More condescending TV twaddle
Discussion
Traffic Cops 2005, this evening.
Focussed on the Cat & Fiddle run. Now a 50 mph apparently, PC Bobby Copper taking great delight in nicking folk. Well, not so much in nicking them, as talking to them like they were 5-year-olds.
Phrases such as 'the most dangerous road in the county/ country/ world/ universe'. Utter numpty brainwash bollox. Roads are not dangerous: people's actions are dangerous. Yes, overtaking on double-whites is naughty. Yet on a bike, with another 2 feet of altitude to see over the scenery, it's not necessarily fatal. Granted the guy should have been using not just his mirrors, but a bloody lifesaver (PC never mentioned that though did he: in fact admitted he wasn't a biker so therefore can't possibly know what it's like) in case some bigger idiot was already overtaking HIM.
Mr Lotus-man, with his ar5e-out antics round that bend, was pushing his luck. But he did catch it, where a lot of people wouldn't have, Lotus or not. Who's to say that prior to the Police car appearing, he'd just swerved to avoid a fox?
But as usual, aim it at Mr. and Mrs. Braindead: sports car drivers and bikers are all irresponsible lunatics - even going so far as to question whether the biker should have been wearing armoured leathers instead of jeans. Oh look, it's the old 'personal freedom' thing.
God I love this country.
Focussed on the Cat & Fiddle run. Now a 50 mph apparently, PC Bobby Copper taking great delight in nicking folk. Well, not so much in nicking them, as talking to them like they were 5-year-olds.
Phrases such as 'the most dangerous road in the county/ country/ world/ universe'. Utter numpty brainwash bollox. Roads are not dangerous: people's actions are dangerous. Yes, overtaking on double-whites is naughty. Yet on a bike, with another 2 feet of altitude to see over the scenery, it's not necessarily fatal. Granted the guy should have been using not just his mirrors, but a bloody lifesaver (PC never mentioned that though did he: in fact admitted he wasn't a biker so therefore can't possibly know what it's like) in case some bigger idiot was already overtaking HIM.
Mr Lotus-man, with his ar5e-out antics round that bend, was pushing his luck. But he did catch it, where a lot of people wouldn't have, Lotus or not. Who's to say that prior to the Police car appearing, he'd just swerved to avoid a fox?
But as usual, aim it at Mr. and Mrs. Braindead: sports car drivers and bikers are all irresponsible lunatics - even going so far as to question whether the biker should have been wearing armoured leathers instead of jeans. Oh look, it's the old 'personal freedom' thing.
God I love this country.
Seen that one before Wedg1e. Recently it was on radio 5, the Licensee of the the "Cat and Fiddle" said: In Cheshire, the A537 is 50 mph, in Derbyshire (C&F) it's "unlimited"!!!!
WOW!!! Unlimited!! That means: 60 mph! oooh! Horror! 10 mph is a killer right? In those neck of the woods? I've not ridden a bike now for 30 odd yrs, if I couldn't ride them roads at 80 I'd keel over an' die NOW! Common, get real!
Why not just say that it's a difficult road and the signs are inadequate for strangers. Oh! Just thought! That would imply culpability and liability! WEll! F... Me!!! (house in order maybe?).
WOW!!! Unlimited!! That means: 60 mph! oooh! Horror! 10 mph is a killer right? In those neck of the woods? I've not ridden a bike now for 30 odd yrs, if I couldn't ride them roads at 80 I'd keel over an' die NOW! Common, get real!
Why not just say that it's a difficult road and the signs are inadequate for strangers. Oh! Just thought! That would imply culpability and liability! WEll! F... Me!!! (house in order maybe?).
wedg1e said:
swerved to avoid a fox?
You swerve double-white line blind bends to avoid foxes do you?
I thought the PC was entirely fair. The biker was a complete arse who came out with the usual "why aren't you out catching real criminals" crap. Showed his true colours afterwards, which just justifies the ticket in the first place..
What i saw where people who seem to really care about what they're doing, giving out some advice when needed (which will be ignored by said driver five minutes up the road), and giving tickets when need be...
Exactly what kind of Police Forces do you want? Try moving somewhere else in Europe and see how you get treated there...
So many times I've read on here 'we don't want cameras, we want more Plod in Volvos exercising discretion'
So when Cheshire actually put Plod in Volvos out on a piece of road that has NO cameras, exercising aforementioned discretion, people still whinge.
Make your
ing mind up.
The bloke on the bike was a complete prick - no lifesaver, no mirrors, riding in jeans, what a - and as a so-called professional driver he should know better - and I thought the PC gave the teenage showoff some valuable advice.
>> Edited by loaf on Thursday 17th March 08:41
So when Cheshire actually put Plod in Volvos out on a piece of road that has NO cameras, exercising aforementioned discretion, people still whinge.
