No police on the roads.....
Discussion
Today I drove from the South Coast to Glasgow. I wasn't in a rush, but it took seven hours, with breaks....
I didn't see a single police car all the way up.
I Did see two cars race past at i'd guess 130 mph plus on the A74m, clearly having some fun on near empty road.
Seems a bit mad to me that the cuts in spending result in no police presence on the roads
I didn't see a single police car all the way up.
I Did see two cars race past at i'd guess 130 mph plus on the A74m, clearly having some fun on near empty road.
Seems a bit mad to me that the cuts in spending result in no police presence on the roads
Might have been a few unmarked around the Lakes, but perhaps that's more of a summer time affair when the bikers are out.
Any camera vans on the bridges? I'd be amazed if you didn't pass one of those on the M74 tbh, but I have been driving the M6 - M74 from the end of the M61 all the way up to Glasgow for nearly ten years now and you seldom see marked cars in my experience, but the unmarked ones are often about - seen plenty of folk pulled over by coppers driving an unmarked BMW, Volvo or Audi.
Any camera vans on the bridges? I'd be amazed if you didn't pass one of those on the M74 tbh, but I have been driving the M6 - M74 from the end of the M61 all the way up to Glasgow for nearly ten years now and you seldom see marked cars in my experience, but the unmarked ones are often about - seen plenty of folk pulled over by coppers driving an unmarked BMW, Volvo or Audi.
Edited by Axionknight on Tuesday 6th October 20:46
Axionknight said:
Might have been a few unmarked around the Lakes, but perhaps that's more of a summer time affair when the bikers are out.
Any camera vans on the bridges? I'd be amazed if you didn't pass one of those on the M74 tbh, but I have been driving the M6 - M74 from the end of the M61 all the way up to Glasgow for nearly ten years now and you seldom see marked cars in my experience, but the unmarked ones are often about - seen plenty of folk pulled over by coppers driving an unmarked BMW, Volvo or Audi.
Not out todayAny camera vans on the bridges? I'd be amazed if you didn't pass one of those on the M74 tbh, but I have been driving the M6 - M74 from the end of the M61 all the way up to Glasgow for nearly ten years now and you seldom see marked cars in my experience, but the unmarked ones are often about - seen plenty of folk pulled over by coppers driving an unmarked BMW, Volvo or Audi.
Edited by Axionknight on Tuesday 6th October 20:46
It's a trite saying but you never know what you have got until it's gone. A slight exaggeration, for sure.
The Tories were the only practical outcome at the election but I have always had serious doubts about the fact that police spending isn't ring-fenced. Sure, they'll have areas where they can make efficiency savings, but the cuts to front line policing will fundamentally transform this country and it won't be pretty.
The Tories were the only practical outcome at the election but I have always had serious doubts about the fact that police spending isn't ring-fenced. Sure, they'll have areas where they can make efficiency savings, but the cuts to front line policing will fundamentally transform this country and it won't be pretty.
s!Took the little one to Blackpool for the illuminations on Saturday. Driving home someone had been pulled on the M55 half way between Blackpool and Preston at about 9.30pm and then some else had the same treatment on the M6 somewhere between Wigan and Charnock Richard services so about 10pm. Was quite surprised, because watching Traffic Cops etc implies most traffic officers are in the towns/cities dealing with drunks in the evenings. But they are indeed out there!
I do NW to SE quite a lot and generally the only place I see marked cars is in my home county, Cheshire.
I do see a fair number of unmarked cars that have stopped people though - it's rare not to see one each way on the M6 Toll, and I'll generally see a couple on the M40.
See some odd cars too - an unmarked C Class passed me on the M6 last week with blue strobe lights embedded in the front and rear lamp units.
I do see a fair number of unmarked cars that have stopped people though - it's rare not to see one each way on the M6 Toll, and I'll generally see a couple on the M40.
See some odd cars too - an unmarked C Class passed me on the M6 last week with blue strobe lights embedded in the front and rear lamp units.
Policing the roads was eroded before the spending cuts. With Labour, it was a focus upon numerical targets around reductions and detections in crime areas like burglary, assaults and theft from motor vehicles. This resulted in traffic officer numbers being reduced to reallocate elsewhere. It's not just the officer, it's the training, equipment and cars that are expensive.
Clearly that is compounded now by the spending cuts. If you're making strategic decisions and are looking at the bigger picture, deaths on the roads have been reducing pretty much since records began, on a year-on-year basis. It'll probably take us to hit the saturation point and see this trend reversing before it becomes a sufficient risk / issue.
Forces are now merging their traffic with functions like firearms and other centralised areas to achieve greater savings.
This illustrates the point the numbers were being reduced prior to the spending cuts.
Clearly that is compounded now by the spending cuts. If you're making strategic decisions and are looking at the bigger picture, deaths on the roads have been reducing pretty much since records began, on a year-on-year basis. It'll probably take us to hit the saturation point and see this trend reversing before it becomes a sufficient risk / issue.
Forces are now merging their traffic with functions like firearms and other centralised areas to achieve greater savings.
This illustrates the point the numbers were being reduced prior to the spending cuts.
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