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Las Vegas Police Rear Ends Motorcyclist

That rider showed an extraordinary amount of restraint and respect to that officer, no matter who was in the wrong. His brief responses of "Yes sir" were polite and respectful, and in the end, it probably diffused the situation. Kudos to him. You could tell that the officer calmed down towards the end, I don't think this was a big deal, as long as there was no injury or damage.
 
I would have not been as forgiving on the officer *especially* considering his use of intimidation to get out of the situation. Then again, I probably wouldn't have been in that position. As others have said, I would have been the left portion of the lane to begin with. I would have zipped around that lane changer or slowly coasted to let him in being aware of how closely I was being followed.

If I had to guess, I would say that was a younger/novice rider and he just wanted to get out of there. Or, he did brake-check the officer intentionally and wanted to get out of there with a light tire bump.

I'm also of the belief that the rear-end-er is at fault almost 100% of the time.
 
Sorry guys but I would have told the officer to start writing the "tickets". He still was guilty of hitting my vehicle from behind. We would settle it in the courtroom instead of the cop bullying me into submission.
 
That police officer is obviously in the wrong and intimidated the rider. I have a attorney on retainer. I would have said write me that ass load of tickets and lets have a judge decide who's wrong. He would have changed his tune real quick. :Flip:
 
"You don't hit the brakes like that when somebody is right behind you". Ummmm.....what? Because that makes perfect sense. Yep, no flaws in that logic. Because everyone knows, when there's an emergency that requires braking, you must forego braking if somebody is behind you. :rolleyes: Then the biker says "I didn't realize you were that close", as if that matters. Then the cop contradicts his previous line with, "I wasn't that close, I couldn't stop that quick". My response would've been, "And that's my problem how?".

Yeah, the rider should've been in the center of the lane at the minimum, but that doesn't excuse the cop for messing up, and then trying to cover up his mistake by blaming the rider. It's bad enough when non law enforcement does it, no need for this cop to do it. I would've said, look, you f'ed up, it happens to the best of us. Just own up to it, and stop trying to intimidate me with your "ticket writing" crap. And if he did write tickets, well, his mistake. The video would reveal all on court. So the cop would be in even MORE trouble, for issuing BS tickets.

DISCLAIMER : I have no beef with cops, just this one and ones like him. Which thankfully, seem to be few and far between, at least when compared to the total number of LEO's out there. :thumbup:
 
Boy, this would've been awkward had the motorcylist dialed 911 to report it. I imagine dispatcher would've had to sent another non-involved officer? Tell me that wouldn't have been an awkward situation. Anyway, I think I'll forward this thread link to LV Police (might be interesting).
 
pookamatic said:
Google 'las vegas police rear ends motorcycle' and this thread is FIRST.
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that's pretty cool. I've watched this a couple times again and I still wouldn't fault the motorcyclist. I'm a relatively new rider and the BRC they tell you to keep your "safety cushion". I think that is all this guy was trying to do and maybe he wasn't as good at feathering the clutch and working the brake to stay going at near 0 mph speed. The white car merging into his lane could have come over and jammed on his brakes causing him to rear end their car instead. If you haven't put your fair share of time in during crazy heavy traffic I think it's harder to gauge. I've seen all sorts of stuff in Seattle, NYC, Boston, LA, Phoenix in regards to traffic that you are just like WTF.

The only update I've heard is that the LVPD is doing an internal investigation and have not released the name of the officer in question. I think people will be pretty pissed if this guy getting in trouble isn't put on public display. It's easier to isolate the rotten apple than make it so everyone hates the whole bunch.
 
What would have happened if the biker fell down? Would the LEO say "...do you always drop the bile like that? That's against the law!..".

By moving to the right (Something I would not normally do) the rider did not invite, provoke nor cause the bump. It happened because the LEO was following too closely for his or his auto's capabilities. Period
 
When I first watched this video a few days ago, I was a little peeved about how this situation played out. Then tonight, I rewatched the video and while I agree the officer handled himself completely wrong, I feel the rider was at fault a bit more then people presume. In the video, you can see the rider look at the car to his left and then he looks ahead and SLAMS on his brakes, going from what seems to be 15-20 mph down to 0 in a split second. I do think the officer should have been able to respond in that scenario but still, completely stopping in the street was excessive...just my .02
 
jts6yf said:
I do think the officer should have been able to respond in that scenario but still, completely stopping in the street was excessive...just my .02
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I agree. The riders actions leading up to the accident are questionable (right side of lane), and the complete stop was either stupidly intentional or completely novice.

