Aggressive police driving
Discussion
Elroy Blue said:
Very odd some of the stories on here. There is no need to force people to do anything, there are more than enough blind, deaf and outright incompetent drivers to go around everybody I work with. We only scratch the surface.
An example would be the guy I stopped a few days ago. Parked at the side of a quiet m/way in a fully marked 5 series, a car comes past me at 100+. I then follow him for 4 miles and his check is 110+. After going through his book of excuses he gets to 'you were forcing me along'. Now he was doing that speed when he passed me and continued doing that speed while he was completely oblivious of the marked car behind him. Despite this, he'll likely be down the pub (or posting on the internet) about how the Police car 'forced' him to do 100+
How quicks your 5 series or how long did it take you to catch up.with the dude?An example would be the guy I stopped a few days ago. Parked at the side of a quiet m/way in a fully marked 5 series, a car comes past me at 100+. I then follow him for 4 miles and his check is 110+. After going through his book of excuses he gets to 'you were forcing me along'. Now he was doing that speed when he passed me and continued doing that speed while he was completely oblivious of the marked car behind him. Despite this, he'll likely be down the pub (or posting on the internet) about how the Police car 'forced' him to do 100+
It does look like mph has missed the point of the thread
OK, my tale, dated by the age of my daughter, to 1999... OK goes back a bit but still pertinent I believe.
I am driving a VW Passat Estate with my 18 month old daughter in her car seat, in the back. I am driving properly and carefully. For those that know I'm heading towards the M1 J16 from A5 at Weedon, through the village of Flore. 30mph limit in the village which has a quite narrow stretch and a couple of sharp bends.
Nothing in front.
Then, to my absolute horror I am confronted, round a blind bend, by a Police car, on my side of the road, driving at ridiculous speed, overtaking a line of cars, heading directly at me. Lights and siren yes, but, even given those I wasn't, nor I believe could I be expected to, anticipating the position and speed of that police car. I literally had no choice whatsoever, accepted afterwards by a Police Driving Instructor who drove the route and reported on the "incident", but to drive off the carriageway into the ditch, basically a controlled crash. I maintain, again accepted, that we were inches from a head on collision. I was the one to drive off the carriageway to avoid a certain head on, they did not deviate.
The Police car didn't stop.
I was never given an apology. I was given an "explanation", after investigation. The "officers" had "been responding to an armed incident". The Sergeant in charge of Traffic that day drove the route, an investigation held that the officer driving had not broken any rules but would be "spoken to" and "advised" regarding the "manner of his driving in that location"
I am driving a VW Passat Estate with my 18 month old daughter in her car seat, in the back. I am driving properly and carefully. For those that know I'm heading towards the M1 J16 from A5 at Weedon, through the village of Flore. 30mph limit in the village which has a quite narrow stretch and a couple of sharp bends.
Nothing in front.
Then, to my absolute horror I am confronted, round a blind bend, by a Police car, on my side of the road, driving at ridiculous speed, overtaking a line of cars, heading directly at me. Lights and siren yes, but, even given those I wasn't, nor I believe could I be expected to, anticipating the position and speed of that police car. I literally had no choice whatsoever, accepted afterwards by a Police Driving Instructor who drove the route and reported on the "incident", but to drive off the carriageway into the ditch, basically a controlled crash. I maintain, again accepted, that we were inches from a head on collision. I was the one to drive off the carriageway to avoid a certain head on, they did not deviate.
The Police car didn't stop.
I was never given an apology. I was given an "explanation", after investigation. The "officers" had "been responding to an armed incident". The Sergeant in charge of Traffic that day drove the route, an investigation held that the officer driving had not broken any rules but would be "spoken to" and "advised" regarding the "manner of his driving in that location"
I've never had any trouble with police cars but I have had plenty of people tailgaiting me and it seems to be getting worse. It is particularly bad on the single-carriageway A1 in my area. My tactic for dealing with it is to slow down (usually from 60 to about 40), to keep left, and at an appropriate moment indicate left, slow some more and let them pass. What amazes me is how many of the dumb f
ks don't come past, even if I slow to a halt. Around my way it is nearly always a new or newish Discovery or an Audi A3 or A4 with absurdly bright lights arranged in a pretty pattern.
ks don't come past, even if I slow to a halt. Around my way it is nearly always a new or newish Discovery or an Audi A3 or A4 with absurdly bright lights arranged in a pretty pattern. alphaalfa said:
OK, my tale, dated by the age of my daughter, to 1999... OK goes back a bit but still pertinent I believe.
