Knee Down, been knicked, need advice

[wasp]

Hi all

I and a few other bikers got stopped the other day. We were caught red handed getting our knee down on a local roundabout. The police said we may get done for dangerous driving (1 year ban min) and they have video evidence (taken by a mate). The police (2 bikers) left saying they would look at the vid and decide.

Has anyone here been in trouble for this and is it actually illegal to get your knee down.

Yours
Worried

[goodlife]

If you were not speeding and obeying all traffic laws at the time, I don't see how knee-down is illegal. Do they nick drivers for hanging an arm out the window?

After learning how-to knee down, I find it actually feels safer than knee up.

How could it be considered dangerous?

[pesty]

Read about this in a magazine a while back when someone wrote in with teh same proble.

Something alomg the lines of get an expert to argue that having a knee down is safer because of less angle of bike means more surface area of tyre meaning more grip, plus all the other benefits etc etc.

obviuosly dont know the outcome but hope that helps.

dont film yourselves next time I bet some stupid old dodering fool saw you doing it and phoned the police who though mmmmmm money and easy conviction.

[wasp]

Thanks, I have the same view but I can remember being up againts a judge when I was a teenager (long time ago) and they tend to take the police view every time.

Can you beleive that 5 people dialled 999

The only shred of hope I have at the moment is that the Old Bill were bikers, and seemed quite resonable, one even lit up a cigar, how cool is that!

Whats your general view on Bike Police?

[stooz]

Bike Police are often very approachable and easy going.

I went on a bikesafe (police training) and got my knee down at 50mph while being chased down by the instructor on his pan european.

He laughed about the knee down, but ultimately said its the perception to car drivers that is important. I look fast and nutty, albeit slower than the pan round the corner scraping his panniers...

technically it is illegal. However a ban seems a huge leap!! Most police I have spoken to, will only bother persuing if there are various other offences at the same time. Small plate, exhaust, tyre tread, speed etc..

If you want to push it, I suggest the video owner demand his tape back. Its not yours, and I would suggest is only submissable upon the owners permission.
Get your mate to refuse permission.

[Mon Ami Mate]

wasp said:

Hi all I and a few other bikers got stopped the other day. We were caught red handed getting our knee down on a local roundabout. The police said we may get done for dangerous driving (1 year ban min) and they have video evidence (taken by a mate). The police (2 bikers) left saying they would look at the vid and decide. Has anyone here been in trouble for this and is it actually illegal to get your knee down. Yours Worried

I know somebody who was stopped for this - but was sent on his way with a caution. Apparently a rider with his knee down is considered not to be in proper control of his motorcycle. Perhaps somebody should let Valentino Rossi know.

[catso]

Can't see how the Dangerous Driving could stick, I mean presumably you could have been going round in a car at the same speed (without your knee down) how is this different. Were you breaking the speed limit?

After all what's the difference between knee actually touching down and simply going fast enough/leaning far enough to touch down without actually doing so, and surely if your knees's down then you're hanging off the bike so the actual lean angle is less than cornering at the same speed in an 'upright stylee' therefore less chance of losing traction?

I thought that 999 was only for emergencies (ie life or death/robbery in progress) FFS what sort of emergency is that?

But unfortunately I imagine there is some 'crime' that can be pinned on it - antisocial behaviour perhaps?

Anyway best of luck.

[jacko lah]

Had an 'off the record' caution once from a police biker, after getting my knee down on a roundabout on Birminghams inner ring road.

I was on an RD350LC (smoking pipes and all) was doing about 40 over the 40 speed limit and was clearly a danger to the general public.

In mitigation it was about 7 am on a dry summer sunday morning and I never saw the copper.


I have to say the Copper was quite nice to me after checking I had a tax disc and the bike was in my name, he suggested that I think about the other numpties, who might be surprised to find me imbedded in the side of thier car.

I think this 'shot across the bows' was a more
appropriate responce.

But back to case in point. More than 1 rider ?

I'd be charging them with Racing on a pubic highway. Instant Ban? (If I was a twat and/or a police man!)

[wasp]

Thanks all, I am still worried, heard nothing in a week, I guess I will have to wait a couple more and if I have not heard by then...

I will let you all know the outcome.

