Can hard acceleration be an offence?
Discussion
A while ago, I was pulled by a bike cop and informed that I was "driving like a nutter". What I'd actually done was approach a roundabout on a DC, seen a queue of around half a dozen cars in the r/h lane and then used the l/h lane to get the the front of the queue. When the traffic on the roundabout cleared, I accelerated onto the roundabout and then onto the continuing DC.
This was the point when the blues & twos came on and he pulled me. However, when I stopped, he pulled right alongside my driver's door on his bike, which he left running, which suggested to me that he didn't actually have anything on me, but just fancied pulling a quick car.
He told me that I "stuck out like a sore thumb" with my driving style - I suggested that maybe the reason for this was that everyone else was doing 40mph and I was the only one driving at the speed limit. He then ventured to suggest that he could "do me for dangerous driving", to which I suggested that he was welcome to try (he'd only caught up with me at the roundabout because I'd been stationary for 30 seconds, so he'd only observed me from a substantial distance while tailing me in the previous section of DC)
After he'd "decided to let me off"
I was wondering about what it was that caused him to pull me. Yes, I was "making good progress" but certainly doing less than 80 on the earlier section of DC. Traffic was pretty light, so I wasn't using inappropriate speed. I guess I technically undertook the half dozen cars at the roundabout entry, but they were all stationary in the "wrong" lane (they all went straight on - none turned right). I believe it was my acceleration up to the NSL (which in my car is possible in under 6 seconds, but I was taking it fairly easy and running on the lowest boost setting, so let's say 10 seconds). Now to me, this is 5/10 motoring, but compared with the other road users around me, it must have looked like I was on a mission.
So - the question - are there any circumstances when hard acceleration can be regarded as an offence? (assuming of course that no other offences were committed while accelerating)
FWIW, I decided not to tell the bike Cop that I've passed my advanced driving test, nor that I was running at the car's lowest performance setting - I thought there was no point in antagonising him further, although his holier-than-thou attitude was starting to wind me up a bit.
This was the point when the blues & twos came on and he pulled me. However, when I stopped, he pulled right alongside my driver's door on his bike, which he left running, which suggested to me that he didn't actually have anything on me, but just fancied pulling a quick car.
He told me that I "stuck out like a sore thumb" with my driving style - I suggested that maybe the reason for this was that everyone else was doing 40mph and I was the only one driving at the speed limit. He then ventured to suggest that he could "do me for dangerous driving", to which I suggested that he was welcome to try (he'd only caught up with me at the roundabout because I'd been stationary for 30 seconds, so he'd only observed me from a substantial distance while tailing me in the previous section of DC)
After he'd "decided to let me off"
I was wondering about what it was that caused him to pull me. Yes, I was "making good progress" but certainly doing less than 80 on the earlier section of DC. Traffic was pretty light, so I wasn't using inappropriate speed. I guess I technically undertook the half dozen cars at the roundabout entry, but they were all stationary in the "wrong" lane (they all went straight on - none turned right). I believe it was my acceleration up to the NSL (which in my car is possible in under 6 seconds, but I was taking it fairly easy and running on the lowest boost setting, so let's say 10 seconds). Now to me, this is 5/10 motoring, but compared with the other road users around me, it must have looked like I was on a mission.So - the question - are there any circumstances when hard acceleration can be regarded as an offence? (assuming of course that no other offences were committed while accelerating)
FWIW, I decided not to tell the bike Cop that I've passed my advanced driving test, nor that I was running at the car's lowest performance setting - I thought there was no point in antagonising him further, although his holier-than-thou attitude was starting to wind me up a bit.
Harsh acceleration doesn't depend on what your car is capable of. If you accelerated considerably faster than would be expected then this can amount to an offence. If there's other drivers around you must, as in must, consider their expectations.
There is never a right rate of acceleration for the road, nor one for the car. There is one for all conditions and this includes what other drivers might be expecting from you.
Further, the trafic officer might well have expected you to take cognizance of his presence. That is the norm. If you acted outside the norm then this can be a reason to pull.
If an officer said something like: Oh, I thought you might be worth a pull, it might sound flippant, not the sort of response expected of a traffic officer. He might have been expecting process for Con and Use or for TDA, something like that. Perhaps he just wanted to emphasise the fact that you must, as in must, consider other road users.
You should not use the power of your vehicle to negate what might be a dangerous situation if you were driving a 1.0 super mini. For instance, if you come along a sliproad onto a motorway and use the unusual power of your car to pass a car in the inside lane in order to get in front of it then this can be a mark against you on an advanced driving test. I don't know the precise circs of your roundabout incident but might this caveat apply?
Don't forget that the motorcyclist will almost certainly have passed an advanced driving test in his force then undergone another for the motorcycle. It is perhaps just as well that you didn't mention you'd passed just the one.
There is never a right rate of acceleration for the road, nor one for the car. There is one for all conditions and this includes what other drivers might be expecting from you.
