Police motorcycle

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Oro Valley, AZ, motor officers with BMW R1100RT-Ps

A motor officer writes a traffic ticket for a motorist caught speeding

A police motorcycle is a motorcycle used by various police departments. They may be custom designed to meet the requirements unique of a particular department. A police motorcycle is often called a "motor" by police officers in the United States. Similarly, motorcycle units are known as "motor units," and motorcycle officers are known as "motor officers."

Police officers have used motorcycles—primarily for the enforcement of traffic laws and as escort vehicles—since the the early 20th century. Due to the drawbacks of exposure to the weather, motorcycle patrols are more common in temperate urban areas with heavy traffic or on high-speed highways. The maneuverability of the motorcycle on crowded streets offer advantages not provided by larger, more traditional police vehicles.

The motor's relatively small size allows it to get to accident scenes more quickly when incidents like traffic accidents slow down access by four-wheel vehicles. They also consume less fuel than the larger police cars, which saves costs for the police departments that use them.

1 History
2 Motorcycles used
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Chief August Vollmer of the Berkeley, California Police Department is credited with organizing the first official Police Motorcycle Patrol in the United States in 1911.^[1] However, several police forces around the country reported using motorcyles as patrol vehicles earlier.

The police department in Evanston, Illinois purchased a belt-driven motorcycle for its first motorcycle police officer in 1908,^[2] and the Portland, Oregon Police Bureau had a police officer who used his personal motorcycle to patrol the city as early as 1909.^[3]

The role of the motorcycle as inexpensive public transportation devolved in the 1930s, and their use by police and the armed forces also grew, providing a stable production market for the more utilitarian machines, especially as Europe rearmed after World War One.^[4]

[edit] Motorcycles used

A Harley-Davidson police motorcycle in Hamburg, Germany

A Victoria Police BMW R1150RT

Motor units in the United States typically use purpose-built motorcycles marketed by Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki, Honda, or BMW. Kawasaki ceased production of its police motorcycles in September 2005.

In 2000, BMW was the largest seller of motorcycles for authority use, as more than 70,000 BMW motorcycles were in official use in over 130 countries on five continents.^[5] Nearly 100 U.S. law enforcement agencies, including the California Highway Patrol, had BMW authority motorcycles in their fleets of patrol vehicles.

Harley-Davidson has maintained a long relationship with police departments and law-enforcement agencies. In 2007, HD offered both the FLHTP Electra Glide and the FLHP Road King in police and fire/rescue editions.

[edit] References

^ "Our History," Berkeley Police Department Online, City of Berkeley, CA.
^ Evanston Police Department History," City of Evanston, IL (2007).
^ "Traffic Division: History of the Motorcycle Detail," by Officer Peter Bowman, Portland Police Bureau, Portland, OR (1983, edited in 1999 by Officer Michael Clary).
^ "An overview of the British motorcycle industry and its collapse," British Motorcycle Manufacturers (Ian Chadwick, June 30, 2001).
^ "Atlantic City Police Department Purchases Fleet of BMW Motorcycles," Business & Automotive Editors, Business Wire, Dec. 1, 2000, FindArticles.com (2007 LookSmart, Ltd.).