Ambulances impersonating police officers
Discussion
Where I live, there is a fairly large industrial estate and I've lost count of the amount of ambulance drivers pretending to be coppers, sitting where the police sit - in liveried vehicles (Smarts - I kid you not!, and big estate cars) with blue lights on, causing much panic braking by more uninformed members of the public.
I've also noticed the self same ones parked on hatchings over dual carriageway bridges - again, acting like coppers.
Is there anything that can be done about this? if anything they're impersonating police officers - at the very least they could be named as the root cause of an accident...
Any BiB care to comment?
I've also noticed the self same ones parked on hatchings over dual carriageway bridges - again, acting like coppers.
Is there anything that can be done about this? if anything they're impersonating police officers - at the very least they could be named as the root cause of an accident...
Any BiB care to comment?
Sitting with their blue lights on is a bit weird?!
They also sit above duel carriageway bridges and in laybyes etc here, positioned where they can get the fastest response time to an incident (paramedic types)
Dont really have a problem with it, but then the paramedics here have different liveried cars, with different striping.
Seeing them above the duel-carriageway helps keep me alert to potential nabbing scameras too...
They also sit above duel carriageway bridges and in laybyes etc here, positioned where they can get the fastest response time to an incident (paramedic types)
Dont really have a problem with it, but then the paramedics here have different liveried cars, with different striping.
Seeing them above the duel-carriageway helps keep me alert to potential nabbing scameras too...
lol, not with their lights on - as in active, I mean with a blue light bar on top of the vehicle...
The ambulances (well - paramedic rapid response which is what I think they are) have battenberg livery which is *very* similar to the local const's T5s etc...
>> Edited by CB-Dave on Wednesday 30th July 19:28
The ambulances (well - paramedic rapid response which is what I think they are) have battenberg livery which is *very* similar to the local const's T5s etc...
>> Edited by CB-Dave on Wednesday 30th July 19:28
Unless their vehicles have Police written upon them then theres no offence.
We see it all the time with the likes of the recovery trucks, they use the same rear markings as our cars.
The parking attendants at Brent X shopping centre look like Trapols.
They have white caps and they wear long flourescent coats just like our Motorway issue ones, the big difference is that they dont have the word Police.
We see it all the time with the likes of the recovery trucks, they use the same rear markings as our cars.
The parking attendants at Brent X shopping centre look like Trapols.
They have white caps and they wear long flourescent coats just like our Motorway issue ones, the big difference is that they dont have the word Police.
As far as i remember - the police battenbergs are blue/yellow.
The ambulances are green/yellow.
They are similar because AFAIK that it the most effective scheme they have come up with so far.
Don't be so quick to condemn - ambulances park up in areas that mean faster response times. you may be thankful of that one day... I very much doubnt they are *trying* to look like the police and giving car drivers a fright i doubt would be high on their lists. I would imagine it would be quite amusing to watch all the numpties brake in panic though
Slamming on the brake at the first sign of a suspected police car = guilty concious!
The ambulances are green/yellow.
They are similar because AFAIK that it the most effective scheme they have come up with so far.
Don't be so quick to condemn - ambulances park up in areas that mean faster response times. you may be thankful of that one day... I very much doubnt they are *trying* to look like the police and giving car drivers a fright i doubt would be high on their lists. I would imagine it would be quite amusing to watch all the numpties brake in panic though
Slamming on the brake at the first sign of a suspected police car = guilty concious!
TheExcession said:
Sorry CB-Dave but wtf are you going on about - ambulance car or police car so what???
Either you're breaking the speed limit or you're not, either you see em or you don't, either you get caught or errrrm... you don't - I can't see what you're on about....
best
Ex
Um ok, seems you jump to conclusions before you read? Are you usually premature? - where did I say in my post that *I* was the one panic braking...
I said "more uninformed members of the public" ie NOT MYSELF... and it is this panic braking that *THEY* do, that could lead to an accident...
The places these people park are most definatley not in the best interests of rapid response, if they were, they'd be parked on either the A1058 Coast Road (major arterial route to Newcastle and Whitley Bay) the A19 (major arterial route to Scotland and the Tyne Tunnel) or the Silverlink industrial estate (smack bang in the middle of both), instead - they park behind a 2ft or so high wall in a 30 zone (justified, there is a high school there although most people don't do 30 because the road is about a mile long and straight), with just the light bar protruding over the top, giving the impression to any driver erring on the side of no caution that they are a police car, and leading to the slamming on, causing accident scenario.
Don't be so bloody quick to judge in future...
Oh - edited to say, they park directly in the middle of two sets of vascar squares too, further compounding this impersonation...
>> Edited by CB-Dave on Thursday 31st July 00:27
oooops sorry - didn't mean to touch a nerve....
still - I really don't think they can be held accountable.
As Tonyrec said in another thread - its all about observation - I'm glad that you are on the ball enough to anticipate the numpty in front about to panic brake cos they see some hi-viz markings on a car up ahead.
I never could understand why a motorway full of traffic slowed to 70 just because there was a police car in the inside lane doing 60 when previouly everyone had been moving safely at 80.
It's like 'what are they gonna do...?' I'm sure the police just want to see everyone safely on their way - same effect with these ambulances.
No offence meant directly to you
best
Ex
still - I really don't think they can be held accountable.
As Tonyrec said in another thread - its all about observation - I'm glad that you are on the ball enough to anticipate the numpty in front about to panic brake cos they see some hi-viz markings on a car up ahead.
I never could understand why a motorway full of traffic slowed to 70 just because there was a police car in the inside lane doing 60 when previouly everyone had been moving safely at 80.
