We have all seen them – fearless motorcyclists popping wheelies on the Interstate, followed typically by a burst to great speed.Modern sport bikes are compact, sleek, and powerful. And, as police know, no match for a Crown Victoria. A number of stories have hit the media recently about bikers "taunting" officers and then zipping off into anonymity, because the motorcycles are so much quicker than the cars.
The situation appears to be more acute in states where dashboard cameras are not commonly fitted to officers’ cruisers. In one particularly egregious instance in the state of Washington, an officer crashed heavily while chasing several bikes at high speed. The riders then stopped, and, far short of rendering any assistance to the badly injured officer, continued to taunt him before riding away.
There was no dash camera in the cruiser and the officer was able to provide only a partial license plate.
The current budget crisis facing departments nationwide is often cited as the reason all patrol cars do not have dashboard cameras, but even in good times dash cameras represent a costly investment. Still, more and more agencies are findings ways to fund the cameras because of their clear benefit to officer safety and public safety.
Many police officers are motorcycle enthusiasts themselves, and so they have a certain level of empathy for all riders. And most motorcycle enthusiasts ride responsibly. But the high visibility showboaters are giving all riders a lawless, brainless image.
