Typical a-hole trying to get out of ticket I deserve

I agree with "feathered".

What he said

Im from California. .and a former police officer, with many years in traffic enforcement. I may take your wrath, no matter. As I see it, he cut you a break. It is dangerous and disruptive to other motorists. You may be the best wheelie rider on earth, or the worst, immaterial. I I do see an attitude in your replies to some who were either trying to help you, or egging this on a bit. There have been numerous posts spent rationalizing or justifying your actions.(I.e., I see other people doing such and such and they didnt get a ticket). This mentality is juvenile. Fact is, you were wrong. Same as a cager doing a smoking burnout on the street at 15mph. Its just illegal. (Exhibition of speed). Take your lumps like a man. NOW, to offer help. Go to court, act like a decent respectable grown up. Admit your fault and THEN state your case as far as reducing the fine. You may be found guilty and fined as low as one dollar. That part is up to the judge. The police dont set the fines. The part about lying to the judge....wow. Yes, people do it alllll the time...there are no guilty people in prison, right? But keep in mind, the officer may have the incident on video. Im sure the judge would be happy to make you a guest of the state of California for perjury under oath. Risky, and again wrong.

You're right, but I don't see a 15mph burnout as a danger either if the driver knows what he's doing. I guess if the voters and you officers see it as dangerous fine, we can all live in a bubble and hope nobody ever hurts anyone else and never have any fun on the roads. I think I'll go wrap myself in bubble wrap right now. When I was a kid I went ape shit every time I saw guys doing wheelies, and it sparked my whole interest in riding, but it's illegal so fuck all the kids that give me the "do a wheelie" sign every day. Who knows maybe I sparked the interest of the next James Stewart or maybe I didn't because I was scared a cop would see me that day.

is it dangerous? probably not. a distraction to other motorists? absolutely...but as you said, it's ok "if the driver knows what he is doing." How is the police officer supposed to know the drivers skill level? That thinking is ludicrous. Should the police officer have him do a series of wheelies in front of him (set out a cone course right then and there),to gauge his skill level (of course the judging will differ from officer to officer) and then fine or release him? The laws are made for the masses. Some are good laws, some silly. An officer is sworn to uphold and enforce them all, not pick and choose which ones he/she "likes". Its a difficult and ethically challenging dilemma at times. As far as your bubble wrap idea, remember, there is a warning that "this bag is not a toy." Its your govt, trying to protect you and others from tire smoking, wheelie riding, bubble wrapped hooligans. I don't think youre a douche, and youre probably a very good rider. It only matters what the judge thinks. But for your immediate need of the ticket, vs, fighting to get laws amended, your best bet is to be honest to the judge, discuss your skill level perhaps, and ask for a negation or drastic reduction in the fine. Offer to pay court costs only (instead of the ticket + court costs). Trust me, the majority of their day, people are lying to them, its refreshing to hear the truth.You'll have a tenfold increase in chances he/she will try and help you.

Thanks for the laugh at the end , Law enforcement should be much more personal, at least when it comes to fines, they should depend on the persons income. Do you not agree that that would be better ?

Wait wait wait....... Only address the issue once there was an actual incident? Is that really what you guys are saying right now? :huh


Imagine the repercussion of some guy driving shit-faced down the road and a LEO saying "Eh, he looks like he knows what he's doing". I just don't see how allowing the reckless behavior wouldn't lead to deaths.

As a rider do you really believe a 15mph wheelie is going to kill alot of people? Squids on sportbikes going 100 mph in the fast lane doing wheelies kill people. Not people on dirtbikes doing slow balance point wheelies. It's like Marijuana vs Heroin It may sound stupid and hard to enforce but wheelies while gaining speed should be illegal and wheelies while at a constant speed should be overlooked.

@ anonawesome...that's NOT what I said at all!!!! that is insanity. The only person that can take the actual human being into consideration regarding the "fine/sentencing" is the judge, and only if you go to court. The only choices the officer has is to cite, not to cite, or give a written warning. When you read the Calif. penal code (and It's been 10 years since I have, I'm an R.N. now---so you can like me again ) the punishments say " from a minimum of this, to a maximum of that" so yes, take your ticket, say a $500 fine just for an example. You can either mail in the total amount, OR see the judge, talk to them, explain yourself, and they can say, not guilty (no fine/fees) or guilty and waive the fees, or set the fine from $1 all the way to the maximum. Judges have tremendous (and yes, sometimes they do abuse it) authority. You seem like a likeable guy, just present yourself like that, be honest, and I'd bet you'll walk out of there with some $$ left over to buy that mirror hehe.

