How many times have you been stopped by the Police, why and
Discussion
6 or 7 times all bar one for speeding and all pretty well deserved. One or two I got away with, one I got a much reduced penalty and all through being polite.
The only one I would say was out of order was. Ring pulled for being behind a liveried Range Rover at the Worsley interchange. For some reason he didn't like me sitting behind him at 40mph whilst the car in front sat in the outside lane with nothing in the inside lane. I was a bit stumped when he asked "Do you know why I have pulled you over?" He couldn't really answer the question either.
The only one I would say was out of order was. Ring pulled for being behind a liveried Range Rover at the Worsley interchange. For some reason he didn't like me sitting behind him at 40mph whilst the car in front sat in the outside lane with nothing in the inside lane. I was a bit stumped when he asked "Do you know why I have pulled you over?" He couldn't really answer the question either.
I'm going back at least ten years now, but I got pulled in Croydon for kerb crawling. Got positively removed from my car with God-like force: My great grandfather, grandfather, father, sister and three cousins are/were all in the force so suffice to say I appreciate them and what they do. Once I'd explained I was merely looking to pick up the Mrs from the walkabout but had zero idea where it was so needed directions, they peeled me off my bonnet and gave me very clear instructions to follow the Police van. The van was fast! But they took me right to where I had to be to pick up my Missus at the time... Nothing but respect for our forces.
A dozen times approximately, and in 35+ years at the wheel all but two were in the space of a 4 year period when I was working and living in London during the week, returning home for weekends. On those occasions the stop was because the car was being driven at ca 1am in an area well away from where the regustered keeper (me) lived, and because the local police were bored. That was their repeatef comment, not my assumption, but I would have to agree it was reasonable grounds for a stop and check. Police officers involved were profesional to the point of being amicable.
On the other two occasions, one was a stop so the officer could look over the car at closer quarters, as he claimed to be a sports car enthusiast, though I would accept this could have been a benign excuse to look at other aspects e.g. tyres on the car and intoxicants in me. Nothing happened. The other occasion was when Laurel and Hardy in uniform engaged in a spot of perverting the course of justice at the roadside. After an immediate complaint at the local nick via the duty Inspector all proceedings were stopped on the spot as I was present when he telephoned somebody to bin everything that day with my name on it - that surprised me but it was good news. Unfortunately I didn't find out what if anything happened to the jokers, the Inspector asked me to leave it with him and in view of the action he took that was OK by me.
On the other two occasions, one was a stop so the officer could look over the car at closer quarters, as he claimed to be a sports car enthusiast, though I would accept this could have been a benign excuse to look at other aspects e.g. tyres on the car and intoxicants in me. Nothing happened. The other occasion was when Laurel and Hardy in uniform engaged in a spot of perverting the course of justice at the roadside. After an immediate complaint at the local nick via the duty Inspector all proceedings were stopped on the spot as I was present when he telephoned somebody to bin everything that day with my name on it - that surprised me but it was good news. Unfortunately I didn't find out what if anything happened to the jokers, the Inspector asked me to leave it with him and in view of the action he took that was OK by me.
Dave Hedgehog said:
more times than i can count
i ran into a few unmarked cars last year and had a some chats, but to be honest i do take on board their recommendations
worst year was when i had my last scooby sti type UK PPP, prices of the early cars had dropped a lot over the years and so where at the time main stream fodder for the local boy racers and they had obviously been pissing the local plod off, i got stopped 5 times in about 9 months "to check paperwork" even thou im grey haired and balding lol
so i sold it
The first two sentences don't really go together that well. You've been stopped more times than you can count, but you do take on their recommendations. How bad is your driving i ran into a few unmarked cars last year and had a some chats, but to be honest i do take on board their recommendations
worst year was when i had my last scooby sti type UK PPP, prices of the early cars had dropped a lot over the years and so where at the time main stream fodder for the local boy racers and they had obviously been pissing the local plod off, i got stopped 5 times in about 9 months "to check paperwork" even thou im grey haired and balding lol
so i sold it
Twice in 20 years.