To be fair it was not just a quick knee down. There was up to seven of us at one point and we were there for the best part of an hour "perfecting" it. It was a very busy roundabout and I should know better at 38!

We were going to get let off with a caution by the plod that turned up in a patrol car but then he got a radio message to say the 2 bikes were on the way.

We were very polite & co-oprative (Apart from the car driver, who tried to refuse a search of his car) The police have new stop & search powers so he owned up to the camcorder being in the car. They took the tape away as evidence and said as long as we were not doing anything more serious we probably would not hear any more. It will look worse than it was on the tape because 2 of the lads had Titanium sliders (looked like guy fawkes night)

Any how, we left not knowing if we are in deep s*it or not.

I am still annoyed about the 999 calls and the officers were pleased they got the call as they "got up to 150mph" on the A12 !!!!!!!!!!!

Whats more dangerous, a few bikers getting there knee down or 2 BMW's travelling at 150 on a cr*p dual carriageway!

[jacko lah]

wasp said:

To be fair it was not just a quick knee down. There was up to seven of us at one point and we were there for the best part of an hour "perfecting" it. It was a very busy roundabout and I should know better at 38! so he owned up to the camcorder being in the car . They took the tape away as evidence and said as long as we were not doing anything more serious we probably would not hear any more. It will look worse than it was on the tape because 2 of the lads had Titanium sliders (looked like guy fawkes night) !

I guess you are all going down for a short stretch !!

But your mate's a knob ain't he ? It hardly illegal to have a camcorder. Why not just turn it off ?

I think he wants knee capping ?

[iguana]

wasp said:

To be fair it was not just a quick knee down. There was up to seven of us at one point and we were there for the best part of an hour "perfecting" it. It was a very busy roundabout

I'm hardly the model of restraint on the roads, but gotta say that really is pretty fecking stupid, why on earth would you do that?

[dern]

wasp said:

Whats more dangerous, a few bikers getting there knee down or 2 BMW's travelling at 150 on a cr*p dual carriageway!

Or to put it another way... what's more dangerous, 2 trained bike-police travelling at 150mph on a dual-c with their lights on (presumably) or 7 bikers using a busy road-junction to practice knee down antics (2 with sparky sliders) for an hour while being filmed?

I'd be worried too.

Good luck though, hope you do just get really lucky and just get a warning.

Mark

>> Edited by dern on Friday 1st October 13:15

[stooz]

iguana said:

wasp said: To be fair it was not just a quick knee down. There was up to seven of us at one point and we were there for the best part of an hour "perfecting" it. It was a very busy roundabout I'm hardly the model of restraint on the roads, but gotta say that really is pretty fecking stupid, why on earth would you do that?

cuz its fun!!

[GreenV8S]

Somebody once told me that going round a roundabout more than a couple of times could be construed as 'testing', which I think is illegal on public roads. I suppose there may be a bit of a grey area here because you could simply be lost, but a large group going round and round as fast as possible is probably asking for trouble!

[stooz]

more than 3 times is an offence in its own right. which is why you get off and come back!

[cdp]

Is that in the highway code? Surely if lost (and a passenger is navigating) it would be safer to stay on than to leave it, turn around (probably crossing traffic) and comeback.

[wasp]

I forgot to mention, my right indicator was stuck on and I was to scared to exit the roundabout in case some one that was lighting a fag/changing a CD/reading a map/ or just not looking took me out.

I know I was daft, stupid and the rest but sometimes you just dont think of the consequences. I probably will get booked but I dont think I deserve a ban when you consider some of tw#ts on the road.

[dern]

stooz said:

more than 3 times is an offence in its own right. which is why you get off and come back!

Finding two roundabouts joined by a bit of dual-c would be the best bet I would have thought. By the time you repeat visit a roundabout the people who you alarmed last visit would have wandered off. You'd also be able to try to get your left knee down on the exit.

Not that I can do either side mind

Mark

[stesrg]

Hmm we done a lot of video recording at telford islands a few years ago between A5/M54 and footage of big wheelies on the straights, however the specific instruction to the camera operator was see pull film out stuff down trousers and tell em your practicing filming although all the stunts we pulled over the years we were luckey to have only got caught with small number plates

[catso]

stesrg said:

however the specific instruction to the camera operator was see pull film out stuff down trousers and tell em your practicing filming

How about just telling them to go themselves