Letter from the police

[Konrod]

Hi all

I've just had a letter from the police. It states that they have video evidence received from another driver of me "overtaking and and crossing a hatched area to carry out a manoeuvre" and that I have committed the offence of driving without due care and attention. It goes on to state they do not intend to prosecute, but the incident will be held on their database.

I know exactly which event they are referring to. It was 6am, on an open stretch of single carriageway road, dry and light. I had been following a driver doing 45 - 50 in a 60 limit, At a roundabout a lorry came from the right and got in front of both of us. As we cleared the roundabout I had a good view of the road ahead (I had also checked on the left side as we went around the roundabout) and indicated and pulled out overtaking both vehicles. I cleared both, returned to my side of the road without impeding them and went on my way. Nothing was coming in the other direction. I should point out here I was in my TVR and had the capability to overtake both vehicles safely.

There were hatched lines in the middle of the road, but they were bordered by broken lines, not solid lines, and my understanding is that I can cross these to overtake but have to be very careful in doing so. I was very conscious of that before I committed to overtake.

I admit to being annoyed at being stuck behind someone who could have been driving at the limit but wasn't, but the overtake was safe (I refused more risky opportunities earlier on),

So my question is was I interpreting the markings correctly, and should I challenge the letter, or will they just get awkward and decide to take it further?

TIA.

[Konrod]

The Gauge said:

Pickled Piper said:

vonhosen said:

Did you exceed the 60 limit?

OP you haven't answered the question above.

The Police can't prosecute for speeding based on dashcam footage. So a NIP / warning for driving without due care and attention is often the the option taken.

They aren't accusing him of speeding, are they?

Firstly thank you all for your responses. To answer some of the questions, I may have exceeded the limit slightly during the manoeuvre to minimise time in the wrong side of the road, but was back down to a true 60 afterwards. In any event, as was said, they have no admissable speed information.

I'm going to take the advice and bin it, although I am mightily aggrieved. Another middle aged professional the police have alienated.

[Konrod]

Lots of good stuff here

vonhosen said:

Crossing the lines is one decision amongst many, including the exact position you did it, what was around, how close you were to them, your speed etc etc.
Whether it amounts to without due care is with all things considered, & not just one facet of the many.

Yep, I get that. In my defence I have done IAM and RoSPA training (never did the tests - stupid!), as well as individual sessions with Class 1 ex-Plod instructors (paid for by my employer ) so I'm not the world's greatest driver but I do perhaps have more awareness than many. The overtake was safe, I wasn't up anyone's chuff beforehand as that reduces visibility. Perhaps the one thing they wouldn't have spotted was that I could see clearly down the left hand side of the truck as I left the roundabout, so had a good long view before looking down the right hand side. That would have required a viewer with above average skills :sigh:

Random_Person said:

.........

The uneducated staff will have seen the car, seen the circs and clicked the button to send a letter without any formal right to do so, other than this local scheme agreed for that area.

I bet the TVR is not dark in colour. A light colour. That will all inflame the eyes and opinion of the uneducated. Rods and cones, and unconscious bias.

Random_Person said:

Colour of TVR please.

I am saying blue. And a lairy blue.

Or a green/purple tinge.

Guaranteed.

Sorry to disappoint you, reflex charcoal. I really like it, but also didn't want to stand out too much for exactly the reason that started this thread



This is all a result of a one dimensional policing policy. Speed is the only factor being policed by cameras, so drivers are educated to think that provided they drive slowly they are good drivers. No lane control, no effective speed control, no distance control, no awareness. I can't think of any other similar situation that affects other people do we get qualifications and then sit on them until we die without any formal refresh of skills or uptraining.

I actually want to see more police traffic patrols if they will start pulling "brain in neutral" drivers and help "educate" them. There are no "accidents", they all have a cause and the root of all them is driver ability (my source for that is Cambridgeshire Road Traffic police themselves) - everything else is contributory. That is what we need to fix if we want road safety to improve. If the police really cared about safety (rather than speed) that is what they would be doing. Rant over.

[Konrod]

CHLEMCBH said:

Given the length of time between the manoeuvre and the offence, I'm intrigued as to why you remember it so vividly or was there a still from the video on the letter?

It was four days, it was a car I don't drive often, and the location was specific, so not that hard......