' see them as much as some of the others but they have some nice bikes.. R1, ZX6R.
I won't lie; they are some of the coolest cops I know.
We hang out with a "newbie" cop all the time also. Way cool guy.
And we are suppose to keep this on the downlow.. but a buddy of mine got pulled over on his Duc a few weeks past.
Cop told him the reason he pulled him over was to get a better look at his SWEET bike. They talked for a good 10 minutes and looked the bike over. Cop let him go, asked him to wrap it up a few times to hear that awesome sound and away he went..

Also.. i was pulled over last year doing WELL over the speed limit. Cop walked up to me "I used to have one of these"
Gave me a lecture but also stated he knows all too well how easy it is to hit those high speeds so easily on the bikes. Let me go but told me to be safe

They aren't all bad

shaner

That happened to me too when I was like 14 on my paper route.


I am by no means someone to throw the FTP phrase around but I do not understand why nobody is policing the police. They need to be held accountable just like everyone else. It is not about them picking and chosing the laws they inforce, it is about them picking and chosing WHO to inforce the law on.

I am with Bungee in the fact that I have seen them do nothing at all when crimes were commited against a friend of mine. When my friends motorcycle was stolen they didn't even have the time to come to his house and take a report! Nobody ever showed up! I guarentee if somebody in a prominent Eagle neighborhood called to report their Mercedes was gone there would be 3 cops at their door in 20 minutes.

A few years back I was riding down Eagle Rd coming out of Eagle and was riding right next to an older guy in a BMW with a suit on. As we crossed through the intersection at Island Woods he sped up to somewhere around 65 I'm sure since I was doing about 55 or 60 and he was leaving me behind. I literally watched an Ada County Sheriff going the opposite direction go right past him and then flip a behind me! I got pulled over for speeding! I asked the cop why he chose to pull me over and not the guy in the BMW and he simply said he didn't see him. He was only 50 yards ahead of me going considerably faster! But he was in a BMW and I was on a sportbike.

I am by no means saying that all cops are like this. I have had run ins with cool cops as well. I just believe that they will never be able to do their job to the best of their ability if they allow themselves to fall into the stereotypes society puts on people. And yes I know they are human too but as an officer of the law it is their duty to do their job without prejudice or stereotype.

Gixxer-Mom

Some cops have the out look that we are a bunch of young "kids" on these bikes.. Try getting pulled over with Mark and Bill.. now that is a site.. Kinda a change of subject.. but it takes a cop back when they take off their helmets.. and I am with 2... 40 year old kids!

Rokkit_Science

I respect the 5-0, same team as the military.

BUT

My bad feelings toward them started when I bought a bike.
Ive been pulled over multiple times in my car (awd turbo gsx w. mods ). Sometimes for stupid things, (no front plate, exhaust, tint etc) and sometimes for speeding, being out at the streetraces. (it happens) Cops were always chillax, yacked it up with me for a few minutes, nice guys.

THEN hell broke loose.( THEY is used overly general) Cops FREAK OUT whenever they pull over a bike, or group of bikers. Ive encountered this with multiple BRN members. They act like we're a bunch of bank robbing, baby shaking, hellcats on 2 wheels. (some are). They yell at us, they're short with us and lecture lecture lecture.

I void my FTP statement, but thats where Im coming from.
They're not all bad, and neither are we.

psycon

Nope, not me. They choose to go into a profession where their job is to enforce laws, good laws and bad laws. It is illegal in Idaho to have sex with someone who is not your spouse. I know this is not traffic or bike subject, but we are talking about the FTP statement. I stand by that because of the above issue and more. Real crimes are real crimes. I fully support them in this manner, but because they also enforce consentual crimes, I cannot stand by them as a whole.

LazyJ

And her I thought we were just talking about Full Throttle Position

psycon

Uh, it's not F U C K T H E P O L I C E?

Seriously? I know this is Lazy we're talking about, but I honestly thought that's what it meant.

LazyJ

I was being an sarcastic

psycon

I'm sorry to go off like this, but I'm very adament about law enforcement, society, and our lawmakers. It just irks me really bad when I see a giving out tickets. I'm probably getting myself targeted by every cop in the state for the comments I'm making.

