What would you do in this scenario?
Discussion
You are travelling alone on A494 from Dolgellau to Welshpool in your sports Coupe. You are about 10 mile from Dolgellau, its 11:45 at night, it’s very cold but not freezing. The sky is cloudy and it’s very dark, the visibility is good though. The roads are empty, it’s a Tuesday night.
Driving along, listening to the stereo, you catch a glimpse of a car in a field entrance as you pass by; seconds later you look in your mirror and see a car behind you, gaining fast. You glance down at the Speedo and it’s registering about 67 MPH, you lift your foot off the accelerator and slow to just over 60…. The car catches up and gets VERY close to the rear of your car…. It stays there for a couple of miles….
Suddenly, you see blue flashing lights in your mirror, you carry on for a distance as you consider it dangerous to stop, the roads narrow and twisty. After a while, a lay-by comes into view, you pull over and the car overtakes and pulls in front of you, and reverses up close to your car. it’s an unmarked car. Immediately, two police officers get out and walk towards your car, its very dark and isolated and for some reason, you feel nervous. You press the central locking button and the car locks make an audible clunk as the doors lock. The office tries the door and then knocks on the window. You press the electric window button and lower the window an inch….
He asks you to get out of the car… you think about it and decide not to. You politely decline and ask what the problem is… the policeman shouts “just get out the car” the other officer is now by his side. He keeps on repeating “get out the car now” you get your phone out, there is no signal but you decide to switch on the sound recording. You again politely ask what the problem is, holding the phone close to the window. This seems to infuriate the officer… The officer again asks you to get out of the car, you again decline.
The officer is now getting quite aggressive, you actually fear getting out of the car… You calmly state you are not prepared to get out of the car but are fully prepared to follow them to welshpool, about 20 miles, to the police station or a more public area. You start the engine, one of the officers moves quickly to the rear of the car, preventing you reversing.
To fully set the scene, you have not had a drink for days, the car is in perfect order, and there is nothing in the car you are bothered about, you are a model citizen…
What would you do now?
Driving along, listening to the stereo, you catch a glimpse of a car in a field entrance as you pass by; seconds later you look in your mirror and see a car behind you, gaining fast. You glance down at the Speedo and it’s registering about 67 MPH, you lift your foot off the accelerator and slow to just over 60…. The car catches up and gets VERY close to the rear of your car…. It stays there for a couple of miles….
Suddenly, you see blue flashing lights in your mirror, you carry on for a distance as you consider it dangerous to stop, the roads narrow and twisty. After a while, a lay-by comes into view, you pull over and the car overtakes and pulls in front of you, and reverses up close to your car. it’s an unmarked car. Immediately, two police officers get out and walk towards your car, its very dark and isolated and for some reason, you feel nervous. You press the central locking button and the car locks make an audible clunk as the doors lock. The office tries the door and then knocks on the window. You press the electric window button and lower the window an inch….
He asks you to get out of the car… you think about it and decide not to. You politely decline and ask what the problem is… the policeman shouts “just get out the car” the other officer is now by his side. He keeps on repeating “get out the car now” you get your phone out, there is no signal but you decide to switch on the sound recording. You again politely ask what the problem is, holding the phone close to the window. This seems to infuriate the officer… The officer again asks you to get out of the car, you again decline.
The officer is now getting quite aggressive, you actually fear getting out of the car… You calmly state you are not prepared to get out of the car but are fully prepared to follow them to welshpool, about 20 miles, to the police station or a more public area. You start the engine, one of the officers moves quickly to the rear of the car, preventing you reversing.
To fully set the scene, you have not had a drink for days, the car is in perfect order, and there is nothing in the car you are bothered about, you are a model citizen…
What would you do now?
over!satchbot said:
A scenario easily sorted by complying with their request. In that situation very easy for them to think the car is nicked or the driver is drunk.
In that situation, very easy to sit behind the suspect vehicle at a safe distance, and wait until there is evidence of an offence, or a location less likely to frighten the presumably innocent driver.....or is innocence not presumed any more?
Not being Plod I don't know what the standard procedure for pulling someone over or following them to a Police station actually is, but this being Pistonheads I don't think ignorance of standard procedures has ever been a reason not to comment! 
I think it's a little odd that both 'policemen' got out of the car and approached your window and even more bizarre that one of them decided to stand behind your car to try and prevent you reversing. Were the appearances of the car/lights/uniforms convincing or was the whole thing a little bit fishy? I'm guessing from the tone of the post, and the fact you posted it in the first place, that you thought it was all a bit odd and perhaps something more sinister - like a carjacking!
From what you've described I think the whole thing seems a little peculiar and I would probably have tried to get out of there asap and then describe the whole series of events in court (assuming that they really were Plod!). What did you end up doing? Is it worth sticking this in SP&L to get Plod's P.O.V on what the standard operating procedure for this sort of thing REALLY is (rather than speculation from chancers like me
)?
I think it's a little odd that both 'policemen' got out of the car and approached your window and even more bizarre that one of them decided to stand behind your car to try and prevent you reversing. Were the appearances of the car/lights/uniforms convincing or was the whole thing a little bit fishy? I'm guessing from the tone of the post, and the fact you posted it in the first place, that you thought it was all a bit odd and perhaps something more sinister - like a carjacking!
From what you've described I think the whole thing seems a little peculiar and I would probably have tried to get out of there asap and then describe the whole series of events in court (assuming that they really were Plod!). What did you end up doing? Is it worth sticking this in SP&L to get Plod's P.O.V on what the standard operating procedure for this sort of thing REALLY is (rather than speculation from chancers like me
)?Maxf said:
Ask for ID - if they both have warrant cards (and let you have a good look) then get out of the car.
Why didn't they offer these? I think increasingly the BiB behave in a heavy handed arrogant way and don't do the profession proud! Having said that I was pulled for speeding on the m-way recently and was handled fairly, politely and professionally (I got let off 
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