Tag Archives: bikie

Rider, driver, biker, bikie or motorcyclist?

Rider, driver, biker, bikie, motorcyclist or even cyclist are used for the person who sits in the front seat of a motorcycle, holds the handlebars and operates the throttle, brake and clutch.

But what is the correct term?

Rider

I usually used the term “rider” which seems to be the most popular here in Australia and many other countries.

However, anyone in or on any vehicle is riding. That doesn’t suggest they are in control.

In fact, the pillion could be a rider was well. (Or is that passenger?)

To indicate that the person is actually in control of the motorcycle, they surely have to be driving it.

Liberal helmet laws adults
How about the term “Wild Hogs”?

Driver

So are they really a driver?

I see this a lot in mainstream media, particularly in the US.

Perhaps it is a misnomer, or maybe it is more correct than calling them the rider.

After all, the term “drive” can refer to urge or motivation, operating and controlling the direction and speed of a motor vehicle, travelling on wheels, and propelling or carrying by force in a specified direction.

Bikie and biker

New York bikies Redrum motorcycle club revenue raising banned senate
New York Redrum motorcycle club

Then there are the terms “biker” and “bikie”.

In the US, a member of an outlawed motorcycle club such as the notorious Hell’s Angels is referred to as a biker. In Australia, they are bikies.

But these terms are also misused by the general public to refer to anyone who rides/drives a motorcycle.

Some riders in Australia, particularly cruiser riders, can refer to themselves as bikers which would give the totally wrong impression to visiting Americans.

Meanwhile, Yanks think bikie sounds ridiculous and a little childish when referring to big, tough motorcycle club members.

Motorcyclist

Parking motorcycles Sturgis rally

Then there is the term “motorcyclist” which just seems twee, nerdy, scientific or technical.

The “ist” ending can also make a word derogatory.

The official meaning of “ist” is a follower of a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy, typically a political ideology or an artistic movement.

So we have an artist, communist, capitalist, socialist, etc.

Does a motorcyclist really fit in with that crowd?

Motorcyclist is also a term used in official documents, research papers, etc.

We often hear from police, the government and other safety Nazis about how motorcyclists are more likely to die in crashes.

I don’t particularly like the term as it is sounds too much like “cyclist” which is a term most people use for someone who rides a bicycle.

In the US, a cyclist can also be the person who rides/drives a motorcycle!

Top 5 Reasons Why Foldable Electric Scooters Will Become the Best Urban Transport
Is this also a scooterist?

The term is also too close to scooterist which is a whole other debate as is the correct term for our vehicle: “motorcycle”, “bike” or “motorbike”?

How do you refer to motorcycle riders? Leave your comments below.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Protest over Tassie bikie ‘fashion law’

Riders are being asked to protest today against the state’s anti-bikie “fashion law” that prohibits the wearing of “colours” associated with outlawed “bikie” clubs.

The law was first touted in September last year and has finally come into force.

This is despite the Liberal State government saying they would never follow Queensland’s Draconian VLAD laws.

In the first weekend of the new laws, 20 to 30 riders were stopped at a road block by a dozen uniformed police with several police vehicles and plain clothes cops. All up, some 70 police.

The result? Police confiscated three knives.

“Bikie” law protest

Rebel bikies anti-bikie clothing
Rebel Club members

A protest against the new laws is planned for Parliament House in Hobart from noon on Monday, 25 November 2019.

Former Australian Motorcycle  Council chairman Shaun Lennard says he is “surprised to see this happen in Tasmania”.

He says he received a “direct personal assurance from Will Hodgman as Opposition Leader in 2013” that the Liberals in Tasmania would not follow (then Queensland Premier) Campbell Newman’s “failed path” if they won government.

Bond Uni criminology lecturer and former police detective Terry Goldsworthy says Queensland’s heavy handed “VLAD” laws failed to prevent major crime.

The following Queensland Labor Government slightly watered down the laws, but there is still a “fashion police” rule that bans “bikie colours” in public because they “create fear”.

It is similar to the new Tassie rules.

Tassie cops

Tasmania Police say they will be enforcing the laws banning the wearing of insignia of five “outlaw motorcycle gangs”: Rebels, Bandidos, Outlaws, Devils Henchmen and the Black Uhlans.

This comes as interstate clubs rode into the state over the weekend.

“These are criminal gangs and their colours are designed to show affiliation with this criminality and intimidate others. The new laws don’t affect any other motorcycle clubs,” police media says.

“Our community can be assured there’ll be a strong police presence actively monitoring the activities of outlaw motorcycle gang members while they’re here.

“This will include vehicle checks, targeted drug and alcohol testing, monitoring for anti-social and criminal behaviour and traffic operations.

“Tasmania Police has rostered on a significant number of additional officers to assist with this operation and will be supported by a contingent of officers from interstate.”

So far, they seem to have collected three knives.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Charity rider exonerated by cop verdict

An army veteran rider who claimed he was assaulted by police at a March 2018 charity ride feels exonerated knowing the officer has been placed on restricted duties.

Michael “Magic” Parr faced a charge of not obeying the direction of police for this incident caught on video, but the charges were dropped in April, 2019.

Exonerated

When told that the officer, Senior Constable Andrew Murphy dubbed “Raptor 13”, was placed on restricted duties earlier this year, Magic said it was “good news”.

“The guy is psycho and that should have been obvious to the hierarchy a long time ago,” he says.

At the time, Murphy was part of NSW Police Strike Force Raptor established after the infamous 2009 “bikie” brawl at Sydney Airport.

The charity ride video is not the only one to have surrounded Murphy in controversy.

