Police want bikers off streets after deadly Texas shooting

[steve2470]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/19/us-usa-texas-shooting-bikers-idUSKBN0O400820150519

The local Harley Davidson dealership was closed, motorcycle riders were asked to stay off the roads and police snipers took to rooftops to watch Waco streets after a deadly gangland shooting caused many to cast a colder eye on bikers.

Police did not say how long the request would last.

Riders asked the public to take a breath, relax and realize that criminality is the rare exception for members of motorcycle clubs.

Waco Police said they have been threatened by motorcycle gangs after a Sunday shoot out between rivals at a Twin Peaks restaurant that left nine dead and 18 injured. They asked bikers to stay off the streets because it was difficult to distinguish between law-abiding riders and those bent on criminality.

[Aerows]

1. I would think that sensible

law-abiding riders would grant that request so that the scumbags that were involved with this can be taken off of the streets without more bloodshed.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Make it permanent and enact a noise ordinance. Fucking loud bikes are a public nuisance.

Seriously.

[DeadEyeDyck]

6. are you 90plus, or something?

[lonestarnot]

11. And what you're 10? or just regard yourself as a 10?

[NYC_SKP]

12. Get off my lawn!

Ya damn kids and your skateboards.

Get a haircut!!!

[Jesus Malverde]

23. lol

[Ghost in the Machine]

27. Loud pipes save lives!! Seriously...

I am assuming that you live in NYC, and I can't speak for there, but I know out here in the country where I live that more often than not you hear a bike long before you see it... especially a Harley. I live up on a hill, maybe 3/4s of a mile from the highway, and I can sit outside and listen to the rumble through the hills.

I haven't ridden for many years now, but the sound of a Harley still makes me smile... and makes the old blood tingle a little...

Peace,

Ghost

[NYC_SKP]

31. This makes sense, but only because bikes are at the disadvantage.

I'm out in California now, drive an electric Chevy Volt that is noise-free and I need to sometimes beep to let people know I'm there.

But at least if a car hits me I'm surrounded by airbags.

If I was on a bike, I'd want people to know I was there, too.

Still, in a quiet neighborhood it can be annoying, especially modified bikes.

[Gormy Cuss]

33. The lane splitting here makes it even more important to have a loud engine

Lane splitting is one of the peculiar features of the vehicle code here that should be revisited.

[NYC_SKP]

35. I agree, it's fucking crazy. Give them a bike lane down the center.

I support cyclists, it's more sustainable than one person--one car.

But let them use the emergency lane or median.

[KamaAina]

36. Or as some of us call them, "organ donors".

[Ghost in the Machine]

38. Thank you... do the emissions laws in CA not affect the modified bikes? I remember in Fla, 20+ years

ago, they had a debate over the issue when they resumed emissions testing and excluded bikes because of the whole "loud pipes save lives" issue. I could be remembering incorrectly, but I know that's when I first heard the "loud pipes save lives" meme. They had bumper stickers and smaller "helmet stickers" they were passing out. You can still find them in bike shops today.

Always good to hear from you, my friend

Stay safe,

Ghost

[Glassunion]

41. CA has noise restrictions on exhaust noise. The rules apply to both cars and bikes.

Now do all bikers follow those rules? No.

California

Max sound levels:
1)Pre-1970: 92dba;
2) After 1969, and before 1973: 88dba;
3) After 1972, and before 1975: 86dba;
4) After 1974, and before 1986: 83dba;
5) After 1985…80dba

[yellowcanine]

37. Car with windows up, radio on, AC on waiting to turn left......

Going to hear the loud pipes of an APPROACHING MC? I don't think so. Maybe if they are behind the MC or even beside them. Otherwise, no.

[Ghost in the Machine]

39. You haven't been around many bikes, have you?

yellowcanine

37. Car with windows up, radio on, AC on waiting to turn left......

Going to hear the loud pipes of an APPROACHING MC? I don't think so. Maybe if they are behind the MC or even beside them. Otherwise, no.

When I had my Jeep Grand Cherokee I could hear them with the windows up, AC on and listening to the radio... as long as the radio wasn't cranked up when I was jamming to a good song. Listening to the radio shouldn't be an issue anyways, as there are laws in the books about being able to hear approaching emergency vehicles so you can move out of the way.

I am currently driving a '95 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 318 Magnum w/ dual exhaust and FlowMasters and I can still hear a bike coming or going. I don't jam the stereo either. I used to when I was younger, but now I use my driving time as my "quiet time" where I can think to myself... or just listen to the sound of my own engine.

Maybe being a former rider makes a difference too. I am always on the lookout for bikes, especially when approaching intersections or side roads. I drive by the motto "Look Twice, Save A Life. Bikers Are People Too!"

Peace,

Ghost

[Major Nikon]

48. I don't know of any motorcycle advocacy groups that perpetuate that myth

I've never seen a motorcycle safety expert perpetuate that myth. I've never seen a motorcycle manufacturer perpetuate that myth. I've never seen any hard data that supports that myth, but have seen some that suggests the opposite.

So lots of people who certainly are around motorcycles quite a bit don't agree.

