Due care and attention.. my arse?

[Tannedbaldhead]

In a motorway service station today. It was busy and there were random pedestrians wandering all over the roads as they made their way from their cars to the services. I threaded my way through them at a crawl and with caution. At one point I stopped at a mini zebra crossing and let a family and a couple of olds cross. I got a couple of waves of thanks and nodded and smiled in acknowledgement.

Ain't I the nice guy? Well U'd think. As I parked up close by a BiB who was standing on the pavement nearby came over and "had a word". He was unimpressed that as I stopped at the Zebra I started to rev my engine. He considered this aggressive and intimidating and thus driving without due care and attention and placed other road users in a state of fear and alarm. I replied that it was a small rhythmic blip of the throttle to prevent my stop/start kicking in, it wasn't aggressive and as I had eye contact and was smiling and nodding at the pedestrians as they crossed there was no way that my actions could have construed as aggressive. No intimidation, no offence, I'll be on my way........ But no. Plod then said even if the people crossing the road were fine other pedestrians on the pavement unable to see the friendly interaction and eye contact may have taken my "reving" engine as a form of intimidation of those crossing and been upset on their behalf. If I upset these third parties then I'd still be guilty of driving without due care to other road users. I hung my head in shame, apologised, and was sent on my way suitably chastised.

Had the officer a point or was he talking bks?

[Martin_M]

I'll be honest, I don't know if he had a point but I can't help but think that if he had reason to speak to you about it you must have been revving enough to catch his attention, no? I have stop start so I know what you're saying but is that reality or were you just fed up waiting?

[Tannedbaldhead]

Martin_M said:

I'll be honest, I don't know if he had a point but I can't help but think that if he had reason to speak to you about it you must have been revving enough to catch his attention, no? I have stop start so I know what you're saying but is that reality or were you just fed up waiting?

If I was being aggressive I wouldn't have posted. Would have kept shtume as I'd been throwing myself to the Lions owning up on here. Little 5-400 rpm blips just to keep the car ticking over. Wasn't in a hurry and was basking in the glory of the nodded and smiled "thankyous" from the family and olds. One factor that might count against me is the JCW exhaust is a bit fruity but it's the people behind who get the burbles and pops not those in front and I'm pretty sure reving an extra 4-500 RPM sends the car into boy racing hooligan mode. The policeman even acknowledged the people crossing the road didn't have a problem.

[av185]

Maybe you should have referred him to the recent 'intimidating pedestrians' Lamborghinis revving off the limiter and spitting blue flames in London thread......

[Derek Smith]

Tannedbaldhead said:

In a motorway service station today. It was busy and there were random pedestrians wandering all over the roads as they made their way from their cars to the services. I threaded my way through them at a crawl and with caution. At one point I stopped at a mini zebra crossing and let a family and a couple of olds cross. I got a couple of waves of thanks and nodded and smiled in acknowledgement.

Ain't I the nice guy? Well U'd think. As I parked up close by a BiB who was standing on the pavement nearby came over and "had a word". He was unimpressed that as I stopped at the Zebra I started to rev my engine. He considered this aggressive and intimidating and thus driving without due care and attention and placed other road users in a state of fear and alarm. I replied that it was a small rhythmic blip of the throttle to prevent my stop/start kicking in, it wasn't aggressive and as I had eye contact and was smiling and nodding at the pedestrians as they crossed there was no way that my actions could have construed as aggressive. No intimidation, no offence, I'll be on my way........ But no. Plod then said even if the people crossing the road were fine other pedestrians on the pavement unable to see the friendly interaction and eye contact may have taken my "reving" engine as a form of intimidation of those crossing and been upset on their behalf. If I upset these third parties then I'd still be guilty of driving without due care to other road users. I hung my head in shame, apologised, and was sent on my way suitably chastised.

Had the officer a point or was he talking bks?

Revving an engine whilst stopped at a pedex can be considered the same as, for instance, continually flashing headlights behind a car you want to pull over to allow you to pass. Why you were doing it does not stop it being an offence. You could have just let the engine switch off and then start once the pedestrians were over. The officer's comments about others on the footway is pertinent.

So i would suggest it is quite likely that an offence of wdc has been committed. The officer gave you a verbal warning, despite you arguing. Good for him as your excuse was not a defence.

I'm merely answering your question remember.

[Eclassy]

Think yourself lucky you didnt get a fine and points. Think of all the school children you could have made deaf by your inconsiderate actions.

