What did I do?
Discussion
Hi All,
I have something of a story to share, and really would just like some opinions on the events that unfolded.
Last Friday evening at around 9pm I was driving to Anglesey from Chester along the A55, something I do quite regularly and I know the road pretty well.
As I pass Bodelwyddan castle at Junction 25 a marked BMW police car joins the road just ahead of me. It is a lone policeman in the vehicle, and he speeds up to roughly 76/77mph and stays there. The road is quite busy and I remain behind him usign cruise control at around 76mph. After a few miles there is quite a few cars around me and behind me all tentatively approaching the police car as if nervous regarding overtaking him at a speed above 70mph.
The road ahead of us was almost completely clear and so after 5 miles or so I took it upon myself to move out and overtake this police car and just get on with my journey. Using my steering wheel controls I eased the CC up to 78 and crawled past him.
Now I understand, 78mph is speeding. But if he was unhappy with the speed I was going or the manoeuvre of the simple overtake then I would have expected a gesture or a flash of the lights as a warning from him. None of which I got, and so I moved back in to the inside lane when it was safe to do so and continued my journey at 76/77 mph.
Around 5 miles pass and I am on a nearly empty motorway, still using CC at no more than 77. I am in the inside lane undertaking no-one and I start to approach a horsebox travelling around 65mph. As I close in on him I start to think about moving out, and so look in my mirror, to see the same police car in the outside lane doing around 90/100mph. I reduce my CC to around 72 (still closing on the horsebox) and wait for him to pass me, he has no blue lights on so I simply assume he will pass me and continue to his destination. As he comes parallel with me I begin to indicate so as to move out after he has passed, at which point I am roughly 2-3 car lengths behind the horsebox and closing.
The police car slams on his brakes and reduces his speed from 90+ to match mine, putting himself in the spot I was hoping to fill, at which point I was forced to brake hard so as not to continue into the back of the horsebox!
The policeman gestures towards the horsebox and then speeds off again?
I was understandably quite shaken up and didnt realise what exactly had happened. I had 2 passengers with me who felt the same way, we were all confused as to what his intentions were.
It does not end there however. I continue my journey at around 75mph on the near empty A55 for another 5/10 miles and end up behind him again coming into the 50 Zone at Conwy. This time I set my CC to match him and there is a Ford Focus between myself and him. We remain in this order all the way up until Junction 11 near Bangor at which point he turns off at the exit. The ford focus and I continue onwards and I overtake him. However the exit road is at an incline so the police car can still see us as we go past him on the road.
Now I am in front of the Focus and we have just passed the slip road of the same junction he got off. For some reason I look in my mirror to see cars coming down and spot him coming back down behind us at quite a rate, still with no lights flashing. He comes up behind the focus behind me and starts tailgating him. He then pulls out and overtakes us both and puts himself in front of me again.
Still with no indication of why he appears to be following me or even if I have done anything wrong, he then leaves the A55 for good at the next junction, 10.
So, what should I do about this?
A part of me would like to report this Driver for nearly causing a collision, but it was really quite unnerving that he would follow me for what appeared to be no reason.
If he determined that I was speeding and he took exception to that, I would have far proffered for him to stop me and tell me there and then, as opposed to letting me go and nearly forcing me into the back of an innocent horsebox 5 miles down the road.
Am I in the wrong and should shut up and wait for a letter of prosecution? Or do I have a right to be upset about this?
Thanks for this!
I have something of a story to share, and really would just like some opinions on the events that unfolded.
Last Friday evening at around 9pm I was driving to Anglesey from Chester along the A55, something I do quite regularly and I know the road pretty well.
As I pass Bodelwyddan castle at Junction 25 a marked BMW police car joins the road just ahead of me. It is a lone policeman in the vehicle, and he speeds up to roughly 76/77mph and stays there. The road is quite busy and I remain behind him usign cruise control at around 76mph. After a few miles there is quite a few cars around me and behind me all tentatively approaching the police car as if nervous regarding overtaking him at a speed above 70mph.
The road ahead of us was almost completely clear and so after 5 miles or so I took it upon myself to move out and overtake this police car and just get on with my journey. Using my steering wheel controls I eased the CC up to 78 and crawled past him.
Now I understand, 78mph is speeding. But if he was unhappy with the speed I was going or the manoeuvre of the simple overtake then I would have expected a gesture or a flash of the lights as a warning from him. None of which I got, and so I moved back in to the inside lane when it was safe to do so and continued my journey at 76/77 mph.
