Here is a reason why motorcycles are barred from most cities

[euphonius]

Euphonius, I think the point is that even if you are legal the 'polite and friendly cops doing their thankless dangerous task' (of embezzling the public's money for personal gain) will be poking for holes in your legality. The goal posts have changed and you now need to mount your registration plate on forward so you can now be fined using the speed and other traffic cameras lest you might yield at a set of lights instead of slavishly stopping at them even when nothing coming like the cars are forced to. Even though you bought the bike like this to begin with but a few years ago.

Having lived in China for 22 years now, I remember the days when Beijing and other cities had virtually no private cars, and we privileged foreigners with our black plates could drive pretty much any way we pleased, anywhere, anytime. I did my best to obey the law even back then, though many laowai indulged in these privileges with great impunity.

I stand by my comment about being polite. Here's why. The cops doing the enforcement did not make these rules, but they have the difficult task of enforcing them when the standing committee or whoever decides it wants to inflict its authority on us. I've posted about seeing, with my own eyes, an unlicensed scooter actually run down a cop who was trying to collar him, and I'll admit I entertained thoughts of killing the futhermucker there and then.

Here's the deal: These crackdowns create a tone that we, motorcyclists, are somehow scofflaws or criminals or worse. I don't want to be lumped into that category. So I smile and salute to every cop I see while riding. I sometimes even stop to chat with them. When I do get stopped, I'm very friendly and commiserate with them, and urge them to be careful of the unlicensed riders who are willing to do just about anything -- even run a cop down -- to avoid being called to account for being unlicensed or otherwise illegal.

No, I don't like having my bike turned into an ATM, but it's not the guys in blue who are doing that. So please, for the sake of all legal riders and even the illegal riders, show some kindness to these guys, and maybe, just maybe, it will help to keep any latent sadistic streak at bay.

On the other hand, let your anger flare about "the injustice of it all" and all you will do is reinforce the cops' perception that we foreigners think we're above the law.

It's not sanctimony, it's called karma banking. Make a deposit today!

cheers