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Pulled over by Police!

Old 07-30-07, 12:02 PM
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Pulled over by Police!

My uberbright Dinotte taillight attracted the attention of the local police. As i was riding along last night, i heard the blip of the siren and saw the flashing lights. I pulled over, expecting a ticket for something, when the officer told me why he pulled me over. I had been riding on a loooong flat stretch, and the office had been about 10 blocks back. He saw the flashing light and could'nt figure out what it was. so he zoomed up and then saw me. He could'nt believe how small and bright it was. Asked me for company info, says he thinks the bike police unit would love these. waved me on with a thank you and good night.
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Old 07-30-07, 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Bushman
My uberbright Dinotte taillight attracted the attention of the local police. As i was riding along last night, i heard the blip of the siren and saw the flashing lights. I pulled over, expecting a ticket for something, when the officer told me why he pulled me over. I had been riding on a loooong flat stretch, and the office had been about 10 blocks back. He saw the flashing light and could'nt figure out what it was. so he zoomed up and then saw me. He could'nt believe how small and bright it was. Asked me for company info, says he thinks the bike police unit would love these. waved me on with a thank you and good night.
cool
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Old 07-30-07, 01:24 PM
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[QUOTE=Bushman;4963970] He saw the flashing light and could'nt figure out what it was. so he zoomed up and then saw me. He could'nt believe how small and bright it was. [QUOTE]

That's amazing. He could have called for the entire police force for backup if he didn't have the courage to check that bright light at near ground level believing it was one of those mystifying UFO's.
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Old 07-30-07, 02:48 PM
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i'm not sure that Vancouver BC is a UFO hotspot....then and again you never know!
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Old 07-30-07, 05:26 PM
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That's why I use tail lights that are "DOT approved." If I were to be pulled over because an officer thought my tail lights were too bright and possibly were not "approved" lighting as a home-built, then I could point to the "DOT approved" text on the tail lights. As it is, I tilt the beehives down a little bit so anybody following me isn't blinded. I think the effective overvolting of the SLA does it.

I've also been told by fellow employees when they drive past me, that both my tail lights and headlights are much brighter than any car's. I think overvolting from the SLA battery and that I am running two Philips Energy Advantage halogen lamps (35W output for 20W) gives me about 80-ish Watts of halogen super brightness. I do dim my headlights to 7W (using the lightbrain controller) when behind somebody at a stop sign so I don't blind them through their rear view mirror.
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Old 07-30-07, 05:26 PM
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Cops don't need probable cause for a stop up there?
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Old 07-30-07, 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by DieselDan
Cops don't need probable cause for a stop up there?
Investigating a strange super bright light is enough. He was curious and didn't hassle the OP so get your panties out of the twist they appear to be in.
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Old 07-30-07, 06:31 PM
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hahahaha,.....mmmm...twisted panties!!!!!

I have ZERO concerns about being pulled over. Half my family is on the force, somedays i get pulled over for fun by some of the older officers that know my uncle. This particular officer that pulled me over was new, young and genuinely curious about the taillight. He wrote down the Dinotte website and model number in his notebook, thanked me and drove on.
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Old 07-30-07, 07:52 PM
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Bush,

See if you can setup shop locally and supply to the force.
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Old 07-30-07, 09:44 PM
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seriously considering it, however they are pretty happy with their NiteRider Police Issue wigwags and siren......

however, maybe if Dinotte made blue lenses for the headlights, ......
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Old 07-30-07, 10:46 PM
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Originally Posted by Bushman
i'm not sure that Vancouver BC is a UFO hotspot....then and again you never know!
Depends, how many 7-11's still carry herb?
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Old 07-31-07, 01:07 AM
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HAHAHA, pretty much every one in the downtown core, there is all these nice people mutterring under their breath "weed?, jib?, ice?, rock?"

there is a lady in the West Side that occasionally freaks out and phones the police to report a UFO.
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Old 07-31-07, 11:08 AM
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Originally Posted by DieselDan
Cops don't need probable cause for a stop up there?
Reasonable suspicion is the generally standard for pulling over not pc.
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Old 08-01-07, 04:37 PM
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Cool

That reminds me to tell everyone, I just installed some more lights on my "lowrider" (some say a lowrider has to be a Harley-looking bike, but this is an 1982 Suzuki).
I don't know what else to call it. Here's a picture before I added more lights:


I have since added a 24 inch bar across the front with amber lights, and two bullet lights on the rear. There is a thermal type automotive blinker in series, and each side , left and right, has it's own toggle switch (which cost almost $5.00 now, with the price of copper skyrocketing),
So I can signal left or right, or have 4-way flashers going.
The problem is, I used BLUE lights for the rear. I expect to be told "Only police and fire dept. can have blue lights".
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Old 08-02-07, 02:42 PM
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There are three levels of encounters or stops:

Level 1 - Voluntary encounter: not being detained. This is a cop stopping anyone and starting a casual conversation. Subject is not required to provide ID, is not detained, and the subject may leave at any time.

Level 2 - Reasonable Suspicion. They are not in custody, but are not free to leave. May be asking questions about a crime, to either a witness or a suspect. Subject must provide ID when asked. Miranda takes affect at this point when speaking with a suspect. This is when citations are generally issued and a custodial arrest is not warranted. Reasonable suspicion is a much lower standard than probable cause.

Level 3 - Probable Cause. They are in custody, under arrest, and obviously not free to leave.

