Police pulled ME over instead of speeding reckless car!
Police pulled ME over instead of speeding reckless car!
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Speed Badger

Original Poster:

3,740 posts

147 months

Friday 30th October 2015
quotequote all
Hi all,

Bit of a weird one. Was coming home late from the cinema (approx 1am) and had entered a 30mph residential area with an area car following close behind me ( a little too close if you ask me, but it was late and I was obeying the speed limit.)

As we approached a mini roundabout a lowered, Mk1 Ford Focus with a loud exhaust came tearing into view from the left, didn't slow down at all and went speeding through the roundabout that I was just about to enter. I turned right, following the direction of the speeding Focus and pulled over to the side, expecting the Area car behind to light up his blues & twos to pursue and stop the Focus, but didn't. He just sat behind me as I was moving slowly to the left.

I realised he didn't want to overtake, so resumed driving, then he put his blue & twos on, so pulled over again, slowly trickling on the left but he wasn't overtaking me again, but instead was right up my chuff. I gesticulated out the window for him to pass, then he drove up parallel and shouted at me to pull over and stop. I was a bit shocked by this to be honest, having just had a pleasant evening of dinner and a movie with my other half and we were just trundling back home.

Anyway, usual procedure, told me to turn off engine etc, then asked why I didn't stop, I said I thought you were wanting to get past me to get after the Focus, he said don't play stupid, and then 'what Focus?' So I told him and they said they didn't see it, which I find hard to belive since they were right up my chuff as I approached the roundabout. Then they told me the reason they pulled me was because I was driving erratically, I said but that was me anticipating you wanted to get by and chase the Focus!

No harm done, just told me to watch my driving but I felt sorely hacked off despite it just being a minor thing. Sorry for the long prattling on, but just wanted to share this as I'm still feeling wronged by it since the weekend!

PurpleMoonlight

22,362 posts

187 months

Friday 30th October 2015
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They likely suspected you were a drunk driver.

Toltec

7,179 posts

253 months

Friday 30th October 2015
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Years ago I was driving home on a narrow, twisty lane and ran into a bank of fog. As the road widened and straightened I saw a single light waving around and shortly after a yellow clad figure. I crept forward expecting to find debris in the road and came to a stop about ten feet away from the officer.

He comes over and says "why were you driving so slowly?"

I replied saying something about, dark, foggy and someone waving a light...

Apparently they were looking for car involved in a ram raid earlier and sent me on my way.

The point is you can never really tell what they are looking for and acting in what you think is a sensible or helpful way can make their spidey sense tingle.

essayer

10,410 posts

224 months

Friday 30th October 2015
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"Police car behind me, I'll pull over and let him go past" always looks suspicious!

Greendubber

15,355 posts

233 months

Friday 30th October 2015
quotequote all
So you presumed they saw the focus
Presumed they didnt want to speak to you
Presumed you shouldnt stop and they will over take...

I think I can see the issue and its not with them.

Speed Badger

Original Poster:

3,740 posts

147 months

Friday 30th October 2015
quotequote all
All I was trying to do was to not impede them in getting after the Focus that must have been doing at least 60-70mph in a 30. The second bit with the blue lights on was simply crossed wires, I didn't think for one second they were pulling me when we (or at least I thought 'we') had just seen a recklessly driven, speeding and generally dodgy looking car caning it through the roundabout.

I think it was more the attitude, even when we had established it was all crossed wires, along the lines of 'watch your driving' etc, but it was the attitude of the officer and the manner it was delivered. He was an older officer with a young officer with him, might have been showing off a bit I guess.

herewego

8,814 posts

243 months

Friday 30th October 2015
quotequote all
For some reason they don't like to apologise when they've got something wrong. I saw some of a oldish cop show the other day on Dave and two officers who had got a stop completely wrong continued to argue to the bitter end. I could only hope that the young lad who was their target took his ticket to court.

Monkeylegend

29,474 posts

261 months

Friday 30th October 2015
quotequote all
Speed Badger said:
All I was trying to do was to not impede them in getting after the Focus
Probably not a wise decision to make under the circumstances. I am sure they would have been more than capable of getting past you if they so desired, especially as you say the roads were quiet.

No harm done in the end wink

98elise

32,734 posts

191 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
herewego said:
For some reason they don't like to apologise when they've got something wrong. I saw some of a oldish cop show the other day on Dave and two officers who had got a stop completely wrong continued to argue to the bitter end. I could only hope that the young lad who was their target took his ticket to court.
Agreed. My got a NIP through the post about a year ago, however she was at work in a completely different town at the time, and the offence was on a road she probably uses once per year, if that. We wrote back to say it wasn't her, and nobody else had access to the car.

We got a letter back effectively saying they screwed up so wouldn't persue it. The entire was tone was as if we had escaped on a techincality so had got away with it.

wc98

12,753 posts

170 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
Greendubber said:
So you presumed they saw the focus
Presumed they didnt want to speak to you
Presumed you shouldnt stop and they will over take...

I think I can see the issue and its not with them.
yep, he failed to realise they were driving so close to him as to compromise their view of the road ahead .

economicpygmy

388 posts

153 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
Greendubber said:
So you presumed they saw the focus
Presumed they didnt want to speak to you
Presumed you shouldnt stop and they will over take...

I think I can see the issue and its not with them.
You know people cant read minds and thus presume is all he could do.


surveyor

18,705 posts

214 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
Moons ago while at Uni I was working the next day, so not going out that night. Dropped my housemates down the road and headed back.

On the way back blue lights and siren, I pull over, not in the best place to stop to let him past. He then stops behind me.

Apparently my U turn up the road from him and slowly pulling away was suspicious. I just had no idea that he was there....

