Are the public all idiots?
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Discussion

tonyrec

Original Poster:

3,984 posts

278 months

Tuesday 9th December 2003
quotequote all
After dealing with motorist after motorist all day long who havent got Licences, Insurance, road worthy cars, and of course speeding, it would be easy for me to class every Mop as a complete and utter Idiot.

But i do know that there are some respectful, law abiding people out there who drive their cars with the utmost of pride and treat everyone in a courtious manner.

Its exactly the same for Policemen and Women.
Lots of people form impressions of Police because of the way that they are treated.
Its not very often that someone shakes your hand after you have thrown the book at them, for understandable reasons.
However, give someone a verbal warning for doing 120mph on an empty road and hes your best friend.

I was fortunate, or unfortunate enough to have Max Power mag out with me for the day and at the start, they didnt like me and i most certainly didnt like them. But, it has to be said, at the end of the day we got on well and they were surprised at how lenient we were....yes, lenient!

The resulting 6 page spread in the mag was very good overall but sadly, i still couldnt show it to my parents (only joking) because of the occasional rude word....lol.
They did say a couple of things but i was warned about it at the start because their readers would not be best pleased if it was all rosy in the garden,and after all...they have a magazine to sell.

You can only have a true opinion on someone or something if you know it to be true without reserve, its all too easy to listen to gossip.

These people who whine on and on about how bad the old bill are really do crack me up because when their car gets stolen, their house gets burgled or a member of their family seriously assaulted then they turn to the Police as a matter of course and all that bravado goes out of the window.
When, they are treated with the utmost courtesy etc etc they relax and are best friends with the Police but as soon as its all forgotten then they put on that old bravado mach bollocks.

This is just as i see it and no doubt other peoiple will have a different viewpoint.
Thats the good thing about this, we can all think alike but when it comes to the crunch...we can be very different.

toad_oftoadhall

936 posts

274 months

Tuesday 9th December 2003
quotequote all
tonyrec said:
Its not very often that someone shakes your hand after you have thrown the book at them, for understandable reasons.
However, give someone a verbal warning for doing 120mph on an empty road and hes your best friend.



And the lesson is? ;-)


tonyrec said:

my parents (only joking)


You have two? ;-)

tonyrec said:

turn to the Police as a matter of course and all that bravado goes out of the window.

When, they are treated with the utmost courtesy etc etc they relax and are best friends with the Police but as soon as its all forgotten then they put on that old bravado mach bollocks.



Guilty of that. ;-(

>> Edited by toad_oftoadhall on Tuesday 9th December 16:51

Fat Audi 80

2,403 posts

274 months

Tuesday 9th December 2003
quotequote all
[Seriousmode] Which issue is your article in Tony? I stopped buying MP a couple of years ago but would like to see that article?[seriousmode/]

Cheers,

Steve.

Bassfiend

5,530 posts

273 months

Tuesday 9th December 2003
quotequote all
"Are the public all idiots?"

Hmmm ... the 120 miles I do every day round trip to work would generally tend to suggest yes.

Phil

HarryW

15,827 posts

292 months

Tuesday 9th December 2003
quotequote all
What edition of max muppet was this in Tony as No1 son is going through the phase of buying it at the moment .

Answer to the topic, simply yes . Rather you than me old mate as the saying goes.

Never been pulled by the plod in my life nor do I have any 'remote' speeding tickets. I like to think its 'observational skills' and if I did get pulled at 120 on the queens highway a stern telling off would do me nicely thank you .

