Article about police motorcycle stops in NY

May 17, 2010
Police Stops of Motorcycles in New York
Since 2007, the New York State Police, along with other county and local police departments, have been conducting motorcyclist only police checkpoints on the roadways of New York State. They claim the purpose of these stops, at which they issue numerous tickets for helmet and exhaust pipe violations, is to advance motorcycle safety. Being a motorcycle rider myself, as well as the Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (AIM) Attorney for New York State, I was asked by ABATE of New York to contest this infringement on the rights of motorcyclists.
My initial response was to write the State Police and municipal authorities. I advised them that I was the New York State attorney representative form the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) and that if they continued to conduct the motorcycle only Police enforcement checkpoints my office would file suit. My letter was ignored and consequently, with the help of then President of ABATE, Robert “Prospector” Boellner, I found class representatives to bring my action against the New York State Police as well as the other municipal agencies and elected officials participating in these stops.
Although the lawsuit is still in the discovery stages, the New York State Police have already been required to turn over many internal documents which contain information that every rider should know. It turns out that the State Police originally got the Federal funding for the motorcycle only roadblocks by pointing to an increase in motorcycle fatalities. This is where the misleading information provided by the State Police begins. They point to an increase in fatalities when in actuality, in 2007, the per rider fatalities went down. More importantly, their own research shows that the major causes of motorcycle fatalities are speed and failure of other motorists on the roadway to keep a proper lookout for the rider.
Using the purported increase in rider fatalities as an excuse for conducting motorcycle only check points, the State Police began targeting major motorcycle events and setting up checkpoints along the routes to the events. The Police would conduct these stops by putting signs up on highways advising all motorcycles that they must pull over for a Police checkpoint. There were Police helicopters as well as fixed wing airplanes ready for any riders that failed to stop for this checkpoint.
At the checkpoint there is a visual inspection by a State Police Trooper which can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. Based upon this initial inspection, some motorcycles are allowed on their way while other motorcyclists are further detained for a more thorough inspection which may take 15-45 minutes. The more detailed inspection will often result in a ticket for some sort of infraction. In addition to issuing tickets, the Police give riders a pamphlet addressing motorcycle safety. The documents which we have obtained as a result of our lawsuit indicate that the State Police contact local District Attorneys and encourage them to enforce the tickets to the fullest extent of the law.
The types of infractions the riders are ticketed for depends not on the motorcycles or riders but more often on the part of the state the riders are located. For example, riders headed to a freedom rally in Niagara were primarily ticketed for loud pipes while riders on the way to the Harley Rendezvous were far more likely to get ticketed for a helmet violation. One would certainly expect that riders going to the Harley Rendevous would have an equal proportion of loud pipes per motorcycle stop as any other part of the state and the inexplicable discrepancies in the manner in which tickets are issued is evidence of the arbitrary manner in which the law is being enforced at the checkpoints.
In the first lawsuit of its kind in the United states, Proner and Proner is challenging the constitutionality of this unwarranted Police action on First, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment grounds in the Federal Court for Northern District of New York. The United States Supreme Court has long recognized that when a motorist is stopped on the roadway, there is a “seizure” under the Constitution. Whether or not this “seizure” is unconstitutional depends on whether or not objective facts indicate that society’s legitimate interests warrant the seizure and the degree to which it intrudes on the individuals personal liberties. Sobriety check points have been found to be constitutional because the intrusion is limited and they promote a legitimate government concern for public safety. In a case called Michigan Dept. Of State Police v. Sitz 496 US 444(1990) the United States Supreme Court upheld as legal a sobriety checkpoint at which all motorists are stopped for preliminary questioning and observation for signs of intoxication.
We believe that the New York State Police motorcycle only checkpoints can be
easily distinguished from a sobriety checkpoint on a variety of grounds. First of all, the New York State Police are not targeting all motorists. They are only targeting motorcyclists and their own records make it clear that their stated purpose of promoting public safety is contrived.
The average motorcyclist knows when they get on their bikes how loud the bikes are and how much of their heads are covered by their helmets. The Police are well aware the major cause of motorcycle deaths is from speeding and failure of other motorists to observe motorcycles and the checkpoints fail to address either cause. The “safety pamphlets” which the Police hand out at the stops could just as easily be handed out at the rallies to which the motorcyclists are traveling and certainly do not justify forcing every motorcycle to leave the roadway and be inspected by the Police.
Internal memorandum which Police have been forced to disclose as result of our lawsuit indicate that members of the NYS gang unit are assigned to work the check points and we think the Court will agree that the stops are designed primarily for law enforcement purposes as opposed to public safety purposes. Rather than promoting any legitimate public safety concern, the checkpoints are intended to harass and intimidate motorcyclists attempting to attend motorcycle events thereby depriving them of their First Amendment right to freedom of assembly as well as their Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process, equal protection and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Many motorcyclists ask us how they can get involved. Please report any Police discriminatory action to my firm, Proner and Proner, or the National Coalition of Motorcyclists. Many times we get the calls when someone gets six traffic citations and the motorcyclist probably was doing something wrong and knows it. We don’t do traffic tickets. We handle personal injury lawsuits and are challenging the New York State Police’s attack on the rights of ALL Motorcyclists as we are also members of the riding community. If you see an attack on the rights of all Motorcyclists or if you have had an accident involving personal injuries please call us any time and we will do our best to help you.
Thank you for your continued support and Ride Free, Ride Safe,