Anyone have some horror stories on being pulled over?

everytime i've been pulled over, it's "yes sir, no sir, sorry sir, thank you sir..."

my step dad told me a long time ago, "if you're gonna tell a cop to go **** himself, wait till he's already left."

I have none in almost 30 years of 2-wheelin it, but I have one during a cager moment almost 3 years ago.

I was on my way back from a local Fry's, to exchange a gift, and was on my way to work with my new goodies when I hit a typical Cali pothole and the key fell out of my car's ignition. Happened sometimes in my old car, and I thought nothing of it. I noticed a tan Chevy Trailblazer following me for the next 3 miles, and it indeed followed me as I turned onto the street at my work. As I went to apply the brake and turn into a parking space, this nondescript tan Trailblazer lit up like a Christmas tree from some nightmare and yells "STOP NOW!1" over the loudspeaker.

Muttering various 3- and 4-letter words under my breath, I comply, throw it in Park and do so, spinning the empty ignition off. I look in my rear view mirror and see a detective who looks almost exactly like "Mac" Womack from the movie Super Troopers get out, take cover behind his door, and level a 1911 at my reflection. I switch to muttering 3-letter acronyms like OMG and WTF and he switches to manually yelling at me.

"GTFO NAOO, HANZZUP, ONYERAZZ, SCOOTIN BACK, TOMEEE" he no-kidding yells at me, and I'm just dumbfounded at his audacity. I comply, scooting backwards on my duff, with a few people from my work coming out to watch as well as some workers from neighboring businesses. 5 more cop cars come screeching up, and I turn to look and mine eyes spot 3 different cities of popo shields. I start laughing because I can't help but to, knowing that I am near the border of 3 cities.

"Whayagot.", not a question obviously, because they already are rooting around in my car, and find nothing but some odd pieces of trash, some dust, and a bag of new stuff from Fry's Electronics. I got to watch the guy get laughed at, but it turned out I had some old bench warrant from 8 years previously and ended up going to jail for 30 days, getting sicker than I had been in 8 years, ironically. And the cops took my stuff All because a cop saw that I had no key in my ignition at some stoplight.

I seem to be the only guy in the club who gets stoped !
The one that jumps out of memory was two years ago in the town just north of mine. My pal buttons and i were meeting up to ride to his brothers house .well i didn't ask if he'd had a few beers that day (it's not my job to watch him?) and he seemed ok to ride . Several miles went by as normal ,but when we rounded a corner getting into town, i was amazed to see a todler in the street. Yep not even two or three years old in diapers wandering in the street.
And it's not like he was alone there were five or six "adults" in front yard. Drinking and smoking ( you know what) .
As i turned i gave the kid a very wide berth and tryed to wave to buttons to get over, well he didn't grasp the problem and buzzed the kid pretty close .
I had pulled over and looking over my shoulder saw the people in the yard flipping us off, flashing gang signs and screaming at us. Nobody graped the kid !?however.
We got to neato's house and hung out for a few minuets geting ready to ride ,when we went out onto the street to warm up the bikes ,neato had an issue so buttons and i waited on cross street for him to warm up . A grey car with two young black kids in it almost hit us sitting by curb , well buttons had some beer courage so he takes off after the car . Before i can follow anouther car driven by two older black ladies tee bones the intersection from the east almost hitting me , jumps the curb and almost takes out stop sign.
There screaming there heads off , and throwing crap from car at me as i regained my feet . The lady drivin is shouting into her cell that "we got the guy and come get him". I had not made the conection to the baby yet so i got the **** away from them and rode north . Well they were right on my ass, literaly bumping my back wheel with car every time i stoped at sign. This went on for about half a mile .well i got ?$&@/ ed and ditched them in an alley.
buttons and neato had seen some of this and took off (they ran like gulity teenagers) so when i got back too house they were nowere to be seen.
I waited a few min. Then rode south out of town, sure enough just as i got into county a cop from town was behind me with the rollers on . So i stop on little dead end street and dismount bike , this jr. Cop jumps out gun drawn tells me to get on knees and hand on head , so of course "yes sir" and i do what he wants. We i got searched ,id run , and told bikes ilegal , no driver lic. , hit and run and iluding an officer. I was dumbfounded , had it been years ago i might be writing from joliet instead of my living room . It took about twenty min to explain to cop my side of story . Then cuffs came off , i show cop new IL. Law, bike legal , then radio calls start to hq. They can't figure out how to charge me ? He wants to write me tickets for all kinds of stuff. One by one i talk him out of every ticket ."laws right here " i told him a few times, well it's been close to an hour now and i'm starting to get irked.
He decides to write me some warning tickets,ok, "arent you a city cop" i ask several more calls to hq " your outside your jurisdiction and didn't witness any of aleged actions" cop is stymied . Then puts in call to county boys, they are busy and won't come out ,they tell him they share jurisdiction so go ahead with tickets. I tell cop that only applys during a pursuit so he's making mistake that will cost city a lawsuit. Stymied even worse. I ask who called it in , were is person watching kid ? What about hiting me with car ?
The city pd went to house ,there wasen't a single person sober at house, they made a few arrests there and that whole thing took on a life of it's own.
I ask the cop why if the women was drunk why she wasen't geeting dui and tickets for hitting me , no answer , then back to warning tickets?
Finaly i told cop to get me county and something to charge me with or cut me lose. He ask if i was refusing warning ticket,yep i am , not a motor vec. Not signing vec. Ticket. Then outa the blue "go home ,don't ride bike in town not legal"??? Oh well i took off. What a saga right ? Not done yet , next dayi get a call from pd stateing that refusal of warning ticket is crime ,that cop should have aressted me and impounded bike ( thats ilegal to ride in IL),then sergent explains that if i don't surrender myself to them they are going to issue bench warrent for me . Wow i was pissed and scared ,went strate to my lawyer, he said yep you better go surender yourself and see what happens?
Next day i take my laywer and my back up laywer and mom (also laywer) to pd with me , they didn't expect that move, there falling all over themselfs to explain and no charges just big misunderstanding.
I loved slaping down on sar. Desk a copy of instructions to police re: new law and telling them that i was thinking of sueing the city . That got the attention of there capt. And it was all handshakes and out the door.
So i went home thinking this bizare event was over , oh no , two days later a cop i know from school is in my driveway. "jim you gota warrent out for you ,get in " oh lord now what ? Got a free ride to my local pd ,had a great time laughing about other cops bungling , joe had a good time cuffing and stuffing me in car and all the folks living on my circle got to watch.
They lett me roll after one call up north ,then joe bought me some lunch and droped me back home ( they also didn't know new law was in effect)
So i walked away ego brusied but no real harm , there is still some bad blood between there gang and our club however. I don't ride past there anymore but neato and buttons do all the time . Neato never has a prob, buttons said he thought they threw a bottle at him one night but he just high tailed it outa there.
I've been pulled over a few other times and talked my way out of it every time. And it's not like the local cops are the bad guys , they found buttons bike after it was stolen and brought home maddog johnies bike after his crash. So there's no hard feelings there .
So that horrible enough for ya.

