Guy on Facebook said Police took a ride on his bike ?

[Deleted member 25121]

I don't hold with equality in all things, only with equality before the law and nothing more. I partially agreed with your post. Not wholly, but in part it was true enough for me to agree with some of it.

Ducking and diving again I see.

If you were on patrol and repeatedly saw an ebike cyclist who was doing 25mph with little apparent effort on a bike with a huge hub motor what would you do?

Ignore him?

 

[LeighPing]

Ducking and diving again I see.

If you were on patrol and repeatedly saw an ebike cyclist who was doing 25mph with little apparent effort on a bike with a huge hub motor what would you do?

Ignore him?

I'm not sure that they had ebikes when I was on patrol. I'd have probably thought that he was just ultra fit.

As for things being a joke Flecc. Yes, some of it is a joke to me. Finding humour in some of life's not so serious issues isn't such a bad thing Flecc. It's one of life's better coping strategies to be able to have a laugh. It's not all that serious at times. Just bikes. Some a bit faster than others. Just like every bike and their riders really.

 

[soundwave]

and how is plod in his car going to catch a 30mph+ mtb that is gone down the fist ally way pmsl.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

If a policeman on patrol repeatedly saw an ebike cyclist who was doing 25mph with little apparent effort on a bike with a huge hub motor what would you suggest he did?

Ignore him?

 

[LeighPing]

If a policeman on patrol repeatedly saw an ebike cyclist who was doing 25mph with little apparent effort on a bike with a huge hub motor what would you suggest he did?

Ignore him?

The policeman in question was, as I see it, giving the guy his chance. Considering the options, he should learn from that.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

The policeman in question was, as I see it, giving the guy his chance. Considering the options, he should learn from that.

Learn what?

What in your opinion should he have done?

 

[LeighPing]

Learn what?

What in your opinion should he have done?

Educated him.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

Educated him.

Educated him as to what, what do you think the cyclist had done wrong?

 

[Deleted member 25121]

I've had several policemen friends over the years and am still in good contact with a couple of them. I must say that their view of upholding the law of the land is very different to yours which is what prompted me to question your role in the police service.
One friend was a sergeant in West London and latterly worked on motorway patrol. The other worked for the Met and now works in the local murder squad.
Perhaps you are out of touch with modern police thinking.

 

[LeighPing]

Educated him as to what, what do you think the cyclist had done wrong?

My opinion was that he didn't actually do anything wrong. Although, clearly the suspicion was based on what he seems to have done. Changed his speed settings. So, given the benefit of the doubt on this occasion, it is now up to him to keep the settings where they were when stopped by the police for a test ride..

I've had several policemen friends over the years and am still in good contact with a couple of them. I must say that their view of upholding the law of the land is very different to yours which is what prompted me to question your role in the police service.
One friend was a sergeant in West London and latterly worked on motorway patrol. The other worked for the Met and now works in the local murder squad.
Perhaps you are out of touch with modern police thinking.

Perhaps I couldn't care less about you questioning me. Your opinion, or what others think.

 

[soundwave]

how many times have the police arrested any of you ? the cps is the law and if it is not in the public interest they just wont bother.

at the end of the day unless you kill someone it will not be a problem same as smoking weed oh no pmsl.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

My opinion was that he didn't actually do anything wrong. Although, clearly the suspicion was based on what he seems to have done. Changed his speed settings. So, given the benefit of the doubt on this occasion, it is now up to him to keep the settings where they were when stopped by the police for a test ride..

But how was the policeman to know that he hadn't done anything wrong? The copper had a suspicion that the bike was illegal (as it seemingly was since it's max assisted speed could be upped) and surely it's right that he followed that up?

Perhaps I couldn't care less about you questioning me. Your opinion, or what others think.

Typical attitude of the coppers of old. Arrogance personified.

 

[LeighPing]

But how was the policeman to know that he hadn't done anything wrong? The copper had a suspicion that the bike was illegal (as it seemingly was since it's max assisted speed could be upped) and surely it's right that he followed that up?


Typical attitude of the coppers of old. Arrogance personified.

You have a lot of inflammatory opinions and assumed prejudices don't you. Do you have disagreement issues when the opinions of others conflict with your own? What others think doesn't bother me too much. I recommend giving it a try.

The bike looked illegal, was likely to be illegal and was, other than being set to a street legal speed, downright illegal on the public highway. Yet nothing was done. No follow up, no education, zip. Just a pat on the back for stopping at the stop lights and a well done for being set to street legal.

A pointless fishing exercise, if you wanted to do something about it. But also a cautionary lesson and a discreet warning for the bikes owner. Maybe that was the plan all along.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

The bike looked illegal, was likely to be illegal and was, other than being set to a street legal speed, downright illegal on the public highway. Yet nothing was done. No follow up, no education, zip. Just a pat on the back for stopping at the stop lights and a well done for being set to street legal.

A pointless fishing exercise, if you wanted to do something about it. But also a cautionary lesson and a discreet warning for the bikes owner. Maybe that was the plan all along.

So why was the copper in the wrong in stopping him and taking a test ride?
Why do you keep avoiding my questions? You seem to have some sort of aversion to questions, does that do back to your copper days?

 

[Amoto65]

Leighping said "You have a lot of inflammatory opinions and assumed prejudices don't you. Do you have disagreement issues when the opinions of others conflict with your own? What others think doesn't bother me too much. I recommend giving it a try."
about ebiker99. Got that right at least.

