LarrySellerz

I wave at most every cyclist, jogger, and motorcyclist, but the only cars I wave to are cops. I wave at all cops in hope of getting goodwill with their department so they look the other way if they catch me doing something bad at stopsigns or whatnot. Do any of you wave at cops for similar reasons? Its gotten me out of some scraps, most of the force knows me and waves

M Rose

I typically give cops a nod… but then again I always acknowledge them when I’m out and about.

Last fall I was out on an evening ride when it got darker awe fully fast in me… I signaled for my last left hand turn and checked my blind spot. I saw a car with its high beams on coming a little faster than anticipated so I slowed down to let the car pass before making my turn. The car shot past me and I started to pull into the lane to make my turn when I saw flashing lights…

I thought to my self… “ohh no I just pulled out in front of a coo and he’s pulling me over for being careless riding without a light.”

I started to pull back to the right when he (the police officer) blipped his siren to get my attention. He was leaning out of his window waving me on to make my turn. Then he fallowed me the two blocks back to my home with his rear lights flashing giving me light.

When I pulled into my drive way I turned around and gave him a huge wave. He stopped and rolled down his window and told me to have a good night, and to remember my light next time.

(I recognized the officer after he stopped to chat, he was the same officer who helped recover my bike stolen a few weeks earlier, and I have since learned he too is an avid cyclist and we have gone on several rides together since then.)

Troul 

If the conditions allow, pending I notice them, I'll gesture to them with acknowledgement. It's not for the reasons that you have in place, just a polite acknowledgement.

Chuck M 

When I see cops, I toss my half empty bottle of vodka into a dumpster.

wolfchild

Your motives for waving are selfish and self-centered.

indyfabz

Already.

hazetguy 

still trying to figure a way out of that ticket? or was that a bit of fiction: https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...l#post22567033

Paul Barnard

I say something nice to all of the dogs that I encounter, other than pit bulls. I hate pit bulls. I guess that makes me a breedist.

DonkeyShow

I like to hit em with the finger gun.

GhostRider62

You think a wave will get you a break? Haha

I donated a large sum of money to my local PD when they were raising money to build a new station. It don't mean jack. Trust me on that!

What does help is a gold plated family card from the State Police. Local cops will call the Statie to confirm and then dispose of the murder weapon or half empty bottle of vodka as the case may be.

Mojo31

The local chief is a good friend. When I see him in uniform and on duty I flip him off and call him a pig. He has choice words for me as well.

CAT7RDR

The two best work supervisors I ever had in 40 years of employment were retired homicide detectives.
Damn Right I wave and acknowledge law enforcement officers.

tomato coupe

Even more importantly, always wave at the district attorney and local judges. That saved my bacon just last week; I was looking at some hard time for armed robbery, but the judge recognized me from cycling and let me off with a warning. He also let me keep the money from the robbery, and told me to put it towards a new Aethos!

Pinelander

I acknowledge a lot of people when I ride. A wave to other riders, police, or a motorist who showed some awareness of me. I try to look predictable and aware of those around me. Will any of this get me out of a ticket? Doubtful.

skidder

Nope, I keep my hands on the handlebars and eyes on the road so the cop doesn't have to worry about me. If I approach an intersection and there's a vehicle (any vehicle, even a PD cruiser) waiting to cross it in front of me, I'll wave them through and wave as they go by; getting hit by a 4,000lb vehicle going even a minimal 15 mph will not end well for a bicycle rider, even if that rider legally has the right-of-way.

sovende

I generally acknowledge LEOs when out for a ride. Since I (also generally) follow the rules of the road, use hand signals and wear a helmet, I think it’s important to let them know that there ARE cyclists that do so.

LarrySellerz

Im just ignoring it. That was some random cop who must have transferred from some other department or something, he had some real nerve pulling me over. I didn't even run the stopsign. The other cops would have just waved at me

Rolla

I do my best to ignore cops completely. No eye contact, no wave, no acknowledgment whatsoever.

Chuck M 

You're just giving him half a peace sign.

Polaris OBark

It is all fiction.

woodway

I give cops a wave. My oldest son is a cop and given what he experiences every day, I cannot help but respect our LEO's who serve and protect. So a little acknowledging wave is a small thing.

FWIW, Cyclists here can treat stop signs as yields, so I dont have to worry about being pulled over for rolling a stop.

indyfabz

Are you in Idaho?

Last time I toured there was in 2019. I tend to obey local traffic laws strictly when I visit distant communities. I had to laugh at myself after riding around Wallace for a bit when I realized I had been stopping at every stop sign a red light even though there was basically no traffic. (In Idaho you can treat a red light as a yield sign after coming to a complete stop first.)

woodway

Washington State. The "Idaho Stop" became legal here in October 2020.

indyfabz

Now I remember that. I’ll have to remember it if I’m ever touring there again.

M Rose

Oregon adopted the Idaho Stop in 2020 as well. There are 17 states total that use some form
of the “Idaho” Stop Law.