Type “Raptor 13” into a YouTube search and you will see a selection of videos, including:

  • Harassing mourners at the funeral of bikie boss Mahmoud “Mick” Hawi last year;
  • Holding a metal pole to a man’s head during a traffic stop;
  • Failing to supply his name during a traffic stop; and
  • Making “rude and disrespectful” comments to a 24-year-old female P-plater and her stepmother after failing to indicate at a roundabout.

In the latter incident, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission found Murphy and another officer engaged in “serious misconduct” by racially abusing the two Afghan Muslim women.

While both officers were found to be “unfit for purpose as a police officer”, Murphy was also found to be “presently unfit” to deal with the public.

However, News Ltd reports that Murphy has been on “appropriate restricted duties” since earlier this year.

We asked a police psychologist who determines the fitness of officers for duty what that meant.

They said it usually meant the officer was assigned to desk or other duties with limited or no public contact.

While it is not a demotion in rank, it usually means they work 9-5 and lose lucrative shift penalties.

Senior Constable Andrew Murphy aka “Raptor 13” exonerated
Senior Constable Andrew Murphy aka “Raptor 13”

Charity ride incident

Magic had faced a charge of not obeying the direction of police for the incident at Woodenbong on 3 March 2018 when police roadblocked the 26th annual Good as Gold ride.

The hearing was scheduled for April 2019 in Kyogle Local Court, but police prosecution contacted Magic a couple of days before to say they would not proceed. No reasons were given.

Rather than feeling exonerated, Magic said he was disappointed with the result as he had been looking forward to his day in court.

He also made a formal complaint to police of alleged unlawful assault when the officer shoved him.

However, NSW Police Force Professional Standards Unit rejected the complaint, saying the officer’s shove was a “single approved check drill in accordance with his training”.

Click here to read the full reply.

Police Harassment charity ride profiling exonerated
Hells Angels charity ride

“Police policing their own is an endemic problem,” Magic told us.

“There needs to be an external body to handle complaints about police.

“People are being abused and give up making complaints because they know it will not go anywhere.

“Now police feel they can do anything they like.”

Not if they have no public contact, they can’t.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Are police vilifying bikies?

Police claiming all bikies are criminals is vilifying them in a similar way as saying prostitutes cannot be rape victims, says former detective and now Bond Uni criminology lecturer Terry Goldsworthy.

His comments follow the discovery of the body of Comanchero member Shane Ross at a Gold Coast park.

Terry says police commentary over Ross’s alleged murder represent vilification.

Queensland Police Superintendent Brendan Smith is quoted as saying “bikie lifestyle carries its own risk”.

“Anyone who thinks a bikie is a motorcycle enthusiast is kidding themselves – they are criminals and criminal behaviour is hazardous,” Supt Smith is quoted as saying.

Vilifying bikies

Terry says this kind of statement creates “obvious” problems.

“The data clearly tells us that bikies are not all criminals,” he says.

“They generally do not carry out criminal activity within the auspices of the gang.

“Being a criminal does not mean that you should be treated any less as a victim.

“This kind of thought process harks back to the logic that a prostitute cannot be raped, or the short skirt justification for rape etc.

“When you vilify the status of the victim you are intentionally suggesting that they are somehow to blame for the offence committed against them and the act is minimised. Every victim deserves to be treated the same.”

Riders vilified

Riders protest the laws at the January 26 rally in Roma St
Riders protest VLAD laws

In 2017, Terry also claimed the tough, so-called “anti-bikie” VLAD laws in Queensland were not the success the police claimed.

As we found during the height of the original VLAD laws, riders wearing club “colours” were mistakenly vilified as “outlaw bikies” by both the public and police.

Vilifying anyone because of their association is not only careless, but can be dangerous.

Criminals should only be classed as criminal for their actions, not because of their membership of a group.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

US Senate votes against rider profiling

While Australian states are ramping up their anti-association laws that profile riders as potential outlaws, the US Senate has unanimously passed a motorcyclist anti-profiling resolution.

This follows an American Motorcyclist Association survey finding that half of American motorcyclists say they have been profiled by police pulling them over.

There is no such survey in Australia, but anecdotal evidence shows that riders have been pulled over for licence and bike checks by police.

They say only riders have been pulled over while cars and other vehicles are allowed to pass.

Police 'safety campaign’ unfair on riders cops road safety crash accident may blitz unlicensed senate
Police recently pulled over riders on the Gold Coast hinterland

Some have been riding cruisers and wearing similar gear to the so-called outlaw gangs or bikies, but others have been riding bikes such as adventurers, tourers and sports machines.

Laws, such as Queensland’s ludicrously named Vicious Lawless Associates Disestablishment or “VLAD” Act of 2013, are allowing police extra powers to harass riders.

(VLAD was replaced in 2016 by the Serious and Organised Crime Legislation Amendment Bill with the less evil-sounding acronym, SOCLAB, but only slightly watered-down police powers.)

Many other states have also ramped up their anti-association laws in order to put more pressure on perceived criminal activity in motorcycle clubs.

As recently as September, Tasmania planned laws that include a ban on outlaw motorcycle gang “colours”.

The Victorian Motorcycle Riders Association believes this vilification of riders is yet another nail in the coffin for motorcycling.

US Senate voteBikie clothing senate

The unanimous Senate vote “urges state law enforcement officials to condemn motorcyclist profiling in their policies and training materials”.

It is a surprise given the Senate is dominated by Republicans, although it does not have any force in law.

The resolution would also have to be passed in Congress where it could have a lot of support.

After all, in 2015, Congress banned federal highway funding of motorcycle-only checkpoints.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com