 

[LeighPing]

So why was the copper in the wrong in stopping him and taking a test ride?
Why do you keep avoiding my questions?

ebiker99, I've answered all your repetitive questions. No doubt repeated because you're not getting the answers that you want. Why not give us your own views on what should have happened. If you're that bothered, why not just go and ask the guy on his fb page?

My opinion remains that the police shouldn't be test riding any vehicles based on how they look, and I do realise that many disagree with that viewpoint. No incident had occurred. The pull was purely based on.. who really knows what the intended outcome was? Perhaps it was achieved. I think so. Either way, it's a warning to all on how things might go for ebikers in the future.


Here's the bike again. It's looks like a kit bike with the battery being the biggest give away. Yet we all know that any less obvious shop bought ebike, even the more inconspicuous bikes with an integrated frame battery, can easily be fitted with a dongle and made to go much faster. The owner of the bike continues to commute another day, he's been very fortunate. I'm sure that he'll be watching his speed settings and keeping it down in future. Not that he did anything wrong in the first place.




Could cheating in plain view be a better option for those that insist on it? It seems that some get away with it and others don't.

 

[flecc]

I'm not sure that they had ebikes when I was on patrol.

You can't be that old, the first commercial ones were in 1922!

As for things being a joke Flecc. Yes, some of it is a joke to me. Finding humour in some of life's not so serious issues isn't such a bad thing Flecc. It's one of life's better coping strategies to be able to have a laugh. It's not all that serious at times. Just bikes. Some a bit faster than others. Just like every bike and their riders really.

That lecture is inappropriate, my widely appreciated humour litters these web pages over the entire 14 years of this forum. My reply in the first part above illustrates that. And I've even use it as a witness in courts, including one occasion at the Old Bailey when I had the judge and jury all laughing out loud, much to the irritation of the prosecuting lead barrister.

But explanation of the detail of the law is not a suitable occasion for its use.
.

 

[flecc]

Could cheating in plain view be a better option for those that insist on it? It seems that some get away with it and others don't.

This old chestnut again! She didn't get away with it, she was disqualified and her racing career ended. That's how we know about it. In truth the motor actually failed but its presence was detected on post race inspection.
.

 

[Andy-Mat]

I don't have a harsh attitude Flecc. I'm simply discussing what occurred and the assumptions of prejudice surrounding that incident.

It happened exactly as you have said. However, normalising those actions with a 'nothing to hide' attitude is tantamount to infringing on us all being stopped on our ebikes for a speed check. I don't see them checking racing bikes that do 40 plus mph. I'd rather lose my ebike for a while than lose my liberty.

What has racing bikes to do with this discussion?
As far as I remember, if the street has not been cleared/licensed especially for a push bike race, they are not allowed to exceed any set speed limit on that street either!
But e-bikes MUST be limited to a max 15.5 MPH assistance, and may only exceed this, where allowed, by muscle power alone.
But on a street with an especially low speed limit, under 15.5 MPH, THEY MUST ALSO OBSERVE AND FOLLOW THAT LOWER LIMIT JUST LIKE ANY OTHER ROAD USER/VEHICLE!
A good example being a car park, which is a place where the pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way, and are often (fully correctly) severely limited to a max speed for all vehicles!
At the end of the day, it is wise to follow the rules of the road at all times, but there are still plenty of people that do not, particularly those affected by drugs, alcohol or both! Which forms a large part of the work made by Police forces all around the globe....
Police stop motorists all the time for a vehicle check, they are allowed to and are actually required to carry out such checks.
A push/E-bike comes under the same rules and arguing with the plods will not improve matters, they are only human! You be rude to them and they will check EVERYTHING just to get back at you. Its called human nature!
Over the years I would say that I have been pulled up and checked many times in cars, motorbikes and even on a pushbike, and as a 6ft 1in 13 year old, on my bike to go fishing in 1959, I was stopped by a police car and accused of being a burglar, just because it was 3 am!!
I saw no reason to start complaining, as they were just doing a good job! We all laughed together after a short explanation!

 

[flecc]

My viewpoint won't change on shoddy policing practices.

I think you'd be thoroughly disapproving of the police stops I suffered many times in my teens and early twenties in the 1950s and '60s.

There were very few cars about in those days and the few that existed on the roads were invariably driven by mature men. Trouble was I owned a motorbike from 16 years on and a car from 18 years old on, and to make matters worse, I looked much younger than my age.

So I got stopped for a check with monotonous regularity, both by the many police car patrols that existed back them and often also by foot patrols. Two occasions especially stand out in my mind. The first was when I was in the nearside lane at red traffic lights in Streatham High Road, South London.

Two foot officers pounced, ordered me out of the car to check for documents which I always carried due to the frequent stops. But that still didn't satisfy them so they searched the car, ordering me to open the boot etc. Meanwhile traffic had built up behind in that lane through some traffic lights changes, but eventually they grudgingly let me go. This was before the illegal drugs era, so no excuse on those grounds.

But that wasn't the worst case of no excuse or a lame excuse for a stop. That came in 1963 when I owned an early Vauxhall Victor, American style like this one with a front bench seat, fashionable at the time.

I'd just picked up two friends and all three of us were on the front bench seat, driving along Streatham Common North, when a police car lit up with siren for a stop.

The reason given? Seeing one young man between two others on the front bench seat, they thought two of us might be abducting him!
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