Strange driving by police vehicle
Strange driving by police vehicle
Author
Discussion

T4R

Original Poster:

461 posts

269 months

Monday 25th August 2003
quotequote all
I was heading down the A3 towards Guildford this afternoon, in the inside lane bang on an indicated 70, being passed by everyone. A marked police Astra van went flying by with Dog Patrol written on the side. I estimate he was doing well over 90, with no lights or siren. It cut from lane to lane with no indication, and forced others to make some more "interesting" evasive moves as he swerved across the three lane carriageway. I suspect an alsatian was driving or it was stolen, as it certainly wasn't up to the usual standard we expect from the BiB. Beware..

tonyrec

3,984 posts

275 months

Monday 25th August 2003
quotequote all
If he was driving as you describe then the only explanation that i can offer is that his Blue lights were defective and he thought that they were on.....i say this because it has happened to me and its not very nice for either the public or the Police driver.

Trefor

14,707 posts

303 months

Monday 25th August 2003
quotequote all
Perhaps the dog was driving? After all my cat can drive better than most of the people you see on the road, and he doesn't have opposing thumbs.

alans

3,615 posts

276 months

Monday 25th August 2003
quotequote all
The strangest thing i have seen a BiB car doing on the M3 motorway was near basingstoke about 6 months ago (about 22.30), a police astra was being driven in the middle lane at 60 (ish) with nobody overtaking him and nothing in the left hand lane so I decided to overtake, outside lane 70 started to pass him when he accelerated up to 70 so we were level. I decided that i wasn't going over 70 so I slowed and got behind him he then slows down to 60 again! so I tried to get passed again, exactly the same again! he turned of to basingstoke and I carried on south. I wasn't in the cerb but a vectra, so I guess he was just having some fun Bizarre.

streaky

19,311 posts

269 months

Monday 25th August 2003
quotequote all
Click on the cruise control and sit in the O/S lane.

Isn't there something in the HC about not accelerating when you're being overtaken.

It's at times like this when a passenger with a digital cine-camera could be useful .

Streaky

Nightmare

5,276 posts

304 months

Tuesday 26th August 2003
quotequote all
saw a marked, no Bs&2s, estate on the M3 actually force someone onto the hard shoulder about 10 yards from a junction which he was then leaving on - it was utterly weird...Id have put a tenner on it NOT being plod in charge of the car

monkeyjunky

418 posts

304 months

Tuesday 26th August 2003
quotequote all
Must be catching. There was a police Range Rover on the M4 last week tailgating so badly/agresivley I backed off big style in case he took some one off. Again no blues and two's.

tonyrec

3,984 posts

275 months

Tuesday 26th August 2003
quotequote all
Nightmare said:
saw a marked, no Bs&2s, estate on the M3 actually force someone onto the hard shoulder about 10 yards from a junction which he was then leaving on - it was utterly weird...Id have put a tenner on it NOT being plod in charge of the car


Sadly we will never know why he did this unless he is one of the BiB that write on here.

rich-uk

1,431 posts

276 months

Tuesday 26th August 2003
quotequote all
Take down the reg. number and report it, if it happens enough times, maybe someone will get a telling off??

tonyrec

3,984 posts

275 months

Tuesday 26th August 2003
quotequote all
rich-uk said:
Take down the reg. number and report it, if it happens enough times, maybe someone will get a telling off??


If its down to pure bad driving then theres no excuse. However,sometimes this type of driving occurs for a million and one reasons, a million of which the public will never hear about.

alans

3,615 posts

276 months

Tuesday 26th August 2003
quotequote all
tonyrec said:

rich-uk said:
Take down the reg. number and report it, if it happens enough times, maybe someone will get a telling off??



If its down to pure bad driving then theres no excuse. However,sometimes this type of driving occurs for a million and one reasons, a million of which the public will never hear about.


Surely thare can't be many reasons to justify putting members of the public at risk?

tonyrec

3,984 posts

275 months

Tuesday 26th August 2003
quotequote all
alans said:

tonyrec said:


rich-uk said:
Take down the reg. number and report it, if it happens enough times, maybe someone will get a telling off??




If its down to pure bad driving then theres no excuse. However,sometimes this type of driving occurs for a million and one reasons, a million of which the public will never hear about.



Surely thare can't be many reasons to justify putting members of the public at risk?



Yes youre correct.
All im saying is that we/you have no idea what was going on.

Chrisgr31

14,175 posts

275 months

Tuesday 26th August 2003
quotequote all
Presumably even police officers are allowed off days. We all make mistakes occasionally, hats how accidents happen. Police drivers might be trained to avoid them, but must happen occasionally.

Also just because its a marked police car doesn't mean a police officer was driving it. It could hae been a civilian.

alans

3,615 posts

276 months

Wednesday 27th August 2003
quotequote all
Chrisgr31 said:
Presumably even police officers are allowed off days. We all make mistakes occasionally, hats how accidents happen. Police drivers might be trained to avoid them, but must happen occasionally.

Also just because its a marked police car doesn't mean a police officer was driving it. It could hae been a civilian.


Yep everybody makes mistakes. I wasn't having a pop at the BiB (after all we all have done some stupid things in our time).
The BiB car I saw had 2 uniformed BiB in it, if a civvy is driving don't they have to have a sign to say "not in service" or something like that?

Nightmare

5,276 posts

304 months

Wednesday 27th August 2003
quotequote all
Yaeh - I want having a pop either...I just didnt udnerstadn it! Especially seeing as having forced the car off theroad they proceeded to drive past it! And as you say, I'll never know....

madcop

6,649 posts

283 months

Wednesday 27th August 2003
quotequote all
alans said:


Chrisgr31 said:
Presumably even police officers are allowed off days. We all make mistakes occasionally, hats how accidents happen. Police drivers might be trained to avoid them, but must happen occasionally.

Also just because its a marked police car doesn't mean a police officer was driving it. It could hae been a civilian.




Yep everybody makes mistakes. I wasn't having a pop at the BiB (after all we all have done some stupid things in our time).
The BiB car I saw had 2 uniformed BiB in it, if a civvy is driving don't they have to have a sign to say "not in service" or something like that?




Herts used to put a purpose made black bag over the roof bar if it was being used by a civilian, such as being tested after repairs/servicing at the workshops by a mechanic. I don't know of any other force that insist that marked vehicles driven by civilians must be identified as 'not in service'. I expect there will be some.

Civilians are obviously not allowed to use the exemptions Police officers can when driving cars or other vehicles unless they are driving instructors. Many Police officer driving instructors retire from the Police as such and take employment as civilian instructors doing the same job with the same perks!

There is a move to get as many marked units on the road as possible to give the impression of more Police on the streets. Identifying those marked vehicles that are not in service would have a stark impact on that ploy to kid the public.

>> Edited by madcop on Wednesday 27th August 20:45

deltaf

6,806 posts

273 months

Wednesday 27th August 2003
quotequote all
Ive actually driven a police car.
It was a Peugeot 406 estate that had been in a minor shunt and had to have the explosive pretensioners replaced (cos theyd gorn orf! )and i was instructed to test drive it.
It was the "executive" model, complete with police pilot, video recording gear and all the usual cones and hi vis jackets in the back.
The number of people that shat themselves as i went round the block was unreal...(shoulda been a copper ).
And no, i didnt play with the lights or sirens....god how i managed not to ill never know! I felt just like Dougal off father ted, trying desperately not to press the big red button on the plane marked, " DO NOT PRESS"