Curious question of the BiB here on the board

[graebob]

Firstly, let me state that this is a genuine question of curiosity. I have utmost respect for the Police services and their role within our society. I've only been stopped 3 times and every time was treated courteously and with dignity. You guys do a job I couldn't possibly do, and I applaud you all for it!

Now to my question. Just today, I noticed some strange behaviour on the part of a couple of police road vehicles whilst doing my rounds in my big red parcel van. This morning, a fully liveried Octavia edged out onto a busy road in front of me, in the way pushy van/taxi drivers sometimes do. He then proceeded to follow traffic up the road (busy 9am rush hour type traffic, single lane 30mph limit, for around 3/4 of a mile), overtaking wherever he possibly could (across hatched left/right turn lanes etc). This behaviour struck me as odd, since he had no flashing lights on that I could observe, nor did he use his siren. Surely this would have made his drive up the road easier if he had somewhere to go?

The same thing happened again this evening, when I was back in my own car, only this time a different officer (I assume!) was driving a large VW LT35 riot-type wagon, and attempting to pull out of a traffic-light controlled crossroads. His light was red, mine was green, and as I approached he edged out in front of me, obviously wanting to turn into the direction I was going. Again, I observed no siren or lights.

I'm just curious as to how this "light-less" situation would come about. I've noticed that BiB tend to not use their sirens after around 11pm, presumably for the same reason road users technically aren't allowed to use the horns on their cars. Is it the case that these officers I observed today were responding to a call differently in some way too? Perhaps in the same way ambulances do sometimes, where they must get their ASAP but cannot use lights/siren?

The only reason I really ask is that if this is the case, I would like to be prepared and know to observe the behaviour of a marked police car more closely than I would have before, in case he is trying to do something I wouldn't normally have predicted

Edited by graebob on Wednesday 16th May 22:17

[chrispy porker]

You've answered your own question!
They were probably trying to make progress without drawing attention to themselves.

[graebob]

chrispy porker said:

You've answered your own question!
They were probably trying to make progress without drawing attention to themselves.

I kind of considered that, though I didn't put it down. I've seen the same behaviour exhibited from the local unmarked Focus ST squad, but put it down to making progress without drawing attention.

Guess I owe myself a pint for answering my own Q Unless anyone else has anything to add?

[NCC1701]

With the varity of jobs BiBs deal with it's extremely difficult to know why a police vehicle is being driven the way it is. It is very easy to think they are driving badly but you don't know what they are up to which is why it is very difficult to judge. And thats recognising that some BiBs just can't drive.

[graebob]

NCC1701 said:

With the varity of jobs BiBs deal with it's extremely difficult to know why a police vehicle is being driven the way it is. It is very easy to think they are driving badly but you don't know what they are up to which is why it is very difficult to judge. And thats recognising that some BiBs just can't drive.

Oh I didn't think they were driving badly, because in the end, exactly as you say, I don't know what they're up to! I just wondered if this was a standard approach which I should be aware of for the future or a fluke coincidence