First time when I was 18, natch, where I was pulled by an unmarked car responding to a report of a vehicle matching the description of mine travelling around Brighton at around 2am with 3 people surfing on the tops of the doors. They let me off with a b
king.
Second time was 43 in a 30. Annoyingly, a biker had waved to alert me about 1/4 mile earlier, but in those days, anyone waving at me normally meant something else was falling off my ageing 309 SRi so I was paying more attention to looking for smoke / detritus than the speedo. 3 points and whatever the fine was in 1996.
First time when I was 18, natch, where I was pulled by an unmarked car responding to a report of a vehicle matching the description of mine travelling around Brighton at around 2am with 3 people surfing on the tops of the doors. They let me off with a b
king. Second time was 43 in a 30. Annoyingly, a biker had waved to alert me about 1/4 mile earlier, but in those days, anyone waving at me normally meant something else was falling off my ageing 309 SRi so I was paying more attention to looking for smoke / detritus than the speedo. 3 points and whatever the fine was in 1996.
Four times in seven years of driving.
Two for speeding, both words of advice, once for having a shed of a car (bumper and rear wing burnt in a fire, window taped up), but all safe and legal, and yesterday for a bit of a dodgy overtake (stuck behind someone doing 20 in a 60 for over a couple of miles, overtook when I could (100 metres or so before it went back into a 30) when a Police car was coming towards me. Slap on the wrist.
Two for speeding, both words of advice, once for having a shed of a car (bumper and rear wing burnt in a fire, window taped up), but all safe and legal, and yesterday for a bit of a dodgy overtake (stuck behind someone doing 20 in a 60 for over a couple of miles, overtook when I could (100 metres or so before it went back into a 30) when a Police car was coming towards me. Slap on the wrist.
Once. Was coming home one evening trying to get back in time to see the football on TV. Came off the M26 onto the M20, where there were roadworks and a 50mph limit, but the cones etc were all to the sides so the lanes were as normal. As I pulled onto the M20 I didn't notice the police car approaching from behind and I accelerated. Travelled almost 2 junctions, then on came the blues & twos. I pulled over and waited. One of the policemen came to the passenger side of my car, and I lowered the window.
Policeman : "Do you know what the speed limit is on this stretch?"
Me: : "Yes officer, 50mph through the roadworks."
Policeman : "And what speed were you doing?"
Me: : "Around 90-100 I think. I was certainly going too fast."
Policeman : "We clocked you at over 106mph. Do you have your licence and documents with you?"
Me: : "Yes officer."
I handed him my paperwork, and he went back to his car. He returned after a couple of minutes.
Policeman : "So give me a reason why you shouldn't lose your licence for driving at more than double the speed limit."
Me: : "There is no reason, officer. I'm not going to try and make something up, I hold my hands up, I have absolutely no excuse. I know I was breaking the limit and I fully deserve to be punished for that."
He then gave me a short lecture on why it was unsafe to do what I did, what if someone had been working on the roadworks and I'd hit them (I won't recount the whole thing here). I nodded and told him I agreed with him 100%, I'd been stupid and would take whatever consequences there were. He handed me my documents.
Policeman : "Ok. You can go... this time. But if I catch you driving like that again, I will absolutely throw the book at you. When you move off, accelerate up to speed before pulling back into lane one. Good evening sir."
Cue massive relief! I think being polite and respectful, admitting what I'd done rather than trying to wriggle out of it, and basically not trying to be a smartarse, helped me a lot. Or it might be that he was at the end of his shift and didn't want to do the paperwork. Either way, I consider myself extremely lucky!
Policeman : "Do you know what the speed limit is on this stretch?"
Me: : "Yes officer, 50mph through the roadworks."
Policeman : "And what speed were you doing?"
Me: : "Around 90-100 I think. I was certainly going too fast."
