What's happening with the police?

[GingerTez]

Hi,

Don't know if I'm being overly stroppy - and before I come across as a police-bashing person I want to say that I respect the police and think they do a great job in general with dwindling numbers and dwindling respect from the public (and my sister is a policewoman too).

However....

This morning on my way to work I was driving along at 27mph in a 30mph area. The driver behind me flashed his headlights and I thought "hmm, have I got my lights on". I checked and I did have them on so I carried on driving (at 27mph).

The driver then flashed his headlights again so I checked that nothing was showing on my dashboard regarding doors being open or anything. No warning lights so I carried on.

The driver then flashed his headlights again. I slowed down slightly and realised that it was a police car behind me, I thought "he's flashed me 3 times, maybe I should pull over" and pulled over about 50 yards on. The police car then accelerated past me (going up to at least 40mph) and just kept on going straight up the road.

To my mind (and I might be overly stroppy or cynical here) a police car should not be flashing people to get out of the way when they're doing close to the speed limit. Obviously it wasn't an emergency otherwise the blue flashers would have been going and all I can think of is that the policeman driving the car has no regard for the laws of the road (and wanted to get back to the station for the end of his shift?).

Sorry if this seems really negative - and I know there are probably 100 reasons why he wouldn't have his blue flashers on - but in my opinion the policeman acted like an arrogant yob, just because I was within the speed limit driving through a quiet town at 6:45am. Do you think he'd have stopped me and given me a ticket if I'd been doing 35mph or seeing as he obviously wanted to go 40mph would he still have been flashing his headlights at me?

Disgruntedly,
Terry.

[MJ]

Don't worry his cup of tea had probably been pored so he wanted to get back and drink it before it went cold.

Seriously maybe he didn't want to alert anybody watching that he was about. A lot of flashing of lights and sirens would have given him away and alerted someone he may have been after, that you were not aware of, some distance away.

There are a larger number of arrogant drivers about that do a lot worse than he did. How many times have you been flashed on the outside lane of a motorway by someone behind wanting to go even faster? I have on a number of ocassions doing at least the legal limit and I've only been there long enough to pass someone else. Defies belief.

[stealther]

You were going 27 pmh at 6:45 am I would have been screaming at you to get out the way!

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by GingerTez

I know there are probably 100 reasons why he wouldn't have his blue flashers on

Therein lies the crux but it says a lot about your driving that you had to be flashed three times before you looked in the rear view mirror and saw that it was a police car

[Thekop]

If the copper was driving at 40 in a 30 limit without his blue lights flashing you should of reported him.. They are NOT above the law !

[partyweb]

Surprised you weren't pulled over. There was a recent commercial informing what the tell tale signs of drivers who were slightly over the alcohol limit showed. These included: taking the back streets to avoid the police and driving within the legal limit at night.

[hottstuff]

Sounds like he thought he had a granny in front.
Seriously though maybe he was just finishing a shift and needed to get home to the wife quickly.

[Thekop]

Originally Posted by partyweb

Surprised you weren't pulled over. There was a recent commercial informing what the tell tale signs of drivers who were slightly over the alcohol limit showed. These included: taking the back streets to avoid the police and driving within the legal limit at night.

That's true, you're more likely to get pulled over by driving too cautiously, than speeding just above the limit

[sean5302]

I've seen a few "naughties" with the Police lately.

A Panda car stopped at a Pelicon crossing as the red light was against it.
People crossed the road and the car just drove off, through the still red light.
Must be on a job, I thought. No, 100 yards further on the car stopped, just watching the traffic.

I was out on the Fireblade, recently. I came across a Police Advanced rider, on a Pan European Honda. She (as it turned out) was instructing 4 trainee riders. I watched them all doing 45mph through the 30mph limits. I followed and saw them doing 38mph through the 20mph zones.
They all stopped at a well-known biker haunt near Scunthorpe, so I asked the Advanced Pol, politely, why they ignored the speed limits.

"They all have to learn" was all she'd say. Now, if they'd been following me, instead.....

[GingerTez]

Originally Posted by Ian J

...it says a lot about your driving that you had to be flashed three times before you looked in the rear view mirror and saw that it was a police car

Excuse me, I guess that'll be a bit cheeky then?

It was dark and it was raining heavily, all I could see were his bright headlights when I looked in the rear mirror (which I do very regularly).

It was only when I slowed down slightly after the 3rd flash of his headlights that he got close enough for me to be able to see the distinctive reflective stripes on the car bonnet.

I presume you drive a car yourself (otherwise you have no right to comment on my driving) so I'm sure you can understand that at 6:45am, in heavy rain, if the car behind is not too dangerously close to you, it is hard to tell the make, model, or even size of a car behind you.

Cheers,
Terry.

[GingerTez]

Originally Posted by Thekop

If the copper was driving at 40 in a 30 limit without his blue lights flashing you should of reported him.. They are NOT above the law !

I presumed he was going to pull over behind or in front of me so didn't think to look at his license plate as he passed me and then accelerated way.

Next time something like this happens, I will be noting down details.

Cheers,
Terry.

[BandWidthJunkie]

Driving incidents with police in my 20 odd years of driving....

A policewoman driving up the down ramp of a car park, because she "hadn't seen the markings correctly".

A policeman overtaking me in the chevron (solid white lined) area prior to a right turn lane which I was going to enter. The 'survival' look over the shoulder saved me that time!

A policeman that entered a mini roundabout looking left when I was approaching on his right. I had to stop on the roundabout and when he finally looked right he put his hand up, I assume, to acknowledge his error.

Morale, police drivers may take advanced tests but they still make mistakes and errors in judgment.

Who knows why this policeman wanted to get by you in a hurry, but I have on many occasions followed police cars up the A38 and A610, when they are on the way back to Police Headquarters, at speeds way past the posted speed limit

I have always said, “who polices the police?”.

(and BTW my other half is a CSI )

[Joe90sDad]

Maybe he'd just got the car and was testing it out.

[sean5302]

Who polices the Police?

A very good question. Nobody, I'd suggest.

The last thing anyone wants is enemies in the Police Farce (Force?), so I wouldn't report them unless you're a masochist.

You occasionally can have some fun, though.

I was driving from Crossgates, towards Roundhay, in Leeds, last year.

There is a bus lane which applies from 08:00 to 10:00 and ahead of me were 4 cars. The lead car was a Police panda, with a female driver and 3 female passengers. They were travelling at 25mph, in the 30mph limit.

They were travelling in the offside lane.

I nipped down the inside of them at 33mph. As I attained about 50 yards distance ahead of them, the panda car put its blues on. I got out and spoke to the driver.

"What are you doing, sailing down the bus lane?" she said.

I replied "follow me" and we went back up to the start of the buslane with its big blue sign showing the hours it applies.

"Shouldn't you be setting some sort of example?" I said.

"The first rule of the road is keep left, in normal driving".
She said she hadn't seen the sign.
"Well, you wouldn't would you love? It's only 8 feet square."

"Thank you, Sir" she said.

The embarrassment in her car was obvious. Off they shot, up the next side street.

[neilmcl]

Originally Posted by sean5302

Who polices the Police?

A very good question. Nobody, I'd suggest.

http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/