[dc_publius]

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not to hijack, but people who ride motorcycles say this all the time. To me it just sounds like BS dick waving. Is it really the norm to run from the police on a crotch rocket?

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It is the norm for some people. People who tend to ride fast on the highways for fun or like to stunt on the highways will often run. A lot of those urban riders don't even have M endorsements, many lack insurance, etc, and they see the risk of getting caught/hurt as a better alternative to stopping, getting fined, and towed. Those fines are not cheap, and in some jurisdictions you're also looking at a jail sentence for those sorts of speeds. (which you will have to serve)

Taking that under consideration, realize that modern sportbikes can do 165-200mph, depending on the bike, and they can cut through traffic. They also accelerate much faster than cars. No car can touch them really, so most cop chases end before they begin. It's rarely a long drawn out bike chase like you see on TV. The bike is out of sight before the cop has a chance to even catch up. Choppers help, but even then jurisdictions have crappy choppers that top out at 110-120mph so bikes can still outrun those choppers.

In my area, there was a stretch of highway that was notorious of bikers doing stupid stuff. They always ran, and it was very frustrating for the cops. The cops actually put together a sting where they literally blockaded every highway entrance/exit for a couple of miles and shut the road down when the bikers got there. Many still escaped through grass/etc, but they caught some. They also tried to keep the chopper in the air ready for action, but as soon as stuff goes down, a group of bikes scatters in all directions and a chopper can only follow one. The county spent a boatload of money keeping the chopper running, and finally scratched that idea.

Anyway, the point is that it's very hard to catch bikes. Fines and jail suck. Running is an easy. So some people chose to run.