Around 5 miles pass and I am on a nearly empty motorway, still using CC at no more than 77. I am in the inside lane undertaking no-one and I start to approach a horsebox travelling around 65mph. As I close in on him I start to think about moving out, and so look in my mirror, to see the same police car in the outside lane doing around 90/100mph. I reduce my CC to around 72 (still closing on the horsebox) and wait for him to pass me, he has no blue lights on so I simply assume he will pass me and continue to his destination. As he comes parallel with me I begin to indicate so as to move out after he has passed, at which point I am roughly 2-3 car lengths behind the horsebox and closing.
The police car slams on his brakes and reduces his speed from 90+ to match mine, putting himself in the spot I was hoping to fill, at which point I was forced to brake hard so as not to continue into the back of the horsebox!
The policeman gestures towards the horsebox and then speeds off again?
I was understandably quite shaken up and didnt realise what exactly had happened. I had 2 passengers with me who felt the same way, we were all confused as to what his intentions were.
It does not end there however. I continue my journey at around 75mph on the near empty A55 for another 5/10 miles and end up behind him again coming into the 50 Zone at Conwy. This time I set my CC to match him and there is a Ford Focus between myself and him. We remain in this order all the way up until Junction 11 near Bangor at which point he turns off at the exit. The ford focus and I continue onwards and I overtake him. However the exit road is at an incline so the police car can still see us as we go past him on the road.
Now I am in front of the Focus and we have just passed the slip road of the same junction he got off. For some reason I look in my mirror to see cars coming down and spot him coming back down behind us at quite a rate, still with no lights flashing. He comes up behind the focus behind me and starts tailgating him. He then pulls out and overtakes us both and puts himself in front of me again.
Still with no indication of why he appears to be following me or even if I have done anything wrong, he then leaves the A55 for good at the next junction, 10.
So, what should I do about this?
A part of me would like to report this Driver for nearly causing a collision, but it was really quite unnerving that he would follow me for what appeared to be no reason.
If he determined that I was speeding and he took exception to that, I would have far proffered for him to stop me and tell me there and then, as opposed to letting me go and nearly forcing me into the back of an innocent horsebox 5 miles down the road.
Am I in the wrong and should shut up and wait for a letter of prosecution? Or do I have a right to be upset about this?
Thanks for this!
Jakeztx said:
As he comes parallel with me I begin to indicate so as to move out after he has passed, at which point I am roughly 2-3 car lengths behind the horsebox and closing.
The police car slams on his brakes and reduces his speed from 90+ to match mine, putting himself in the spot I was hoping to fill, at which point I was forced to brake hard so as not to continue into the back of the horsebox!
The policeman gestures towards the horsebox and then speeds off again?
Maybe he took your indication as he was drawing level with you that you were just going to pull out, that could explain him slamming the brakes on. The police car slams on his brakes and reduces his speed from 90+ to match mine, putting himself in the spot I was hoping to fill, at which point I was forced to brake hard so as not to continue into the back of the horsebox!
The policeman gestures towards the horsebox and then speeds off again?
Other than that nothing much happened except you repeatedly breaking the seed limit.
Jakeztx said:
Hi All,
I have something of a story to share, and really would just like some opinions on the events that unfolded.
Last Friday evening at around 9pm I was driving to Anglesey from Chester along the A55, something I do quite regularly and I know the road pretty well.
As I pass Bodelwyddan castle at Junction 25 a marked BMW police car joins the road just ahead of me. It is a lone policeman in the vehicle, and he speeds up to roughly 76/77mph and stays there. The road is quite busy and I remain behind him usign cruise control at around 76mph. After a few miles there is quite a few cars around me and behind me all tentatively approaching the police car as if nervous regarding overtaking him at a speed above 70mph.
The road ahead of us was almost completely clear and so after 5 miles or so I took it upon myself to move out and overtake this police car and just get on with my journey. Using my steering wheel controls I eased the CC up to 78 and crawled past him.
Now I understand, 78mph is speeding. But if he was unhappy with the speed I was going or the manoeuvre of the simple overtake then I would have expected a gesture or a flash of the lights as a warning from him. None of which I got, and so I moved back in to the inside lane when it was safe to do so and continued my journey at 76/77 mph.
Around 5 miles pass and I am on a nearly empty motorway, still using CC at no more than 77. I am in the inside lane undertaking no-one and I start to approach a horsebox travelling around 65mph. As I close in on him I start to think about moving out, and so look in my mirror, to see the same police car in the outside lane doing around 90/100mph. I reduce my CC to around 72 (still closing on the horsebox) and wait for him to pass me, he has no blue lights on so I simply assume he will pass me and continue to his destination. As he comes parallel with me I begin to indicate so as to move out after he has passed, at which point I am roughly 2-3 car lengths behind the horsebox and closing.