I am driving a VW Passat Estate with my 18 month old daughter in her car seat, in the back. I am driving properly and carefully. For those that know I'm heading towards the M1 J16 from A5 at Weedon, through the village of Flore. 30mph limit in the village which has a quite narrow stretch and a couple of sharp bends.
Nothing in front.
Then, to my absolute horror I am confronted, round a blind bend, by a Police car, on my side of the road, driving at ridiculous speed, overtaking a line of cars, heading directly at me. Lights and siren yes, but, even given those I wasn't, nor I believe could I be expected to, anticipating the position and speed of that police car. I literally had no choice whatsoever, accepted afterwards by a Police Driving Instructor who drove the route and reported on the "incident", but to drive off the carriageway into the ditch, basically a controlled crash. I maintain, again accepted, that we were inches from a head on collision. I was the one to drive off the carriageway to avoid a certain head on, they did not deviate.
The Police car didn't stop.
I was never given an apology. I was given an "explanation", after investigation. The "officers" had "been responding to an armed incident". The Sergeant in charge of Traffic that day drove the route, an investigation held that the officer driving had not broken any rules but would be "spoken to" and "advised" regarding the "manner of his driving in that location"
My piss is simmering at that one. Awful.I am driving a VW Passat Estate with my 18 month old daughter in her car seat, in the back. I am driving properly and carefully. For those that know I'm heading towards the M1 J16 from A5 at Weedon, through the village of Flore. 30mph limit in the village which has a quite narrow stretch and a couple of sharp bends.
Nothing in front.
Then, to my absolute horror I am confronted, round a blind bend, by a Police car, on my side of the road, driving at ridiculous speed, overtaking a line of cars, heading directly at me. Lights and siren yes, but, even given those I wasn't, nor I believe could I be expected to, anticipating the position and speed of that police car. I literally had no choice whatsoever, accepted afterwards by a Police Driving Instructor who drove the route and reported on the "incident", but to drive off the carriageway into the ditch, basically a controlled crash. I maintain, again accepted, that we were inches from a head on collision. I was the one to drive off the carriageway to avoid a certain head on, they did not deviate.
The Police car didn't stop.
I was never given an apology. I was given an "explanation", after investigation. The "officers" had "been responding to an armed incident". The Sergeant in charge of Traffic that day drove the route, an investigation held that the officer driving had not broken any rules but would be "spoken to" and "advised" regarding the "manner of his driving in that location"
tomw2000 said:
Wait until they get REALLY close then do an EMERGENCY stop.
When it gets to court say you stopped to avoid a dog/cat/rabbit in the road.
And then sue them for whiplash injuries etc.
There was a similar thread running on another forum I frequent.When it gets to court say you stopped to avoid a dog/cat/rabbit in the road.
And then sue them for whiplash injuries etc.
The driver was on their R plates late at night on NSL road. For those not familiar, R plates are displayed in your first year of driving and you're restricted to 45MPH. They were tailgated by a marked car for a few miles, slowing down at points to allow a pass but the officer kept on.
The thread ran for some time until someone suggested doing exactly what you said and the resident Traffic Branch officer replied saying they would have them prosecuted for Dangerous Driving.
Take what you will from that
This thread has grown a lot since I posted my experience on page 4 but I'd just like to pick up on one thing:
mph77, are you suggesting that this is the only incident on this thread that actually happened, purely because it involves a police driver?
What a blinkered view on life you have.
For your information, mine is an honest and truthful account also.
mph1977 said:
7mike said:
Never been goaded by the police but a mate of mine was. Followed dangerously close by a police dog handler, shuck his head in disgust when the plod eventually passed. He was then pulled over for a stern talking to about how he (the dog plod) was a better trained driver and who did he think he was to shake his head. Mate happened to be police class one and politely sent him off with his tail between his legs 
so of all these anecdotes we've got one case ... What a blinkered view on life you have.
For your information, mine is an honest and truthful account also.
CJP80 said:
You need to get yourselves down to the M40 then. Average speeds on that road are ludicrous.
