Police Pulled Me Over

[mike_bike_kite]

but you do understand that by escaping the police you're making it harder for other riders in your city as now police will now actively be targeting EUC riders? Plus the chances of the law being changed go down to zero. Out of interest, if you drove a car, would you try to comply with speed limits or just those you agreed with?

[atdlzpae]

18 minutes ago, xiiijojjo said:

I'm sorry i'm just not interested in in going 20km/h to ride legally. Also if a ban happens, as long as i can still order these euc to my country i can still ride them as long as i don't allow them to stop me so in any case as long as i never allow myself to be stopped i can ride indefinitely however fast i'd like. 

If they allowed me to register this vehicle and get a licence instead to ride it legally on the roads i would in a heartbeat but they didn't so they'll just have to deal with me 'til they do.. But honestly i don't care either way crime is only an issue if you are caught you know

I hope you're not deluding yourself into thinking you're anonymous in any way when riding a very unique vehicle? Cameras are everywhere.

That's how it escalates to a full ban and targeting of EUC riders. With the first target being you, possibly documented every time the police sees you.
Which may end with you being caught once (or just followed home) and accused of 10 different violations. Or worse, an accident. And a shit ton of negative PR for EUC's.

Edited November 4, 2020 by atdlzpae

[xiiijojjo]

12 minutes ago, mike_bike_kite said:

but you do understand that by escaping the police you're making it harder for other riders in your city as now police will now actively be targeting EUC riders? Plus the chances of the law being changed go down to zero. Out of interest, if you drove a car, would you try to comply with speed limits or just those you agreed with?

Yes i do understand the implications and it is too bad if other danish euc riders are being stopped because of my actions only because it is uncomfortable to talk to the police, but if they are stopped by police and followed all speed limits they should have no issues unless they were doing other crime, right? If i drove a car and the speed limits for cars everywhere was 20 km/h even on the big highways i can promise you me along with most people would break the speed limit daily. But if i drove a car in the real world i would comply with speed limits religiously as they actually make sense when it relates to what is a safe speed in said area. 

Edited November 4, 2020 by xiiijojjo

[atdlzpae]

11 minutes ago, xiiijojjo said:

Yes i do understand the implications and it is too bad if other danish euc riders are being stopped because of my actions only because it is uncomfortable to talk to the police, but if they are stopped by police and followed all speed limits they should have no issues unless they were doing other crime, right? If i drove a car and the speed limits for cars everywhere was 20 km/h even on the big highways i can promise you me along with most people would break the speed limit daily. But if a drove a car in the real world i would comply with speed limits religiously as they actually make sense when it relates to what is a safe speed in said area.

How many people own a car? And how many people own an EUC? Do you see a difference here?

People are superstitious, they fear what they don't understand.
What will people think when you're in an accident? Even if it's not your fault? The calls to ban those dangerous machines will start immediately.
You're a representative of our tiny group and you're actively screwing up our PR.

Edited November 4, 2020 by atdlzpae

[Circuitmage]

@EUC_Ali A couple more points for the original poster (if you get pulled over again);

1) Point out you are keeping another car off the roads. That's one of the major things police have to deal with...traffic.

2) Point out if you are to get plated and licensed as a motor vehicle, it will be a death sentence as you ride on the open roads and freeways.

3) Point out that your 50# EUC weighs less than any motor vehicle on the road, any disabled motorized scooters, and many bicycles.

I wonder if you have any scooters in your area and how those are treated.

I wonder if they are singling you out for any reason.

 

But , overall, if your area is especially down on scooters, maybe find another place to live. I must say, I pass police everyday for the past 3 years in my very conservative pro police county, and have spoken with the police here. They are very understanding in my area.

A pro active approach would be a visit to your local city council meeting and request a review for exceptions for personal electric vehicles. If you are lucky, there may already be activists working on this issue in your neighborhood. Sounds like a lot of work, but you will be amazed at what 1 or 2 visits to one of those meetings will do. And, if your area is especially anti-progressive, then you will learn that quickly. 

Good luck.

Edit: also, maybe review your state transportation code. There may already be an exception or grey area for electric vehicles that the police may not be aware of. Yes, in Texas there is stipulation for motorized vehicles...I think it is also over 25mph...but I think it also defines them as having 2 or more wheels. I know @Michael Vu has been very active with local government in our area, but I do not keep up with that. So, I don't really know...but not having been hassled in the city or in my suburb, I have not had to worry about it.

