On the river road??????

[Rocknroll90]

Cruzing for lunch one day I traveled to a small town close to here. traveling back was the very less traveled but smoother river road. Two lane road no shoulder some curves for Nebraska, cornfields 7 feet high-nice echo of the engine in the hallway of corn no more than about 8 feet off the roadway and a warm sunny October day, the last one for awhile, cranking the XS11 up to SEE what it can do!!!!! I was riding this way and eased it back down from hyperspace. Just as I get to the posted speed limit sign speed I see pink diamond temporary sign standing next to the road. GGGGRRRRRR license and vehicle registration ahead. WTF on this road-in the MIDDLE of my ride. This HAS to be a joke. Nope-had to pull the ear plugs out real fast and ease it on down before getting all that crappy paperwork out to show the nice men behind their stars on their chest. Headlight and blinker check and I was on my way. Glad they didnt check the sadle bags but that was for later.

[CatatonicBug]

What, they do random vehicle checks there?? We don't even carry our registration on our vehicles in Missouri. The cops all have that info in their computers, so all we need is license and insurance if we get pulled over.

[Ivan]

When I was growing up in SW Nebraska, it really depended on wether the officer wanted to make you produce the registration. The license plate could be called in, butt sometimes they didn't feel like it... :rollseyes:

Here in Kansas, they usually know your name before they turn on the lights.

[xsdad]

Sounds like a good ride Rocknroll90! I can't believe they have random stop-checks for your paperwork! I don't like that at all. "Mental note to self...Don't ride in Nebraska"
At least you had a nice day and a good ride...

[Bigfoot]

A friend of mine was riding with a group of Harleys heading to Sturgis. In Grand Island, NE the entire group was pulled over for "speeding". They were all given tickets for the novelty helmets they were wearing and required to go get proper helmets at the closest place (a walmart about a mile away). $149 per ticket. They were pulling over every group that came by to check their helmets. I am sure they made a fortune that day.

[Jerry]

Hmmm...Here in Colorado you are required to have:
Registration
Proof of Insurance
Driver's License

I carry mine in the locking pocket of the Vetter fairing. Have only had to produce it once...

When I first moved to Colorado (1977) every vehicle had to have an annual safety inspection, which included checks for lights, horn, exhaust, tire tread depth, and on cars, operating windshield wipers and operational parking brake. Cars also ...at least one wheel, front, was pulled to measure remaining shoe or pad thickness You got a sticker to put on the windshield (or other suitable place) if you passed, If not, you had to get the defect repaired and go through the check again. Could not get plates or stickers if you didn't go have the check receipt.

Was running a Honda CB450 then, had to get it inspected every year, just like the cars. Got caught one time as the test for turn lights had to be done with engine off, my battery was bad and would not flash the lights...had to go buy a new battery and retake the check.

Before I left in '85 this had been changed to an emissions check, no more safety check.

[Bigfoot]

Missouri still requires a safety check. You need it to get or renew plates. It used to be every year but now plates are good for two years. I think it cost $10 for a bike, $17 for a car.

[DGXSER]

Ohio does not have a required safety check that I know of. In 27 years of driving so far I have never had a safety check on anything I have ever driven.

I did get a ticket once for a broken windshield. And they used to have an emissions check that was in for a while out for a while, back in and now out again. Do not recall them checking anything of safety then either.

I believe the police of course can pull you over and inspect for the required stuff, but never seen a specific safety check yet.

[Ivan]

Nebraska was king of random stops. The secret is that they are required to post notice in a public forum, or used to be when I lived there. I constantly kept an eye on the paper to see where they were setting up.

FWIW, if you see them and turn around, they will chase you down and you'll get a ticket for avoiding a traffic signal.

[CatatonicBug]

Here in St. Louis, on top of the safety inspection (which I think should be required everywhere), we also have an emissions test. Starting in 2000, up until 2 years ago, you had to drive to a facility set up by the gov't and wait in line (sometimes for over 2 hours) to have them drive you car on a dyno. There were so many complaints and lawsuits about testers killing cars on the dyno that they killed that big process. We still have the emissions test, but it's done at local garage, at the same time as the safety inspection, without the whole dyno thing.