Or the Warwickshire Speedway as I call it.I've been driving from the Midlands to London a lot recently and have regularly seen three 12 plate Jag XFR's driving 'questionably'. In one instance, the three were together in quite close formation. I dare say they're probably on training runs as their positioning and lane changes seemed heavy handed to me.
With regards to the original post...
About 4 years ago, I was driving up the A38 passed Erdington in Birmingham about 11pm on a Sunday night. I was in my E30 325 track car, fully stripped, harnesses and the usual accoutrements.
An E34 M5 tore up alongside me and came to a stop at some lights in the outer lane. I gradually caught up (doing the limit) and came to rest as an E92 330d had caught up and was behind them.
The M5 tore off with the the 330d in tow and again, I caught them at the next lights. They were every slow off the lights and I ended up in front before they speeded up proper to pull in in front of me quite closely before indicating left.
Then, the 330d did the same but pulled in even closer. After getting pissed off with the cabaret (thinking they were mates having fun) and being narked at getting badly cut up twice in very quick succession given the proximity to the junction, I pulled sharply into the outside lane and left them to it. It was literally couple of seconds before the 330d lit up like an Alfa Romeo instrument cluster and proceeded to pull me.
Apparently, my manouevre was 'dangerous and uncalled for' according to the police driver whose temple was throbbing a little more than you'd expect. I protested and explained exactly why I did move in such a way which really seemed to push him over the edge, bemoaning the fact he'd been chasing this M5 for a number of miles due to his speeding but now there was someone who was driving much more dangerously.
Fearing I had passed out and woken up on another planet, I kept my trap shut and hunmoured him for the rest of his 'lecture'.
I've had some very decent Police officers pull me in the past, but this guy was definitely doing the force's reputation no favours.
Elroy Blue said:
leeson660 said:
I also know someone locally who reported a police officer for tailgating and speeding... Not a good idea for months afterwards they were all over him pulling him over several times, going through his car etc.
trs
Compete rubbisht
rstrickywoo said:
In my younger less experienced days this happened to me, more or less as you describe.
I sped up (not excessively) and got pulled. It didn't go any further than a talking to but the copper was throwing his weight about and I thought having some fun at my expense.
It's cliche but i think it's true. Bullied at school? become a cop. I nearly got knocked of my L plate motorbike by a cop chasing a sports bike. If it happened now i would have reported the bI sped up (not excessively) and got pulled. It didn't go any further than a talking to but the copper was throwing his weight about and I thought having some fun at my expense.
d. There's a surprising amount of anti-Police comment on this thread. Surprising in that this is PH and anything pro authority is usually the norm.
This may merit another thread, but for those whose views are tarnished by a perceived 'tailgaiting' incident; do you have experience of the Police away from the road?
This may merit another thread, but for those whose views are tarnished by a perceived 'tailgaiting' incident; do you have experience of the Police away from the road?
MoelyCrio said:
There's a surprising amount of anti-Police comment on this thread. Surprising in that this is PH and anything pro authority is usually the norm.
This may merit another thread, but for those whose views are tarnished by a perceived 'tailgaiting' incident; do you have experience of the Police away from the road?
the problem is the usual line on PH, and even more so given this is on GG not AD or SP+L is that they want the police to 'use their discretion' i.e. let them off and knick every other bugger ... then there's all the green eyed monsters that come out whenever emergency driving comes up as a topic ... This may merit another thread, but for those whose views are tarnished by a perceived 'tailgaiting' incident; do you have experience of the Police away from the road?
mph1977 said:
MoelyCrio said:
There's a surprising amount of anti-Police comment on this thread. Surprising in that this is PH and anything pro authority is usually the norm.
This may merit another thread, but for those whose views are tarnished by a perceived 'tailgaiting' incident; do you have experience of the Police away from the road?
the problem is the usual line on PH, and even more so given this is on GG not AD or SP+L is that they want the police to 'use their discretion' i.e. let them off and knick every other bugger ... then there's all the green eyed monsters that come out whenever emergency driving comes up as a topic ... This may merit another thread, but for those whose views are tarnished by a perceived 'tailgaiting' incident; do you have experience of the Police away from the road?
The premise implied was that naughty boys will be naughty boys when in cars also, and that experienced traffic cops will pick up on this.
The conclusion being that people not involved in criminal activity are unlikely to be be 'provoked' by traffic plod.
MoelyCrio said:
mph1977 said:
MoelyCrio said:
There's a surprising amount of anti-Police comment on this thread. Surprising in that this is PH and anything pro authority is usually the norm.