Oh, and I saw this on CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/...ana/index.html

Write your congressmen and tell them to support this bill. We are wasting too much money on something so insignificant, and it is the enforcement of these laws that are costing us. Our society is full of bigotry with alcohol and tobacco, why not gain money in tax dollars from this one too.

Sen. Craig, Larry [R]
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300029

Sen. Crapo, Michael [R]
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300030

Rep. Sali, Bill [R]
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=412201

Rep. Simpson, Michael [R]
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400376

And support your local pole dancer, clothed, topless, or fully nude! I have rights damn it! Don't taze me bro!

psycon

...and I don't like the title of the subject there Hoz, I'm not ignorant, just belligerent.

Bikejunky

This is a piss poor example of a cop being cool in my opinion. Here he's wasting the riders time and my tax dollars so he can bs with some one about their machine, sure it's better then a ticket but if your not doing any thing illegal it's totally unnecassary. I'd be pissed.

psycon

Funny story, probably had to be there. I was pulling up behind a motorcycle cop a couple of days ago. We were headed towards a stop light. She got into the right lane to turn right. I got in the center lane to go straight. When I got up next to her, I nodded to her, she nodded to me. Then she saw the sticker on the side of my bike. "Break some laws". I saw her look at it and looked at her. She shook her head this time. I nodded again and waited patiently for the light to turn green.

LazyJ

I now interupt this thread to report to you that Psycon is now a secret santa!


I dont like cops when I dont need them...but they do come in handy sometimes...........................sometimes.

Rokkit_Science

Female bike cop? I have yet to see that. My sis and I were talking about that the other day.

Bikejunky

Was she hot?

psycon

Yeah, Nampa has a female bike cop....I think anyway, looked like she had boobs, but couldn't really tell with the helmet on and those huge chrome sunglasses.

psycon

sigh

Hubbs

Had to snag a screen shot of this - looks like "just in time" (he had 499 posts when captured)

shaner

There is only one in Boise. Saw a story on the news about her. She got a whole news story just for being the only female bike cop. And for some reason she is always sitting at the end of my street nabbing people for doing 25 in the 20 zone. I see her every day. Actually she sits almost directly in front of Nick's house. Coincidence?

djshwilly

ok I will change mine to F 50% of T P

psycon

Good, that will allow you to pick and choose like they do.

suzuki1

yes nampa does have a women bike cop (officer jolly) and yeah shes pretty fine . i work and hunt with her husband

Matt

Thanks Hoz for posting that up!! As for some others among you all I can say is you need to grow the up and take accountability for your actions!! I have been and continue to get in my fair share of trouble (ie. 79 in 45 Idaho City, etc..., etc...), but the thing I realize is that if I wasn't breaking the law I wouldn't be getting in trouble. I do speed, wheelie, etc..., but I also know what the consequences of my actions are if I get caught, and I am ready to deal with those if I get caught. That said I have also been around some real douche cops, but for the most part if you respect them they will respect you. As for the FTP attitude... complete and utter ignorance... Most of them have an extremely hard job to do and they do it well. Also just because someone makes up a term called "Consensual crime" doesn't mean it makes sense.

Consensual crime=victimless crime="An illegal act that is felt to have no direct or identifiable victim."

Where is the line for this? How is this not a huge oxymoron? There is always a victim, whether it is an infant, or an insurance company! If I stand up wheelie my bike down I-84 and nobody gets hurt than I guess its a consensual crime. I guess if the 5-0 pulled me over they would just be hatin on me cause i'm on a sport bike! But if I ate , caused a semi to try and swerve to miss me, overturn, and hit a bus load of kids killing them I guess it would be a real crime then... you know the kind with victims... eh? The fact is laws are in place to protect people. They are not perfect and of course your gonna have power hungry dicks that mess with people because they can. Don't wanna get messed with, then don't roll around in a supped up hooptie at 3am and expect not to get pulled over... Been there, done that...

LazyJ

matt............my hoopty's not souped up......its all stock man.........

Ryan@IdahoSportBikes

WOO WOO!

Matt

LMAO!!! "They supposed to be up in the mornin, its like an alarm clock WOOOO WOOOO!!" hahaha.. Yes, I need one for my bike

Bikejunky

Well buddy I agree to disagree on this one. It's all about personal experiences. That's how attitudes are developed.