Harry

tonyrec

Original Poster:

3,984 posts

278 months

Tuesday 9th December 2003
quotequote all
It was about 2/3 years ago and my copy is out on loan.
I will find out which edition it is and let you know.

john_p

7,073 posts

273 months

Tuesday 9th December 2003
quotequote all
I remember that article. I'm sure I read it thinking "they (Max Power) are going to use every opportunity to have a go at the police" but they didn't ? But age has addled my memory, I could be completely wrong

xxplod

2,269 posts

267 months

Tuesday 9th December 2003
quotequote all
Tonyrec - know exactly what you mean. But then, if it wasn't for the stupid people of the planet, we'd probably be redundant!

tonyrec

Original Poster:

3,984 posts

278 months

Tuesday 9th December 2003
quotequote all
john_p said:
I remember that article. I'm sure I read it thinking "they (Max Power) are going to use every opportunity to have a go at the police" but they didn't ? But age has addled my memory, I could be completely wrong


No, you were right. On the whole it wasnt too bad but what i remember the most was them repeatedly saying, "you guys are far too lenient".

Deester

1,607 posts

283 months

Tuesday 9th December 2003
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Max power...

Tony how could you???

tonyrec

Original Poster:

3,984 posts

278 months

Wednesday 10th December 2003
quotequote all
Thought that some of the models from the mag might have turned up....sadly not the case.

toymota

38 posts

271 months

Wednesday 10th December 2003
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Think that sometimes we all expect the police to be the same, most Ive met, have been fine however Im sure like in all jobs/companies there is the occasional prat or jobworth!

One of the readers on here has occasionally responded to some of my posts thinking I am having a go at BiB when really the issue is speedcameras and their deployment which is nothing to do with the individual BiB. In fact I would much rather have more coppers and less Gatsos.

Perhaps rather a long winded way of saying a lot of posters understand the difference between the policy makers and the do'ers.

JMGS4

8,889 posts

293 months

Wednesday 10th December 2003
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tonyrec, I think the toughest thing about your job is that you're effectively between a rock and a hard place! On one hand dimbo politicos who just want to make their mark, on the other dimbo lowlife who seem to think that the law doies not apply to them.
You can never do it right for everyone and that must be damned frustrating in all ways. I've had my poor experiences with plod and also some damn good ones, and when looking back at the totality of them the results are definitely on the positive side.
However YOU are always at the sharp end and will get the snap reaction... whether it's the driver who snaps and screams at you, or it's you (god forbid) who snaps. It's just human nature and very difficult to deal with.
I have to deal with some pretty unreasonable people in my line of work, but I have the advantage that I can say "It's my company so up you, you're not trading with us, or we're not trading with you". You don't have this advantage so you have my full commiserations when it goes tits up!!!
IMHO the "normal" public are fairly reasonable (although they can't drive!), that's why they are now getting up in arms about the lies that are spewn by politicos about "safety" scameras etc.....
However we can all have a bad day and then take it out on the next best (public servant) person, which is not the right thing to do ......

Don

28,378 posts

307 months

Wednesday 10th December 2003
quotequote all
Are the public all idiots?

Of course not. Not all of them. Just most of them.

And those of us who aren't idiots all of the time are probably idiots some of the time.

Hello. I'm Don. And I'm an idiot.

bikerkeith

794 posts

287 months

Wednesday 10th December 2003
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Just recently I've come to the conclusion that most of the driving public are indeed, idiots. Having ridden into and out of London at times other than rush hours, most of the bus lanes are open to normal traffic. So do other vehicles use them? No, they prefer to sit in a long queue, leaving the bus lanes empty allowing me to barrel along past everybody else.
But don't tell them, I like having bus lanes to myself.

knowley

145 posts

301 months

Wednesday 10th December 2003
quotequote all
tonyrec said:
After dealing with motorist after motorist all day long who havent got Licences, Insurance, road worthy cars, and of course speeding, it would be easy for me to class every Mop as a complete and utter Idiot.


Well the BiB are meant to be dealing with the scum of this world. So its not surprising the people you deal with on a daily basis are breaking the law, if the people you stopped weren't something would be wrong. You can't really tarnish everyone with that same brush. I maybe an idiot doesn't mean everyone else is!

tonyrec said:

Its exactly the same for Policemen and Women.
Lots of people form impressions of Police because of the way that they are treated.
Its not very often that someone shakes your hand after you have thrown the book at them, for understandable reasons.
However, give someone a verbal warning for doing 120mph on an empty road and hes your best friend.