This may merit another thread, but for those whose views are tarnished by a perceived 'tailgaiting' incident; do you have experience of the Police away from the road?
the problem is the usual line on PH, and even more so given this is on GG not AD or SP+L is that they want the police to 'use their discretion' i.e. let them off and knick every other bugger ... then there's all the green eyed monsters that come out whenever emergency driving comes up as a topic ... This may merit another thread, but for those whose views are tarnished by a perceived 'tailgaiting' incident; do you have experience of the Police away from the road?
The premise implied was that naughty boys will be naughty boys when in cars also, and that experienced traffic cops will pick up on this.
The conclusion being that people not involved in criminal activity are unlikely to be be 'provoked' by traffic plod.
most people tend to interact with the police through traffic matters and for many many the only time they will ever come anywhere near arrest or being 'a criminal' is for a traffic offence ...
plenty of people want the police and others in authority to use their discretion but it seems only on them or for people or actions they ( the poster / random member of the public) approve of , rather than policing being without fear or favour ... ( everyone gets a fair crack at having discretion used, and it;s down to the individual if they manage to waste that opportunity by being a tit and 'failing the attitude test')
Edited by mph1977 on Saturday 10th November 00:27
I've experienced "aggresive" Police driving in the past, but then again I've also had many positive experiences with the old bill. On balance, I'm not letting a few bad apples ruin the bunch.
One such bad experience, intentionally one of the "lightest" was on the A3. Lovely summer's day, 6:15am on a Sunday and there was nothing on the road. Got onto the NSL part of the A3 and was driving a VX220 Turbo with the top down - so I decided a lovely bit of 0.85 lepton cruising on an empty road would be great. A little while later, a marked Land Rover entered the carriageway, and having been doing 0.9 leptons at the time, I slowed down and almost sat on the tail of the plod. When I noticed he was doing 65mph, I accelerated to 70mph and indicated out for the overtake. I got just past him when he accelerated to block me from returning to the inside lane and gestured the standard "WTF?" gesture. I wasn't in the mood for an argument so I decided to spend the rest of my cruise behind him at 60mph
I hasten to add I've come across the Police many times when travelling over the limit. Never been pulled for speeding, in fact when I was doing 0.85 leptons once and noticed a (surprisingly obvious) unmarked behind me, I slowed down to 70 and looked across as they went past - they slowed down, the passenger gave me a warm smile and wave, and they carried on.
90% of officers I've met have been decent folks and I'm just as happy to share my (larger amount of) experiences in a "lovely policeman" thread as I am in this one.
One such bad experience, intentionally one of the "lightest" was on the A3. Lovely summer's day, 6:15am on a Sunday and there was nothing on the road. Got onto the NSL part of the A3 and was driving a VX220 Turbo with the top down - so I decided a lovely bit of 0.85 lepton cruising on an empty road would be great. A little while later, a marked Land Rover entered the carriageway, and having been doing 0.9 leptons at the time, I slowed down and almost sat on the tail of the plod. When I noticed he was doing 65mph, I accelerated to 70mph and indicated out for the overtake. I got just past him when he accelerated to block me from returning to the inside lane and gestured the standard "WTF?" gesture. I wasn't in the mood for an argument so I decided to spend the rest of my cruise behind him at 60mph
I hasten to add I've come across the Police many times when travelling over the limit. Never been pulled for speeding, in fact when I was doing 0.85 leptons once and noticed a (surprisingly obvious) unmarked behind me, I slowed down to 70 and looked across as they went past - they slowed down, the passenger gave me a warm smile and wave, and they carried on.
90% of officers I've met have been decent folks and I'm just as happy to share my (larger amount of) experiences in a "lovely policeman" thread as I am in this one.
I am absolutely not anti police and with the exception of the incident reported above - which was obviously my fault from MPH1977's elevated position - I have found police drivers just fine. Such as the guy who stopped me on the grounds that my Seven hadn't been taxed and on finding it out it had not only had a 10 minute discussion on the spec he wanted for his but also suggesed I follow him on a ..errr. brisk ..run along the remainder of the Yorkshire TT - aka B1257.
The fact that most bobbies are decent and professional just puts the misdeeds of the bad one into sharper focus.
The fact that most bobbies are decent and professional just puts the misdeeds of the bad one into sharper focus.
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