[carinaman]

You can't prove that none of the onlookers that may have been offended or distressed weren't actually kittens in disguise.

[Steffan]

Derek Smith said:

Tannedbaldhead said:

In a motorway service station today. It was busy and there were random pedestrians wandering all over the roads as they made their way from their cars to the services. I threaded my way through them at a crawl and with caution. At one point I stopped at a mini zebra crossing and let a family and a couple of olds cross. I got a couple of waves of thanks and nodded and smiled in acknowledgement.

Ain't I the nice guy? Well U'd think. As I parked up close by a BiB who was standing on the pavement nearby came over and "had a word". He was unimpressed that as I stopped at the Zebra I started to rev my engine. He considered this aggressive and intimidating and thus driving without due care and attention and placed other road users in a state of fear and alarm. I replied that it was a small rhythmic blip of the throttle to prevent my stop/start kicking in, it wasn't aggressive and as I had eye contact and was smiling and nodding at the pedestrians as they crossed there was no way that my actions could have construed as aggressive. No intimidation, no offence, I'll be on my way........ But no. Plod then said even if the people crossing the road were fine other pedestrians on the pavement unable to see the friendly interaction and eye contact may have taken my "reving" engine as a form of intimidation of those crossing and been upset on their behalf. If I upset these third parties then I'd still be guilty of driving without due care to other road users. I hung my head in shame, apologised, and was sent on my way suitably chastised.

Had the officer a point or was he talking bks?

Revving an engine whilst stopped at a pedex can be considered the same as, for instance, continually flashing headlights behind a car you want to pull over to allow you to pass. Why you were doing it does not stop it being an offence. You could have just let the engine switch off and then start once the pedestrians were over. The officer's comments about others on the footway is pertinent.

So i would suggest it is quite likely that an offence of wdc has been committed. The officer gave you a verbal warning, despite you arguing. Good for him as your excuse was not a defence.

I'm merely answering your question remember.

I agree with Derek on this. My only thought was would the services in fact be governed by the RTA on a private car park? Doubtless Derek will advise. The policeman took the time to advise you that you were driving inappropriately. I would heed the advice. You were not prosecuted on this occasion. Learn the lesson. This sort of driving is bad news particularly in busy traffic.

[Tannedbaldhead]

Derek Smith said:

The officer's comments about others on the footway is pertinent.

So what you're saying is even if through the exchange of smiles, nods and waves those pedestrians crossing were happy, relaxed and didn't feel rushed I am responsible if pedestrian on the pavement watching from a distance gets upset as he thinks those on the zerbra are being intimidated?

[ferrariF50lover]

Does it fall below the standard of a careful and competent driver?

Yes.

In what way was it less careful?

Your foot could have slipped from the clutch and the extra few hundred revs could have prevented the car stalling, sending it shooting forward into people.

A careful driver, if wishing for his S/S to disengage, would simply have depressed the clutch or overridden the system electronically.

In what way was it less competent?

Competent drivers don't override their S/S. You don't override the auto-choke or the proper functioning of the CD player, so don't override this.

I'm no Martha Costello (heck, I'm not even a BV72), but those are the reasonable arguments I can find in the time I'm willing to devote to it.

The idea that it's intimidating for people crossing the road seems strange. It's a few hundred revs. When cold (which it could well be if you'd been at the services a while) the engine in my car will tick over maybe 700rpm higher than normal. Ok, that's a tick over, not a blip, but pedestrians would struggle to notice and, without turning this into a willy waving contest, the engine in my car is considerably larger than in yours, adding to the 'noticeability'.

Looks like bored policeman syndrome to me, but if I squint really hard and the light is ever so dim, I can probably see a situation in which Nervous McNervous, winner of the Mr Nervous award 2014 could, possibly, just be sufficiently nervous of absolutely everything that it causes him some distress.

Can someone please post the video of the little old nan whacking the Lexus with her handbag?

Simon.

[herewego]

I expect the illegal exhaust made it sound as though it was being revved harder than it was. The engine is designed to stop in these circumstances anyway so why not let it?

[MrBarry123]

From the thread title I thought you had a problem with your rear.

[Tannedbaldhead]

Steffan said:

This sort of driving is bad news particularly in busy traffic.

What? This sort of driving?

Tannedbaldhead said:

In a motorway service station today. It was busy and there were random pedestrians wandering all over the roads as they made their way from their cars to the services. I threaded my way through them at a crawl and with caution. At one point I stopped at a mini zebra crossing and let a family and a couple of olds cross. I got a couple of waves of thanks and nodded and smiled in acknowledgement.