If this were in the US, in this case, it was a Level 1 encounter, and which point the OP could have told the officer to pound sand and leave him alone. The officer would have no right to detain him. However, it could be argued that because he chirped his siren, that it made the OP feel as though he were not free to leave. But it could be further argued on the other side that the siren was only meant to gain the OP's attention, and that it was used as nothing morn than a horn. Had lights been activated, that would be an obvious increase to Level 2.
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Old 08-02-07, 04:05 PM
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I had a somewhat similar situation last night. The biggest difference is that the police didn't flash his lights to stop me.

I ride with a Cygolite Dual 300 Lithium Ion (handlebar - on steady) and Cateye 410 (helmet - on flashing) in the front and a Viewpoint rear flasher. I also wear a Zinglet for additional visability.

I'm out on a dimmly lit straight route at about 10:30 pm when I see a police car slow and then pass me going the other way. He passes me and makes a u-turn so I'm now doing a checklist in my head wondering what might be wrong. He comes up slowly and then passes me, stopping about 100 yards or so in front of me and gets out, waiting for me. As I approach he asks if he could talk with me. It's a marked car and he's in uniform so I stop.

It turns out that he's a cyclist and was impressed with my visability and wanted to see what I was using. He particularly liked the Cygolite and the zinglet.

All in all, it gave me added confidence that my "set-up" was doing its job.
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Old 08-02-07, 04:08 PM
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Originally Posted by opskmallory
There are three levels of encounters or stops:

Level 1 - Voluntary encounter: not being detained. This is a cop stopping anyone and starting a casual conversation. Subject is not required to provide ID, is not detained, and the subject may leave at any time.

Level 2 - Reasonable Suspicion. They are not in custody, but are not free to leave. May be asking questions about a crime, to either a witness or a suspect. Subject must provide ID when asked. Miranda takes affect at this point when speaking with a suspect. This is when citations are generally issued and a custodial arrest is not warranted. Reasonable suspicion is a much lower standard than probable cause.

Level 3 - Probable Cause. They are in custody, under arrest, and obviously not free to leave.

If this were in the US, in this case, it was a Level 1 encounter, and which point the OP could have told the officer to pound sand and leave him alone. The officer would have no right to detain him. However, it could be argued that because he chirped his siren, that it made the OP feel as though he were not free to leave. But it could be further argued on the other side that the siren was only meant to gain the OP's attention, and that it was used as nothing morn than a horn. Had lights been activated, that would be an obvious increase to Level 2.
Regarding the level two explanation...Miranda does not apply unless you are taken into custody and under arrest. Police do not have to Mirandize you if giving citations without an arrest.
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Old 08-02-07, 05:03 PM
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Originally Posted by MAK
Regarding the level two explanation...Miranda does not apply unless you are taken into custody and under arrest. Police do not have to Mirandize you if giving citations without an arrest.
Do you have a source on this?
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Old 08-02-07, 08:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Raiyn
Investigating a strange super bright light is enough. He was curious and didn't hassle the OP so get your panties out of the twist they appear to be in.
There is a line in the Vehicle Code in South Carolina that allows a rear blinking red light on a bicycle, so no reasonable suspicion to stop the bike here.

Good to see you're back Raiyn. We've all missed your condescending rants.
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Old 08-02-07, 09:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Zero_Enigma
Do you have a source on this?
I'm not inclined to research and quote the Supreme Court at 11:00 pm but if you've ever been stopped at a police check point (i.e. a DUI road block) or for a traffic ticket you are required to stop, required to provide identification but you are not entitled to Miranda rights.

Have you ever been Mirandized at a road block? Have you ever been Mirandized when getting a ticket?
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Old 08-02-07, 10:48 PM
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DieselDan (what diesel rig you driving anyways?) , this happened in vancouver BC Canada. We are allowed blinky lights here. The officer was just really curious, had never seen such a bright tail light before. The entire stop we were chatting like buddies.
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Old 08-03-07, 07:45 AM
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Exclamation Wow.

Originally Posted by hotbike
That reminds me to tell everyone, I just installed some more lights on my "lowrider" (some say a lowrider has to be a Harley-looking bike, but this is an 1982 Suzuki).
I don't know what else to call it. Here's a picture before I added more lights:


I have since added a 24 inch bar across the front with amber lights, and two bullet lights on the rear. There is a thermal type automotive blinker in series, and each side , left and right, has it's own toggle switch (which cost almost $5.00 now, with the price of copper skyrocketing),
So I can signal left or right, or have 4-way flashers going.
The problem is, I used BLUE lights for the rear. I expect to be told "Only police and fire dept. can have blue lights".
That explains the UFO sightings!
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Old 08-03-07, 11:58 AM
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Originally Posted by aliensporebomb
That explains the UFO sightings!
You are quite right, my lighting has caused a number of UFO reports.

There was one man who saw one of my bikes, and he called Police to report a snowmobile (not this past July, but a few years ago July). The Police dragged him away and put him in the Psych ward of a local hospital. Obviously, reports of snowmobiles in 90 degree weather are taken as evicence of halucinations...
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Old 08-03-07, 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by DieselDan
There is a line in the Vehicle Code in South Carolina that allows a rear blinking red light on a bicycle, so no reasonable suspicion to stop the bike here.
I missed your misguided musings as well.
A Dinnotte is far brighter than the typical blinky so therefore a "What the **** is that? I'd better check it out" is warranted (go ask a judge). This didn't happen in SC and even if it had, this isn't an ACLU case anyway. The cop was curious, and stopped Bushman to ask about the light in order to provide the information to the Bike Patrol squad in order to enhance the quality of equipment used by them and increase their level of safety. There's no legal issue with that and anyone that would think there was needs to go eat a bran muffin.
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Old 08-03-07, 04:20 PM
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