Aside - this is the most entertaining thread on ADV in a while, I hope it continues.

I never meant that the officer and the one being ticketed should discuss this, you should have to take tax and financial information to a court after receiving the ticket. I do realize this is pretty much exactly what does happen but even then the judges say(I've heard it)" We'll I can make your fine $1 but you still have $300 in court fees" which still may be a huge financial burden on a young guy like me.

Honestly man, you get what you deserve at this point. Numerous expensive prior infractions and you still pop wheelies? :huh

I'm not surprised that with this attitude you are unable to get a job, sorry...

The man will never stop me from doing what I love, riding sucks if you can't pop the front up every so often, I'll never know how the harley/KLR guys do it. Also take that misspelled shit out of your sig .

@ feathered, youre so right...I'm quite enjoying it myself. As far as the fine, remember, its a traffic judge (still a judge, but probably not the most desired or prestigious judge job there is I wouldn't think) in one of the most populated cities in America. They've heard it all. consequently, they can see through bullshit with x-ray, cosmic, superfly, Super/Bat/Aquaman precision. Having spent mind numbing and some comical hours sitting there years ago, I can say that when someone is honest, respectful (without kissing ass) and is real, that's who gets the help. The court costs are set by the state, and the judge can only get around those if the charge is dismissed altogether. They can't raise or lower them. They do set up payment plans though...or they used to. The man shouldn't stop you from doing what you love. Just be discreet about it!!! Don't do it in San Fernando Valley on ventura blvd (near my hometown of Woodland Hills) surrounded by 3 million people. You can probably pop one hell of a wheelie, I can't. I like to tear up backroads more than I should. Both are wrong, and if caught, we both take our lumps. But I find some back-back roads, and manage to have fun. Just find somewhere less populated and let er fly.

So you can point a gun in someone's face, as long as you don't shoot...




Is it what you call your "no harm, no foul" philosophy?


Come on...

That's the truth but anywhere decent is far away from me(Long Beach). This takes us to the street racers argument, if they gave me somewhere to play with my toy that was reasonably accessible from my house I would gladly go there.

Wow. I'll never change your mind. But your view is totally Reactionary. Its akin to firefighters at the station waiting for a call, then they go handle it. Police work is Proactionary. That's why the patrol car was invented. To be seen, to prevent crimes from occurring, hoping the mere presence of the black and white would deter offenses from happening. In the case of traffic enforcement, to help people abide by the rules of the road, thusly making it safer for you, me, our families, and the entire ADV world to ride in a safer environment. As far as having a cop ticket himself? come on. Yes, some drive like idiots, I've seen it, probably have done it, and still see it. It happens. A lot goes on that they have to rush to where they aren't allowed to use their overhead lightbars/sirens. A lot. And it can be serious . Re: judges? yes. Corrupt judges and politician fines or sentences should be doubled because we entrust them. No favors for them AT ALL.

Not a doubt in my mind.......

I don't know what you just said but the marijuana is bad.

Jk, I have a terrible sense of humor.

As far as wheelies being legal if done safely and while not increasing speed, that's a fine f-ing line. Stunts, whether done by a kid who just got his license a week ago, or by Taddy Blazusiak are reckless behavior. I'm by no means saying it will lead to deaths (but I appreciate you immediately taking it to the extreme scenario), but it is just too easy for it to cause injury to bystanders, yourself (although no one cares about you), or even......mailboxes. :eek1

All I'm saying is that getting out of a fine by proving to the judge that you "knew what you were doing" doesn't really make any sense, and by making a HUGE gray area for motorcycle stunts is just kind of dumb.

That's willfully menacing/threatening somebody. There's a difference. Don't be a douche.

I'm just responding to people's opinions with my own, who's to say who's right really. I wouldn't try to actually tell a judge this bullshit FYI. It already is a huge grey area, they don't have any actual written law about wheelies( in CA), so by doing that I'd actually make it a little bit of a smaller grey area. Also I never thought about the mailboxes, I may stop for them.