Further, the trafic officer might well have expected you to take cognizance of his presence. That is the norm. If you acted outside the norm then this can be a reason to pull.
If an officer said something like: Oh, I thought you might be worth a pull, it might sound flippant, not the sort of response expected of a traffic officer. He might have been expecting process for Con and Use or for TDA, something like that. Perhaps he just wanted to emphasise the fact that you must, as in must, consider other road users.
You should not use the power of your vehicle to negate what might be a dangerous situation if you were driving a 1.0 super mini. For instance, if you come along a sliproad onto a motorway and use the unusual power of your car to pass a car in the inside lane in order to get in front of it then this can be a mark against you on an advanced driving test. I don't know the precise circs of your roundabout incident but might this caveat apply?
Don't forget that the motorcyclist will almost certainly have passed an advanced driving test in his force then undergone another for the motorcycle. It is perhaps just as well that you didn't mention you'd passed just the one.
streaky said:
S59 RTA is most likely.
S3 RTA is possible.
Streaky
pretty sure I wasn't causing alarm or disturbance to other motorists - in fact quite the opposite - I guess most of the half-dozen I out-dragged from the roundabout were pi$$ing themselves laughing when they trundled past me half a mile later, with a miffed copper lecturing me....S3 RTA is possible.
Streaky
As for the IAM status, I knew I'd be lining myself up for a "should have known better" lecture and I learned many years ago that mentioning a car's performance capability only ever makes matters worse.
I guess there's always going to be the "due care" slant to hard acceleration, but its a relative term - what some people consider to be hard would be verging on pedestrian to me.
otolith said:
Offence of insufficient meekness by the sounds of it.
Definitely the case - when he did the usual Plod thing of asking "why do you think I've pulled you over?", I answered with a genuine "haven't the slightest idea - have I got a brake light out or something?...." When he proceeded to brand me as a nutter and threatened to have me banned, I may have said "bring it on - what's the charge?"You'd think at 50+ years old, I'd have learned when to stay quiet, but it bugs me that the very action of driving enthusiastically (and [IMHO] safely) makes me a target.
The cop could have handled the situation differently, but in his defence, so could I.
Still no solid answer to the original question though.....
Geekman said:
Don't know if it's an offence as such, but I got a s.59 for accelerating hard out of a carpark, I reached around 20MPH.
Sameish. I accelerated "hard" past a petrol station after a bellend indicated to go into it then moved to the right to try and overtake the cars that were already queuing to go in (as he thought they were parked) then sat blocking the main road. When the traffic cleared on the otherside I gave it a bootful passed him up to the 40mph speed limit. Unfortunately for me plod were sat in the fuel station.Not my proudest moment, I didn't even try and explain myself
Nigel_O said:
Still no solid answer to the original question though.....
When BiB feels the "hard acceleration" justifies a pull under RTA, potentially and subsequently exacerbated by the driver's age and attitude when stopped."Solid" enough? It's probably the best you'll get.
Your comment that: "the half-dozen I out-dragged from the roundabout were pi$$ing themselves laughing when they trundled past me half a mile later, with a miffed copper lecturing me" tends to give the lie to your statement that: "[I'm] pretty sure I wasn't causing alarm or disturbance to other motorists - in fact quite the opposite". You might consider that they were laughing because they thought that you were getting your comeuppance for driving 'without due care and attention' because the way you drove fell "below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver" - the wording of s3ZA(2) Road Traffic Act 1988.
Streaky
PS - at a roundabout on a DC, the outside of two lanes can be for straight ahead - S
Edited by streaky on Monday 24th December 22:11
Derek Smith said:
You should not use the power of your vehicle to negate what might be a dangerous situation if you were driving a 1.0 super mini. For instance, if you come along a sliproad onto a motorway and use the unusual power of your car to pass a car in the inside lane in order to get in front of it then this can be a mark against you on an advanced driving test. I don't know the precise circs of your roundabout incident but might this caveat apply?
I don't doubt the accuracy of this passage for a second. But I am appalled at this sort of "lowest common denominator" approach to driving. It's pathetic, IMHO. Derek Smith said:
Harsh acceleration doesn't depend on what your car is capable of. If you accelerated considerably faster than would be expected then this can amount to an offence. If there's other drivers around you must, as in must, consider their expectations.
You should not use the power of your vehicle to negate what might be a dangerous situation if you were driving a 1.0 super mini.
This seems ridiculous to me.You should not use the power of your vehicle to negate what might be a dangerous situation if you were driving a 1.0 super mini.
I have driven fast (200+bhp / ton) cars for 20+yrs without incident.
I have to consider how other drivers might feel, I ought to accelerate ?
How about they use their eyes and ears ?
I use my current cars power (approx 350bhp/ton) to do things safely (merge and overtake) that would be inconceivable to 99% of other drivers but is safe because (like a large bike) it can accelerate so fast.
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