Make your
ing mind up. The bloke on the bike was a complete prick - no lifesaver, no mirrors, riding in jeans, what a
- and as a so-called professional driver he should know better - and I thought the PC gave the teenage showoff some valuable advice. >> Edited by loaf on Thursday 17th March 08:41
loaf said:I for one do not want the BiB wasting their time and talent, sitting hiding behind a bush pointing a laser gun in the middle of nowhere UNLESS it really is a dodgy stretch of road (pedestrian wise) and adequate warning of enforcement has been given.
So many times I've read on here 'we don't want cameras, we want more Plod in Volvos exercising discretion'
So when Cheshire actually put Plod in Volvos out on a piece of road that has NO cameras, exercising aforementioned discretion, people still whinge.
Make your
loaf said:
So when Cheshire actually put Plod in Volvos out on a piece of road that has NO cameras, exercising aforementioned discretion, people still whinge.
Make your
The bloke on the bike was a complete prick - no lifesaver, no mirrors, riding in jeans, what a
I never thought i'd hear a PC trying to give someone advice that could save his life, being described as he was in earlier posts like some sort of mini-Hitler.
It's weekend riders like the one he stopped who are most at risk, spending their disposable income on a weekend 'toy' that does 200mph and 0-60 in 3 secs. They then cane around roads such as the one mentioned and wipe themselves out. I've no doubt that the ignorant prick the PC stopped now WILL start looking at what's going on around him. The copper may have saved his life....
Hollywood Wheels said:
swerved to avoid a fox?
You swerve double-white line blind bends to avoid foxes do you?
Doesn't matter what I do, I'm saying the Police camera disn't show what happened BEFORE the swerve. I'm not defending the guy, he almost certainly was speeding. But who among us hasn't had a 'there but for the grace of god' moment once in a while...?
Hollywood Wheels said:
So when Cheshire actually put Plod in Volvos out on a piece of road that has NO cameras, exercising aforementioned discretion, people still whinge.
Make your
The bloke on the bike was a complete prick - no lifesaver, no mirrors, riding in jeans, what a
I never thought i'd hear a PC trying to give someone advice that could save his life, being described as he was in earlier posts like some sort of mini-Hitler.
It's weekend riders like the one he stopped who are most at risk, spending their disposable income on a weekend 'toy' that does 200mph and 0-60 in 3 secs. They then cane around roads such as the one mentioned and wipe themselves out. I've no doubt that the ignorant prick the PC stopped now WILL start looking at what's going on around him. The copper may have saved his life....
Maybe we should just shut up but continue to scrape up!
loaf said:
The bloke on the bike was a complete prick - no lifesaver, no mirrors, riding in jeans, what a
I thought the bike did have mirrors, I must've missed that. Don't dispute the lifesaver. Many of us do/ have ridden in jeans, so what? Do you wear a crash helmet in your car? You should, because otherwise one day you MIGHT have an accident leading to head injuries...
My main point was that I thought the cop talked down to them all like a schoolteacher.
wedg1e said:
My main point was that I thought the cop talked down to them all like a schoolteacher.
Possibly because they were acting like children. Either because in the case of the wannabe pilot he was a child, in the case of the biker he was a petulant ween who thought he shouldn't be nicked for doing something illegal in front of a dirty great battenburg that he hadn't even noticed (in the mirrors he did have but didn't use) and the advice about leathers was just that. In the case of the Lotus (who really should have mentioned the fox rather than claiming 'the corner caught me out' presumably by hiding behind slow signs chevrons and double white lines) because he was playing too rough with his new toy and nearly broke it and somebody elses. Three potentially fatal bits of daftness and all that got handed out was advice and one FPN for 3 points and 60 squids to the one person who obviously wasn't listening to his lecture. Good policing IMHO.
I'm with wedgie on this one: the real problem was mainly the condescending attitude of the copper. If I'd been either of the two on the receiving end of his "wisdom" the principle lesson I'd have come away with was "what a w**ker!". I'm sure the film crew were secretly thinking the same, and chortling away at what good television it made, far better than a charismatic old copper 'aving a word.
The other impression I got was the over-zealous enforcement of the double-whites. At the start of the show they pulled a biker who'd crossed loads of white lines, having filmed him from the air. Yet (as far as you could tell from that angle) they all looked pretty safe overtakes and he never came even remotely into conflict with any oncoming traffic.
The other thing I found strange was that the guy who got all crossed up and ended up sliding over the line got a bollocking, yet the guy who executed a relatively safe overtake got nicked. I agree about his rearward observation, so the copper should have majored on that, which to me was the real problem, rather than the "technical" infringement that he crossed a white line during a relatively safe manoeuvre.
