The police wasted my time....

[tvradict]

On Monday lunchtime I was stopped at a Vehicle Inspectorate Safety Checkpoint on the A78.

I wasn't wearing my seatbelt when they stopped me, I got a £30 fine (which I immediatly paid at North Ayrshire District Court) but this is not my gripe.

The two Traffic Plods then spent 20 minutes, LOOKING for something they could do me for, they checked every tread of all tyres, including the spare, they ckecked all the ball joints, all bulbs twice, had a PNC check done (i only had my photocard on me, so they gave me a Producer as well) checked the Tax disc, ie took it out of the bit on the window and made sure it was legit etc. They went over the car with a fine tooth comb and the best they could come up with after 20 minutes......

the battery clamp was a little loose!

So they gave me VEHICLE DEFECT FORM

That means I now have to take it to an MOT station (which is time off work as I am away the next two weekends) and have the peice of paper stamped, and signed, and then send it back! If they had given me a spanner I could have done it there and then! Bastards!

Not only that, on the Producer they indicated that they wanted details of my MOT and insurance RECORDED!

The bloke on the desk at the Police Station just wrote IN ORDER on the form and sent it away. He was seriously annoyed because of it and couldn't be more apologetic.

So, I need to waste some of their time now.

Any suggestions?

Thats feels abit better! Bastards

[DennisTheMenace]

What did they think of the PH stickers stu , i know what you mean though , i got pulled over once because "something doesnt look right" according to plod they couldnt find anything wrong with the van though (3 months old) and gave me a producer took it to the plod station and hit the roof ,total waste of my time and everyone elses got an apology as well , just a couple of w@nkers in uniform with nothing better to do !

(no offence MC etc)

[pies]

Ask for the crime prevention officer to pay a visit to check home security

you might gain some usefull info

[gemini]

On Monday lunchtime I was stopped at a Vehicle Inspectorate Safety Checkpoint on the A78.

I
the battery clamp was a little loose!

So they gave me VEHICLE DEFECT FORM

ERR ys it was a Vehicle Inspectorate Safety Checkpoint
So were they not doing the job theyd been sent out to do?


Glad you feel better now youve ranted!

[deltaf]

For a slightly loose battery clamp?
Cmon. Thats not even vaguely sus.
Seems that its just something else to piss us all off with.
I dont have a problem with being pulled over and them doing a few "checks" but when its, "oh we'll take the car apart to see if theres *anything* we can have you for".
Thats taking the piss.
This isnt making me love the police any stronger...know what i mean?

[CraigAlsop]

I'd like to see them check the battery clamp on my Chimaera

Seriously though, this does seem to be fairly overzealous behaviour - I mean, there are enough obviously decrepid cars out there without having to make stuff up.
They ain't doing themselves any favours...

[tvradict]

gemini said:

On Monday lunchtime I was stopped at a Vehicle Inspectorate Safety Checkpoint on the A78.

I
the battery clamp was a little loose!

So they gave me VEHICLE DEFECT FORM

ERR ys it was a Vehicle Inspectorate Safety Checkpoint
So were they not doing the job theyd been sent out to do?


Glad you feel better now youve ranted!

I'll put it another way! I have had the car 18 months nearly, and never noticed the battery clamp being loose, the MOT station didn't notice it in december, but these traffic cops did me for it, when i say slightly loose, it took half a turn to tighten, the battery couldn't move. It seems strange that I was there 20 minutes while they thoroughly checked the car, but the vehicle inspectorate boys that were there did 6 cars/vans/lorrys while the traffics did mine.
Like I said, they were looking for a problem.
They found the most petty thing they could!

They said that in an accident the battery could fall out and hit someone

>> Edited by tvradict on Friday 23 May 00:15

[tvradict]

DennisTheMenace said: What did they think of the PH stickers stu , i know what you mean though , i got pulled over once because "something doesnt look right" according to plod they couldnt find anything wrong with the van though (3 months old) and gave me a producer took it to the plod station and hit the roof ,total waste of my time and everyone elses got an apology as well , just a couple of w@nkers in uniform with nothing better to do !

(no offence MC etc)

Luckily I haven't got round to logoing up the Onion yet, just the stickers front and back which one of them did pay particular attention too, I think if I had the logo's down the doors I would still be there!

I was going to hit the roof, put after I slapped the Producer on the desk and practically threw my papers at him, he looked at the form, and asked what the Offence was, he started banging his head of the desk.
His words were
"These ****ing Traffic boys give the rest of us a bad name. ****ing Wankers!"