No real horror story..
Just my last issue....

Was riding my ELECTRIC Bike and the master link on the chain broke...
Got pulled over and one of the OTHER cops that showed up, tried to tell me I was riding a motor vehicle.
FL law states that a bicycle with an electric motor and operable pedals is just a bicycle.
But without the chain it's a gray area, I guess

Either way, I fixed the chain and haven't been stopped yet.

i love it when my neighbors get to see me go jail ,i can walk over to them a week later and say that @#& @&^% dog of yours keeps @#*&^%& in my yard you @$#@@#$%^ , and they say , oh yes i am very sorry mr hamilton , we will get rid of him , we will take him to my brothers tonight ....

LOL , i know i am awful .....


the last time i got pulled over , the cop just wanted a better look at at the vintage bike i was riding , tried to give him my license and papers , he said your fine , i haven't seen one of these in years ...LOL , i could of been Hannibal lecter..

pulled over twice on PRIVATE PROPERTY for riding unregistered mopeds with no license.

"you're not doing anything wrong but I need your name and address, phone number etc."

the ****?

I've been pulled over for "operating my motorized bicycle illegally on the street". When I explained that I wasn't, he then noted the unburnt fuel leaking from the exhaust. Then, all of a sudden, he smelled alcohol on my breath (despite my not drinking for the last 4 years).

Took 15-20 minutes, but there was nothing he could do and I went on my way.


If anyone knows Garden City, Idaho, I'll tell you about when I got pulled over on Veterans Parkway, 50 yards from leaving the city line.

Pulled over and was told that I can't operate the bike on the street. I told him that the code doesn't require registration and insurance, but he didn't believe me. After half an hour of debating back and forth, he said to me - "We can argue back and forth, but with neither of us having a copy of the code, we can't prove anything." I bit my tongue and since, I avoid GC like the plague.

Not a huge horror story and not technically got pulled over, but this happened last Monday.

On my way back from filling up my gas tank I noticed a truck across the street that didn't belong there. As soon as I open the gate to the back yard to park my bike he took off. Thinking nothing of it I got settled in the house until the police showed up a few hours later.

Was told that the PD had some complaints about a motorized bike riding on the sidewalk and asked if I was responsible. Told the officer it was probable me. Next thing he says is I can't ride on the sidewalk and my bike is not street legal.