The other impression I got was the over-zealous enforcement of the double-whites. At the start of the show they pulled a biker who'd crossed loads of white lines, having filmed him from the air. Yet (as far as you could tell from that angle) they all looked pretty safe overtakes and he never came even remotely into conflict with any oncoming traffic.
The other thing I found strange was that the guy who got all crossed up and ended up sliding over the line got a bollocking, yet the guy who executed a relatively safe overtake got nicked. I agree about his rearward observation, so the copper should have majored on that, which to me was the real problem, rather than the "technical" infringement that he crossed a white line during a relatively safe manoeuvre.
Seen it before...while I think the copper was hamming it up for the camera, it was fair policing.
Biker...double whites are there for a purpose, and bikes are not exempt from road-laws...I don't think it was a safe overtake.
Elsie driver...yeah, he got off quite lightly...probably driving spiritedly, saw the copper, instinctively lifted, but it was mid-corner and "oh-my-f***-what-have-I-sh!t-in-front-of-a-copper-as-well-I'm-stuffed!".
And I would far rather be pulled by a copper than zapped by a camera (fixed OR mobile)...at least coppers can explain what you were doing wrong to you, so you can learn, even if you do still get points.
Biker...double whites are there for a purpose, and bikes are not exempt from road-laws...I don't think it was a safe overtake.
Elsie driver...yeah, he got off quite lightly...probably driving spiritedly, saw the copper, instinctively lifted, but it was mid-corner and "oh-my-f***-what-have-I-sh!t-in-front-of-a-copper-as-well-I'm-stuffed!".
And I would far rather be pulled by a copper than zapped by a camera (fixed OR mobile)...at least coppers can explain what you were doing wrong to you, so you can learn, even if you do still get points.
Saw this prog for the first time last night. Thought that the copper in question was bang on with a lot of the observations made. However, his way of relaying his wisdom to the motorists left a little to be desired. Still, I hope that the Saxo chav and the Elise driver actually took something away from it.
What got my goat was that many of those double white overtakes were safe. It would be wholly wrong for any reasonable person to argue otherwise. There are many double whites that are safe to overtake on both the C&F and hundreds of other roads all over the UK. However, the view taken by the feds is that the law is the law and motorists should stick to it.
The issue as I see it is that the law caters for the lowest common denominator. Unfortunately, we saw 3 lowest common denominators on Traffic Cops last night.
IMHO, frequenters of Pistonheads tend to be of a higher than average driving ability and actually understand what happens when you lift off in an Elise mid corner! This is why offence is often taken to traffic policing and the way that we are dealt with when stopped.
The biker deserved 3 points. Anyone who fails to spot a battenburg'd T5 behind them and then overtakes so blatantly on double whites, needs to take a re-test.
If you're going to "stretch" the law, just make sure that there is not an enforcer watching you from behind!
Matt
What got my goat was that many of those double white overtakes were safe. It would be wholly wrong for any reasonable person to argue otherwise. There are many double whites that are safe to overtake on both the C&F and hundreds of other roads all over the UK. However, the view taken by the feds is that the law is the law and motorists should stick to it.
The issue as I see it is that the law caters for the lowest common denominator. Unfortunately, we saw 3 lowest common denominators on Traffic Cops last night.
IMHO, frequenters of Pistonheads tend to be of a higher than average driving ability and actually understand what happens when you lift off in an Elise mid corner! This is why offence is often taken to traffic policing and the way that we are dealt with when stopped.
The biker deserved 3 points. Anyone who fails to spot a battenburg'd T5 behind them and then overtakes so blatantly on double whites, needs to take a re-test.
If you're going to "stretch" the law, just make sure that there is not an enforcer watching you from behind!
Matt
BlackStuff said:
The other thing I found strange was that the guy who got all crossed up and ended up sliding over the line got a bollocking, yet the guy who executed a relatively safe overtake got nicked. I agree about his rearward observation, so the copper should have majored on that, which to me was the real problem, rather than the "technical" infringement that he crossed a white line during a relatively safe manoeuvre.
I thought the difference was that the Lotus driver was listening and the biker clearly wasn't. Attitude test failed and so the conversation moved toward the 'what I am going to do you for is...' line.
I agree the guy came across as a tad smug and 'camera aware' and it would be great if all coppers were of the older and wiser variety but they have to start somewhere.
Maybe we are just hankering after our youth when all coppers were 8 foot high, built like brick out-houses and put the fear of God in to us buy looking at us or maybe we have just got taller since our scrumping days?
gone said:
Maybe we should just shut up but continue to scrape up!
No, not at all. I would dearly love to see less need for 'scraping up' as you put it, but I didn't think PC Darren Daniels had quite the right approach to how he dealt with people.