Most of the people I see with loud pipes aren't wearing a helmet, aren't wearing bright and/or reflective clothing, and aren't riding responsibly. So the idea that they are doing it to be safety conscious doesn't seem to have much merit.

[yellowcanine]

49. Actually I have. I ride one and have ridden with bikers who had loud pipes.

I can't tell you how many times I have had bikes come up behind me and I did not hear them until they were right beside me. And my bike does not have loud pipes. I use an airhorn when necessary for the cars with no lane discipline. It works.

[Major Nikon]

45. So they say, but so does riding sensibly and wearing a helmet

Yet those with loud pipes tend to do neither. Cars tend to be much better soundproofed these days. With the radio playing even at a moderate volume I rarely hear bikes with loud pipes until they are beside me. Riding inside a car is just not the same as listening outside your home where there is no soundproofing or slipstream.

It's just not that great of an argument. People modify bikes to sound louder because they think it makes them appear cool and there's really no other reason. Meanwhile everyone else has to put up with the needless noise pollution.

[MosheFeingold]

42. I appreciate the loud noise.

I am getting a bit old and any help I can get to keep from changing lanes on top of a biker is appreciated.

[AuntPatsy]

3. Now that's bullshit, are they actually admitting they have no problems shooting anyone

On a motorcycle because they "might" be committing a thought crime? Honestly

[A HERETIC I AM]

5. YAY!

Goodonya.

[Skittles]

4. wow, non-minorites can be profiled?

who knew?

[libdem4life]

7. Not quite...one of the gangs is Hispanic.

Rachel is waxing eloquent at this moment...LOL

[Oktober]

8. Unless one wants to make a post about white privilege....

Then they magically become white as the driven snow....

[libdem4life]

10. Well, there is that "Hispanic Caucasian" on job applications these days.

Or, White non Hispanic Caucasian. It's a maze out there.

[NaturalHigh]

13. LOL...I noticed that too.

[Gormy Cuss]

34. Which one? Not the Bandidos.

The Bandidos have white and Latino members but it was founded by and is principally populated by white men.

[MosheFeingold]

43. Both are mixed Hispanic/Anglo n/t

[JonLP24]

24. There are all sorts of profiling

Cops generally profile. One could have the certain look, homeless are profiled especially. There is you look like a drug user profiling, all kinds of profiling based on preconceived notions of a type of look.

[Skittles]

26. *I* know that

but plenty of DUers certainly do not

[yellowcanine]

9. Are they also going to ask legal gun owners to leave their guns at home?

I don't think so and I think this is b.s. When there is a gangland drive by shooting they don't ask people to quit driving cars. Sorry but it is not that hard to tell an outlaw biker from someone who is just out riding their Goldwing.

[AuntPatsy]

17. Gold wing huh? Now that makes it all subjective....

[gratuitous]

14. Screw that noise

You'll take my Schwinn from my cold, dead hands, ya fucking fascists. Nobody's bike killed anyone in Waco, it was the fucking guns.

Damn but Texans are a stupid bunch.

[AuntPatsy]

18. No but snipers ARE on roof tops according to police....

[gratuitous]

19. We appear to be dealing with a product of home schooling

I figured the reference to my "Schwinn" would be a dead giveaway that I was talking about a bicycle, not a motorcycle, but it's still early on the West Coast. Not everyone has had enough to drink yet.

[pinboy3niner]

20. In response to mass outrage, police announced that bicycle shops across Texas have NOT been closed

A law enforcement spokesman said the outrage was sparked by tongue-in-cheek statements on social media by a bicyclist in California...

[gratuitous]

21. Gotta listen to those California cyclists

Now, if it was some yahoo from Oregon, everyone would know to take it with grain of salt, because those guys are certifiable. They ride in the rain and stuff.

[AuntPatsy]

22. Sometimes late at night people speed read right over a slew of words, it does happen...

Schwinn, good choice

[pinboy3niner]

32. Hell, I even do that in the daytime

[Jamastiene]

29. Don't be silly.

Guns don't kill people. Bikes and people on bikes do.

[SoCalDem]

25. Any (gang) biker with half a brain is probably in New Mexico by now

[MosheFeingold]

44. Yep

I saw a group of Cossacks on the way to Roswell today, in fact. I presume they are headed to Alb.

[Jamastiene]

28. I read there were specific calls in those biker gangs

that it was open season on the cops there in Waco. In this case, I can see the caution and the request to the law abiding motorcycle riders. That doesn't mean all people who ride motorcycles are in gangs and are criminals. It just means this shootout that DID involve gangs has created a mini-war between those gangs and cops. I would stay away from that area right now even walking or in a car. If more bullets might be flying, it might be best to lay low and not get caught in the crossfire. Too bad gangs have to ruin what is a perfectly enjoyable hobby for a lot of people.

[kelliekat44]

30. But I bet no biker will be shot for riding or running away. nt

[Initech]

40. Holy crap, life imitates Sons of Anarchy.

[Glassunion]

46. I'm sorry, but that's just bullshit.

"They asked bikers to stay off the streets because it was difficult to distinguish between law-abiding riders and those bent on criminality." - Tough shit.

[bigwillq]

47. That's silly (nt)