[Ducati] I met the nicest police officer

[Steve Abramson]

With 32 years of riding, it is a little easier, I think, to go back in time 
to find "nicest police officer" stories. Back in the day, it was just plain 
less strict. In '74, we used to block off the Garden State Parkway here in 
Jersey with our cars, (there wasn't much traffic....) bring out the blown 
Novas, 'Stangs and so forth, and have our own little NHRA events. Let the 
highway go again, wait a little while, and do it again. Drinking and driving 
was also something not as heavily enforced as now. Once, while driving at 
night, we got pulled over, and the cop asked, "Which one of you is the least 
drunk?- OK, you drive everyone home". You just don't get that nowadays. 
Pulled over for , oh, about 150 in a 55, and let go with a "Hey, kid, I ride 
myself, but there's a time and a place for everything, huh?  Got a ticket 
for being un-inspected. Doesn't usually happen like that now. However, I did 
have a GOOJF (Get out of jail free) experience this year. Driving in my van 
to VIR with my buddy and our two track bikes, I was very carefully (?) 
driving about 95 or so on Rt 81 in Virginia, and suddenly noticed a very 
non-descript sedan behind me at speed. (It was an Impala, for God's sake) Uh 
Oh. There comes the little magnetic red light stuck on the roof. Shit. 
Trooper approaches my side of truck as if expecting me to fire at him. (I 
don't really blame them for being careful....) Yes, Sir, Yes, Sir. We are on 
our way to the track, blah, blah. He says, "Do y'all have registrations or 
titles for the bikes?" No Sir, we don't. These are not street bikes-they are 
track only. We don't have paperwork for them. Our hearts then drop to our 
stomachs when he says, " How do I know that these bikes are not stolen?" We 
know where this may now go. He is going to impound the bikes. He mentions 
that my speed can be grounds for automatic loss of license before he goes 
back into his car. After what seemed like an eternity, he returns and gives 
me a ticket for 'Failure to obey traffic control device'. I didn't bother to 
ask why I was chosen to be the most fortunate fellow on his highway at that 
moment- just let him know how thankiful I was for his leniency. Off we went, 
and paid that ticket the moment I got back home. I guess the 'traffic 
control device' was the sign posting the max speed? Didn't care, as none of 
the boxes marked "speeding" were checked off on the ticket. I think it might 
have helped that my driving record happened to be clean at that time. A very 
lucky day for me, for sure.