I look at him kinda dumbfounded for a sec and said "that's funny, it falls under the moped definition and mopeds are street legal." At this point he hadn't even seen my bike. He asks to see it, to which I say no problem.

While circling the house he asks me if I have registration and a license. I inform him that mopeds do not require titled, registered, insured, drivers license or a motorcycle endorsement. He made no comment and I pulled my bike from the shed.

Told him I had talked to multiple Twin Falls sheriff's and the Twin Falls city attorney and they all agreed I was legal. gave him the short moped description, under 50cc under 30 mph. I was waiting for either a ticket or get my bike impounded at this point, it just didn't feel right

The officer asked me what kind of mileage I got, what the top speed was again, if I had built it or bought it that way. Made a comment about the bike looking nice, we shook hands and he left.

I'll admit I was scared for awhile there, but he never asked for proof of the statutes I quoted. Must have took me at my word. Love it when the cops are this nice, other than the way he started the conversation of course.

Generally, once you let an officer know that you have researched the law and that you are educated - they tend to back off, even if only a bit.

bairdco said:

everytime i've been pulled over, it's "yes sir, no sir, sorry sir, thank you sir..."

my step dad told me a long time ago, "if you're gonna tell a cop to go **** himself, wait till he's already left."

Click to expand...

Very sound advice Baird.

DuctTapedGoat said:

Generally, once you let an officer know that you have researched the law and that you are educated - they tend to back off, even if only a bit.

Click to expand...

OR they think you're a smart ass and bust your chops even harder

Well, that's why you have to actually be educated on the local laws! I still need to make a cheat sheet of the Idaho codes and keep them in my wallet.

So I change my previous post, I have now been pulled over by the police riding a bike.

He had mistaken thought I made a left hand turn without stopping. I told him I had been traveling down the road for half a mile before he saw me so he let it slide.

I had actually been traveling on the left hand side of the road against traffic (I know, not supposed to do that, but NO bike lane or room for me to ride off the shoulder). He told me that when he rides a bike he always rides on the left side so he "can see who is about to hit him", but said because I have a motor on it he thought I could only ride on the right hand side. Go figure that one out.

He asked for id which I gave him. As some of you know I have a suspended license, due to being unemployed and not making child support payments. After he came back he told me he wasn't sure if I could ride a bike with a suspended license. WTF?!?

I told him I had been told by the local city attorney that no license was needed for a moped. He told me he wasn't sure so he wasn't gonna ticket me but wanted me to look into it.

I look at it this way. If I can be ticketed for riding a moped that does not require a drivers license, then am I also gonna be ticketed for riding a bicycle with a suspended license? Makes no sense but I have an email into the city attorney right now.

I got my first MB about a month ago, and I had to walk to the mans house to get it. He lived no more than two miles from me, so it wasn't that bad. Just a quick ride home I thought. Once I got it I was smiling ear to ear just cruising, doing maybe 30 in a 45, and I see a cop in the median. Well from what I had heard, you don't need a license to drive these so I was thinking "Hah, it's fine, I'm okay"

Before I know it, he's behind me, lights on, on the intercom telling me to pull over. I had no idea how to operate this dang bike and the gas tank was loose and got twisted to the side somehow, so I'm leaking fuel everywhere.

Now apparently this cop had tried to tell me to pull over before, but didn't hit the right button and ended up yelling it into the radio, so once I pull into the bank parking lot, I have two more cops AND an undercover cop, totaling 4 cops standing around me asking me questions.

I only had a learner's permit at the time (Had an appt to get my driver's license the next week) and he said "You know you need a license for this? And I could write you up for no lights, no tail lights, no blinkers, no helmet, no plates, no registration, no insurance, blah blah blah" which turns out to be false (Except for the license part)

So he radios the stuff in, and writes me a $166 ticket for driving without a license. Fun fun -.-

The cops here have nothing better to do. I'm getting a speedometer soon to make sure I don't go 22 in a 20 and get pulled over again.

SANGESF said:

OR they think you're a smart ass and bust your chops even harder

Click to expand...

Exactly, its great to carry a copy of the law in your area about MB's but some cops will get very insulted if you tell them they're wrong.


I learned the hard way on a moped when I was 15 in California. Ah, I was very stupid and had a massive ego. The cop rode my ass till I turned 18. Searched my house, etc. It was none stop and it got to the point where I just moved to Arizona to avoid the cop all together. It turned out great and I pay 400 dollars for my rent instead of a 1800 dollars. Ha.


Lesson learned, if I ever get pulled over on my MB. I'll just eat my pride and fight it in court.