But why do officer(s) give one person a warning and the other a court summons - for the same excessive speed on the same road in similar conditions?

tonyrec said:
These people who whine on and on about how bad the old bill are really do crack me up because when their car gets stolen, their house gets burgled or a member of their family seriously assaulted then they turn to the Police as a matter of course and all that bravado goes out of the window.
When, they are treated with the utmost courtesy etc etc they relax and are best friends with the Police but as soon as its all forgotten then they put on that old bravado mach bollocks.


I was only EVER given a crime number for my insurance claim in two of the situations you described - the lady on the phone wasn't very understanding, curtious or helpful.

>> Edited by knowley on Wednesday 10th December 14:21

DrSeuss

323 posts

284 months

Wednesday 10th December 2003
quotequote all
bikerkeith said:
Just recently I've come to the conclusion that most of the driving public are indeed, idiots. Having ridden into and out of London at times other than rush hours, most of the bus lanes are open to normal traffic. So do other vehicles use them? No, they prefer to sit in a long queue, leaving the bus lanes empty allowing me to barrel along past everybody else.
But don't tell them, I like having bus lanes to myself.
I regularly use bus lanes outside their (clearly marked) operational hours. It's amusing enough to sail past dozens of numpties who are queuing unnecessarily in the other lane, but even more so when the occasional one decides to reveal the sheer depth of their stupidity by giving me a blast on the horn and a coffee bean hand gesture.

streaky

19,311 posts

272 months

Wednesday 10th December 2003
quotequote all
bikerkeith said:
Just recently I've come to the conclusion that most of the driving public are indeed, idiots. Having ridden into and out of London at times other than rush hours, most of the bus lanes are open to normal traffic. So do other vehicles use them? No, they prefer to sit in a long queue, leaving the bus lanes empty allowing me to barrel along past everybody else.
But don't tell them, I like having bus lanes to myself.

See also this thread.

And it's not just Joe Public drivers. In the days when I commuted by car into London I used to travel through Wandsworth. One summer's evening I was tootling down a bus lane when I espied a white van ahead having been stopped by a Panda. I signalled to pull out when the policeman who was speaking to the driver of the van looked up and motioned me to stop. I did and he walked towards me.

He looked the car over and then said, "Is this a bus, sir?"

"No." I replied.

"Then what makes you think you can drive it in a bus lane then, sir?" he enquired.

"The time!" I said.

"Oh." he said, "And why do you think the time makes a difference?"

"Because it says so on the board at the start of the bus lane." I replied.

"Does it?" he asked. "I didn't know. Anyway, fk off, I'm going to do this bd for something!"

That's literal. It stuck very clearly in my memory. Can't think why!

Streaky

>> Edited by streaky on Wednesday 10th December 14:54

gshughes

1,323 posts

278 months

Wednesday 10th December 2003
quotequote all
One of my mates is old bill, and he is a lovely bloke, so I guess I'm unlikely to have the same unfounded prejudices as some of the public. He does tell some hairy stories of him and sidekick being taken on by 15 neds (Scottish for Scrote !) chanting "kill the bizzies". I always remember that when I'm not enjoying my job.

TheExcession

11,669 posts

273 months

Wednesday 10th December 2003
quotequote all
Make me wonder though Tony how you guys don't just descend into a state of mind that could perhaps be described as 'public loathing'.

There must be a hell of a lot of 'ups' to balance the times when you just want to issue a junting (shot in the head without privelege of blindfold or post).

On balance what would you say an average day yields in percentage terms of dealing with utter tits that don't really deserve the air they breathe versus encounters where you AND the other party walk away feeling that it was a Happy Hollywood Ending to the encounter?


best
Ex