Edited November 4, 2020 by Circuitmage

[xiiijojjo]

1 minute ago, atdlzpae said:

How many people own a car? And how many people own an EUC? Do you see a difference here?

What will people think when you're in an accident? Even if it's not your fault? The calls to ban those dangerous machines will start immediately.
People are superstitious, they fear what they don't understand. You're a representative of our tiny group and you're actively screwing up our PR.

I understand that they are different that is also a point i tried to make.

I have been in accidents where a car was a fault, and i have had accidents myself only involving me. When i was in one where the car was at fault he was fined and nothing happened to me (other than damage to my person and euc) as per the law, no issues there, and i am sure if i am ever responsible of an accident i will be held responsible to the full extend of the law as with any other operator of a vehicle so i don't see your point unless of course you worry that i end up launching my euc  at 40+ mph into a baby stroller and hit the frontpage headlines but i doubt that'll happen.

[RoadRunner]

Here in Germany it’s best to buy an EUC with good speed and biggest battery so you have enough headroom to flee from the cops. 

[xiiijojjo]

2 minutes ago, RoadRunner said:

Here in Germany it’s best to buy an EUC with good speed and biggest battery so you have enough headroom to flee from the cops. 

my man 

[RoadRunner]

1 minute ago, xiiijojjo said:

my man 

Other option is to sell the wheels and stop riding, yeah right. 

[Hal Farrenkopf]

Just stop and stay stopped at red lights . You are a motorized vehicle so it isn’t about pedaling back up to speed. Pretend you are a motor cycle and follow those rules. 

[GothamMike]

9 hours ago, xiiijojjo said:

Man fuck the police. I just bail on them when they attempt to stop me, they never managed to keep up.

Pro tip: Euc can go places cars and motorcycles can't  

You can't outrun a radio.

 

[Sludog]

Most shore towns I'm familiar with if you're on the street with anything with wheels or wheel you must obey all traffic laws. You can get away with rolling through stop signs if you slow down and proceed slowly but traffic lights they can and will write you a ticket. 

[Rywokast]

12 hours ago, atdlzpae said:

That's a good way to get a bullet or a weekend in jail. 0/10, would NOT recommend.

a bullet? that how they do it in russia? here police arent even allowed to pursue a suspect unless its literally a murder... however, how many people ride EUC? you would be caught

Edited November 5, 2020 by Rywokast

[xiiijojjo]

2 hours ago, GothamMike said:

You can't outrun a radio.

 

No. You can't 

[Tryptych]

On 11/3/2020 at 8:37 AM, EUC_Ali said:

(Yesterday, I was cruising around campus. Cop pulled me over for running a red light. It's not like I blew through it. I let all the pedestrians cross first, then with 10 seconds remaining, I crossed.)

Going through a red light when there's a cop watching is a pretty stupid. Arguing with them and trying to justify it by saying "you're picking on me!" is even stupider.  Sounds like you got off really easy, you deserved a ticket.

 

11 hours ago, xiiijojjo said:

Man fuck the police. I just bail on them when they attempt to stop me, they never managed to keep up.

Pro tip: Euc can go places cars and motorcycles can't  

Pro tip: fleeing from the cops on something so easily identifiable as a EUC is idiotic, your luck will not last.

Be respectful on the road - you're representing all of us.

[.....]

On 11/4/2020 at 10:20 PM, Tryptych said:

Going through a red light when there's a cop watching is a pretty stupid. Arguing with them and trying to justify it by saying "you're picking on me!" is even stupider.  Sounds like you got off really easy, you deserved a ticket.

 

Pro tip: fleeing from the cops on something so easily identifiable as a EUC is idiotic, your luck will not last.

Be respectful on the road - you're representing all of us.

I agree with you aside from the fact that He's NOT representing me (No offense). I refuse to bow down and aknowledge that another grown man represents me, solely because we both purchased the same toy. Do you wear hanes underwear? You do know that many murderers also wear that underwear. I guess they must also represent all of us. If the actions of one person, represents a huge group, you are totally fucked as am I. I think this entire 'ambassador/represent' bullshit is just an attempt to find blame.  Blame the law makers. Blame the lobbyists. Blame ignorance. I am pretty sure that I will pay for my own infractions when i cause them on an euc. Can I tell them that Im merely riding in representation of someone else, and they can write that ticket to someone else as well? If its a kid running red lights, is he representing children? Does the color of his skin change who we assume he represents? If its a boy, is he NOT representing women. Where does it end? I am not accountable for other's actions. Its a very freeing thing to accept this with a smile.