A stern line was to be expected of course, but I think he was likely to antagonise his 'customers' rather than advise and encourage more thoughtful and sensible driving from them in future.
With regard to the bikers/double white line thing, obviously it was foolish to cross the lines with a police car behind, but bikers (in particular) can very often contravene the DWL system quite safely IMHO.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
I didn't see the programme, so flameproof trousers on before entering a thread about it!
Cops are not trained in adult education skills, and being a novice in front of a camera definately affects your "performance". Maybe those who criticised his manner would prefer it if he just wrote tickets and said nothing? Ideally, I would like them to be able to hand out driver education as an alternative to instant points, then they wouldn't have to try and do it by the roadside.
Crossing double white lines is not a "technical infringement", it's on a par with jumping red lights, and should be enforced, IMHO. Come the revolution (well my revolution, anyway) most out of town speed limits would be discretionary, but all red lights and double whites would still be compulsory.
jeans on a bike... would you ride in shorts? where do you draw the line? Come the accident, wouldn't it be sooo much nicer to the ambulance crew if you were wearing the armoured leather? less heartache for the friends/family who have to watch you recover? I don't believe in extra legislation for this, but it seems like good advice in this case?
If this is the road I think it is, out of the last 55 deaths on that road, 52 were bikers.
Cops are not trained in adult education skills, and being a novice in front of a camera definately affects your "performance". Maybe those who criticised his manner would prefer it if he just wrote tickets and said nothing? Ideally, I would like them to be able to hand out driver education as an alternative to instant points, then they wouldn't have to try and do it by the roadside.
Crossing double white lines is not a "technical infringement", it's on a par with jumping red lights, and should be enforced, IMHO. Come the revolution (well my revolution, anyway) most out of town speed limits would be discretionary, but all red lights and double whites would still be compulsory.
jeans on a bike... would you ride in shorts? where do you draw the line? Come the accident, wouldn't it be sooo much nicer to the ambulance crew if you were wearing the armoured leather? less heartache for the friends/family who have to watch you recover? I don't believe in extra legislation for this, but it seems like good advice in this case?
If this is the road I think it is, out of the last 55 deaths on that road, 52 were bikers.
It's the tone of the patronising voice that really grates on me. If that prat of a PC could find a more obnoxious way to talk to people I'd be surprised.
Yes some of the drivers and bikers need 'assistance' but I feel alienated. If this is the best cheshire police can do when it comes to public relations exercises the Chief Cuntstable wants sacking.
What about finding a PC that actually has a bit of empathy with the public.
And I know they exist because I've been stopped by them and had discussions about my driving and been let off with a caution. (Actually I've met 2 PC's in 20 years of driving who were polite and NOT condesending) )
Yes some of the drivers and bikers need 'assistance' but I feel alienated. If this is the best cheshire police can do when it comes to public relations exercises the Chief Cuntstable wants sacking.
What about finding a PC that actually has a bit of empathy with the public.
And I know they exist because I've been stopped by them and had discussions about my driving and been let off with a caution. (Actually I've met 2 PC's in 20 years of driving who were polite and NOT condesending) )
Hollywood Wheels said:
swerved to avoid a fox?
You swerve double-white line blind bends to avoid foxes do you?
As I do not like fox very much ... probably would not swerve for that. Sheep, dog (und wildy cats of course
ist different und C&F ist rural und could have roaming sheep - nicht? (Not driven there for long time - but seem to recall seeing sheep on climb from Macclesfield....) Hollywood Wheels said:
I thought the PC was entirely fair. The biker was a complete arse who came out with the usual "why aren't you out catching real criminals" crap. Showed his true colours afterwards, which just justifies the ticket in the first place..
Agree that biker was class one twazak
But think PC Wotsit could have just toned down the scolding teacher thing a bit - und I thought he should have at least removed his chewy as well. Ist not respectful to chew gum when dealing mit MOP. 
Hollywood Wheels said:
What i saw where people who seem to really care about what they're doing, giving out some advice when needed (which will be ignored by said driver five minutes up the road), and giving tickets when need be...
Und how many edits und replays did the really have?
Ist was too pat for reality in way he delivered his lines. Pedrhaps his overbearing attitude was more due to trying to remember und not fluff his lines 
Do edit footage of our kittens before sending to our foreign based family - und they think the kittens are "exceptionally well behaved" as result
Hollywood Wheels said:
Exactly what kind of Police Forces do you want? Try moving somewhere else in Europe and see how you get treated there...
Usually find the Swiss gendarmes OK - even though they c-c-carry
g-g-g-guns. Und Italian cops are usually laid back
Und German ones are very polite ...und the French do not like the Swiss anyway
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