You’ve seen them — we all have. You may have been pulled over and ticketed by one of them. Whether mounted on the old-school Harleys and Kawasakis, or the newer BMWs and Hondas, police and highway patrol motorcyclists prowl the streets and freeways all over the country. Spending long shifts in the saddle of their machines, these officers clearly have a very tough job.
If you stop to think about the duties of a motorcycle officer, you will realize what a difficult job it must be. Anyone who commutes to work in heavy traffic on a motorcycle knows that it can be a very demanding ride. Now imagine spending your entire day making that ride back and forth. Not only that, but the motorcycle officer cannot dedicate all his concentration to the already difficult task of manuevering in traffic. No, he must at the same time be monitoring the actions of drivers and riders on the road around him, alert for any traffic violation which might call him into action.
Can you imagine doing this for eight or ten hours a day? People always talk about how amazed they are by the skills of professional racers, but I for one find myself impressed by the skills of these motorcycle officers. If any of our readers happens to be a motorcycle officer, whether it be police, sheriff, or highway patrol, we’d like to hear from you. Tell us about your job.
To everyone else, make sure you think about how hard these patrolmen work the next time one of them pulls you over.