All sorted with a chat. He commented on my daft place to stop. I commented that I had no idea I was being stopped.....

He'd also asked me for ID. Unfortunately I tend to clear my wallets of receipts every decade or so. There then followed a chat about why I had so much cash on me, until I showed him the receipts with an I wish comment.


Overall OP just forget it and move on....

4rephill

5,171 posts

208 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
So as the police saw it, you were driving along in a 30 mph limit @ the speed limit, slowed down veering to the left and then veered back to the right to speed up again for no apparent reason, only to veer to the left again when the blue lights went on but not stop, and you wonder why they pulled you over and got a little stern with you?

Whenever I've had a Police car behind Me I just carry on driving normally, making sure I don't break the speed limit. Unless the blue lights go on (when I would start to pull over and stop as soon as it was safe to do so), I wouldn't veer across to the left to assist them to go round Me as that is just going to raise a natural suspicion as to why you don't want a Police car behind you!

As for the Focus: 60~70mph in a 30? - Really? Or was it more like 40 in a 30 and at that time the Police felt that if you were drink driving as it appeared to them, that you represented the higher risk to other motorists?

Had I have been a police officer following you then I suspect that I would have found your driving slightly erratic and would had similar suspicions about you being a drink driver.

It might be an idea in future when you have a Police car behind you to simply carry on driving normally, adhering to the motoring Laws, and only try to assist the police in their progress when instructed to do so by them (which is pretty much what the Law states you should do), rather than making yourself look suspicious by wandering all over the road.


Greendubber

15,355 posts

233 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
economicpygmy said:
You know people cant read minds and thus presume is all he could do.
Or he could have done what he what he should have done...pull over and not start messing about by crawling along with the big flashing police car behind him and waving his arm out of the window.

Its not hard to just pull over, if they were passing him they would have done so.

Its not hard is it?

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

285 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
Had you been walking on the cracks in the pavement, or looking at plod in a funny way?

funkyrobot

18,789 posts

258 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
Some police officers are plonkers.

A few years ago, I drove through a set of lights as they were green. After passing through the junction, I noticed a police car behind with his blue lights on. He came whizzing up behind me and demanded that I pulled over. I fully complied and he literally stormed out of the car up to my window.

When I asked him what he had stopped me for, he accused me of driving through a red light. I said I hadn't, he said I had. I asked from where he had seen me do this, he said around the corner. I asked how he could have seen me run a red light from around a corner? He said he noticed the lights changed after I had gone through the junction.

I remained calm and he became irate. I asked what he was going to do and he said he couldn't do anything. He told me not to do it again and consider myself lucky that I wasn't getting booked for it. I said 'do what again?'. He stormed off, slammed his door shut and drove off down the road like a dick.

Really odd event that.

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

285 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
Another reason to fit a dashcam.

They're really going to spoil plod's day on a regular basis.

economicpygmy

388 posts

153 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
Greendubber said:
economicpygmy said:
You know people cant read minds and thus presume is all he could do.
Or he could have done what he what he should have done...pull over and not start messing about by crawling along with the big flashing police car behind him and waving his arm out of the window.

Its not hard to just pull over, if they were passing him they would have done so.

Its not hard is it?
He did better than that; pulled over twice wink

I had a similar situation when they couldnt safely pass and I wasnt sure so kept going until there was a safe place. They passed but could have ended the same.




Mk3Spitfire

2,921 posts

158 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
mybrainhurts said:
Another reason to fit a dashcam.

They're really going to spoil plod's day on a regular basis.
Absolutely. Really going to ruin their fun. rolleyes

powerstroke

10,283 posts

190 months

Saturday 31st October 2015
quotequote all
Speed Badger said:
Hi all,

Bit of a weird one. Was coming home late from the cinema (approx 1am) and had entered a 30mph residential area with an area car following close behind me ( a little too close if you ask me, but it was late and I was obeying the speed limit.)

As we approached a mini roundabout a lowered, Mk1 Ford Focus with a loud exhaust came tearing into view from the left, didn't slow down at all and went speeding through the roundabout that I was just about to enter. I turned right, following the direction of the speeding Focus and pulled over to the side, expecting the Area car behind to light up his blues & twos to pursue and stop the Focus, but didn't. He just sat behind me as I was moving slowly to the left.

I realised he didn't want to overtake, so resumed driving, then he put his blue & twos on, so pulled over again, slowly trickling on the left but he wasn't overtaking me again, but instead was right up my chuff. I gesticulated out the window for him to pass, then he drove up parallel and shouted at me to pull over and stop. I was a bit shocked by this to be honest, having just had a pleasant evening of dinner and a movie with my other half and we were just trundling back home.

Anyway, usual procedure, told me to turn off engine etc, then asked why I didn't stop, I said I thought you were wanting to get past me to get after the Focus, he said don't play stupid, and then 'what Focus?' So I told him and they said they didn't see it, which I find hard to belive since they were right up my chuff as I approached the roundabout. Then they told me the reason they pulled me was because I was driving erratically, I said but that was me anticipating you wanted to get by and chase the Focus!

No harm done, just told me to watch my driving but I felt sorely hacked off despite it just being a minor thing. Sorry for the long prattling on, but just wanted to share this as I'm still feeling wronged by it since the weekend!
possibly too close to the end of his shift for a chase ???, I mean its not like the USA where the shoot at the tyres or the driver or ram them in a pit manuver the moment they fail to stop !! , watch the tv police stop action the uk police follow for miles while the scrotes in a untaxed uninsured wreck go round housing estates through parks and shopping precincts wrong way round roundabouts and
end up crashed into a wall or other car then its bad language and spiting , all for a few hours community service so he got the idea to stop someone from the focus and you were weaving about hence bang to rights sunshine!!!!!