Sykottikk said:

I got my first MB about a month ago, and I had to walk to the mans house to get it. He lived no more than two miles from me, so it wasn't that bad. Just a quick ride home I thought. Once I got it I was smiling ear to ear just cruising, doing maybe 30 in a 45, and I see a cop in the median. Well from what I had heard, you don't need a license to drive these so I was thinking "Hah, it's fine, I'm okay"

Before I know it, he's behind me, lights on, on the intercom telling me to pull over. I had no idea how to operate this dang bike and the gas tank was loose and got twisted to the side somehow, so I'm leaking fuel everywhere.

Now apparently this cop had tried to tell me to pull over before, but didn't hit the right button and ended up yelling it into the radio, so once I pull into the bank parking lot, I have two more cops AND an undercover cop, totaling 4 cops standing around me asking me questions.

I only had a learner's permit at the time (Had an appt to get my driver's license the next week) and he said "You know you need a license for this? And I could write you up for no lights, no tail lights, no blinkers, no helmet, no plates, no registration, no insurance, blah blah blah" which turns out to be false (Except for the license part)

So he radios the stuff in, and writes me a $166 ticket for driving without a license. Fun fun -.-

The cops here have nothing better to do. I'm getting a speedometer soon to make sure I don't go 22 in a 20 and get pulled over again.

Click to expand...

I just got the greatest mental image of your tank leaking gas everywhere as you talk to the police. hahaha sucks about the ticket.

2 saturdays ago i was ridin' up 77 waitin' on a friend to txt me direction to his house and i rode into the adjoining county without realizing it. Well less than 1000ft into washington county fl, i all of a sudden hear sirens right behind me. I look back real quick and think, crap. I had the TL-10 statute with me. Well as soon as i stop he says drivers license. I pull out my id. He takes it back to his motorcycle and gets all the info about me. I heard the operator tell him "his id expired 10-28-2010. He walks up to me and asks have i ever had a drivers license before. I say no. He make a wierd shake head manuveur. Then he says, u know u can ride this without a dl. I try to defend my self and read to him the TL-10 form saying it remains a blcycle even after it is installed. I dont even finish readin' it and he interrupts me sayin' that aint the right statute. I say yes it is cuz its not a moped. He downs me everytime so i just quit trying to win this(u can win an argument with a cop over fl laws). He goes to his bike and comes back and gives me a citation and says i have to call witin 10 days for a court date. He asks, do u understand, i say yes. I didn't tell him im visually impaired and cant pass the test to get a dl, cuz he'd probably detain me there till someone comes and picked me up(which i would have said no and called home to get some backup).But anyhow, i turned around and pedalled all the way home 26+ miles up and down mile long hills, the whole ride pedalling in the 2 highest gears on my mountain bike. lol Got home sunburned and out ready to pass out from being in the heat without anything to drink. I ran out of my 2 gatorades when i started back home. Monday, im sick, tuesday, i was sick. Wednesday im finally better and go to work and call the number to get a court date. They don't have it yet. I called thursday, same thing. Friday, im told i got to court September 8th. That was last week. This week, tuesday, i recieve in the mail my notice to appear in arraignment. I have to stand before a judge! That is stupid! Hopefully i'll be let off without having to pay anything. I can't get a dl. Im going to tell that to the judge once he gives me a chance to speak. If he still want to give me the ticket, i'll add that even though i've read these statutes for the past 8 months, i still don't understand them since i got a ticket.

Note the quotes below, Cuz the TL-10 says; The definition of bicycle under s. 316.003(2), F.S., includes
motorized bicycles. Bicycles are not registered or titled.
Engine kits for bicycles are not new and there are a variety of
kits available, however, they remain bicycles after the engine
kit is installed. "There are other requirements that must be met
to be classified as a motorcycle/scooter/moped such as frame
assembly and safety features."

That means its not a moped cuz it doesn't have safety features.....I hope the judge sees it my way. Another thing, the cop should have been farther behind me and not up my tailpipe. He was probably a ft behind me when put his sirens on. That scared the crap outta me and i nearly lost control. I could have lost control and fallen into the the lane of traffic and gotten ran over. I think he was following me for a few dozen feet IN THE BIKELANE with 2 lanes of traffic going 2 different directions, before he flipped his lights on. He was following me cuz he was trying to see past my panniers to see what was propelling my bike, thats how i figure it. That was dangerous.

Read my post on your thread.
EVERYONE understand..

That a gas bike in Florida is CURRENTLY ILLEGAL FOR PUBLIC ROADS..

You MIGHT get away with it for a while...
You MIGHT get away with it in YOUR town..

You WILL EVENTTUALLY get stopped, ticketed and be in a bunch of legal troubles.

If you ride a mountain bike, just drive next to the bike lane(not the sidewalk) in the grass, dirt, whatever it is, whenever possible. It may be a little uncomfortable, but they can't say nothin'. It isn't part of the road and therefore, your good to go. Don't need a license cuz your not on a road. Or just ride in the bikelane and just pedal while the motor is on and be ready to hit the kill switch.