Steve









> Scott,
>
>  What do I think?  I think you did indeed meet the nicest police officer 
> (unlike the one I met in my sarcastic post).  I also think it helps 100% 
> IF THE COP WHO PULLS YOU OVER ALSO RIDES!
>
>  GLAD you had a good experience and since I already had a real $hitty 
> experience odds are my next one is bound to be a good one, right ???  Ha 
> ha.  And yea, I do believe in Karma somewhat so there must be a reason why 
> I am going through my big escapade.  Hopefully I will learn something from 
> it all.  I think I have already!
>
>  My lawyer tells me that here in California they are going the extra mile 
> to get "intoxicated" drivers off the road.  Something of a "witch hunt." 
> The manufacturer of Xanax, for example is involved in many lawsuits for 
> just that reason I am told.  Perhaps rightly so.  And that perhaps makes 
> the cops a bit overzealous.  In my case the cop just figured he was "doing 
> his job."  (poorly I might add)
>
>  But in my experience, even being on cold medication might land you in 
> jail (in Kalifornia)  if tou get into an accident.  RIDE SOBER, my 
> friends.
>
>  Again I wish all you folks the best out there on the road.  And if you 
> have to have a mishap, get a ticket or something.  Better than the 
> alternative.   Crashing is a no-no, and you DO NOT have my permission to 
> do it :-)
>
>  Good story, Scott.
>
>  Ride Ride Ride
>
>  Gabriel
>
>
>
>
>
>>From: "Scott Cloninger"
>>Reply-To: Ducati Owners Group
>>To: "Ducati Owners Group"
>>Subject: RE: [Ducati] I met the nicest police officer
>>Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 10:13:58 -0500
>>
>>OK....I guess I'll have to unwind my tentacles here
> and tell a good story.
>>
>>It had been one of the worst weeks on record.  One of
> my best friends got
>>fired from the company where I work and I was under
> threat of a layoff.  I
>>was late on an important project (no pressure when
> layoffs are afoot,
>>right?) because most of my employees had already been
> laid off.  I was
>>under pressure from upper management.  The cat had
> died on Tuesday.  My
>>wife had the flu and I knew I was destined to get it.
> And to make matters
>>worse I hadn't been on a long ride for about a month.
> So when Earl called
>>me Friday afternoon and said "let's head over to
> Suches for the day,
>>tomorrow", I heartily agreed.
>>
>>I showed up at the appointed meeting place Saturday
> morning with a full
>>tank of gas and I was totally stoked to be going for
> a ride!  I led the way
>>up the 4th Avenue on-ramp to I-24 and I was so ready
> to ride that I
>>gleefully lifted the front tire into the sky in 1st
> gear............2nd
>>gear.........3rd gear........set it down at about
> 90.........DAMN.  There's
>>a  Tennessee State Trooper in the left lane of the
> interstate looking
>>straight at me, and he's not smiling.  What a perfect
> way to end this week.
>>  Wonder if they went ahead and drew up my pink slip
> at work, too?
>>
>>Mr. Trooper lit up the bubble gum machine at about
> the time I realized he
>>was there, so I pulled to the shoulder, removed my
> helmet and gloves and
>>began the dig for my license and registration.  My
> buddies rode by without
>>no sign of attachment as I hung my head with
> self-loathing and disgust.
>>I'm not a "stunter" by any stretch of the word, and I
> almost never show my
>>ass on public highways like that...what the heck was
> I thinking?  I'm too
>>old for this kinda nonsense.
>>
>>The Trooper pulled in behind me and I knew when the
> 6'-6", 250 pound
>>sergeant stepped from his cruiser that I was in for a
> rough time.  He took
>>his time striding up to me and without batting an eye
> said "Just what in
>>hell do you think you're doing on MY highway".  I
> can't do this phrase
>>justice in my writing, but just put yourself in my
> shoes and look that huge
>>black guy in the face (and I only include the guy's
> ethnicity so you can
>>grasp some hint of his accent during this exchange)
> and you might feel a
>>little of what I felt.  I simply answered "Well,
> officer, I guess I'm just
>>out here showing my ass".  To which he answers "That
> sounds about right"
>>
>>After dressing me down for about ten minutes, during
> which time he also
>>thanked me for not making a chase out of the
> thing....which I had never
>>even considered,  he asked for my license and
> registration and headed back
>>to his cruiser.  He fiddled with the radio for a
> time, shooting me subtle
>>glances all the while, then started writing my ticket
> on his clip board.
>>
>>Following about five minutes in his cruiser the
> Trooper headed back toward
>>me with his clip board in hand and started to laugh.
> It took me a while to
>>grasp why he was laughing, but I understood when he
> said...."Son, here's
>>your warning...but there's one more question I gotta
> ask you before I let
>>you go".  My jaw dropped in disbelief.  Did I hear
> that correctly?  Did he
>>say "warning"?  "I've been riding a bike for nearly
> twenty years" he said,
>>"and I've just gotta know...how do you do that"?
>>
>>As you can imagine, I simply explained the method for
> applying power to
>>lift the front, then putting the bike on its balance
> point for shifts.  I
>>would have probably give him my ATM pin number, too,
> if he'd asked.  I
>>figured explaining wheelie technique was the least I
> could do for him after
>>he made it plain I wasn't getting a ticket!!!
>>
>>The trooper made it clear that this was a one-time
> catch and release
>>program, then headed back to his car and pulled away.
> I felt that,
>>somehow, the week really hadn't been all that bad,
> had it?  I went on and
>>had a great ride with my friends that day, though I
> did it with no more
>>wheelies.
>>
>>I still have my job.  I still have friends.  The wife
> recovered from her
>>flu and I never got it.  I still love to ride.  When
> you look at the big
>>picture, you have to consider the possibility that
> maybe there is karma,
>>huh?
>>
>>That's my "nicest police officer" story.  Wadda ya
> think?
>>
>>Cloner
>>Chattanooga, TN
>>Part time squid?
>
>
>
> "There's nothing wrong with you that an expensive operation can't 
> prolong."  -Python, Monty.
>
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