@atdlzpae Here in USA, people dont typically get shot for runnning away from simple traffic and misdameanors. Don't let the media fool you, people run from police everyday and survive without a single bullet launched.

Edited November 6, 2020 by ShanesPlanet

[atdlzpae]

3 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

I agree with you aside from the fact that He's NOT representing me (No offense). I refuse to bow down and aknowledge that another grown man represents me, solely because we both purchased the same toy.

Do you wear hanes underwear? You do know that many murderers also wear that underwear.

The problem is that it's not up to you or me. I absolutely agree with you in principle, but in practice any bad apple negatively changes the opinion of the crowd.
As with a car, underwear doesn't work because everyone wears one.

There is a difference:
0.01% of car/underwear owners you know are murderers. Hell, almost everyone owns a car.

Contrast that with current coverage of EUC's in the mainstream... I usually see pundits claiming they are death machines (with exceptions of course).
People don't have the positive experiences to counteract the scaremongering.

There is a good side of the coin too - every time you smile to someone, every time you let a pedestrian pass, every time you wave to someone or you spend 10s to talk to people, you generate positive PR for the whole group. 

#################################################

Who is the most important demographic we need to get to? Lawmakers.
These folks don't even care to do a simple google search. But I assure you, they will hear if any unicyclist dies or causes a serious accident.

Edited November 6, 2020 by atdlzpae

[PLEASE_DELETE]

Deleted.

Edited March 18 by PLEASE_DELETE

[Planemo]

5 hours ago, atdlzpae said:

Contrast that with current coverage of EUC's in the mainstream... I usually see pundits claiming they are death machines (with exceptions of course).

People don't have the positive experiences to counteract the scaremongering.

The 'counteract' comment is a very valid point. I don't think Joe Public is quite stupid enough to make the conclusion that 1 bad EUC rider means we all are, but at what point do the scales swing against us? It will be different for everyone, but I imagine that if 50% of Joe's EUC encounters are unfavourable, they will start to be getting close to the point where they treat ALL EUC riders as hooligans, despite the fact that we clearly aren't.

I guess it's similar to the stigma attached to groups like the Hells Angels. For a long time they were seen as outlaws, vermin and downright undesirable. It took a long time for them to lose that, and although they are now a lot more accepted, it's taken a lot of work (for the record I NEVER had an issue with the HA, but a lot of people did, and still do).

So with the above in mind, we have to accept that as riders we don't know how many other riders have pissed Joe off before we unwittingly ride up to him. Probably not a lot given how scarce EUC's are in general, but I'm not prepared to take that gamble and be the one rider that pushes Joe over the edge, to the point where he decides that ALL EUC's are the spawn of the devil. I will take the more conservative route and simply continue to be as courteous as I can be.

To finish, I am sure I could find more than a few EUC videos where people are riding courteously and having fun without endangering others. Unfortunately, I could also find a shed load of videos where the opposite happens, with riders smashing themselves to pieces and generally doing things that would give the law makers a permanent twitch. Could I find a 50/50 ratio of videos which show EUC's in a good/bad light? Maybe not during a cursory search...but....if I really tried? And if I was really against EUC's..?

This is all a lot less academic if and when EUC's are legalized (talking UK here), but until that point it makes sense to me that we gotta be on our best behaviour, as much as that pisses me off sometimes when I want to have a good blast.

5 hours ago, atdlzpae said:

These folks don't even care to do a simple google search. But I assure you, they will hear if any unicyclist dies or causes a serious accident.

Absolutely 100%. Look how much coverage one single rider in the UK got when she died on her electric scooter. The story was absolutely everywhere.

[I_Must_Bust]

10 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

I agree with you aside from the fact that He's NOT representing me (No offense). I refuse to bow down and aknowledge that another grown man represents me, solely because we both purchased the same toy. Do you wear hanes underwear? You do know that many murderers also wear that underwear. I guess they must also represent all of us. If the actions of one person, represents a huge group, you are totally fucked as am I. I think this entire 'ambassador/represent' bullshit is just an attempt to find blame.  Blame the law makers. Blame the lobbyists. Blame ignorance. I am pretty sure that I will pay for my own infractions when i cause them on an euc. Can I tell them that Im merely riding in representation of someone else, and they can write that ticket to someone else as well? If its a kid running red lights, is he representing children? Does the color of his skin change who we assume he represents? If its a boy, is he NOT representing women. Where does it end? I am not accountable for other's actions. Its a very freeing thing to accept this with a smile.

