If I was pulled over by traffic police.....
If I was pulled over by traffic police.....
Author
Discussion

leosayer

Original Poster:

7,839 posts

274 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
...then where should I stop? Not that I plan on getting stopped, but you never know.

On a M-Way - I assume never on the hard shoulder.

On a Dual Carriageway - pull off at the next exit or lay-by

On an A/B road/in town - at the next safe spot to park

turbobloke

117,332 posts

290 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
leosayer said:
...then where should I stop? Not that I plan on getting stopped, but you never know.

On a M-Way - I assume never on the hard shoulder.

They might get impatient - or the wrong idea! Have you never seen those little video replays taking place on the m-way hard shoulder? Showing all hours, ticket required

FastShow

388 posts

282 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
You should stop at the next available location where it is safe to do so. This is basic stuff, surely?

These days though, if it's an unmarked car, I would drive to the nearest plod shop or well-populated place (assuming you have the vaguest idea where it is), after acknowledging you've seen the copper behind with a quick wave or similar.

puggit

49,821 posts

278 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
FastShow said:
You should stop at the next available location where it is safe to do so. This is basic stuff, surely?

These days though, if it's an unmarked car, I would drive to the nearest plod shop or well-populated place (assuming you have the vaguest idea where it is), after acknowledging you've seen the copper behind with a quick wave or similar.
Hello Fastshow - long time no see!

wavey

deva link

26,934 posts

275 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
There's a lot of A roads with lay-by's around me and 'someone' told me that the Police try to pull you just before the lay-by so you'll pull in to it. However, if you can do it without being too obvious, the suggestion was to drive past the lay-by and then stop. The more you're obstructing traffic the better. The theory is that Bib won't want to keep you and will be anxious to get you moving again.

Einion Yrth

19,575 posts

274 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
deva link said:
There's a lot of A roads with lay-by's around me and 'someone' told me that the Police try to pull you just before the lay-by so you'll pull in to it. However, if you can do it without being too obvious, the suggestion was to drive past the lay-by and then stop. The more you're obstructing traffic the better. The theory is that Bib won't want to keep you and will be anxious to get you moving again.

Leaving him with the faster option of ticketing you, rather than giving you a stern talking to and a 'mind how you go'. hmmmm scratchchin

Parrot of Doom

23,075 posts

264 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
So long as you don't stop on a clearway, pretty much anywhere you're ordered to stop.

Davi

17,153 posts

250 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
Re the comment on unmarked police cars, what are the actual "facts" on this - if you acknowledge the notification to pull over, but then continue at a legal pace to a place you feel comfortable stopping (BiB station or heavily populated area) are you within your rights to do this, or could it go badly for you if the officer in charge was having a bad day?

cliffe_mafia

1,739 posts

268 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
Davi said:
Re the comment on unmarked police cars, what are the actual "facts" on this - if you acknowledge the notification to pull over, but then continue at a legal pace to a place you feel comfortable stopping (BiB station or heavily populated area) are you within your rights to do this, or could it go badly for you if the officer in charge was having a bad day?


I've wondered this.... won't you get handed a "failure to stop" charge too?

If you wanted to drive to the closest "open" police station it could be 50 miles away!

Edited by cliffe_mafia on Friday 20th October 11:29

ipsg.glf

1,590 posts

248 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
Einion Yrth said:
deva link said:
There's a lot of A roads with lay-by's around me and 'someone' told me that the Police try to pull you just before the lay-by so you'll pull in to it. However, if you can do it without being too obvious, the suggestion was to drive past the lay-by and then stop. The more you're obstructing traffic the better. The theory is that Bib won't want to keep you and will be anxious to get you moving again.

Leaving him with the faster option of ticketing you, rather than giving you a stern talking to and a 'mind how you go'. hmmmm scratchchin


And if you have been stopped for a technical infringment rather than a safety infringement, then it might lead the officer to deduce that, having missed the [relative] safety of a layby, your attitude when it comes to safety is somewhat lacking. Result = Ticket!

vim fuego

2,423 posts

251 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
i don't see the problem with unmarked cars

there is no requirment to get out of the car, lock the doors and open the window just slightly and ask to see his credentials not satisfied phone the police

he/she is hardly likely to complain - our local cat team are constantly harping on about checking who is who
and asking for id - with the message the genuine won't mind you asking, if they do refuse to deal with them

Davi

17,153 posts

250 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
vim fuego said:
i don't see the problem with unmarked cars


The problem with unmarked cars is that any idiot with a halfords gift voucher can make their car appear to be one, for whatever miscreant reasoning they see fit, be it car-jacking (not a problem I'm likely to encounter at the moment ) abduction, or just plain simple theft of belongings through threat.

