My first encounter with CHL

[WildBill]

Wheelies and lane splitting are two things that motorcyclists do that are not explicitly forbidden under Texas law but sometimes get people tickets or arrested anyway.

I have been told thta lane splitting was against the law in Texas. In California it is not, and it is not unusual for motorcycles to go between traffic. What was very surprising to me was during the Rita evacuation the traffic on I45 was stop and go for miles and miles. [I was stuck for 13 hrs and traveled 32 miles and burned half a tank of gas.] I never understood why the motorcycle riders didn't ride between the cars rather than standing still idling and buring gas.. I would think that even if an LEO could catch them they wouldn't give them a ticket for doing it during this situation.

Wow! I would go crazy with 3 MPH for 13 hrs!

I had the radio to listen to.
It was 13 hours of storm predictions and telling us they were going to open the southbound lanes of 45 to allow people to evacuate.
I finally made a U-turn in Katy and made it home in 45 minutes.

[tomtexan]

Since the subject of sports bikes being a problem in the DFW area came up in this post, I thought I would post this link. Some very interesting stuff here. Looking forward to everyone's reaction especially from the LEO's on this forum. Be sure and watch the video and not just read the story alone.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Dallas-S ... 06175.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[C-dub]

LOL.. back in the mid 80's we had a city cop that was working night shift.. On a quiet early Saturday morning, one of our local kids pulled his bike up in a wheelie.. 20 - 30 mph.. through 2 stop lights, for about a mile..

City cop on radio to DPS Trooper.. "What would you give Kenny for riding a wheelie down the drag?"

Trooper.. "The whole drag?"

City cop... "yep, from start to finish"..

...pause...

Trooper... "I'd give him a hand... that's pretty good riding"...

[RSJ]

Since the subject of sports bikes being a problem in the DFW area came up in this post, I thought I would post this link. Some very interesting stuff here. Looking forward to everyone's reaction especially from the LEO's on this forum. Be sure and watch the video and not just read the story alone.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Dallas-S ... 06175.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The original group's behavior is unsafe and wrong, but so is the officer's action towards Moore.

[sugar land dave]

IF you don't want none, don't start none is what comes to mind. Also birds of a feather flock together. If you sleep with the dogs, you're going to get fleas.

Any other platitudes you'd like me to cite as to why my conservative self does not mind law enforcement cracking down on rogue motorcyclists?

[nyj]

Wheelies and lane splitting are two things that motorcyclists do that are not explicitly forbidden under Texas law but sometimes get people tickets or arrested anyway.

I have been told thta lane splitting was against the law in Texas. In California it is not, and it is not unusual for motorcycles to go between traffic. What was very surprising to me was during the Rita evacuation the traffic on I45 was stop and go for miles and miles. [I was stuck for 13 hrs and traveled 32 miles and burned half a tank of gas.] I never understood why the motorcycle riders didn't ride between the cars rather than standing still idling and buring gas.. I would think that even if an LEO could catch them they wouldn't give them a ticket for doing it during this situation.

I've considered doing it several times, especially when in the summer heat and in traffic. It's not the cops that worry me, it's the drivers that I'm scared of doing something stupid like opening their door because they're mad that I'm skipping ahead.

[talltex]

IF you don't want none, don't start none is what comes to mind. Also birds of a feather flock together. If you sleep with the dogs, you're going to get fleas.

Any other platitudes you'd like me to cite as to why my conservative self does not mind law enforcement cracking down on rogue motorcyclists?

Without question the behavior of the sportbiker's was both foolish and dangerous, and if the police can identify and stop any one of them committing an act prohibited by statute, more power to them...BUT...in this case, I don't think there's any question that the officer overstepped his authority. He stopped this guy 15 minutes later, on his suspicion (probably accurate) that he had been traveling along with the group...that's all...he had no evidence to charge this individual with any violation related to the actions of that group. Right up front, he TOLD the guy he stopped him and was arresting him because he wanted to confiscate his helmet camera to use as evidence against the others. It was only AFTER the rider protested and told him he had no right to take his personal property, that he came up with the "obstructed license plate" violation to cover his butt because he realized he had no grounds to stop and arrest him otherwise. Fleas or not...the right against illegal search and seizure cannot be taken lightly.

