Do cops know the difference between scooter and moped?

[brape]

I was driving though downtown hartford today in the left hand lane. I was at a stop light and a cop pulled up next to me and poiletly asks "Don't you think you shoulud be in the right hand lane" I was taking aback so just said "The busses pull out in front of me when I'm over there' Which was the reason I was in the left lane. But then I'm thinking WTF I'm on what the state considers to be a motorcycle I can ride in whatever lane I want to. I didn't say anything because I don't like to start trouble and I understand that there are issues with 50 cc scooters causing trouble in the city. however I feel like if its an issue they should be told what the difference is and look at my plate before talling me I should only be in the right hand lane.

[jmkjr72]

here in wi we have 2 diffrent plates the ones for 50 cc and less say moped on them on the bottem
and the ones for above 50 cc dont have anything on the bottem
even though my stella has the plates that dont say anything on them i have had to tell an officer or 2 that it is 150cc and shifts
and yes i have been a dick about it when he pisses me off and tell them to look at my f*&#%$( plate and yes i have almost been hauled off to jail when i told the officer he had no reason to stop me and refused to give him my id untill i talked to the shift comander and the shif commander informed the officer to let me go

but yes officer should get there heads out of there rectal cavity and learn the laws that they pretend to enforce

[brape]

Its even more obivous then that here, 50 cc and under arn't required to have anything, and often come with a cardboard plate that says moped and a statute number under them.

[jasondavis48108]

Here in michigan the law states that in order to be considered a moped it needs to be 50cc or lower, twist and go, and not able to go fatser than 30mph on flat ground. I had my Buddy 50 registered as a motorcycle so I didn't have to worry about getting in trouble for doing 40mph, carrying a passanger (not allowed on a moped), or riding in the left lane.

[michelle_7728]

I'm not sure how I would have reacted to that one myself!

[Kaos]

Our moped plates are very close to the motorcycle ones, and I've gotten mistaken for a moped before when I was riding two-up. The officer was cool about it though. Then again, bikes are equal citizens of the blacktop here, so why not a moped?

[brape]

You've never got stuck behind the 50cc china scoot's that where ridding 4 across going 25

[JNV]

Nope. Most cops can't tell the difference. What aggravates me is when a motorcycle cop does not know the difference, and knows little about riding at all. They seriously need to go back and go through an MSF course and more advanced training.

[jasondavis48108]

Nope. Most cops can't tell the difference. What aggravates me is when a motorcycle cop does not know the difference, and knows little about riding at all. They seriously need to go back and go through an MSF course and more advanced training.

wow that s*cks, here in michigan our state motorcycle cops have training that even the msf instructors covet (and tell us several times throughout the week just how much they covet it) I've never had any issues with the cops although I did have them follow me darn near to my house once, although I think they just thought I was crazy or drunk cause you don't see many scooters on the raod in January here in michigan

[dawg onit]

this is the exact reason y i follow & dig the transplants. Frank the Tank & his dragon lives

[TVB]

I stick to the right lane on my 50cc (or my bike) most of the time, not so much because it's the law, but because it's a good idea: slower vehicles to the right, pass on the left. The only times I ride in the left (whether on bicycle or scooter) are when I'm about to make left turn, or when I'm not a "slower vehicle": a bus, parked car, or driver who should have their license revoked in the right lane; or traffic's coasting along at a speed I can match, and I know I'll need to turn left eventually. I figure that as long as I'm not posing an actual hazard, and I can give a reasonable explanation for riding where I am, the cop (or magistrate) should go easy on me. So far so good.

[jasondavis48108]

I stick to the right lane on my 50cc (or my bike) most of the time, not so much because it's the law, but because it's a good idea: slower vehicles to the right, pass on the left. The only times I ride in the left (whether on bicycle or scooter) are when I'm about to make left turn, or when I'm not a "slower vehicle": a bus, parked car, or driver who should have their license revoked in the right lane; or traffic's coasting along at a speed I can match, and I know I'll need to turn left eventually. I figure that as long as I'm not posing an actual hazard, and I can give a reasonable explanation for riding where I am, the cop (or magistrate) should go easy on me. So far so good.

This is pretty much the way I ride as well, I just have miserable luck with traffic cops, never been pulled over and not ticketed so I figured I'd go completly legit

[Cheshire]

Here it depends on which department. The city police...might. The state troopers definately do, at least the ones who ride.
The sheriff's department is laughable. Several deputies at the sherriff's station (long story why I was there, filing a complaint about being pestered by an officer for mistaking me for a 50cc going 45-50 mph) are taking as law a motion that never left committee about scooters from several years ago. Then again, this county's sherriff's dept has a reputation that got flushed a while ago.