Traffic Cops BBC1

[coppice]

What really grates is the self righteous little sermons plod gives to camera. Here is a force which time and again pleads poverty but still seems to take a perverse delight in treating every RTA as the crime of the century . Result - on more than one occasion my village (accessible by single track, steep and bendy road) has been jammed with artics unable to move in any direction . But somehow plod still manages to afford (we know how ) to field an S camera van on the one straight safest for overtaking in about 5 miles of A170 . Should have had it stationed in the small village where , in a 30 limit on a blind bend I encountered plod on my side of the road in mid high speed overtake. Blues and ..err... twos ? No - of course not ...

Loved the tractor chase - 'well it's quite a big tractor' says plod self defensively . No it wasn't - it was very old and very tired.

[speedking31]

megaphone said:

Pistom said:

The point that I was trying to make is that our valued police officers and members of the public shouldn't have their lives put at risk by dealing with minor traffic offences on the edge of fast moving motorways.

Totally agree with this, I see it all to often in my travels, the Police must be nuts to put their and the publics' lives at risk. I watched the programme last night, my first thought was the two children sitting in the back of at the car on the hard shoulder, totally irresponsible, if the copper was so keen to pull her for speeding, he should have escorted her off the motorway first.

Subsequent to being dealt with, she was further delayed giving her piece to camera while still parked in a dangerous location. BTW it wasn't a motorway.

[Sheepshanks]

chilistrucker said:

I have a lot of respect for the traffic police but do find it odd that they still stop people on the hard shoulder for speeding.

I watched it a few weeks ago where they pulled a doctor on the M62 and then laid into him about how dangerous it was to stop on the motorway - and they did the lecture thing, like he wouldn't know.

[droopsnoot]

coppice said:

What really grates is the self righteous little sermons plod gives to camera.

Yes, that was annoying me too - I didn't make notes, but I suspect there was more time spent on those than on the proper footage. Although in itself, a "drink driver" special wasn't all that interesting, you could tell in advance it was either going to be people being belligerent, or people being overly-apologetic. Is it coming up to Christmas, by any chance?

Woman in BMW didn't seem to understand why 97 in a 70 was such an issue, in her little speech on the verge she seemed to think it was "a matter of opinion". The weather was weird as well there - when he was sat in the car with the speed gun, it seemed to be very wet, but by the time he'd pulled her over, it was quite dry again. I didn't get the impression that they'd stopped in a particularly dangerous place - police car was some distance back, wheels facing in so in the event of being hit it should be pushed up the bank, not back into the carriageway. Leaving aside any hard shoulder being dangerous, that is.

[Riley Blue]

The thing I didn't understand was said by a copper at the taxi/van scene, it went something like, "If someone had killed someone with a shotgun it would be a crime scene. If someone is killed in a traffic accident, it becomes a crime scene." That seemed odd to me, does the outcome, i.e. a fatality, bump up a traffic accident to a 'crime'? Or did I simply mis-hear what was said?

[wjwren]

speedking31 said:

ubsequent to being dealt with, she was further delayed giving her piece to camera while still parked in a dangerous location. BTW it wasn't a motorway.

Yes i thought that, she was ranting to the camera while her kids were in the car. I was thinking any minute now a HGV will plough straight into your BMW.

[coppice]

Interesting that where one of the drivers in an RTA is over the limit the accident somehow automatically becomes his fault. He may be guilty of drink driving , and nobody approves of that, but the fact that the disapproval society (now )shows for drink driving apparently trumps the need for actual evidence of causation is deeply sinister .

[djfaulkner]

Max_Torque said:

Ok, who sets the "fines" these days? Where they set in 1963? They are completely ridiculously low. "fined £150" in costs. Pretty cheap for 4 coppers, 2 ambulances, 2 fire engines and a helicopter............

I wondered the same - He got less of a fine and ban time, than the others that crashed into parked cars and only had minor injuries.

[Eric Mc]

Riley Blue said:

That seemed odd to me, does the outcome, i.e. a fatality, bump up a traffic accident to a 'crime'? Or did I simply mis-hear what was said?

I think it does.

[coppice]

You will notice that few bobbies will talk of accidents now , as that would imply that somebody hadn't intended to commit an offence. Hence ' collision investigation unit ' - as if collisions were deliberate .

[droopsnoot]

Yes, wasn't it said earlier on that's why they don't refer to an RTA (Road Traffic Accident) now, rather an RTC (Collision), because there's no such thing as an accident?

I was intrigued that the chap with the accent (Aus/NZ?) operating the speed gun mentioned in his piece about speed limits that the government allow 10% + 2mph, so we're "entitled" to travel at 79mph on a motorway. I wasn't imagining that was I - he did actually say "entitled"?

[oobster]

rehab71 said:

To blow a 104 and drive a HGV is fking disgusting! Hope he goes to prison.

http://crimeandjustice.co.uk/2014/03/20/driver-jailed-for-causing-death-by-dangerous-driving-of-19-year-old-leeds-man/

A 56-year-old Bulgarian lorry driver has today (20 March 2014) been jailed for causing the death by dangerous driving of a 19-year-old Leeds man on 1 March 2014.

Stoyan Andonov Stoyanov, of Plodiv, Bulgaria pleaded guilty to the charge and was jailed for seven years and eight months at York Crown Court.

