First ticket on the 'busa

[Evil_keeps_me_young]

Get a lawyer and pay up he'll make it where it's not on your record. also ask your lawyer what the conviction rate is in you county...i bet he says it's about 99% i went to court once where the prosecutor was the retired judge of that court room, just to help out, and the judge used to be the prosecutor. how can anyone be presumed Innocent? if you get a ticket or arrested your guilty.

 

[K Wolf]

I'd love to see the video as well. I was well aware of my surroundings. I'd even say I was hyperaware of my lane and the one next to mine. I'll admit I didn't know the patrol car was pacing/video taping me. It was two lanes and a grass median away from me, and I didn't think I was doing anything illegal, so it wasn't a concern for me. The bike was very stable. My lane position was consistent. I see the Throttlemeister as no different than cruise control in a car. At freeway speeds, I can make gentle steering corrections through the pegs. My hands were less than a tenth of a second away from being able to make any major changes to the bike's course/speed. As long as I'm paying attention to the road and traffic around me, what's the harm? Careless?-No. Less safe?-Yes. I wonder how well the officer was paying attention to the traffic in front of his car while he was video taping me.

I'll probably go beg for my record to stay clean.

Karl

 

[mrninja9]

man i got a ticket like that before i stood up to adjust my jeans and cop gave me a reckless driving ticket amongst othere my freind was circling around the block swearing up a storm the assistand states attorney here had a visit from me the next morning and ripped them all up so you could be lucky cause you are in control of the bike your telling me that if your slowing down you have to keep your hands on your bars no that is not right

 

[BigBSBusa]

Tough one, but it does seem like the cop was being a little anal.

 

[Charlesbusa]

how can anyone be presumed Innocent? if you get a ticket or arrested your guilty.

I completely agree with you when it comes to average Joe citizen.

DAs prosecute for fear of liability, not if there is enough evidence to make them believe you are a criminal.

Police follow procedures many times instead of using judgement. Again, the department fears liability.

You hire a lawyer. They don't try to win your case by outright and completely. They look for the loop holes that only takes a few working hours to win your case. They do as little as possible.

 

[Strife]

See if something like your tire blew out or debris came flying at you you would not be in control cause your hands weren't on the grips. Failure to maintain does invole the "What If's" per say. go to court plead no contest and hope for best.

 

[heykenny]

you should get two tickets... 1 for careless riding and 1 for being dumb enough to do it knowing a cop was watching ...HHHaaaaa

 

[In10SS]

I don't suppose that removing both hands from the bars is the safest thing to do, but it would seem that to be convicted of careless driving you would have to exhibit a loss of control. If he has video of you driving at a consistant legal speed with no swerving, lane changes, or unpredictable behavior, it would only show that you were still in control of the vehicle, since your movement would have been exactly the same with both hands on the bars. You may have been less prepared to deal with something unexpected, but at least you were paying full attention to your surroundings (except for the cop). Good luck, I vote for the lawyer. He may be able to get it reduced or waived by attending traffice school ect. As long as they get their money I don't think they care about much else.

 

[IG.]

K Wolf, I'd say your best bet is to get a lawyer. You've got no chance in the court system.

I have to say your entire attitude is a bit naive. When dealing with cops it's best to understand their mentality. Just think of them as robots who follow the rules, and want everyone else to follow the rules of the road. So if you see one, simply do what you are supposed to do according to the rules and don't do what you are not supposed to do. It's as simle as that.

This also includes the situation when you are stopped. Here is my paperwork, Sir. Yes, Sir. No, Sir. If anything else, complete compliance will be more appreciated by a cop because this is the actions a cop understands and comprehends as following the rules. The worst you can do after being stopped is asking why you were stopped and starting to explain how you did nothing wrong. In the eyes of a cop it's the stupidest question. Why? Because if he stopped you, he had a reason to stop you. Don't dispute that. If a cop decides to let you know why he stopped you, he will.

Most cops wouldn't tolerate doing anything remotely out of the rules in front of them. They perceive it as disrespecting them and their authority. Your explanations don't matter.

Hope everything works out for you. Find a good attorney. You've got a serious charge which will go on your record. Insurance will skyrocket.

 

[Projekt]

It is not about your intentions. It is about the perception. You had a cop following you near the highway and chose to do something that would bring attention to you regardless of intention. Anytime a cop is around, being on your best behavior is the best policy. That means to appear 100% in control.
Having your hands off the bar would cause just enough delay to compromise your reactions to any emergent road hazards.
The cop was a prick..
Get a lawyer and try to keep it off your record.

 

[Luvanicebum]

The irrefutable evidence is that, not having your hands on the bars DOES in fact limit your reaction time by at least half.
Don't know if there's a law, but I imagine at that point it's discretion on the part of the officer.


I don't know. Maybe it's not allowed even though it's comfy and only moderately less safe, say, like driving one handed talking on a cell phone while eating a burger.


Do a little research to see if it's worth going to court for. You may think it's an entire day of lost wages and BS, but if you
find proof in black and white, it's cheaper defending/protecting your driving record and insurance rates in the long run.

 

[SAMBUSA]

Where's our Oklahoma LEO Busa pilot? Pretty sure that riders have to maintain at least one hand on the handle bars at all times. I'm no LEO but I play one on T.V.