From: smm@uunet.uu.net (Steve Mansfield)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: Yet more proof that cages make people stupid...
Date: 9 Sep 1992 16:11:53 -0400
Organization: UUNET Technologies Inc, Falls Church, VA
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net

With all this talk about stupid drivers and cagers trying to outdo our
obviously superior bikes, I thought I'd relate a run-in with a police
officer that reinforces the argument that *anyone* in a cage is someone
to be paranoid of.

I was driving back up to D.C. from visiting my parents in Va. Beach a
couple weekends ago, unable to do anything even approaching DoD minimum
due to the amount of traffic.  Occasionally I'd get a short break in the
traffic and would speed up to a more fun speed for a short distance to
try and get out of this hellacious pack I had been sitting in for an
hour.

Anyway, after one of these little bursts, this little black hatchback
with it's headlights on begins to tailgate me.  It's didn't bother me
much at first, but after a while it began to annoy me, so I began to
perform the various rituals to try and get this guy to back off a ways.
Nothing seems to work, so I move into the right hand lane when there was
finally a break to let him pass me.

Well, he moves goes on ahead.  And I move back to the left lane again to
move into the faster flow of traffic.  After a short ways, I pass him
again, not going much faster.  He begins this tailgating ritual again,
and I move over again, but this time he decides to stay immediately to my
left hand side.  I turn to glare at him a bit and ask him to quit playing
around, but I notice his right hand window is just a big piece of plastic
taped on with that grey packing tape.  Not wanting to play around with
this guy, I take the first opportunity to pass him, and do so, and do
more passing, and a little bit of non-psycho traffic weaving to get some
cars between us.  This seems to work for a while.

30 minutes later, I look in my mirror again, and he's back AGAIN.  He
moves into a break on my right hand side, moves next to me, flashing a
badge, and pointing to me (obviously irritated) to pull over.

I do so, and he begins ranting and raving claiming I almost got myself,
himself, and several other people killed (he was riding with two friends
of his in the car - non cops).  He claimed to have tried to get me to
pull over once before by showing his badge (when he was on my left - see
my description of window), and that he had only wanted to get me to slow
down, all the while reminding me over and over again that he could have
my liscense revoked and bike impounded.  Anyway, when he finished my
little tirade I began one of my own.  I pointed out that his tailgating
me during the whole incident was more dangerous than any of my passing
had been, it was impossible to see through his right window because that
pastic stuff looks solid white at speed, and that I thought he was some
some teenager in his "cool new car" (ahem) who wanted to make himself
look cool and possibly get me killed.

Anyway, to top the whole thing off, he tried to tell me that it was
bikers like me that gave us (yes - he admitted to riding himself) a bad
name.  At this point I lost it and pointed out to him that, no - it was
drivers like him that get bikers like *us* killed.  And pointed out that
since I had his liscense number (yes, I jotted it down while I he was
checking out my liscense and registration), I could easily find out where
he worked and report his methods of pulling people over and get him
suspensded.  (God I love being friends with police officers in
Fairfax...)

I would have related this whole thing long before, but I've been delving
over it for a couple weeks trying to make sure that I wasn't at fault.  I
wanted to make sure that I wasn't just looking at the whole thing through
the eyes of a newbie rider.  I can't find any time during the whole
incident where I had put myself, or anyone else into any danger because
of my driving.  I feel pretty confident that I was not at fault at any
point for any part of the incident.

Anyway, evryone be careful our there, cause even the cops - and cop
bikers, can get stupid behind the wheel too....


Steve Mansfield	    | The system we've learned says we're equal under law
smm@uunet.uu.net    | But the streets are reality, the weak and poor will fall
1983 Suzuki GS550E  | Let's tip the power balance and tear down the crown
DoD# 1718	    | Educate the masses, we'll burn the White House down.
Queensryche	    -       Speak the Word.