Would the cops ever use spikes against a motorbike?
If there is a car chase, there comes a point where the cops will use spikes and/or roadblocks to stop the offender. Presumably the protection offered by a car would protect the offender from the damage caused by these techniques. Suppose he/she was on a motorbike though, would they use spikes or road blocks, knowing that it could kill them? Or would they be more likely to let a bike go?
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I am sure they would.
They have no problem ramming cars off the road or turning them into sieves with bullets, so I do not see why they would have a problem with using spikes on a bike.
@fire – it’s not clear if you mean a motorbike (max speed of about 30 mph) or a motorcycle (like a Harley) – max speed 120 mph. That’s an important distinction.
I cannot speak for the police, but I strongly doubt that they would use spikes for a motorbike or a motorcycle. The survivability percentage is far, far smaller if the driver (rider) has nothing to protect him.
Besides, a motorbike (and motorcycle) at speed is inherently less balanced (more unstable) than a car. If a motorcycle is going 90 mph, one small overreaction will cause the bike to slide, turn over, or (at worst) throw the rider. So there’s a good chance that the escaping rider is going to off himself anyway.
It’s unlikely that the police will let the bike go (cleanly) – they follow the guy at whatever speed, but not put out spike strips to actively impede him.
Best to use a see-saw, for comedic effect if nothing else.
@ragingloli I guess it depends on the location then? I’m quite sure if cops shot at a car here, unless they’d come under fire first, they’d be dragged before the courts.
@elbanditoroso Where I’m from we use the terms “motorbike” and “motorcycle” interchangeably. Often it’s just a “bike”. I mean anything from a 125cc Ninja up to a Hayabusa or Panigale, so vmax around the 300km/h (186mph) mark. Thanks for your answer.
@ucme Haha now there’s an idea…
@ragingloli Well that’s fucking terrifying. And the number of related articles mentioning police brutality do nothing to improve my perception of the city. Whereas in my city, there is an investigation even in a seemingly clear cut case if the police discharged their weapons.
I don’t see any reason to not use the strips if they want to stop someone. They are the police, they use any means necessary.
Well, we shoot DUI drivers and half-deaf woodcarvers so I don’t see why we wouldn’t use spike strips against motorcycles.
Hell, with all the gear they’ve been getting lately, land mines and nerve gas are also viable options.
While one bad pickle is one too many, I just love how a few – proportionally – bad/questionable actions taken by cops seems to drive almost everyone into stereotyping all cops as short sighted, racist, trigger happy if not corrupt donut eating chumps. Yes, cops in some areas are pretty fucked up and something needs to be done about those concentrations of knuckle dragging clowns, but tossing all cops into jerkwad corner is unwarranted. Besides, this corner is crowded enough, I’d like to keep some space for myself here, not too keen on sharing.
In the event that a police force uses a spike stripe against a motorcyclist, I don’t see how they could come up with a bullshit excuse to explain away their reasoning for going to such lengths outside of utter idiocy and/or willful ignorance.
@Winter_Pariah There is some truth to what you say, as the moajority of cops are good. But the fact remains that we didn’t have these issues a few years ago despite us having the same ubiquitous camera work and 24/7 media we do now. Something changed.
@Winter_Pariah It’s not that people want to paint them all with the same brush; it’s the closing of ranks to protect those who abuse their power and privilege.
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