The police car slams on his brakes and reduces his speed from 90+ to match mine, putting himself in the spot I was hoping to fill, at which point I was forced to brake hard so as not to continue into the back of the horsebox!
The policeman gestures towards the horsebox and then speeds off again?
I was understandably quite shaken up and didnt realise what exactly had happened. I had 2 passengers with me who felt the same way, we were all confused as to what his intentions were.
It does not end there however. I continue my journey at around 75mph on the near empty A55 for another 5/10 miles and end up behind him again coming into the 50 Zone at Conwy. This time I set my CC to match him and there is a Ford Focus between myself and him. We remain in this order all the way up until Junction 11 near Bangor at which point he turns off at the exit. The ford focus and I continue onwards and I overtake him. However the exit road is at an incline so the police car can still see us as we go past him on the road.
Now I am in front of the Focus and we have just passed the slip road of the same junction he got off. For some reason I look in my mirror to see cars coming down and spot him coming back down behind us at quite a rate, still with no lights flashing. He comes up behind the focus behind me and starts tailgating him. He then pulls out and overtakes us both and puts himself in front of me again.
Still with no indication of why he appears to be following me or even if I have done anything wrong, he then leaves the A55 for good at the next junction, 10.
So, what should I do about this?
A part of me would like to report this Driver for nearly causing a collision, but it was really quite unnerving that he would follow me for what appeared to be no reason.
If he determined that I was speeding and he took exception to that, I would have far proffered for him to stop me and tell me there and then, as opposed to letting me go and nearly forcing me into the back of an innocent horsebox 5 miles down the road.
Am I in the wrong and should shut up and wait for a letter of prosecution? Or do I have a right to be upset about this?
Thanks for this!
How do you cope with all the other drivers who "follow you" on other journeys? Most of us would call it sharing the road with other drivers. I have something of a story to share, and really would just like some opinions on the events that unfolded.
Last Friday evening at around 9pm I was driving to Anglesey from Chester along the A55, something I do quite regularly and I know the road pretty well.
As I pass Bodelwyddan castle at Junction 25 a marked BMW police car joins the road just ahead of me. It is a lone policeman in the vehicle, and he speeds up to roughly 76/77mph and stays there. The road is quite busy and I remain behind him usign cruise control at around 76mph. After a few miles there is quite a few cars around me and behind me all tentatively approaching the police car as if nervous regarding overtaking him at a speed above 70mph.
The road ahead of us was almost completely clear and so after 5 miles or so I took it upon myself to move out and overtake this police car and just get on with my journey. Using my steering wheel controls I eased the CC up to 78 and crawled past him.
Now I understand, 78mph is speeding. But if he was unhappy with the speed I was going or the manoeuvre of the simple overtake then I would have expected a gesture or a flash of the lights as a warning from him. None of which I got, and so I moved back in to the inside lane when it was safe to do so and continued my journey at 76/77 mph.
Around 5 miles pass and I am on a nearly empty motorway, still using CC at no more than 77. I am in the inside lane undertaking no-one and I start to approach a horsebox travelling around 65mph. As I close in on him I start to think about moving out, and so look in my mirror, to see the same police car in the outside lane doing around 90/100mph. I reduce my CC to around 72 (still closing on the horsebox) and wait for him to pass me, he has no blue lights on so I simply assume he will pass me and continue to his destination. As he comes parallel with me I begin to indicate so as to move out after he has passed, at which point I am roughly 2-3 car lengths behind the horsebox and closing.
The police car slams on his brakes and reduces his speed from 90+ to match mine, putting himself in the spot I was hoping to fill, at which point I was forced to brake hard so as not to continue into the back of the horsebox!
The policeman gestures towards the horsebox and then speeds off again?
I was understandably quite shaken up and didnt realise what exactly had happened. I had 2 passengers with me who felt the same way, we were all confused as to what his intentions were.
It does not end there however. I continue my journey at around 75mph on the near empty A55 for another 5/10 miles and end up behind him again coming into the 50 Zone at Conwy. This time I set my CC to match him and there is a Ford Focus between myself and him. We remain in this order all the way up until Junction 11 near Bangor at which point he turns off at the exit. The ford focus and I continue onwards and I overtake him. However the exit road is at an incline so the police car can still see us as we go past him on the road.
Now I am in front of the Focus and we have just passed the slip road of the same junction he got off. For some reason I look in my mirror to see cars coming down and spot him coming back down behind us at quite a rate, still with no lights flashing. He comes up behind the focus behind me and starts tailgating him. He then pulls out and overtakes us both and puts himself in front of me again.
