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I actually was just pulled over for the first time since I got my CHL this morning in Austin. I was riding my 49cc Yamaha scooter to work and I ride past a school zone. I wasn't speeding, but a motorcycle police officer pulled me aside. He wanted to see how my scooter was registered and check my license. I handed him my driver's license and my CHL, and explained I wasn't carrying but wanted to hand him my CHL anyway as he would see it when he ran my driver's license. He recommended I get a helmet and we said good day.

I really got the impression that once I showed him my CHL, he didn't feel the need to look anything else over because he told me very quickly that I was fine, hadn't been speeding and was free to leave (he already said he wanted to check the registration on my scooter). I didn't even get asked for my insurance, which I was looking for in my wallet when he told me I was good to go.

Perhaps he thought your HOG was better than his?

I wonder what the PC was for your stop. I mean, they can't just pull people over "cause I wanted to see..."

pretty sure they can pull you over without any cause.

In this case, seeing someone with no helmet riding a 49cc scooter, maybe the owner didn't realize that the scooter has to be registered and insured, so the cop might have seen it as low-hanging fruit. Some folks tend to think that a scooter is like a bicycle ... no license/registration/inspection/insurance required.

mr.72 wrote:pretty sure they can pull you over without any cause.

Nope. Pretty sure they can't. They might make up some obscure reason or dig up some far-out law the legislature passed like license plate frames or front license plates but they do have to have Probable Cause to pull you over.

Anygunanywhere

DoubleJ wrote:I wonder what the PC was for your stop. I mean, they can't just pull people over "cause I wanted to see..."

I wasn't going to give him any guff. It would not have helped and anyway, he was nice enough and very respectful. Like they say, "You can fight the charge in court, but not the ride." I think he wanted to see if I had a 'M' drivers license because he checked to see if I had a moped license plate, which I do. I'm not required to have a motorcycle license then.

Purplehood wrote:Perhaps he thought your HOG was better than his?

Hehe, I doubt it. My scooter is "cute" compared to their choppers. I get about 80 mpg though, which is why I use it for commuting in town.

mr.72 wrote:pretty sure they can pull you over without any cause.

well, not legally, at least...

GeoJAP wrote:I wasn't going to give him any guff.

Oh, I understand, I just still question the validity of "just wanted to see."

anytime I hear the word just, I think of excuse.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:When I was a COP, we had a term for that kind of ticket, but I can't use it here.

Chas.

I had no idea you were former LEO.

DPS and county deputies are pretty good about running the tags on trailers they pass, or are passed by.
If the registration doesn't match the appearance of the trailer, they will check you out. For example, if the registration shows a 1000-lb shop-built trailer, and it's stuck on a Pace 24-ft enclosed car-hauler, you get to talk to the Nice Man.

Be careful about swapping plates if you have several trailers. I write the trailer name on the back of the tag, and keep all of them in the truck so they won't get stolen.

srothstein wrote:[But DPS (under pressure from TXDOT) is trying to quietly crack down on registration violations. The reason is, of course, the money. As with the TXDOT "love your state" campaign to get people to renew on time, the state loses a lot of money when people improperly use the farm registration. It is done at a discount over normal registration to help real agriculture develop and pay.

I was instructed that it is violation to take a vehicle with farm plates to another place of employment other than something involved with agriculture. I see many trucks riding around Texas City with farm truck plates....on their way to the oil refinery

jbirds1210 wrote:

srothstein wrote:[But DPS (under pressure from TXDOT) is trying to quietly crack down on registration violations. The reason is, of course, the money. As with the TXDOT "love your state" campaign to get people to renew on time, the state loses a lot of money when people improperly use the farm registration. It is done at a discount over normal registration to help real agriculture develop and pay.

I was instructed that it is violation to take a vehicle with farm plates to another place of employment other than something involved with agriculture. I see many trucks riding around Texas City with farm truck plates....on their way to the oil refinery

I have also heard stories about county sheriffs going to local high school football games and writing tickets to all the trucks parked in the parking lot with farm tags on them but am not sure just how true they are. Wonder if they wrote tickets only to the visitors?

jbirds1210 wrote:

srothstein wrote:[But DPS (under pressure from TXDOT) is trying to quietly crack down on registration violations. The reason is, of course, the money. As with the TXDOT "love your state" campaign to get people to renew on time, the state loses a lot of money when people improperly use the farm registration. It is done at a discount over normal registration to help real agriculture develop and pay.

I was instructed that it is violation to take a vehicle with farm plates to another place of employment other than something involved with agriculture. I see many trucks riding around Texas City with farm truck plates....on their way to the oil refinery

It very common around here (and probably throughout the State) to see farm tags on trucks that are in no way involved in agriculture. I have warned many folks about this....but since it is virtually unenforced (around here), it continues.

Getting a ticket for that kind of offense reminds me of a quote . . .

Ayn Rand wrote:The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.

That he wrote you a ticket (rather than issue a warning) for this shows the difference between yesteryear's peace officer and today's law enforcement officer.

And it's a good example of why respect for those who wear a badge is eroding.

HankB wrote:Getting a ticket for that kind of offense reminds me of a quote . . .

Ayn Rand wrote:The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.

That he wrote you a ticket (rather than issue a warning) for this shows the difference between yesteryear's peace officer and today's law enforcement officer.

And it's a good example of why respect for those who wear a badge is eroding.

Respect for those who draft, pass, enact, and interpret laws should be eroding faster by orders of magnitude.

Anygunanywhere