I grew up in So. California, where the "Smog Check" prices were determined by the garage doing the testing. Sometimes it was over $50-$60, and it's required every 2 years. At least here, the prices are set by the gov't at about $24 for both inspections. Still required every 2 years though.

[trbig]

Here in St. Louis, on top of the safety inspection (which I think should be required everywhere),

Sometimes I see the things you've written.. and just have to shake my head with amazement. Words escape me... which is a good thing right now because they wouldn't be nice.

Amazing...


Tod

[DGXSER]

Years ago we had the emissions test ran by the local garages here in Ohio. My friend who drove a 1984 Cutlass with a 350 rocket with the heads milled down to 12:1 compression and a holley 4 barrell through 2" exhaust with glasspacks got his certificate every year to, his just cost more than my test did.

Then we went to the test rna at a specific govt sponsored center. I watched the girl testing my gas cap bend the hose to be sure of a seal on every one of them she tested.

As to the safety inspections, although maybe a touchy subject perhaps, I would be interested to know how many accidents are due to faulty equipment versus how many are pure driver error. My money is on the later being about 90% or better. I would much rather have the LEOs my tax dollars are paying out stopping idiots form swerving all over the road while they text someone or try to pick up the spoon they dropped while trying to eat their ice cream and drive than checking 10,000 cars to find the one with a chip in the windshield that is in the field of vision.

[CatatonicBug]

Sometimes I see the things you've written.. and just have to shake my head with amazement.

Somehow, I knew that would irritate someone..

I only say that because I am a stickler for safety, and I see way too many vehicles (I'm talking cages here) that should not be on the road because of things that a safety inspection would have prevented. Things as simple as lights (tail, turn, brake AND reverse) that have completely burnt out, for example. It drives me crazy that people don't check these things on their own, and when told about them, often don't care! I do understand the frustration it can cause if something is found that needs an expensive repair (I've had that happen myself), but at least it's found before something catastrophic happens out on the road. If people were more aware of their own vehicles, we wouldn't need the inspections, but most drivers nowadays can't even change a tire, let alone check brake pads.

[trbig]

They have created a TAX to where someone else can be responsible for looking at their car occasionally..(Every 2-4 years) so there's no need for them to. The inspections are a joke (I was an inspector here) For a shop to do it correctly by the book, they'd lose their azz.

The state isn't making things safer, they are making money while lulling people into thinking there's no need to check their own vehicle any more while getting to occasionally tell someone they have a taillight out. Even worse, you actually DO check all your own stuff, then you have to go pay someone to tell you your vehicle is fine. Gee Mr. Government.. what else can you create to take my money in a new way?? People finally saw what a joke it was here and complained enough to get that inspection crap thrown away.

I especially liked when they implemented the new law to tax the tire shops $1 for every used tire because of the environmental issues. When asked about who/when the people would come pick up these used tires, we were told to just keep disposing of them the same way we had been... but don't forget to send them their check.

Believe it or not, there's some people that think these taxes are a great idea and should be implemented EVERYWHERE... I'm glad you like those extra fees.. .I hope you keep them there.


Tod

[b.walker5]

Here in St. Louis, on top of the safety inspection (which I think should be required everywhere), we also have an emissions test.

We have six monthly safety inspections here, which are required before we can register the vehicle (required before we can use them on the road). Theyre done at local garages by licenced inspectors who are qualified mechanics. As much as I hate them, I see the need and have to agree. They are a comprehensive check of all the safety aspects of the vehicle and there are way too many people on the road who have no idea how to maintain their vehicle and simply fix things when they break. Theyre a danger on the road and simply dont care about thier own or other peoples safety. We have a youth culture on the road at the moment, and i suspect you have them too, called "boy racers". They take 4 cylinder jap screamers, Subaru WRX's and Honda Integra's and such, spend a fortune under the hood making them go fast with turbo's, chips and NOS etc, take out the shock absorbers, cut the springs until they're almost dragging on the road and then race around the town like lunatics barely in control. Safety inspections pick up a lot of issues that many people have no idea exist because they either dont know or dont care.