Racing at a set of lights
Discussion
I'm sure everyone here has done it
Your sitting at the lights enjoying a soopa drive when an evo or scooby pulls up along side. He starts to edge... you look over and give it some pops and bangs on the loud pedal... Lights change...
Assuming you both stay within the speed limit... if a police officer witnessed this "race"... would they consider any offence to have been committed?
Regards,
N
But how would 'racing' be proved?
Say I was to come to a set of traffic lights with two lanes going straight on. In the left lane there's a Scooby with some other car behind, the right lane is empty so I take that one in my Supra. The lights change and we all set off.
The Scooby sets off quickly but at the speed it would have whether I was there or not. I do the same and move in to the left lane after passing the Scooby...
Would this be considered racing - despite the fact that we were doing our own thing? And if so, what about the other car behind in row 2 of the grid? He might have tried to keep with us but not had the car to do it - effectivly being the only one who was behaving differently because of the cars around him?
Say I was to come to a set of traffic lights with two lanes going straight on. In the left lane there's a Scooby with some other car behind, the right lane is empty so I take that one in my Supra. The lights change and we all set off.
The Scooby sets off quickly but at the speed it would have whether I was there or not. I do the same and move in to the left lane after passing the Scooby...
Would this be considered racing - despite the fact that we were doing our own thing? And if so, what about the other car behind in row 2 of the grid? He might have tried to keep with us but not had the car to do it - effectivly being the only one who was behaving differently because of the cars around him?
markh508 said:
But how would 'racing' be proved?
Say I was to come to a set of traffic lights with two lanes going straight on. In the left lane there's a Scooby with some other car behind, the right lane is empty so I take that one in my Supra. The lights change and we all set off.
The Scooby sets off quickly but at the speed it would have whether I was there or not. I do the same and move in to the left lane after passing the Scooby...
Would this be considered racing - despite the fact that we were doing our own thing? And if so, what about the other car behind in row 2 of the grid? He might have tried to keep with us but not had the car to do it - effectivly being the only one who was behaving differently because of the cars around him?
Quite
I'm sure i have entered into a few races without even realising it. I tend to take off from lights with quite a bit of go, and not many cars can keep up.
So if Johny chav in his maxed out nova thinks he can take me on because he has viper stripes on his car I'm not likely to notice him trying but could be done by some copper who declares me as racing.
Same applies when I'm travelling from point a to point b with my girlfriend in her car and me in mine. on the face of it there is a viper and a corvette racing each other. but in reality one is following the other making progress with no intention of overtaking, or getting to a point first etc.
I think racing should have to be proved by evidence of dodgy overtaking or aggressive maneuvers by the following car. How can two performance cars traveling on the same bit of road automatically be deemed racing.
Cant remember where I heard it, though it may have been when a chap on here got pegged for racing(deltaprobe?? Zero probe?? or something), but the prosecutor in the case said that "it doesn’t matter if the vehicles in question are two steam rollers side by side doing 5mph, if they are driving competitively they are racing".
He got a ban iirc...
Would look up the exact law myself but after an afternoon of Trusts law ive had enough...
He got a ban iirc...
Would look up the exact law myself but after an afternoon of Trusts law ive had enough...
princeperch said:
the prosecutor in the case said that "it doesn’t matter if the vehicles in question are two steam rollers side by side doing 5mph, if they are driving competitively they are racing".
He got a ban iirc...
Yes and at the other end of the scale two performance cars moving away from a set of lights aren't nessasaraly competing.
>> Edited by viperdave on Thursday 24th March 15:38
markh508 said:Highway Code 144: Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. Never obstruct drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you.
But in my example above, who would be the one deemed to be racing - or would it be both of them? I would've thought the person in the left lane because they could be seen as trying to prevent the person in the right lane from overtaking?
On that basis, the driver in the left lane is 'offending'.
Streaky
I once pulled away from a set of lights on the North circ at Edmonton (before it was a dual carriageway) with my mate along side me. We were both in 32ton Leyland Marathon artics fully loaded. We didn't get above 30mph but stayed side by side for about half a mile untill the other truck pulled away from me. Plod then pulls along side me, winds his window down and shouts at me to stop racing or he'll nick me.
>> Edited by falcemob on Thursday 24th March 19:32
Well that just proves to me what a nonsense it is.
If other highway users are at risk, I could see a justification for such police action. But two cars, lorries, vans, or whatever, accelerating away from traffic lights. Nah.
Edit - Was going to use falcemob as host to copy from, but red wine interfered with brain function. Come on, it’s Easter. What ya gonna do, crucify me?
>> Edited by pzero64 on Thursday 24th March 19:59
If other highway users are at risk, I could see a justification for such police action. But two cars, lorries, vans, or whatever, accelerating away from traffic lights. Nah.
Edit - Was going to use falcemob as host to copy from, but red wine interfered with brain function. Come on, it’s Easter. What ya gonna do, crucify me?
>> Edited by pzero64 on Thursday 24th March 19:59
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