PHEA Run - Aldeburgh Fish and Chip Run - May 10th

[Konan]

iluvmercs said:

It appears people hear engines and exhaust and instantly assume the worst.....

Then they run down their garden so they can angrily wave a bucket at the relatively quiet car doing 20mph

B'stard Child]It related to the approach to Tescos on the Cedars Estate - apparently it is alleged that I gave a member of the public concerns for his own safety.....[/footnote said:

A while back, circa Ali G, when Corsas with neon lights and body kits drove round and round our town centres, some additional local powers were brought in (certainly in Fakenham) to target anyone that drove in a manner that made a member of the public 'fear for their own safety' I think it stretched to banning cars from parking in groups too.

Shortly after it was introduced, an elderly man attempted to reverse park at such a speed that he lumped up the kerb on to the pavement and ran over my foot (fortunately in a steel toe boot). I contacted the police to let them know that I certainly feared for my safety due to his driving and that they should consider confiscating his car. I was told 'yeah, it's not really aimed at that sort of person' - all equal in the eyes of the law.....

[B'stard Child]

Contents of my warning letter

Starts

Dear Mr ******

I wish to bring to your attention that your vehicle a Lotus Carlton registration H746 VVF, has been seen being driven along roads on the Cedars Estate in Stowmarket, in a manner that a member of the public has reported to Police as causing them concern for their safety.

I write to you in the spirit of preventing any collisions or committing any offences and wanted to bring to your attention that Police regularly patrol in the area and are now aware of your vehicle and will look to deal with any offences robustly in order to prevent collisions, we also carry out speed checks in that area regularly.

No further action will be taken in relation to this at this time, however if you are seen again you may face prosecution which could result in a fine and points on your driving licence.

Should you wish to discuss this further then please feel free to contact me.

Yours Sincerely

Kieron Pederick

Sergeant 215

Ends

Now I really don't go to Stowmarket very often so I could shrug it off but I was running my data logger from Thetford to Stowmarket - guess what my highest speed was the last 2 miles - 22 mph

And guess what my average speed was for the last 2 miles 8mph

I have responded as yes I will be discussing further - the bit in bold for those in the know is the real clue.........

So someone in fear for their own safety managed to both note down my reg number and read the badges on my bootlid as well - Car is not registered as a Lotus Carlton. My spiddy senses went off the chart without even looking at the data from my data logger.

My current thoughts I'm not keen on printing here yet but I am very interested to see Kieron's response and it had better be damn good.

Edited by B'stard Child on Tuesday 19th May 01:21

[B'stard Child]

B'stard Child said:

viscountdallara said:

If anyone receives any correspondence of this sort, please PM me.

I will deal with it locally, yet officially if need be.
Regards... David.

I have huge concerns with the contents of my warning letter but I'm happy to deal with it myself - I will keep you in the loop if you want

PM system looks like it's on it's ar5e again

senator3024v AT hotmail DOT com (I'll deleted it providing no-one quotes it when I know you've read it)

[B'stard Child]

My response - if Prince Charles Letters to MP's get made public don't see why you should see the one I sent

Dear Kieron

Thanks for your letter received today – I am very concerned by the content of your letter on a number of levels. Your letter invited me to contact you to discuss it further so here is my response and let’s see if I can resolve your concerns.

Yes I can confirm that I recently went to Stowmarket on Sunday the 10th May. A car club I am a member of had a start point of Tesco’s Supermarket for run to the coast and I travelled in convoy with 20 other cars. I was the last car in the group (I might add probably the quietest car in the group). Whilst I don’t know the area well I have looked at google maps in order to establish exactly where the Cedars Estate is, As I didn’t drive through any estate my assumption is that it was along Gun Cotton Way as I’m 100% sure that was the route we took to the meeting place.

What the member of the public cannot be aware off is that I was running both a remote engine and dash data logger and a dash cam in my car that morning. Having reviewed both I can state with absolute certainty that that this member of the public must have a very low threshold for concern or some other issue is driving their complaint. The highest speed I registered on Gun Cotton Way was 22 mph (this was the speed arriving at the beginning of Gun Cotton way) and the average speed along the length of Gun Cotton Way was 8mph - it was pretty much a nose to tail crawl due to volume of traffic. Two groups of cars (one from Cambridge and one from Thetford all arrived together).