The collision happened on Saturday 1 March 2014 on the A1246 near Fairburn, Selby and involved Mr Stoyanov’s lorry and a black Renault Clio being driven by 19-year-old Callum Wark of Swillington near Leeds. Sadly Callum died from his injuries


7 years 8 months seems quite lenient, however the accident occurred on 1st March 2014 and the the driver was sentenced on 20th March 2014? That can't be right can it?

[chilistrucker]

oobster said:

http://crimeandjustice.co.uk/2014/03/20/driver-jai...

A 56-year-old Bulgarian lorry driver has today (20 March 2014) been jailed for causing the death by dangerous driving of a 19-year-old Leeds man on 1 March 2014.

Stoyan Andonov Stoyanov, of Plodiv, Bulgaria pleaded guilty to the charge and was jailed for seven years and eight months at York Crown Court.

The collision happened on Saturday 1 March 2014 on the A1246 near Fairburn, Selby and involved Mr Stoyanov’s lorry and a black Renault Clio being driven by 19-year-old Callum Wark of Swillington near Leeds. Sadly Callum died from his injuries


7 years 8 months seems quite lenient, however the accident occurred on 1st March 2014 and the the driver was sentenced on 20th March 2014? That can't be right can it?

I did wonder about the nationality of the truck driver in this terrible incident.
Remember 1 of the old program's when they stopped the foreign truck driver in the docks, he was well over the limit and had a glass of brandy on the go when they stopped him.
Then there was another European driver who'd got pissed as a fart with his mates in Stafford services and then set off the wrong way in an artic, down the m6 think he got as far as Hilton park services before truck drivers travelling the right way managed to force him to stop!
Doesn't matter really where they are from, I just don't get the stupidity of these so called professional drivers!

[eldar]

chilistrucker said:

I just don't get the stupidity of these so called professional drivers!

Alcoholics or extremely stupid, I guess.

[skip_1]

Pistom said:

skip_1 said:

Really you think it was the copper that was moronic and not the driver who ploughed into a marked lit car?

I take back the term moronic as I don't know any more than was reported on that situation. That includes the reason for the driver to plough into the car on the hard shoulder.

The point that I was trying to make is that our valued police officers and members of the public shouldn't have their lives put at risk by dealing with minor traffic offences on the edge of fast moving motorways.

I have to agree about the point you were trying to make. He could have had her follow off network there, they were close to a junction as well.

[droopsnoot]

chilistrucker said:

Then there was another European driver who'd got pissed as a fart with his mates in Stafford services and then set off the wrong way in an artic, down the m6 think he got as far as Hilton park services before truck drivers travelling the right way managed to force him to stop!

That's something that puzzles me - given the road layouts, strong lane divisions (with concrete blocks, not paint) and so on*, how the hell could you manage to manoeuvre something the size of an artic to get it facing the wrong way up a motorway? Given that alcohol usually makes it harder to control the vehicle, there's some pretty special driving going on there.

(* or at least they do in the car sections, I haven't actually been in the HGV bits, presumably entrances and exits are laid out to make this an unnaturally-sharp turn?)

[Eric Mc]

Just enter the motorway using an exit slip road. Bingo - you're on the motorway on the wrong side going the wrong way.

[droopsnoot]

Yes, I was thinking specifically of getting out of a service area rather than just on a normal junction. That said, I haven't been to that many so am just presuming they're all quite heavily kerbed. But yes, plenty of normal junctions don't make it that difficult.

ETA - it dawned on me later, of course, that even with heavy directional kerbs to make it hard to leave the exit of a parking area and turn back the wrong way, it's not so hard to leave using the entrance.

Edited by droopsnoot on Thursday 22 October 10:13

[chilistrucker]

He must have just been blind drunk, (think it was 3 times the limit)
That's a fair distance, Stafford services too Hilton park, very lucky that he didn't plough into some poor innocent driver coming the right way up the m6.

[rehab71]

chilistrucker said:

oobster said:

http://crimeandjustice.co.uk/2014/03/20/driver-jai...

A 56-year-old Bulgarian lorry driver has today (20 March 2014) been jailed for causing the death by dangerous driving of a 19-year-old Leeds man on 1 March 2014.

Stoyan Andonov Stoyanov, of Plodiv, Bulgaria pleaded guilty to the charge and was jailed for seven years and eight months at York Crown Court.

The collision happened on Saturday 1 March 2014 on the A1246 near Fairburn, Selby and involved Mr Stoyanov’s lorry and a black Renault Clio being driven by 19-year-old Callum Wark of Swillington near Leeds. Sadly Callum died from his injuries


7 years 8 months seems quite lenient, however the accident occurred on 1st March 2014 and the the driver was sentenced on 20th March 2014? That can't be right can it?

I did wonder about the nationality of the truck driver in this terrible incident.
Remember 1 of the old program's when they stopped the foreign truck driver in the docks, he was well over the limit and had a glass of brandy on the go when they stopped him.
Then there was another European driver who'd got pissed as a fart with his mates in Stafford services and then set off the wrong way in an artic, down the m6 think he got as far as Hilton park services before truck drivers travelling the right way managed to force him to stop!
Doesn't matter really where they are from, I just don't get the stupidity of these so called professional drivers!

When chatting to my dad about the programme he guessed straightaway it would be a foreign driver.