Policeman : "We clocked you at over 106mph. Do you have your licence and documents with you?"
Me: : "Yes officer."
I handed him my paperwork, and he went back to his car. He returned after a couple of minutes.
Policeman : "So give me a reason why you shouldn't lose your licence for driving at more than double the speed limit."
Me: : "There is no reason, officer. I'm not going to try and make something up, I hold my hands up, I have absolutely no excuse. I know I was breaking the limit and I fully deserve to be punished for that."
He then gave me a short lecture on why it was unsafe to do what I did, what if someone had been working on the roadworks and I'd hit them (I won't recount the whole thing here). I nodded and told him I agreed with him 100%, I'd been stupid and would take whatever consequences there were. He handed me my documents.
Policeman : "Ok. You can go... this time. But if I catch you driving like that again, I will absolutely throw the book at you. When you move off, accelerate up to speed before pulling back into lane one. Good evening sir."
Cue massive relief! I think being polite and respectful, admitting what I'd done rather than trying to wriggle out of it, and basically not trying to be a smartarse, helped me a lot. Or it might be that he was at the end of his shift and didn't want to do the paperwork. Either way, I consider myself extremely lucky!
Loads. Not sure why; it's not like I have anything attached to the car espousing left wing politics. Perhaps they just don't like me! I've been driving for eight years, by the way.
1) Having foglights on when it's not foggy. I made up some excuse about not knowing they were on. Let go.
2) Speeding - yes I was, no they didn't care
3) Breaking down at the side of the road; got a stern talking to about that? Madness, apparently I should have called the police rather than the AA.
4) Speeding - yes I was, no they didn't care
5) Speeding - yes I was, got three points, he cared....
6) Being out late - yes I was, I am an adult and it's my prerogative to be out as late as I want. Honestly they stopped me for the heinous offence of being out late. I'd been to the pub, it was Saturday night, Epic Police fail.
7) Having blue headlights - I'll claim cultural bias on this. They were blue, but I was born in Chelmsford therefore should be allowed (for cultural reasons) to modify my car in a tacky way. The policeman got shouty and told me to remove them. I didn't but that car was destroyed in an accident. Not my fault and nothing to do with the headlights.
8) A public order offence! - apparently a pedestrian who was older than me swore at a woman as she walked past him. Not nice for her, I sympathise, but why stop a much younger man driving a car? And wearing different clothes, it transpired. Maybe they just wanted to stop the tatty car?
The trick is, apparently, to be utterly conventional in consumption habits, lifestyle and appearance. Having long hair, wearing slightly less than ordinary clothes and cruising the streets in an old banger is likely to warrant further attention from the authorities. You have been warned.
1) Having foglights on when it's not foggy. I made up some excuse about not knowing they were on. Let go.
2) Speeding - yes I was, no they didn't care
3) Breaking down at the side of the road; got a stern talking to about that? Madness, apparently I should have called the police rather than the AA.
4) Speeding - yes I was, no they didn't care
5) Speeding - yes I was, got three points, he cared....
6) Being out late - yes I was, I am an adult and it's my prerogative to be out as late as I want. Honestly they stopped me for the heinous offence of being out late. I'd been to the pub, it was Saturday night, Epic Police fail.
7) Having blue headlights - I'll claim cultural bias on this. They were blue, but I was born in Chelmsford therefore should be allowed (for cultural reasons) to modify my car in a tacky way. The policeman got shouty and told me to remove them. I didn't but that car was destroyed in an accident. Not my fault and nothing to do with the headlights.
8) A public order offence! - apparently a pedestrian who was older than me swore at a woman as she walked past him. Not nice for her, I sympathise, but why stop a much younger man driving a car? And wearing different clothes, it transpired. Maybe they just wanted to stop the tatty car?
The trick is, apparently, to be utterly conventional in consumption habits, lifestyle and appearance. Having long hair, wearing slightly less than ordinary clothes and cruising the streets in an old banger is likely to warrant further attention from the authorities. You have been warned.