[Steffan]

Tannedbaldhead said:

Steffan said:

This sort of driving is bad news particularly in busy traffic.

What? This sort of driving?

Tannedbaldhead said:

In a motorway service station today. It was busy and there were random pedestrians wandering all over the roads as they made their way from their cars to the services. I threaded my way through them at a crawl and with caution. At one point I stopped at a mini zebra crossing and let a family and a couple of olds cross. I got a couple of waves of thanks and nodded and smiled in acknowledgement.

The sort of driving that causes the policeman to stop you and warn you of your inappropriate driving and the consequences. That sort or driving. You must have been driving the car to receive the warning,

[XCP]

To divert the officer from his donuts/coffee/ comfort break something must have occurred. I don't buy the 'bored police' scenario.

[Tannedbaldhead]

Steffan said:

Tannedbaldhead said:

Steffan said:

This sort of driving is bad news particularly in busy traffic.

What? This sort of driving?

Tannedbaldhead said:

In a motorway service station today. It was busy and there were random pedestrians wandering all over the roads as they made their way from their cars to the services. I threaded my way through them at a crawl and with caution. At one point I stopped at a mini zebra crossing and let a family and a couple of olds cross. I got a couple of waves of thanks and nodded and smiled in acknowledgement.

The sort of driving that causes the policeman to stop you and warn you of your inappropriate driving and the consequences. That sort or driving. You must have been driving the car to receive the warning,

The one issue he had with my driving was blipping my throttle. He conceded it wasn't an F1 grid flaming exhaust rev but a blip and conceded the pedestrians on the crossing were not in a state of fear and alarm. Unfortunately for me even if I had eye contact with the pedestrians and it was obvious by my demeanour that I wasn't being aggressive he still considered my reving (regardless of how gently) at a pedestrian crossing to be an offence. I have a feeling that had I been driving in a properly aggressive, intimidating manor I'd have been reported and prosecuted and had I not a valid point with regards to exchanging waves, smile, nods and generally being a nice the officer wouldn't have bothered to take the time to explain that had any reasonable person around possibly been upset by my actions (not just those crossing) an offence would have been committed.

[Martin4x4]

Tannedbaldhead said:

In a motorway service station today. It was busy and there were random pedestrians wandering all over the roads as they made their way from their cars to the services. I threaded my way through them at a crawl and with caution. At one point I stopped at a mini zebra crossing and let a family and a couple of olds cross. I got a couple of waves of thanks and nodded and smiled in acknowledgement.

Ain't I the nice guy? Well U'd think. As I parked up close by a BiB who was standing on the pavement nearby came over and "had a word". He was unimpressed that as I stopped at the Zebra I started to rev my engine. He considered this aggressive and intimidating and thus driving without due care and attention and placed other road users in a state of fear and alarm. I replied that it was a small rhythmic blip of the throttle to prevent my stop/start kicking in, it wasn't aggressive and as I had eye contact and was smiling and nodding at the pedestrians as they crossed there was no way that my actions could have construed as aggressive. No intimidation, no offence, I'll be on my way........ But no. Plod then said even if the people crossing the road were fine other pedestrians on the pavement unable to see the friendly interaction and eye contact may have taken my "reving" engine as a form of intimidation of those crossing and been upset on their behalf. If I upset these third parties then I'd still be guilty of driving without due care to other road users. I hung my head in shame, apologised, and was sent on my way suitably chastised.

Had the officer a point or was he talking bks?

The Officer sounds like a cock that disliked being caught out by his assumptions and exactly the wrong type of Officer in my book.

[Tribal Chestnut]

So to summarise; the officer had a point, but was a bit of a prat.

[Mk3Spitfire]

If you didn't want the stop start to kick in, why didn't you just turn it off? I believe they are beneficial if the stop is longer than 4 seconds. So stopping to let the "olds" cross would I imagine have meant the stop start kicking in would have been beneficial.
As far as the offence is concerned, I'd have thought it was more a careless/inconsiderate than a due care.

[Tribal Chestnut]

Mk3Spitfire said:

If you didn't want the stop start to kick in, why didn't you just turn it off? I believe they are beneficial if the stop is longer than 4 seconds. So stopping to let the "olds" cross would I imagine have meant the stop start kicking in would have been beneficial.
As far as the offence is concerned, I'd have thought it was more a careless/inconsiderate than a due care.

Would you have had a 'word', though?