>> Edited by tvradict on Friday 23 May 00:22

[pesty]

gemini said:

On Monday lunchtime I was stopped at a Vehicle Inspectorate Safety Checkpoint on the A78.

I
the battery clamp was a little loose!

So they gave me VEHICLE DEFECT FORM

ERR ys it was a Vehicle Inspectorate Safety Checkpoint
So were they not doing the job theyd been sent out to do?


Glad you feel better now youve ranted!

Gemini would you have been happy to have been detained in this way?

if they had tightened it up there and then instead. now that really would have improved safety as he wouldnt have had to drive any further with a defective vehicle.

[paolow]

they checked every tread of all tyres, including the spare,

just a quick question then - is it a legal necessity for the spare to have correct tread? as mine hasnt am i not better off then just leaving the damn thing at home? also i know where youre coming from, ive had more than my fair share of producers and the last lot of police drew my attention to the lower ball joint that was in his opinon worn out. it was less than a month old. HOWEVER - having said that, this was exceptional and i believe the officer in the station referred to above was correct, that it is a minority of dicks that taint the publics view of the rest of the force. you cant win though - if you set precise limits for the officers to follow you get a load of beuraucrats and if you allow discretion you get situations such as that you encountered
...

[gemini]

you see the devil is in the detail
I will continue to fall foul of this

1/2 turn battery clamp - over zealous? granted
6 cars by inspectorate / 1 car by BiB - over zealous? granted

You may be right But defect rectification scheme is not "getting done" - you were asked to put it right. They dont make the scheme up but I suppose you could have fixed it there and then and been a safer driver for the next 14 days (which is the time ticket allows to rectify fault - in out county anyway - Gods County! )

Anyway - pie in sky now cause its over - give and take

Hope We met someway in the middle but does sound like they were clinical - PIs?

[MR2Mike]

Personally I'd have spent this time thoroughly checking the plod mobile for defects. Fairly unlikely to find any (although I've seen many a cop car with a rear light out) but walking around their car tut-tutting and writting a few notes down would be amusing for the other drivers being stopped at least

[plotloss]

In answer to the spare tyre question, you dont have to carry a spare, but if you do it has to be fit to do the job, so correct tread depth etc...

If you have one in the boot thats not legal then take it out, at least you cant be done for not having one.

Bit of a ridiculous situation that really...

[Richard C]

This is ridiculous. There is no Construction and Use reg regarding the spare and it does not feature on the MOT either. Similarly if the battery was secured as you descibe it could not be the legitimate subject of a vehicle defect form.

I can see the point that they must have been trying very hard to find something so had you argued they'd have fitted you up. A friend who argued with the police on the M4 had his headlight smashed by them who then booked him for a defective headlight.

I would have thought than an official complaint would have to be the way ahead here

[madcop]

paolow said:

they checked every tread of all tyres, including the spare,

just a quick question then - is it a legal necessity for the spare to have correct tread?

No. spare tyres are not a necessity. They therefore do not have to be legal. How would you check the spae tyre on a Cerbera, Tamora or a Tuscan?

If the spare has to be used though and is put on a wheel which is on the road, it must comply with construction and use regulations regarding tyres.

as mine hasnt am i not better off then just leaving the damn thing at home?

If it is not legal, you might as well leave it at home as it is likely to cause significant inconvenience and 3 points!

also i know where youre coming from, ive had more than my fair share of producers and the last lot of police drew my attention to the lower ball joint that was in his opinon worn out. it was less than a month old.

Why? You have to ask yourself that question. I have driven mainly bangers for most of my life. I have never been given a producer, ever. Is there something that you do which attracts attention or the stopping officer decides that you should be at least inconvenienced for your actions or attitude.

HOWEVER - having said that, this was exceptional and i believe the officer in the station referred to above was correct, that it is a minority of dicks that taint the publics view of the rest of the force.

Much the same in every occupation and business. They all have their jobsworths and to55ers. It is not just the Police.

you cant win though - if you set precise limits for the officers to follow you get a load of beuraucrats and if you allow discretion you get situations such as that you encountered
...

If politicians set quotas which in effect lead to Police officers meeting those targets to maintain their employment, either within a specialist department or within the Police service itself, then loose battery holders and minor 'play' in ball joints is a price the public will have to pay.

Such checks are measurable through the paperwork generated and show that the particular officer is meeting the standards set for his particular PDR (personal development review) or department objective which is linked into annual appraisals in line with Force and Government policy/priorities. Annual appraisals are conducted by the next line manager and are crucial to further employment within the Police service.

make sure you don't attract attention to yourselves and if you do, make sure everything is tightened as it should be including your lips if you do not want to be a component of someones PDR or 'objective' )