Edited by MagneticMeerkat on Saturday 30th August 16:23
Mk3Spitfire said:
An easy 6/8 of those are fully legit reasons.
Possibly so but I see your 6/8 and raise you 1/12 (ish). All at once, an ATS offence (fabricated), a speed limit offence (fabricated), dangerous driving offence (taking the p1ss), comments in BiB notebook attributed to me (fabricated) all binned instantly by an Inspector who I suspect knew a bit more than me about the proclivities of the muppets responsible.One bad apple causes problems for everyone but it happens in all professions, getting two at once ought to result in some sort of prize other than the made-up offences.
Mk3Spitfire said:
You appear to have been extremely unlucky in your experiences.
Only the one, the other 11 or so were fine, but I agree. Possibly, you may be interested in the details. I'm not asking for or expecting another reply.Driving in to London in the rush hour i.e. crawling traffic hour, I was in lane 1 of a 3-lane road approaching a junction controlled by traffic lights. Just past that junction the road narrows to 2 lanes then a 1-lane single carriageway.
I went through at green, speed about 15mph. Several cars behind me in lanes 1, 2 and 3 continued to go across the junction and it may well have transpired that the last one or two went through on amber/red, but all lanes were slow moving whatever may have happened behind me.
Staying in lane 1 it was obvious that, as usual, traffic in lanes 2 and 3 were trying hard to make progress to achieve one more car length before the road narrowed. I remained in lane 1 as those people in a bit of a hurry cut in ahead, not just in front of cars ahead of me in lane 2, but also in front of me in lane 1. This was fine as I slowed even further to let them in. I was early for work
After less than 20 yards of single carriageway crawling I saw blues behind me, indicated left and slowed to let them pass, assuming they were on an emergency call. However the police car slowed with me, stayed behind, and it became clear I was being required to stop. So I stopped.
The trouble arose, I think, because by the time we were all in single file, I remained the car at the back of the crawling line that went through the junction. Any vehicle that could have possibly jumped the lights was well down the road having cut in ahead of me. As such it must have been assumed I was last through when it was nothing like that. That's the only explanation I can think of.
When I got out, the first officer (sgt) said I was being reported for the ATS offence, and for speeding. Anyone claiming to see a car speeding on that road at that time must be on acid, or telling porkies. The ATS offence was fabricated and so was the speeding allegation.
At that point it began to rain and the sgt added that as it was raining, speeding in wet conditions indicated dangerous driving and I would be reported for that as well. To say I was surprised is an under-statement! To point out the bleedin' obvious, it wasn't raining at the time of the fabricated offences. I feel entitled to describe that as taking the p1ss.
The pc who was with the sgt had been standing behind me, though I hadn't noticed until the sgt asked if I had anything to say in response. My reply was "No" at which point the pc read out slowly, as he wrote in his notebook "When questioned Mr TB said that he was only keeping up with the flow of traffic" which was also a fabrication.
Anyway...at that time there was a retired senior BiB working two offices down from me and I went straight in to have a chat and get some advice. When he heard about the allegation of speeding at that time in that location he laughed out loud, he also found the entire episode amusing. He suggested I make a formal complaint to the duty Inspector at the local police station. Which I did, immediately in person and as per my previous post, after the Inspector heard what I had to say about what happened, including the allegation of speeding on the road in question at the time in question, he made a call and binned the lot. This was a very welcome but unexpected end to the morning's events.
His only other comment apart from asking that I leave my complaint in his hands was to say that sometimes a copper does play silly buggers with notebook entries. No s
t! PCOJ sounds more like it.3 times in 22 years so not bad.
1. I was in my 20s and had the attitude to go with it. Had an Escort 1.6 Ghia and was taking a girl home after a date. Not speeding or anything but happened to come across a police exercise stopping every damned car at a certain junction at about midnight. My tax had expired the week before! The PC looked and said 'ooh, unlucky mate'. Small fine etc. I then got a ticket from a traffic warden for the same thing the next day as I'd left it parked on the street outside my house! Doh!