The bigger problem is that once they have you stopped, you are screwed if they so wish you to be - at least while still moving you have a chance of flight. Getting a moving car to stop can be tricky, preventing a stopped car from moving, not difficult at all.

vim fuego

2,423 posts

251 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
NO you sit in the car and wait for them to verify who they are

as i pointed out, which you obviously didn't take on board, you don't need to get out of the car to deal with the police

as prooved on traffic cops/and my next door neighbour (policeman) it can all be done through an open window

Davi

17,153 posts

250 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
vim fuego said:
NO you sit in the car and wait for them to verify who they are

as i pointed out, which you obviously didn't take on board, you don't need to get out of the car to deal with the police

as prooved on traffic cops/and my next door neighbour (policeman) it can all be done through an open window


'fraid I got your point entirely - but I dispute its validity. For starters, a stationary cars window, open a inch, is 100 times easier to break to gain full entry than when it's closed, and its 1000 times easier to break and gain entry to than when the car is still moving along at a pace! Once a car has pulled over, it's easy to block it in so the person inside it has no route of escape, but it's very very difficult to block in a moving car.

Add to that ANY form of identification can be faked easily (plus, how many of us non BiB here would know how to recognise if it's genuine or not?) a uniform could be got easily, and at the end of the day, if you are a 21 yr old girl on her own at night, and a big policeman pulled you over and said "step out of the car please" are you likely to say "I dont believe you are a police officer" - no, you'll be shit scared you've done something wrong and do whatever you are told.

7db

6,060 posts

260 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
Why stop at all for an unmarked car unless you can verify that the officer is in uniform?

blakeypj

26 posts

243 months

Friday 20th October 2006
quotequote all
Being pulled over on the motorway? First the police vehicle will indicate there intention by turning on the blue lights and if beneficial turn on the two tones. This should alert the driver to the police presence. This can be reinforced with a hand signal and a headlight flash.
Hopefully the driver will move across lanes with the police vehicle remaining behind then eventually onto the hard shoulder. The police vehicle should remain 15 to 20 metres behind allowing a safety area, if the matter is a prolonged matter the police officer should ask the driver to exit the motorway at the next available junction.

In relation to unmarked vehicles and officer identification, not many forces use plain clothes and plain vehicle for traffic enforcement, so the officer should be in uniform, high vis jacket white hat, stab vest etc.
Nothing wrong with asking to see warrant card etc.

autismuk

1,529 posts

270 months

Saturday 21st October 2006
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vim fuego said:
i don't see the problem with unmarked cars


I do ! There was a bloke round here who dressed up as a BiB and went round nicking stuff.

vim fuego

2,423 posts

251 months

Saturday 21st October 2006
quotequote all
mungo said:
vim fuego said:

it can all be done through an open window



A car is very easily used as a weapon ... I get people out of their car asap for personal safety reasons and also so they can't easily make off if they turn out to be wanted / disqual / drugs intel etc etc etc etc etc.

I find it useful to keep people in their cars for a brief period so I can stick my head in and have a sniff for obvious booze breath


i appreciate that but if you're not sure then stay in the car and there is no reason to get out my mother in laws cousin did her breath test in the car and the police car was a marked one, she just refused to get out - she did pass the test

gently bentley

964 posts

241 months

Saturday 21st October 2006
quotequote all
Thats an interseting point. Stopping a car for a routine check then sticking your head in the car window to sniff for alcohol.

(1) I know its the done thing but it can lead to a challenge that you were carrying out an unlawful search. (Depends how you present your evidence)
(2) The days of plod sticking his head in a car window should realy be on the way out. Officer safety first. You are giving the rapscalian a full head target straight away before you even know if he has got as much as a full face mask on. Careful with this tactic somebody will get hurt.

havoc

33,481 posts

265 months

Saturday 21st October 2006
quotequote all
Back to unmarkeds and stopping/not stopping.

If there have been cases of 'passing off' as an unmarked car/copper with the intent to steal or worse, yet the police will look very badly on people NOT stopping for unmarked cars, then, politely:-

What the F*** are we SUPPOSED to do? Stop for someone who may or may not be a copper and potentially be carjacked or worse. Or not stop and guarantee receiving the full and unrestrained force of the law for not complying with an officers instructions?