The other interesting point I’d like to raise is not many members of the public would recognise my vehicle as anything other than an old Vauxhall – probably not even as a Carlton - unless you could read the badges on the boot lid – in your letter you state that my vehicle is a “Lotus Carlton” and so this also set my alarm bells ringing – you have clearly had to PNC my vehicle registration to get my home address therefore you have been informed that the vehicle was a “Lotus Carlton” otherwise your letter based on PNC information would have stated driving in a “Vauxhall Carlton GSI3000 24V” so whoever made the complaint had the ability to read two small badges on the rear of the car. Like I said someone in fear for their safety and yet able to remember both a registration number and read the two small badges on a boot – something really isn’t adding up at all.

As an ex-police officer myself (having over 30 years driving experience) if there is a speed limit posted (black numbers in a red ring) or it’s a built up area I treat it as an absolute maximum regardless of time of day – frankly from a safety perspective 30mph past a school at 8.30 or 4pm isn’t safe or sensible as I’m sure you’ll agree.

This now places us in a quandary – By stating that “Police are now aware of my vehicle” you infer you are placing a marker against my vehicle based on the complaint and I can prove that complaint is unfounded.

Of course I could check with a number of ex colleagues to make sure that one isn’t placed but that would be an abuse of their authority and I’m not sure I want to put anyone in that position. So think I’ll accept an acknowledgement from yourself that in this case the member of the public is mistaken and that there is no cause for any action in this case.

Should this not be the circumstances then I think as I have clear evidence to the contrary that I’ll need to take the matter further and if you can supply details of your senior officer I’d appreciate that as writing to the Chief Constable under the circumstances seems a little bit over the top.

Love and kisses

BC

[iluvmercs]

Thanks for sharing BC.
All the years we have had this Run without any issue whatsoever.
This year, we seem to have attracted all kinds of wrong attention.
May be I should be waiting to see what arrives is my post box as well!

Oh, and BC, your post count (at the time of writing), currently spells "BOOB". Childish sniggering has ensued here

Darren

[fast eddys]

Liking the reply Ian. Think they picked on the wrong guy lol. Did you really put 'love and kisses' on the end lol?

This run was no different from other runs we have had, but as said it clearly attracted the attention of some of the locals on route for some reason with all occasions seeming to be in 30/40 zones when everyone was clearly keeping to the speed limits.

Strange!

Eddy

[B'stard Child]

iluvmercs said:

Thanks for sharing BC.
All the years we have had this Run without any issue whatsoever.
This year, we seem to have attracted all kinds of wrong attention.
May be I should be waiting to see what arrives is my post box as well!

I don't get it either - One thing that did stick in my mind was I had two young lads in a van behind me on the road into Tescos - one was taking pictures or video on a phone - can't see why they would have cause to complain in fact the whole thing really makes me concerned.

The letter was dated Sunday too so on that basis apparently complaint received and database checked (or not) and letter written same day.........

iluvmercs said:

Oh, and BC, your post count (at the time of writing), currently spells "BOOB". Childish sniggering has ensued here

Darren

Fixed that for you now - can't have you sniggering about that

fast eddys said:

Liking the reply Ian. Think they picked on the wrong guy lol. Did you really put 'love and kisses' on the end lol?

Of course I didn't - I didn't put BC either!!

fast eddys said:

This run was no different from other runs we have had, but as said it clearly attracted the attention of some of the locals on route for some reason with all occasions seeming to be in 30/40 zones when everyone was clearly keeping to the speed limits.

Strange!

Eddy

My viewpoint too.......... very strange

[pantera chris]

That was the exact same letter that my friend got. Like I say, it didn't worry him at all and said it wouldn't put him off coming on future runs. We all know they would have no grounds to prosecute as we didn't come anywhere near breaking any laws!

I was being sarcastic about the friendly bit btw!

[B'stard Child]

pantera chris said:

That was the exact same letter that my friend got. Like I say, it didn't worry him at all and said it wouldn't put him off coming on future runs. We all know they would have no grounds to prosecute as we didn't come anywhere near breaking any laws!

Well unless the Police are issuing books of number plates to be aware of the inference in the letter is that your card is marked. If they want books of number plates I have a few from when I was 6 or 7 and I collected them......

pantera chris said:

I was being sarcastic about the friendly bit btw!

I got that

[feef]

Someone somewhere has got their knickers in a twist haven't they. I think we'd all be keen to see how the police respond.

[Gewy]

Another letter received from BiB here, but edited to cover both our cars!

Ian, seeing as Sgt Pederick likes to ‘copy and paste’ so much, any objections to me doing the same with some of your reply? I’d check you’re happy with the draft before sending, but I’d particularly like to make reference to your dash cam and data logger as we were traveling just in front of you.