2. Speeding, 48 in a 30. Borrowed my boss's Golf GTi hadn't I? To be fair I'd probably have been going faster in my own Honda Civic at the time. Fair cop.
3. Last year, driving back from a friends where we'd been x boxing and eating pizza etc. After midnight and it's dead where I live so when I saw a traffic 5 series go by the other way I just knew he'd have a look at me. Sure enough his brake lights came on and he went around a roundabout and after me. I stuck to the 30 limit and eventually he pulled me over to check I hadn't been drinking (his words). I blew a zero and he let me go. Very polite and actually was fine by me, I'd like to see more police in our area full stop and especially in the evenings.
1. I was in my 20s and had the attitude to go with it. Had an Escort 1.6 Ghia and was taking a girl home after a date. Not speeding or anything but happened to come across a police exercise stopping every damned car at a certain junction at about midnight. My tax had expired the week before! The PC looked and said 'ooh, unlucky mate'. Small fine etc. I then got a ticket from a traffic warden for the same thing the next day as I'd left it parked on the street outside my house! Doh!
2. Speeding, 48 in a 30. Borrowed my boss's Golf GTi hadn't I? To be fair I'd probably have been going faster in my own Honda Civic at the time. Fair cop.
3. Last year, driving back from a friends where we'd been x boxing and eating pizza etc. After midnight and it's dead where I live so when I saw a traffic 5 series go by the other way I just knew he'd have a look at me. Sure enough his brake lights came on and he went around a roundabout and after me. I stuck to the 30 limit and eventually he pulled me over to check I hadn't been drinking (his words). I blew a zero and he let me go. Very polite and actually was fine by me, I'd like to see more police in our area full stop and especially in the evenings.
When I've encounter plod as a driver 6 times in the last 30 years I think all apart from one were very decent chaps indeed and the one that wasn't was a probationer sprog who was told by his 'handler', to wind his neck in.
In non motor related incidents which there have been 2. The uniforms were like rabbits in the headlights or couldn't care less and the CID were completes who I wouldn't put in charge of a zebra crossing.
In non motor related incidents which there have been 2. The uniforms were like rabbits in the headlights or couldn't care less and the CID were complete
s who I wouldn't put in charge of a zebra crossing.1972 - driving my MG Midget along the (then) 50 mph section of the A46 just north of Leicester...at 50 mph. No idea why - policeman just looked at my licence and insurance papers and that was it.
1975 - driving through a little town in Wales in another MG Midget and a policeman stopped me to ask whether I'd seen a Mini driving suspiciously. I hadn't, he said thanks, that was all.
1980 - driving my VW Scirocco at 41 mph in a 40 zone....or so I thought. I'd moved away from the area and it was now a 30 zone. "Sorry - my fault" 3 points and a few quid.
1992 - going a bit too fast in a Stage 2 Manta GTE. Rozzer on a bike this time - "Do try to keep it down, sir!" "Yes, sorry - I will indeed!".
1999 - in my Prelude on my way to work (flying out to an operational detachment) at about 0100. Blues from behind, so I pulled in. Policeman realised he knew me from his own days in the RAF, we had a chat about this and that until his colleague suggested that they ought to go and find some actual villains.
2001 - on my way home at about 2330 in another Prelude. "Ah, don't tell me you've just landed too?" "Yes, on my way home and it's been a long day". They were checking for pi$$heads heading home after some on-base thrash and the previous 2 cars had been the rest of my crew, also stone cold sober!
2005 - tootling along in my SLK32 AMG. Blue lights behind, I pull over, they whizz past and give me a 'thank you' wave.
And that's it in 46 years of motoring. Good chaps, the BiB!
1975 - driving through a little town in Wales in another MG Midget and a policeman stopped me to ask whether I'd seen a Mini driving suspiciously. I hadn't, he said thanks, that was all.