[Jim Beaux]

It is obvious that these punks were organized; that they had either obscured or removed their license plates, and that some in the group were videoing their antics.

Having both a video cam & an obscured license plate, it's reasonable suspect that the rider pulled over fit the profile of the group. Also, the original statement by the arresting office does not negate the fact that the clown's license plate was obscured from view.

Turn it over to the DA; Bookem Dano

[WildBill]

Wheelies and lane splitting are two things that motorcyclists do that are not explicitly forbidden under Texas law but sometimes get people tickets or arrested anyway.

I have been told thta lane splitting was against the law in Texas. In California it is not, and it is not unusual for motorcycles to go between traffic. What was very surprising to me was during the Rita evacuation the traffic on I45 was stop and go for miles and miles. [I was stuck for 13 hrs and traveled 32 miles and burned half a tank of gas.] I never understood why the motorcycle riders didn't ride between the cars rather than standing still idling and buring gas.. I would think that even if an LEO could catch them they wouldn't give them a ticket for doing it during this situation.

I've considered doing it several times, especially when in the summer heat and in traffic. It's not the cops that worry me, it's the drivers that I'm scared of doing something stupid like opening their door because they're mad that I'm skipping ahead.

I have heard stories of drivers opening their doors to hit bikers, but don't know any first hand accounts. It's hard to imagine someone being so mean and cruel that they would purposely injure or kill a motorcyclist, but stranger things have happened.

[gemini]

Wheelies at 70+mph, on crowded highways are dangerous, crazy and stooopid.
They are also cool, and make me wish I had the guts and skills necessary to do one.
I'm trying to work out the above in my mind....

That said; I see a lot of sportbike riders weaving in and out of heavy traffic, cutting
in front of cars, riding folks bumpers, a form of lane sharing etc. This type of
rider only makes other drivers mad. The last thing a motorcyclist needs is a mad
cage driver. Most cars/truck drivers do not know the difference between
a sportbike and a bagger or gezzer-glide. They place all bikes into the same category.
In turn, the cager becomes more aggressive toward ALL bikers.

To those that ride; you already know what scares you. To those that don't ride;
Please, please DO NOT tail gate a motorcycle, at any speed.
Please, please DO NOT text while driving. Use hands free to talk.
Please, please look twice for oncoming traffic before turning left.
Please allow extra room between your car/truck and a motorcycle when stopped at a red light.
SHARE THE ROAD WITH MOTORCYCLES.

[tomtexan]

I have heard stories of drivers opening their doors to hit bikers, but don't know any first hand accounts. It's hard to imagine someone being so mean and cruel that they would purposely injure or kill a motorcyclist, but stranger things have happened.

I can't believe someone would do it risking such severe damage to their door.

[anygunanywhere]

The level of my remorse at using a motorcycle and rider as a speed bump is indirectly proportional to the stupidity of their actions while in front of me should something go wrong with their poorly chosen risky behavior.

Mrs. Anygun and I had this very discussion as we watched a stunt idjit on I-45 southbound on our way to Galveston one afternoon.

Anygunanywhere

[gemini]

The level of my remorse at using a motorcycle and rider as a speed bump is indirectly proportional to the stupidity of their actions while in front of me should something go wrong with their poorly chosen risky behavior.

Mrs. Anygun and I had this very discussion as we watched a stunt idjit on I-45 southbound on our way to Galveston one afternoon.

Anygunanywhere

...and if something should go wrong with your inept driving skills? Your level of remorse would be what?
None? Because you just ran over a man who will never go home to his kids, his wife, his family again.
Rider's fault or not. I don't see the humor in your post, or was it just bravado from someone who's never
seen a motorcycle fatality? Have a nice day.

[C-dub]

I have heard stories of drivers opening their doors to hit bikers, but don't know any first hand accounts. It's hard to imagine someone being so mean and cruel that they would purposely injure or kill a motorcyclist, but stranger things have happened.

I can't believe someone would do it risking such severe damage to their door.

It's a form of road rage and the person that would do this doesn't think about the consequences. They just act out of rage. I am not specifically aware of any incident of this nature. The only thing that I can say is that back in the 80's, in SoCal, I did have, on two separate incidents without any previous contact, people try to hit me or run me over on the highway. If my head were not mounted on a swivel and I did not have a bike that could outrun almost anything street legal I would have been a statistic.