Not insured for commuting mismatch and odd behaviour??

[Truffs]

The supposed "attitude test" annoys me too. If you are polite and you don't have to answer the question then that should be fine.

I had the line "I had to do 130 to catch up with you" as though I was speeding at 125 or similar. I just said "Thanks for telling me about the bulb, officer, and you could have caught up with me a bit quicker if you had done 140!". He did not see the funny side and we then wasted public money by having a longer chat while he kindly checked my car over for me.

[Red Devil]

mickmcpaddy said:

If you show the police a copy of a valid certificate then that removes any rights the copper has to seizing the vehicle, despite whether he thinks the car is uninsured or not, even if he thinks the certificate is a forgery.

I cant find a link at the moment but there was a case a while ago involving Saga insurance and a borrowed car, the bloke that was stopped had a letter from his friend giving permission to drive and had the cert on him with DOC permission. The copper was having none of it and seized the car, from what I remember the overriding factor was he showed the copper the cert and that should have been the end of it.

Pryor v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police - http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/c...
It didn't help at all that a Saga customer services person gave incorrect information to the police re the DOC cover.

If you have just insured/reinsured your vehicle make sure you have the Cerificate to hand in case your insurer hasn't updated the MID.
Being able to produce it on the spot is key - http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/1020784...

Of course even that won't help if you have the wrong type of cover for the journey you are undertaking...

[GC8]

Red Devil said:

Of course even that won't help if you have the wrong type of cover for the journey you are undertaking...

Im not sure about that. Seizure isn't a punishment - it is intended to prevent further infraction. If someone is delivering a takeaway or riding to work in an insured vehicle, then I don't think that the precluded use enable seizure. They can simply return to the shop or to their home and be 'legal' again.

I realise that this doesn't sit easily with what we see in fly one the wall police reality programmes, but I wouldn't take what they say as any sort of guidance.

[catso]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I suspect you're not wrong there.

[Wildfire]

FlabbyMidgets said:

Any updates?

Have been away in the North for a week or so.

No one turned up at my house, so I guess it was just a lot of hot air and maybe he either disliked bikes or was having a bad day. Luckily my boss was understanding when I was a little late.

Rang he insurance company and I definitely have commuting and upgraded to business use just in case.

Edited by Wildfire on Thursday 6th July 10:30

[HantsRat]

Tomo1971 said:

Could have been an over zealous Special Constable - and yes, SC's do operate for some forces RPU divisions.

Why would an SC be more over zealous than a PC? I've seen far more over zealous PC's in my career than SC's.

[sjtscott]

Wildfire said:

Have been away in the North for a week or so.

No one turned up at my house, so I guess it was just a lot of hot air and maybe he either disliked bikes or was having a bad day. Luckily my boss was understanding when I was a little late.

Rang he insurance company and I definitely have commuting and upgraded to business use just in case.

Edited by Wildfire on Thursday 6th July 10:30

Personally I'd get a print out of your updated insurance certificate (I know its the same as showing them a phone) and keep it with you - I've done this before in my bike jacket. Giving someone a piece of paper might still work a bit better, just a thought?
This whole story of your stop is odd but I can understand there maybe many summer bikers who decide to commute to work without the correct insurance cover. Moral of the story ride an older bike and/or keep it dirty lol
I'm always very careful to ensure if I've moved insurance companies that I've got commuting added on my bike policy as I do use it everyday year round to travel to work.

Edited by sjtscott on Thursday 6th July 11:52

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Sheepshanks said:

catso said:

.". but, for example I can visit my Sister in Italy and drive her car whilst being fully insured on her policy, not dependent on who, why, how far and to where I am driving, as long as I have a valid licence. Similarly in the USA, I've borrowed a friend's car with no issues.

So why do our insurance companies have to make it so darn difficult?...

Most drivers pay a lot less here than elsewhere. Colleague in Germany pays €1000/yr for his 5 Series. My Merc is £250.

Exactly this. I don't want to pay for any driver cover and business use that I don't need or want. If I start delivering pizzas and getting friends from abroad over who need to drive, I'll deal with it when it happens and pay the extra required.

It's not insurance companies who make it difficult, it's drivers who don't get the right cover.

[xjay1337]

Wildfire said:

Have been away in the North for a week or so.

No one turned up at my house, so I guess it was just a lot of hot air and maybe he either disliked bikes or was having a bad day. Luckily my boss was understanding when I was a little late.

Rang he insurance company and I definitely have commuting and upgraded to business use just in case.

Edited by Wildfire on Thursday 6th July 10:30

Problem solved then :-)