You either get the whole picture or you don't

I feel like a broken record but folks I am going to pound on this issue until every rider out there gets it.

Every day I search the web for a quote of the day the expresses what is going on in my head and heart and I share it on Face Book and in our forums on www.beltdrivebetty.com

Today's quote is from Art Turock: There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results. 

This Motorcycle Noise Bylaw stuff has me steaming and I ride a stock motorcycle. Why am I steaming, because - it's about so much more than noise.  When you sit in my chair sifting through the news feeds to bring riders the news of what is happening  that can affect their recreation and life well the bigger picture comes into plain view - so plain that it hurts.

In the National Post today is an article on Johnny Sombrero - the only remaining founding member of the Black Diamond Riders - a 76 year old man with no criminal record whose home was invaded by police over his collection of fire arms, all of which were stored in gun cases under lock. The 76 year old was slammed to the floor in his own home, had ribs broken as a result and is facing charges of improper storage. You see, after 5 hours of ripping his home apart, apparently all the police could come up with was some locks and cases that they felt were inadequate.

The article asks the question about stigmatizing lawful gun owners - I ask the question - is it because this lawful gun owner is a biker?

The police LIED to get into his house by telling him in a phone call that his car was being broken into, once he opened the door he found himself face first on the floor.

Then let's look at the article from the Nanaimo Daily regarding the Hells Angels "Zeke" Ride or lack thereof. Apparently the police are puzzled as to why the run did not happen this year. Zeke went missing in 1993.  The police are frustrated because they didn't get to do intelligence gathering or get their HUGE over time pay because all that happened this year to their knowledge was a BBQ.

The next article is also from the Nanaimo Daily regarding the Face Book Group - Boycott Nanaimo.

John Rattan, the Mayor of Nanaimo is concerned over the boycott and the negative impact it will have on his city. The RCMP claim the year long campaign against riders is about safety and yet the comments from Cpl Smith say otherwise: Begin Quote:  "Noise is just one part of the whole issue for motorcycles," said Cpl. Norm Smith. "I've been in the downtown core and you can't see the motorcycle but you can hear it."End Quote

So much for the police's claim that loud pipes are ineffective because motorcycle exhaust noise is projected to the rear! In my humble opinion, NOISE is just an excuse to stop us, jack us up and profile us. Again I refer to the article on Johnny Sombrero - the ONLY reason police invaded his home and lied to do so, again, in my humble opinion is not because he owned guns, but he is a biker who owns guns.

I am disgusted that a 76 year old man - with NO CRIMINAL record can be slammed to the floor, have ribs broken and no just cause be shown.

Folks, if you haven't figured out the whole picture - let me express it as clearly as I possibly can - WE, Motorcyclists are a VISIBLE MINORITY, hence an easy target.

See what DriveSmartBC has to say about motorcycles: - Begin Quote:

What amount of noise is allowed to come from a motorcycle? Does the same limit apply to cars?

The schedule to Division 7 of the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations sets out noise levels from vehicles:

• Light Duty 83 dB
• Heavy Duty Gasoline 88 dB
• Motorcycles 91 dB
• Heavy Duty Diesel 93 dB

These levels are to be tested with a decibel meter in a test facility and are not valid measurements for the roadside. Instead paragraph 27 says that "The opinion of an inspector as to whether the engine and exhaust noise is greater than that made by other vehicles in good condition of comparable size, horsepower, piston displacement or compression ratio shall determine whether exhaust gases are expelled with excessive noise."

Many owners of noisy motorcycles seem to hold the opinion that they must make lots of noise so that other drivers can hear them. This brings the motorcycle to the attention of other drivers and reduces the chance of collision. It's interesting that anti-social behaviour is a justification for road safety! End Quote.

The police services are insidious - they have become experts on twisting the truth and putting up smoke screens to hide behind and the motorcycle noise issue is their smoke screen - the issue is profiling.

The main stream media are their dupes. Any untruth or half truth will do when it comes to selling newspapers or getting better ratings for their news broadcasts. Again, these are my opinions - formed from 9 years of sifting through the news feeds on a daily basis.
And the writer of the Nanaimo Daily article on the "Noise Issue" Darrell Bellaart - well he joined the Boycott Nanaimo Face Book group and thinks he has done our community some kind of service with his column, but has he? NO - he missed the point entirely - if this issue is really about noise why are ALL vehicles not being pulled over - en mass to have their noise emissions checked?

Yesterday I posted a quote that says exactly who I think the police services have become: Cops and robbers resemble each other, so there's not a lot to learn in terms of learning the logistics of committing the crime or investigating the crime. Andre Braugher

The police lie in order to do their "duty" - they beat old people because of who they are rather than what they have actually done. They stop riders under the guise of Safety & Noise, when in fact they simply are doing intelligence work. They attend runs, and covertly take photos of license plates and people simply to gather intelligence and they harass people who are doing good works in their communities, they attend runs so that they can hand out tickets for license plates or pipes, or helmets - our runs are like us being a barrel of fish - ready and ripe for the picking - and often the tickets they hand out are fought in court and thrown out - why? Because the police are heavy handed and often times they violate the person's charter rights when they are doing so. I know people who have been arrested because they refuse to take their helmets off and hand them over to an officer. I know people who have been arrested because they refused to open their saddle bags - their chattel. These situations are illegal and  make no mistake -they are profiling us and they often abuse their authority to do so.

I can not stress it enough people - if you are stopped - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.

GATHER EVIDENCE of what transpired - take photos, video, write everything down you can and for heaven's sake people - PLEASE - join a group that can take this situation all the way to the Supreme Court - WE NEED and DESERVE protection under the law - we are a visible minority that has made us an easy target.

If the Motorcycle Stops are truly about safety then why is noise being touted as the issue? And if it really is about noise, then why are semi's that use jacob's brakes in city limits not being pulled over en mass, why are noise cars, noisy pick ups not being stopped en mass? WHY? Because it is NOT about any of those things - those are just smoke screens meant to garner the favour of an uneducated and mislead general public who believe the crap being fed to them by the main stream media and the police services.

And that folks is my humble opinion - as I said, it is one formed over 9 years of reading the news daily, right across the country and around the world. One formed by my personal experiences as a show master for custom motorcycle shows and one formed over 30+ years of being a par t of a community that has been profiled to death.

I wished that those with the really loud pipes who ride in an obnoxious, oh look at me way would grow up and quite giving the cops the excuse to stop everyone on two wheels - if the inconsiderate were eliminated from this equation, the rest of us might see some respite from some of the profiling, but then the police would just find some other excuse, some other way to profile us. Use your pipes for the right reason - safety not showing off!

What say you? I would love to hear your opinions on this topic!

And remember - Untied we ride, divided our rights are taken away from us, our freedoms are restricted and our voices are muffled.

There is a ton of other news that is worth reading on www.beltdrivebetty.com

I hope you will take a few moments to see what else is going on that will restrict your rights, affect your day and your life as a motorcyclist.

Please, ride safely, ride like everyone is blind and CAN NOT SEE YOU.

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider
www.beltdrivebetty.com
www.bustedknucklechronicles.com