Appalling Police Driving Yesterday.
Discussion
Coming home yesterday as around 11.00am on the M25 anti-clockwise when a marked Skoda Estate came storming up the outside lane at about a 100 with lights going. Then with about 75metres to spare cut across 3 lanes to exit at Jn4. He cut across traffic that was doing about 70-75mph without slowing down and in the process nearly took out 2 cars with young families in them.
Whoever was driving that car deserved to lose their license & their job as they wrecklessly and wilfully endangered the lives of other road users.
I feel so angry and wished I'd been able to get behind him and pull the b*stard over and show him the error of his ways!
Whoever was driving that car deserved to lose their license & their job as they wrecklessly and wilfully endangered the lives of other road users.
I feel so angry and wished I'd been able to get behind him and pull the b*stard over and show him the error of his ways!
Edited by dasherdiablo1 on Tuesday 10th April 18:12
So your stating he was still doing 100mph they were doing 75mph and he cut accross them causing them to brake and swerve to avoid him or that once he passed them he dove through the gap and that to have hit him they would have had to increase speed? On the face of it sounds a bit dodgy but need moe information regarding distance from the police vehicle, how big a gap etc. If you feel that strongly you can make a complaint. Which part of the M25?
75m is enough on a busy stretch of road on a Bank Holiday is it??? Not when about 40metres of that was hatched triangle!
We all know that many drivers using the road on Sundays & Bank Holidays are not on the motorways all the time, so they can be 'sensitive' to rapidly changing conditions...throw in the fact that children were in the cars (that can as we all know cause distractions) and I think the Police driver was unwise to carry out the maneovre that he did. He cut in between 2 cars in one lane....narrowly missing the front of the first car, then narrowly missing the rear of the second car as he cut through the gap.
Let's put it this way.....it's the kind of action you see on the TV....followed shortly by the car being 'stingered' then the driver banned. I have seen some bad driving in my days when I was in the Police but this was truly shocking, I honestly believed he was going to take at least one of the cars out.
We all know that many drivers using the road on Sundays & Bank Holidays are not on the motorways all the time, so they can be 'sensitive' to rapidly changing conditions...throw in the fact that children were in the cars (that can as we all know cause distractions) and I think the Police driver was unwise to carry out the maneovre that he did. He cut in between 2 cars in one lane....narrowly missing the front of the first car, then narrowly missing the rear of the second car as he cut through the gap.
Let's put it this way.....it's the kind of action you see on the TV....followed shortly by the car being 'stingered' then the driver banned. I have seen some bad driving in my days when I was in the Police but this was truly shocking, I honestly believed he was going to take at least one of the cars out.
7db said:
If he crossed the chevrons then that's an offence of itself.
I think you will find they are exempt from these rules just like speed limits red lights etc.
They were trying to get somewhere quick and every now and then the public will look at there driving and criticise it,but it can not of been that bad as no one got hurt or crashed.
motco said:
J500ANT said:
Excuse my M25 ignorance here, but if he's doing (whatever speed) in the inside lane why did he then cut across 3 lanes to exit at the junction?
I am sure he means 'outside lane'; i.e. lane 3 (or 4, as applicable).
Was the vehicle in hot pursuit?
That'd be 3 lanes at junc 4 and it's quite a long, wide exit there. I just wondered how the OP knows he was doing about a 100.
Police Advanced Drivers are taught to come off 'late' from the outside lane to the slip - if it is safe and necessary. They are not taught to cross solid hatchings nor are they to inconvenience other motorists or confuse them by their actions .... however, things can sometimes go wrong as they are only human and people can react very strangely to the presence of a police car on a call - requiring last minute corrections on the part of the officer.
The police driver has to judge the distance to the slip in relation to the position of other cars and then get out the crystal ball out to try and guess how the other motorists are going to behave on sight of police.
Sometimes it can look closer to other cars when executed than it is from a following vehicle as distances and angles can 'distort' view to a degree. I am not saying the driver didn't get it wrong as it happens - just that all isn't always as it seems.
If in doubt a driver should abort for safety .... but that in itself seems to confuse many as they wonder what you are up to .... you sometimes can't win !
The police driver has to judge the distance to the slip in relation to the position of other cars and then get out the crystal ball out to try and guess how the other motorists are going to behave on sight of police.
Sometimes it can look closer to other cars when executed than it is from a following vehicle as distances and angles can 'distort' view to a degree. I am not saying the driver didn't get it wrong as it happens - just that all isn't always as it seems.
If in doubt a driver should abort for safety .... but that in itself seems to confuse many as they wonder what you are up to .... you sometimes can't win !
Edited by john57 on Tuesday 10th April 14:44
TPS said:
7db said:
If he crossed the chevrons then that's an offence of itself.
I think you will find they are exempt from these rules just like speed limits red lights etc.
I don't think I will find that at all.
The exemptions do not extend to chevrons on Motorways, and are quite limited (keep left / right arrows, speed, and red lights = give way)
dasherdiablo1 said:
Coming home yesterday as around 11.00am on the M25 anti-clockwise when a marked Skoda Estate came storming up the inside lane at about a 100 with lights going. Then with about 75metres to spare cut across 3 lanes to exit at Jn4. He cut across traffic that was doing about 70-75mph without slowing down and in the process nearly took out 2 cars with young families in them.
I assume you mean he was in the outside lane not the inside lane, at least he had his lights on, why would he slow down from 100mph whilst cutting across traffic traveling at 75mph, you might not like it but it doesn't seem that bad to me.
If the other road users had to brake, or lift off, or swerve, or take any other avoiding action, then fair enough. If the other motorists had left black lines on the road and had been all over the place, then fair enough. I bet no one had to do jack shit though did they? I bet it had happened and it was all over before anyone realised, all they could do was stew in indignation after the event.
So which one was was it? MOP braking and all over the shop to avoid the bib, or nowt actually happened?
So which one was was it? MOP braking and all over the shop to avoid the bib, or nowt actually happened?
Obviously never took the advanced course on motorways then did you ? Taught to move from lane three ,into lane two then lane one at 300 yard marker or at a push 200 yard marker.
Can you imagine slowing down behind the Bank Holiday dawdlers, caravans and the like to 50 miles per hour waiting endlessly for the slip? Ain't going to happen I'm afraid absolutely correct way of exiting,textbook in fact!
Sour grapes me thinks!!!!
Vaux said:
7db said:
I don't think I will find that at all.
The exemptions do not extend to chevrons on Motorways, and are quite limited (keep left / right arrows, speed, and red lights = give way)
The exemptions do not extend to chevrons on Motorways, and are quite limited (keep left / right arrows, speed, and red lights = give way)
Anyone can enter the chevrons in an emergency - how do you define emergency....?
To avoid an immediate collision or other reasons out of the driver's control.
On my advanced course we had to be doing 100mph in lane 3 at the 300 yard countdown marker before we moved accross to take the slip road.
Maybe he made a less than perfect job of it? As said, people often react strangely. Biggest issue, (IMHO) is misuse of the siren. In certain situations it's more of a hinderence than a help. Better to drive with just lights or actually no PWE on at all in some scenarios.
My quick driving was all on surveillance and blues/twos were seldom used. For reasons I'm sure are obvious...
Maybe he made a less than perfect job of it? As said, people often react strangely. Biggest issue, (IMHO) is misuse of the siren. In certain situations it's more of a hinderence than a help. Better to drive with just lights or actually no PWE on at all in some scenarios.
My quick driving was all on surveillance and blues/twos were seldom used. For reasons I'm sure are obvious...
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