Not a fake police biker

Or is it? Have you seen this guy around?

Posted: 3 August 2012
by Ben Cope

So yesterday I was threading my way through London on Triumph's Tiger Explorer 1200 with panniers. Quite a wide load.

Up ahead, I see a police biker and reckon on him being able to part the traffic enough for me to have an easier run down by the river. We set off from the lights, he had a steady start and didn't give the impression he'd swatted up on his Not the Blue Book recently. I get a bit closer to see if he's a real copper as the bike isn't what you'd expect. He's dressed in a police-style but without POLICE on his hi-viz instead he's got TRAFFIC written on the pillion seat hump. I get closer and the bike has LED lights fitted above the brake light. Either he's trialling out the bike or he's a proper geek I tell myself.

I stick with him, thinking he's one of those proper geeks that gets off on looking like a copper and embarrassing all of motorcycling in the process. We're making reasonable progress, get to a set of lights at Parliament Square and he blatantly runs a red. I want to get a photo, so after the lights go green I make some progress through traffic over Westminster Bridge and catch up with him on the run down to Blackfriars. I parked the bike up, lobbed my gloves on the floor and ran over to get a pic. This is all I could muster.

I've googled the number plate and it looks like he's semi-official. But he can't ride in the same way police bikers (usually) can. So who are these TRAFFIC?


Previous story
Guardian writer brags: 'I'm a middle-lane hogger'		 Next story
Budget Batpod


fake motorcycle police, fake traffic cops, city of london traffic bikers, city of london motorcycles
TwitterStumbleUponFacebookDiggRedditGoogle


Discuss this story


Kieranrb
This reminds me of someone who rides a horse near where i live, they have a high viz jacket with police battonberg on it identical to what the actual police where, but it says polite instead of police on the back, and a riding hat, similar to police riders. Obv's when I'm it looks like it says police from a distance, i was only when I waited behind them for a car to pass, i saw the polite. I would of assumed that this was the same thing in biker form, but i zoomed in on the picture and he has a siren attached to the crash bar on the left hand side so he has to be a cop. As far as the red light goes, both my parents are fuzz, and they say you can't just run red lights, what a lot of people don't realise is that poice aren't exempt from traffic laws, they just have an exemptions for high 1 and 2's (emergencies) and clearly he was doing neither.

Posted: 03/08/2012 at 18:01


James Higgins 2
Looks like police to me-load more pics come up on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/22323192@N03/6340403493

Posted: 03/08/2012 at 19:28


thoppa
James - those pics on flickr aren't the same as the one posted above - the one above has no Police lettering, the ones on the Flickr link you posted have Police written on them.

To me it looks like this bike is a police spec bike that is being used or tested by someone from a gov't agency like TFL or Highways Dept or something.

The wannabees don't tend to have the latest Police spec stuff and they tend to go really slowly to slow everyone down, not jump reds. But maybe this is a new breed of wannabee... ;-)

Posted: 04/08/2012 at 11:35


James Higgins 2
Interesting as both bikes have the same number plate?

Posted: 04/08/2012 at 15:47


Marcin Maciukiewicz
Looks exactly like a bike I have seen on display at BMW Motorrad Battersea. It is a custom f650gs used at events where traffic wardens have "police powers" to control the traffic.

I has nothing to do with police force.

Posted: 05/08/2012 at 12:07


rotters
There used to be an ex-Police CB750 (shows how long ago this was) in Melbourne where the word POLICE was replaced with PETER same colour, same font. He used to wear the same clothing and all... What a sad case.

Posted: 05/08/2012 at 13:05


Sock.
i have "ROZZER" stickers on my pillion cowl.

Posted: 05/08/2012 at 18:43


Matthew Mal
Wait a minute. So you are telling me, that this guy is a bad guy, for wearing a high-vis jacket, reflective stickers, and a white helmet? It does say in the highway code that this is how you SHOULD be dressed on a bike, and hence why police are dressed this way.

Ironically, when you have a bike dressed without protective clothing, everyone screams "IDIOT".

You can never win.

Stop being such a drama queen over nothing. Next thing you'll be slating anyone who drives a BMW 5-series, Volvo, or Audio RS4 because they drive cars that the undercover police use.

Posted: 06/08/2012 at 10:32


Ben Cope
Don't get your hi-viz knickers in a twist Matthew. Wrong end of the stick.

What I'm getting at, is that if this guy isn't a police biker, but he's a Community Support Officer or Traffic Warden or whatever he might be, then the boundaries of power are being blurred and that, to me, is a worry.

Posted: 06/08/2012 at 11:50


Harvey Wallbanger
Every Police uniform Hi-Viz I ever saw had a blue back-patch. That alone tells me that he's not Police. Could be Highways Agency, Ambulance, Fire, Mountain Rescue, anything - but not 'proper' Police imho. Could also be a mechanic on test or something like that.

The bike is possibly a demo that various development (trim, radio, blue light etc) companies put out - plus of course the bike manufacturers put out demos.

These demos are in demand at the moment with forces using them to supplement their fleets to cope with the Olympics.

Posted: 06/08/2012 at 19:24


Nadge954
There's a knobber in my area who has a white ST1100 with dayglo yellow stickers on the fairing, who wears a high viz with the word "POLITE" on the back (on a fluro blue background as per the real coppers).

I can think of a few other words on the back that would be more appropriate

As to the bike you mention, it may have the same purpose as the Highways Agency cars on the motorway ?

Posted: 07/08/2012 at 20:32


gunshot72
Who cares if he's real fuzz or not, he ran a red light so he should be done.

Posted: 07/08/2012 at 21:04


Jimnwendyuk
Did you see the cameras filming the next Bond movie?

Posted: 08/08/2012 at 09:52


fellini
Could be he's as safety-conscoius as one can be without taking the car instead. I doubt any car driver cuts off or pulls out in front of what right off looks like a police bike.

Posted: 08/08/2012 at 19:06


Harvey Wallbanger
Good to see that Gunshot72 supports the prosecution of all bikers for all offences all the time, with or without evidence.

Posted: 11/08/2012 at 17:58


iancp5
I think I saw this guy on the M3 tonight heading towards London between the Camberley/Farnborough exit and Bracknell. He was driving sensibly but I'm pretty sure he exceeded the speed limit marginally. Didn't get close enough to get a good look as I was in a car and didn't want to sit on his arse at 80 mph in case it was real police. But, I thought at the time there's something wrong. Police normally have a blue light on a stalk and this guy didn't. Also isn't there usually a bigger rear seat hump to house the radio and other equipment? I noticed his helmet had some small black writing on it - couldn't read it though.

Posted: 09/10/2012 at 22:23

Talkback: Not a fake police biker