Don’t know the name of the road, but I think the concerned member of public may have been at the pedestrian crossing on the road before the roundabout where we made a right turn. Although the lights were green there was a female with a child on the left, who from a distance looked as if they were about to cross – that is until she turned my way with mobile phone if front of face as if taking pictures or video. Might not be her, but it seems a bit of a coincidence.

cheers
Paul

[Khaki Suit]

Nice reply. Although it is very annoying that you receive these letters in the first instance based off the back of what? I once watch a nutjob in a golf drive through the middle of two cars on a dual carriageway. I phoned the police to report it and was told that nothing could be done without another witness. Yes this situation warrants a marker on the vehicle? Go figure.

Worrying to me is it could easily be me. The noise of my car often attracts the wrong type of attention. I can be doing 20 through a village and I get the old folk waving their arms at me shouting for me to slow down. Maybe it's OK to speed if you are doing so quietly? Anyway, I hate the fact you are backed into a corner and made to feel guilty having to prove your innocence. glad I have a dash cam. may even check it to see if I have any footage of the cars that were driving irresponsibly in and out of Tesco. Maybe we should all check our footage for further proof??

[iluvmercs]

I am glad to hear it won't put people off attending future Runs. At present, it appears just the Thetford group are the terrible law breakers

Goodness knows who actually complained, but seems they managed to remember a good few registrations and car makes/models, so must have been driving so very fast......

Just in case you're interested, HERE'S our Kieron, who like's to copy'n'paste his letters

Perhaps we should all just copy'n'paste BC's reply. And included "hugs and kisses".

Darren

[B'stard Child]

Gewy said:

Another letter received from BiB here, but edited to cover both our cars!

Ian, seeing as Sgt Pederick likes to ‘copy and paste’ so much, any objections to me doing the same with some of your reply? I’d check you’re happy with the draft before sending, but I’d particularly like to make reference to your dash cam and data logger as we were traveling just in front of you.

You can but personally I think replies should be very individual in nature - unlike the clear copy and paste of the original letter.

Gewy said:

Don’t know the name of the road, but I think the concerned member of public may have been at the pedestrian crossing on the road before the roundabout where we made a right turn. Although the lights were green there was a female with a child on the left, who from a distance looked as if they were about to cross – that is until she turned my way with mobile phone if front of face as if taking pictures or video. Might not be her, but it seems a bit of a coincidence.

cheers
Paul

70 unusual cars (some noisy) all descending on Stowmarket Tesco at around the same time is probably a rare event - not sure if this area is "sensitive" to cars abusing the speed limits or even if our arrival was after someone had triggered the threshold but the whole way along Gun Cotton Way it was a stop start exercise and I even commented to Geoff that I was glad I improved the clutch action on the LC - if it had been a couple of years ago my leg would have been getting cramp - so yeah none of the evidence stacks up at all

[B'stard Child]

iluvmercs said:

I am glad to hear it won't put people off attending future Runs. At present, it appears just the Thetford group are the terrible law breakers

Now don't go tarring Thetford with that brush - it's bad enough I have to live here

iluvmercs said:

Goodness knows who actually complained, but seems they managed to remember a good few registrations and car makes/models, so must have been driving so very fast......

Do Tesco have an entry camera for carp park infringements? It's not exactly the biggest car park is it?

iluvmercs said:

Just in case you're interested, HERE'S our Kieron, who like's to copy'n'paste his letters

Perhaps we should all just copy'n'paste BC's reply. And included "hugs and kisses".

Darren

Now that's useful info - he doesn't need to reply with his senior officer details - I have them already...

[B'stard Child]

feef said:

Someone somewhere has got their knickers in a twist haven't they.

Yes it seems someone has - I'm all for proactive policing but whats been done here (to several participants it seems) is a bit like junk mail

feef said:

I think we'd all be keen to see how the police respond.

I'll post one up when I get one.

[pantera chris]

The person complaining should be told off for wasting police time if there was no actual reason to complain.

[B'stard Child]

pantera chris said:

The person complaining should be told off for wasting police time if there was no actual reason to complain.

Depends how the complaint was made

https://www.suffolk.police.uk/saferneighbourhoods/...

So what details are needed

Your Name (required)
Subject (required)
Your message (required)

Please supply one of the following: (required)
Telephone number
Email address

So almost total anonymity for the complainant if need be if a disposable email is used....

Not that I would ever do this but just think of the fun you could have with the all registration numbers in a police station car park - clearly only the ones that aren't company cars

[gaz453]

B'stard Child said:

iluvmercs said:

I am glad to hear it won't put people off attending future Runs. At present, it appears just the Thetford group are the terrible law breakers

Now don't go tarring Thetford with that brush - it's bad enough I have to live here

the thetford group are the most law abiding bunch!

[markCSC]

It was probably the rolling burnout I did before you got there. They didn't seem too impressed.