*Still* The officer should have stopped in time. If there wasn't enough room to merge and leave a safety cushion to stop for the conditions, he shouldn't have merged. This is true for any vehicle but even more so for vulnerable motorcycles.
 
mave2911 said:
No, no, no - that's where the oil from cars/trucks is at! (especially at intersections)

Better to ride in the wheel-tracks of the cars.

Cheers,
Rick
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Depends on the area I guess. Around here, where the cars put their tires is terrible. At least it is in the cities. Freeway is ok. It's really uneven, especially at stop lights, and for some reason, that's where I always encounter oil and other garbage(it is CA, where everything is backwards after all, lol). Heck, I almost dropped the FZ6 when I first picked it up, because in the left turn lane about 300ft from the dealer, right in the tire track grooves/indentations, was about 5+ quarts of oil. :( Couldn't really use my rear brake for a while, because I got some of it on my boot. Made for an interesting ride at least. lol

Maybe it's just me, but I like being in the center, as it gives me equal "run off" room to either side. I don't necessarily stay there though, it all depends on road conditions, and traffic behavior.
 
novaks47 said:
Maybe it's just me, but I like being in the center, as it gives me equal "run off" room to either side. I don't necessarily stay there though, it all depends on road conditions, and traffic behavior.
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You are correct in that manner but most of us ride in the tire tracks for several other reasons besides traction.

Traction is very important, especially approaching intersections. Very good possibility that you may have to use emergency braking or swerving and the best traction is not found in the center part of the lane near intersections.

Visibility factor plays an important part not just for you but for the other drivers. riding in the center will put you at a disadvantage, it will be more difficult to look farther down the road preventing you from anticipating what kind of hazards may be developing. By offsetting yourself to the left or right of the vehicle, the vehicle in front of you will not obstruct your vision down the roadway versus the center. Also the driver ahead of you, will see you not just in one mirror,but two.

In the event you are following too closely, it's easier to swerve and split the lanes from being on one side rather than the very center, where the tendency for most riders is to brake. And since most riders fail to apply the brakes properly, most will end up low siding before they even reach the vehicle in front of them.

Lane position is one of the most important decisions when it comes to street riding strategies for riding in traffic.
 
VEGASRIDER said:
You are correct in that manner but most of us ride in the tire tracks for several other reasons besides traction.

Traction is very important, especially approaching intersections. Very good possibility that you may have to use emergency braking or swerving and the best traction is not found in the center part of the lane near intersections.

Visibility factor plays an important part not just for you but for the other drivers. riding in the center will put you at a disadvantage, it will be more difficult to look farther down the road preventing you from anticipating what kind of hazards may be developing. By offsetting yourself to the left or right of the vehicle, the vehicle in front of you will not obstruct your vision down the roadway versus the center. Also the driver ahead of you, will see you not just in one mirror,but two.

In the event you are following too closely, it's easier to swerve and split the lanes from being on one side rather than the very center, where the tendency for most riders is to brake. And since most riders fail to apply the brakes properly, most will end up low siding before they even reach the vehicle in front of them.

Lane position is one of the most important decisions when it comes to street riding strategies for riding in traffic.
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Vegas Rider, what is your opinion though on the hotly debated topic of this guy should be in the left of the lane or the right of the lane?

A lot of people say he should be in the left because it is 'uninviting' for the driver to comer over and better to be seen'. Others (like myself), 'have said going to the right, gives him a better chance to be seen by the car merging as well as give an escape route away from the car.'
 
In Oz, where we ride/drive on the correct side of the road, I sit in the R wheel-track, i.e. closer to the centre-line, and directly in front of where a cage-driver sits in their vehicle.

This gives me visibility, in the sense I can see, and be seen, and as much run-off as possible.

When passing, or being passed, I might swap to the other wheel track.

Basically the other side of the lane to the rider in the above video.

Cheers,
Rick
 
mave2911 said:
In Oz, where we ride/drive on the correct side of the road, I sit in the R wheel-track, i.e. closer to the centre-line, and directly in front of where a cage-driver sits in their vehicle.

This gives me visibility, in the sense I can see, and be seen, and as much run-off as possible.

When passing, or being passed, I might swap to the other wheel track.

Basically the other side of the lane to the rider in the above video.

Cheers,
Rick
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Agreed for being seen by the driver behind it is best to be in front of that driver. However, for becoming visible to the car merging in front I will move to the right to give space for an escape route and change the angle to be seen by the merging car. The person behind should see the rider in the left or right of the lane no matter what. It should be a given to not be rear ended.
 
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