@atdlzpae Here in USA, people dont typically get shot for runnning away from simple traffic and misdameanors. Don't let the media fool you, people run from police everyday and survive without a single bullet launched.

Even though it's not right, I think people do start making assumptions about riders as a group if they see them behaving badly. Look at all the cyclist vs motorist hate that goes back and forth online.

I do agree that people outside the US tend think things are way worse than they are though. They basically get real stuff filtered through our media filtered through their media and it ends up looking like nonstop riots and police shootings 24/7 in every city. I've had no issues in city as long as I've lived here.

[Scottie]

On 11/3/2020 at 1:04 PM, RockyTop said:

“Hey Chief! , Come see this thing. What do we do with it?”

Well, I've ridden up to police cars and had nice chats with them, mostly about the public attitude about the pandemic and such. As a byproduct of one of the conversations, one of them asked if it was hard to ride. Its all about being civil and straight with them. They are people too. 

 

On 11/3/2020 at 1:04 PM, RockyTop said:

Remember this is Indiana USA. They are not very authoritarian in that area.

Yes, we are lucky that the 50cc and under engine powered scooters (Class B Motor Driven Cycle) are allowed with minimal credentials and that "The term does not include an electric personal assistive mobility device or an electric bicycle." 

Since my knees are bad, I use my EUC to replace jogging at less than 35 mph! 

 

2 hours ago, /Dev/Null said:

Nobody seems to mind us (yet).  Hoping to keep it that way.

Agreed. EUCs do get noticed. In my small town, I am trying to keep that on the positive side ... because as @ShanesPlanet would/might agree ... fortunately I am representing myself for the most part around here (since I am one of the very few EUCs riders around these parts).

 

51 minutes ago, I_Must_Bust said:

Even though it's not right, I think people do start making assumptions about riders as a group if they see them behaving badly.

That rings true enough. It is too bad we can't just represent ourselves, but people are all too often guilty of generalizations about groups of people, be it about what they ride, drive, fashion choices, and so on. 

[xiiijojjo]

3 hours ago, /Dev/Null said:

Felony Eluding comes to mind here.  You really dont' want a felony on your record.  That disqualifies you from lots of good stuff in life, unfortunatley.

I am sure the positive pr I made for the wheel far surpasses whatever negative I've made.

I been riding since 2016 when I didn't see a soul on an euc, and stopped to talk to at least 1000 people since then if not much more to talk about the wheel. I pushed cargo bikes up hills loaded with children, all kinds of really positive ways of using the wheel publicly. I've even had riders come up to me and tell me that I was what inspired them to start riding. 

Not that I care since I don't represent anyone in any way. But i already have a criminal record for far more serious stuff than traffic violations, so I'm not getting a taxable job any time soon, so whatever good stuff I want I go and get myself. 

[RoadRunner]

9 hours ago, atdlzpae said:

they will hear if any unicyclist dies or causes a serious accident.

Well don’t know if you heard of it but last month an EUC rider died in the Ukraine because a bus rolled him over, may he Rest In Peace.

You won’t find much about it, except from wrong way´s video.

 

10 hours ago, atdlzpae said:

There is a good side of the coin too - every time you smile to someone, every time you let a pedestrian pass, every time you wave to someone or you spend 10s to talk to people, you generate positive PR for the whole group. 

 

I totally understand what you’re saying and i agree that we somehow have to present ourselves to the public that we are not the dangerous Wheels Angels.

And when i am riding around people i ride respectfull and also talk to people when I’m asked.

But it’s not my job to be a 24hr missionary being nice and bloody smile all day long, I’m just a guy who wants to have fun.

Look at the guys from NYC, they’re riding like maniacs and nothing serious happened in a few years, which I’m amazed of everyday by the way. 

Same as some people think it’s rude if riding around on a wheel with the music to loud, because not everybody likes my style of music, i mean hello? Don’t really understand that because when i drive by people might only hear one or two bum bum and that’s it. So wtf?

Let the people do what they like, can’t control it anyways, and if a grown man wants to run a red light let him, he’s got to pay the ticket so i don’t need to give a shit. 

 

[PLEASE_DELETE]

Deleted.

Edited March 18 by PLEASE_DELETE

[Tryptych]

22 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

He's NOT representing me (No offense).

Like it or not we are all representing the EUC Community. Especially people who post videos on YouTube for the entire world to watch.