Thinking bout handing over the reins

Hi all,

Last night I was going to the girlfriends house and was sitting at some red lights. They are those sort of ones that have pressure pads below them that detect if a car is waiting to go or not - but dont pick up the weight of a bike. So I am sitting there for ages and there is nothing anywhere even close to going through so decide to just go on. So I get a couple of miles down the road and I see behind me and hear the siren so I pull over.

So they are doing me for jumping a red light - even after i explained why - they said fair enough but you still did it!!!

Also they said I accelerated away from the lights so hard that I "must have been speeding" - no actual evidence and I dont think I was above 70 for more than about 5secs before I relalised my speed and slowed to 70!!!

Also they said that the way I was riding was classed as "Dangerous Driving" - they said I was putting others in danger - how? - well I was sitting just to the left of the white lines so I could see past the car in front of me so I knew if I could overtake or not!!! And this apparently is putting oncoming traffic in danger even though I am not on their side of the road!!!

So I am being recommended for prosecution on dangerous driving, speeding, and whatever it is called when you go through a red light!!!!

Complete prats

They must have had a bad cup of tea or something. I mean I live in an area where (especially on a saturday night) there is more important things they could be doing and they stop me - with NO evidence - and decide I am a criminal.

So with this in mind I am thinking of just dumping the bike and walking everywhere or getting a Mountain bike - I have not long got my licence back so if I am prosecuted I will lose it again for sure - for probably 12 months. Pod said worse case scenario is jail!!!!!!!!!!! I could have hit him!!!!!

So like I said with this in mind i am thinking of giving up the bike and also as such I might hand the reins of moderator ship to someone else - if you are interested pm me!!

Cheers guys so listening

You sir have a very good case and could well defeat a court prosecution before it ever gets there, but you need to do a lot of home work before fighting.

First off you need to identify that there is indeed traffic sensors under the road, ask your council, next fid out what weight class of vehicle will be sufficient to change them. Provided that you can gather eveidence that a bike is not sufficient (you could do this by videoing the lights at night with your bike there) you should be able to argue that the lights were inoperative and therefore you were legitimate in your qpproach of treating it as a stop sign.

Next the speeding, now evidence

Next the dangerous driving, produce a copy of Roadcraft, the police motorcyclist handbook and highhlight the positioning section and then pose the question that if Roadcraft is dangerous riding then how come it is the foundation of Police skills

You have a lot of work to do but do this and plead not guilty, submitting a defense statement attesting all the evidence and you should have a good chance

Very best of luck fighting this (I agree with Patch's advice), they seem completely out of order and a good solicitor is the order of the day I think. Keep us informed.


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cant imagine you rolling over and taking this. you have only got your licence back, if you lose it again how you going to come over for next years irish scottish get together. fight boy

Fight Fight Fight Fight Fight


*ahem* Sorry, degenerated to the school yard there!

Follow Patch's advice, all very sound. Lot of work, but could very well be worth it - here's hoping things come good for you.

That is sickening and you can not allow them to get away with bullying people! Courts work on evidence not opinion and as such the speeding claim is truely ridiculous! As for the lights make sure you test those ones and other local 'faulty' lights! good luck, but you should not need it!

the fighting approach may work well on the mainland but in my experience (6 points so far, 3 for 35 in a 30!) northern ireland cops are absolute buggers.

As far as the speeding goes you cant be sure how long they were behind you and what seemed like a brief moment over 70 could easily have been a min or two.

What i would contest is the traffic light issue and the dangerous driving claim. Seems to me the dangerous driving claim is run of the mill with the speeding claim.

There are lights with pressure pads in lisburn and as i work nightshift my bike will never make those lights change early in the morning when im the only one on the road, i end up stopping at the lights, getting off the bike and hitting the button to cross as if im a pedestrian then when the green man disappears my light goes green, now hows that for dangerous driving!

Good luck steve m8.

sorry to hear bout that , those bloody cops round there are a bunch of cheeky ole d'heads.. They know how to avoid trouble from drunkards but can come down on easy targets like bikers...won't even start on the wee R plate corsa boys... make me mad they do... As for the traffic light sensors, i've seen a ferry load of bikers coming from the IoM TT goin through lights in Belfast cos the sensors wouldn't work.
All the best anyway, fight it out.

Sorry to hear mate instead of giving up the bike give up the Island and move over here

Seriously though it doesnt matter if there is a pad or not if you wait say 5 mins and the lights dont change then you can treat it as a stop sign.

Re speeding how can they tell your speed if you were accelerating away from them did they film you.

Dangerous driving...... ******** you were taking up a position to overtake.

Did they give you a ticket or charge you or were they taking the ****....phone the local office and get them to check to see if a crime report has been raised.

i got caught a few years ago doing 75 in a 60 on the A1 nr Banbridge and got a £680 fine for my trouble. i was spoken to like a piece of **** as well! the RUC /PSNI traffic police are absolute scum. i would rather live next door to fred west than them! tossers the lot of them