Ride of the Century driver dies after crashing into police car in south St. Louis | KMOV.com St. Louis

Ride of The Century Fatalities, Arrests: Michael Evans Clips Cop Car, Crashes, Police Say

 

I don't know man. This article pretty much proves that neither of those guys were riding in ROTC at the time of their deaths. They speculate Evans was in St. Louis for ROTC and they said that Rohe went to an opening party a few days before supporting it. That's it?

Two motorcyclists die in St. Louis area as stunt riders gather for 'Ride of the Century' - KansasCity.com


The cops instigate a lot of the reckless riding that occurs in the group. If their real concern was safety and the flow of traffic, they sure as hell shouldn't try to road block in the middle of the interstate after an exit.



This is 2012, but I'm sure it's basically the same every year





And, separately, I need to hear more than a vague charge of "dangerous behavior" before I support arresting 23 people and impounding 24 bikes on the first day.... You wonder why they don't care about riding safely when they know the cops will lock them up and impound their bikes anyways. Starting to kind of sound a little too "police state-ish" to me.



I've seen bigger Harley group rides in the area I used to live in. A lot of speeding, all straight pipes, drinking and riding, etc. - and all the local police department does is block intersections to get them through quickly and safely. I think it's a sport bike thing to be honest. Kids in their 20's on crotch rockets scare the hell out of the police for some reason...

 

Because we are all gun toting, drug dealing, police shooting crypts and bloods. We also club baby seals and worship satan.

 

The article said that most of the bikes that were picked up were stolen or had stolen motors in them.

People that steal should be arrested.

 

I totally agree. I hate thieves. They should do more than just arrest them.



But in which article did it say that most of the bikes/motors/parts that were impounded were stolen?

 

The second article says 5 bikes were stolen property. There were some with hot motors too. I followed links to other reports on the event.

I don't like the police harassing riders just to do it either, but truly reckless behavior needs to be delt with. Those who do follow the rules and act like idiots give a bad rep to those of us who act like grown-ups.

 

Oh, I see now. (Didn't read that article all the way down the first time)



Look, I'm not saying that no one stunts or rides really reckless at these things. Some do, all of them are not angels. And I'm not saying that those guys shouldn't get fined. I'm not saying they shouldn't be arrested (especially so if they received stolen property). But it does seem that there is some actual harassment going on from police. And it's not just ROTC in St. Louis that it happens at. It seems to be all of the huge sport bike group rides. The Bay area does the same thing - and they've had some issues too.

When I've witnessed and partook in some Harley events, and those seem to have just as many problems as sport bikes (I don't know about the stolen bikes aspect) with regards to being a nuisance to the public and reckless riding (mostly alcohol or speeding related - not stunting), they don't have a problem with the police. The police block of intersections to let them through. They look the other way constantly. A guy doing a burnout in the middle street and then taking off - cops look at him and the expression on their face is "Damn, that was pretty cool!" because he's on a Harley.

You have a Harley, I'm sure you've been to some bike nights and seen/been in some Harley poker runs - you've seen that kind of stuff haven't you? Now, nothing bad really ever seems to happen. And I'm not saying that cops give Harley's a pass and don't care. I just think they don't overreact. But I do think they overreact when it comes to ROTC and huge rides like that with sport bikes. If their priorities are safety and flow of traffic, they wouldn't/shouldn't do half of the things they do.

But, I do agree, if they're stealing bikes/parts or stopping traffic themselves in the middle of the interstate to stunt - then yeah. That needs to be dealt with. No matter who it is.

 

I made the mistake of riding in the ROC in 2010 soon after I bought my CBR. All I knew about it back then was that it was a big gathering for motorcyclists and I thought it would be fun. After the first 30 minutes I saw what type of behavior was going on with many of the riders on the downtown streets of St. Louis and the local highways. That was enough for me. I peeled off and went home.

The ROC has gotten WAY out of hand and this year the cops were ready for them. Some riders complained about being harassed by having to go through a police safety checkpoint at the start of the ride. That's where a lot of the riders who showed up with no plates, etc., got their bikes impounded. I don't see any more harassment than when someone has to pass through a sobriety checkpoint on the road. Those are actually fun, especially when I go through one on my bicycle.

Anyway, this year I think the cops got the message across that they will no longer tolerate this annual free-for-all on the highways and local roads around St. Louis. If the ROC riders want to hold this event each year they will hopefully start toning it down and keep it somewhat within the law.

Some of the riders interviewed said that they just attend for the social interaction. That's fine; they can do that if they hold the event in a rural community 100 miles away from any big city.

 

Well here's a question: Have the organizers ever sought official sanction for the actual ride?

Authorities can't do anything about the stunt shows on private property. But it is their responsibility to ensure the safety of everyone on the public roads, cagers and riders alike. Which, being honest with ourselves, a large number of participants are openly flaunting during the ride. It's not 1 or 2 bad apples ruining the bunch. It's about 1/3rd to 1/2 the orchard being infested.

When viewed that way, would you take a bite from any apple from that orchard?

 

Is it though, Kuro? I'm not saying there aren't "bad apples", but most of the videos show that the overwhelming majority are just riding. Sure, there will always be those couple of guys riding wheelies. But to say it's 100 bikes rolling down the road up on one is not even close. And there are roughly 3000 bikes there. You think that 1500 of them are stunting on the highway? Even if it were 100 - that's still only 3%


Here is kind of my point. I'd rather a few kids get away with riding wheelies on the highway instead of this happening. (Kind of like the old saying, I'd rather error on the side of a guilty man walking free than an innocent man being imprisoned)

Ride of the Century: Joe Challoner Says Cops Illegally Towed Motorcycle, Will Sue (VIDEO)


The only reason they give is "The engine is warm." Watch the video.