Police break into a scooter…
Sep 2nd, 2010 by Leo
I think this is the downside to taking your license plate and hiding the VIN is that technically, from what I understand, without identification your bike can be considered abandoned, the same as a box left on the street, so the police probably didn’t need a warrant or special orders to break into the storage compartments and look for some kind of ID. But having plates and VIN numbers won’t save your bike against the NYPD’s relentless crusade against gas-saving congestion-reducing two wheeled vehicles… Because everyone knows drug dealers and gun runners like to hide their stash in their Vespas.
Thanks to Dave for posting this in the Parking Alert comments! If you park on Vanderbilt and 47th and can’t find your bike today…well, I’m sorry to hear that.
Most of you New Yorkers know that at least twice during the summer the police go around towing illegally parked motorcycles in all five boroughs… So keep an eye out.
http://nyscooterclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14785
Thank God for Hurricane Earl — I’ll be leaving my bike home tomorrow instead of parking in midtown. Anyone know how long the crackdown lasts? Any word on towing happening in the Brooklyn?
Vanderbilt and 47th – you mean right by GCT? What the NYPD considers to be a numero uno terrorist target?
The interior space of a Vespa can more than adequately hold enough black powder to kill dozens of people on that street at 5:30 PM when everyone is walking to the train. The metal body alone will act as shrapnel.
Is it stupid? Yes. But the police don’t make the rules – these are borderline retarded peons just doing their job.
Simple. Don’t pull your plates. Leave your plates on, and all you’ll get is a ticket. Pull the plates, and this happens.
Don’t like the parking options? Join one of the groups lobbying the DOT to create dedicated scooter/moto parking in the city.
But don’t complain about what the cops are doing here when you’ve clearly broken the law.