Still with no indication of why he appears to be following me or even if I have done anything wrong, he then leaves the A55 for good at the next junction, 10.
So, what should I do about this?
A part of me would like to report this Driver for nearly causing a collision, but it was really quite unnerving that he would follow me for what appeared to be no reason.
If he determined that I was speeding and he took exception to that, I would have far proffered for him to stop me and tell me there and then, as opposed to letting me go and nearly forcing me into the back of an innocent horsebox 5 miles down the road.
Am I in the wrong and should shut up and wait for a letter of prosecution? Or do I have a right to be upset about this?
Thanks for this!
So, to be clear, you overtook a marked officer at 78mph?
Chances are he decided to see if you were going to a p**k and go for a 100 plus cruise at which point he would nick you.
You didn't so he's gone off to find bigger fish to fry. Count yourself lucky.
ETA - oh, do feel free to "report" him and whatnot, but don't be surprised if your admission of your speed finds you rewarded with points for your trouble though..... Another officer may not be so forgiving.
Chances are he decided to see if you were going to a p**k and go for a 100 plus cruise at which point he would nick you.
You didn't so he's gone off to find bigger fish to fry. Count yourself lucky.
ETA - oh, do feel free to "report" him and whatnot, but don't be surprised if your admission of your speed finds you rewarded with points for your trouble though..... Another officer may not be so forgiving.
calibrax said:
Next time, wait until the car overtaking has already gone past you before indicating to pull out. He probably saw your indicator come on as he went by and thought you were about to pull into him, panicked and braked.
This.Always makes me tense a little as someone indicating at that point indicates to me that they haven't seen me. If they had surely they'd wait until I passed?
Especially annoying as when this happens on a 3 lane m'way and the lorry in lane one indicates the numpty in lane 2 tends to panic and swerves into lane 3.
Hackney said:
This.
Always makes me tense a little as someone indicating at that point indicates to me that they haven't seen me. If they had surely they'd wait until I passed?
Especially annoying as when this happens on a 3 lane m'way and the lorry in lane one indicates the numpty in lane 2 tends to panic and swerves into lane 3.
Fair enough, good advice. I likely was too hasty with my indication. Always makes me tense a little as someone indicating at that point indicates to me that they haven't seen me. If they had surely they'd wait until I passed?
Especially annoying as when this happens on a 3 lane m'way and the lorry in lane one indicates the numpty in lane 2 tends to panic and swerves into lane 3.
Jakeztx said:
Around 5 miles pass and I am on a nearly empty motorway, still using CC at no more than 77. I am in the inside lane undertaking no-one and I start to approach a horsebox travelling around 65mph. As I close in on him I start to think about moving out, and so look in my mirror, to see the same police car in the outside lane doing around 90/100mph. I reduce my CC to around 72 (still closing on the horsebox) and wait for him to pass me, he has no blue lights on so I simply assume he will pass me and continue to his destination. As he comes parallel with me I begin to indicate so as to move out after he has passed, at which point I am roughly 2-3 car lengths behind the horsebox and closing.
The police car slams on his brakes and reduces his speed from 90+ to match mine, putting himself in the spot I was hoping to fill, at which point I was forced to brake hard so as not to continue into the back of the horsebox!
The policeman gestures towards the horsebox and then speeds off again?
I think plod sees you as I have from your description. Driving like a twonk. Only just able to stop when the situation didn't do as you expected. Hoping against hope you could pull out and overtake the vehicle in front without having to kill the cruise control. Get manual control, match speed and pull out to overtake when it's clear. Commitment to a manoeuvre for when it might be clear is just daft.The police car slams on his brakes and reduces his speed from 90+ to match mine, putting himself in the spot I was hoping to fill, at which point I was forced to brake hard so as not to continue into the back of the horsebox!
The policeman gestures towards the horsebox and then speeds off again?
Bert
Hackney said:
calibrax said:
Next time, wait until the car overtaking has already gone past you before indicating to pull out. He probably saw your indicator come on as he went by and thought you were about to pull into him, panicked and braked.
This.Always makes me tense a little as someone indicating at that point indicates to me that they haven't seen me. If they had surely they'd wait until I passed?
Especially annoying as when this happens on a 3 lane m'way and the lorry in lane one indicates the numpty in lane 2 tends to panic and swerves into lane 3.
For too many people on the motorway or dual carriageway indicating means "I'd quite like to move out at some point in the relatively near future" but because they're already signalling we have no way of knowing when this might actually happen
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