1980 - driving my VW Scirocco at 41 mph in a 40 zone....or so I thought. I'd moved away from the area and it was now a 30 zone. "Sorry - my fault" 3 points and a few quid.
1992 - going a bit too fast in a Stage 2 Manta GTE. Rozzer on a bike this time - "Do try to keep it down, sir!" "Yes, sorry - I will indeed!".
1999 - in my Prelude on my way to work (flying out to an operational detachment) at about 0100. Blues from behind, so I pulled in. Policeman realised he knew me from his own days in the RAF, we had a chat about this and that until his colleague suggested that they ought to go and find some actual villains.
2001 - on my way home at about 2330 in another Prelude. "Ah, don't tell me you've just landed too?" "Yes, on my way home and it's been a long day". They were checking for pi$$heads heading home after some on-base thrash and the previous 2 cars had been the rest of my crew, also stone cold sober!
2005 - tootling along in my SLK32 AMG. Blue lights behind, I pull over, they whizz past and give me a 'thank you' wave.
And that's it in 46 years of motoring. Good chaps, the BiB!
Edited by nickwilcock on Saturday 30th August 20:40
Let's see:
Yamaha RD250 -- riding in bus lane (chucked out by magistrate)
Ducati 450 Desmo -- checking for the Yorkshire Ripper
Ducati 450 Desmo -- speculative pull
Lancia Fulvia -- waved at to slow down
Mini PickUp -- speculative pull x2
Mini PickUp -- headlamps off (I'd just driven through the Mersey Tunnel and they're illegal inside!)
Ducati 900SS -- headlamp off (as above)
Talbot Alpine -- speeding -- let off
Fiat Seicento -- speculative pull (why do we keep seeing your car? ah, you're delivering pizzas!)
Fiat Cinquecento -- speeding let off x2
Volvo V70 T5 -- speeding let off.
Apart from the prat who did me in the mini (an inspector trying to impress a rather attractive young PC) they've all been fine.
Yamaha RD250 -- riding in bus lane (chucked out by magistrate)
Ducati 450 Desmo -- checking for the Yorkshire Ripper
Ducati 450 Desmo -- speculative pull
Lancia Fulvia -- waved at to slow down
Mini PickUp -- speculative pull x2
Mini PickUp -- headlamps off (I'd just driven through the Mersey Tunnel and they're illegal inside!)
Ducati 900SS -- headlamp off (as above)
Talbot Alpine -- speeding -- let off
Fiat Seicento -- speculative pull (why do we keep seeing your car? ah, you're delivering pizzas!)
Fiat Cinquecento -- speeding let off x2
Volvo V70 T5 -- speeding let off.
Apart from the prat who did me in the mini (an inspector trying to impress a rather attractive young PC) they've all been fine.
Edited by TheRealFingers99 on Saturday 30th August 22:03
I grew up in what was at the time the joyriding capital of Europe. I also worked in a bar, so frequently had a car full of people to drop off in some hooky area's on my way home. That resulted in a lot of stops. No action taken. Professional, and once the attitude test had been passed, polite treatment every time.
Skip forward 15 or so years...
Recently (last 5 years) I've been stopped once. Police made a mistake, once attitude test, breathalyser and vehicle check were passed, civil and professional treatment, if not what you'd call friendly.
No points, SACs, bans or anything else in > 20 years driving, and a couple of advanced test passes usually help smooth progress. I find the police more professional and polite than almost any public servants I need to deal with. Hope that answers the question OP.
Skip forward 15 or so years...
Recently (last 5 years) I've been stopped once. Police made a mistake, once attitude test, breathalyser and vehicle check were passed, civil and professional treatment, if not what you'd call friendly.
No points, SACs, bans or anything else in > 20 years driving, and a couple of advanced test passes usually help smooth progress. I find the police more professional and polite than almost any public servants I need to deal with. Hope that answers the question OP.
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