It's like 'what are they gonna do...?' I'm sure the police just want to see everyone safely on their way - same effect with these ambulances.
No offence meant directly to you
best
Ex
CB-Dave said:
TheExcession said:
Sorry CB-Dave but wtf are you going on about - ambulance car or police car so what???
Either you're breaking the speed limit or you're not, either you see em or you don't, either you get caught or errrrm... you don't - I can't see what you're on about....
best
Ex
Um ok, seems you jump to conclusions before you read? Are you usually premature? - where did I say in my post that *I* was the one panic braking...
I said "more uninformed members of the public" ie NOT MYSELF... and it is this panic braking that *THEY* do, that could lead to an accident...
The places these people park are most definatley not in the best interests of rapid response, if they were, they'd be parked on either the A1058 Coast Road (major arterial route to Newcastle and Whitley Bay) the A19 (major arterial route to Scotland and the Tyne Tunnel) or the Silverlink industrial estate (smack bang in the middle of both), instead - they park behind a 2ft or so high wall in a 30 zone (justified, there is a high school there although most people don't do 30 because the road is about a mile long and straight), with just the light bar protruding over the top, giving the impression to any driver erring on the side of no caution that they are a police car, and leading to the slamming on, causing accident scenario.
Don't be so bloody quick to judge in future...
Oh - edited to say, they park directly in the middle of two sets of vascar squares too, further compounding this impersonation...
>> Edited by CB-Dave on Thursday 31st July 00:27
maybe they had a puncture???? or his mum just called him on his mobile phone....
>> Edited by TheExcession on Thursday 31st July 00:35
Funny, but alas - untrue
This guy parks behind a wall, you can't see him till you pass him - the only thing you see is a blue light bar and half a dozen aerials.
Since the majority of drivers associate blue lights on anything not a fire engine or a box on wheels to be police, this is a definate hazard...
It's hard to put into words but parking where this bloke does, being that:
a: there's fcukloads of speed bumps on every other road
b: he hides behind a wall
c: in the middle of some VASCAR markings
d: with a blue light bar on
says to me he wishes he had chosen the other blue-light career path...
This guy parks behind a wall, you can't see him till you pass him - the only thing you see is a blue light bar and half a dozen aerials.
Since the majority of drivers associate blue lights on anything not a fire engine or a box on wheels to be police, this is a definate hazard...
It's hard to put into words but parking where this bloke does, being that:
a: there's fcukloads of speed bumps on every other road
b: he hides behind a wall
c: in the middle of some VASCAR markings
d: with a blue light bar on
says to me he wishes he had chosen the other blue-light career path...
CB-Dave said:
The places these people park are most definatley not in the best interests of rapid response, if they were, they'd be parked on either the A1058 Coast Road (major arterial route to Newcastle and Whitley Bay) the A19 (major arterial route to Scotland and the Tyne Tunnel) or the Silverlink industrial estate (smack bang in the middle of both), instead - they park behind a 2ft or so high wall in a 30 zone (justified, there is a high school there although most people don't do 30 because the road is about a mile long and straight), with just the light bar protruding over the top, giving the impression to any driver erring on the side of no caution that they are a police car, and leading to the slamming on, causing accident scenario.
Don't be so bloody quick to judge in future...
Oh - edited to say, they park directly in the middle of two sets of vascar squares too, further compounding this impersonation...
>> Edited by CB-Dave on Thursday 31st July 00:27
Exactly how do you know what's the best place for them to sit for rapid response? Do you have access to the 999/112 call history for the area? Have you seen the forecast call plan? Have you ever sat in on a shift in Central Ambulance Control? Have you ever ridden along on a response unit? Unless the answer to most of these questions is yes then you're the one who should not be so quick to judge.
If the uninformed (i.e. thick) general public wants to form the impression that ANY vehicle with blue lights is a trafpol car, that's hardly the fault of the paramedic sat in his RRV. If people cause an accident because they are too stupid to know the difference between an ambulance service RRV and traffic plod or they just can't be @rsed to observe properly then that's their problem - not the overworked and underpaid paramedic/technician. As for 'compounding the impersonation' by sitting in between two VASCAR points...I'm (almost) speechless...if Joe Bloggs doesn't know the diff between Plod and Ambulance how the hell do you expect him to know what VASCAR is, let alone what the white circles/squares are for????
CB-Dave said:
Funny, but alas - untrue
This guy parks behind a wall, you can't see him till you pass him - the only thing you see is a blue light bar and half a dozen aerials.
Since the majority of drivers associate blue lights on anything not a fire engine or a box on wheels to be police, this is a definate hazard...
It's hard to put into words but parking where this bloke does, being that:
a: there's fcukloads of speed bumps on every other road
b: he hides behind a wall
c: in the middle of some VASCAR markings
d: with a blue light bar on
says to me he wishes he had chosen the other blue-light career path...
I heard that certain revetments that say a police car are used, are shared by many response vehicles - i.e. ambulance use them, and so can recovery trucks etc (dependant on road i suppose).
Surely the vascar markings have nowt to do with the revetment, because i always thought the police car had to be following a car before it could use the vascar set up, it could not do it from being static at the side of the road (correct if wrong?). Maybe just coincidence??
Behind a wall should also not have a bearing, because even if it is a police car, whats he gonna do from behind a wall?
And sorry, but i still don't understand your problem with the blue lights and the aerials - its an emergency response vehicle - it needs those.
If you had a real problem with it, you could always find out your local ambulance service and ask them to reconsider they're parking up places, but the places they pick are almost always to give a better respnose time and are carefully thought out. Perhaps because its the only road without speed bumps in the area, it allows a faster response time? edited to add that they could of course just be perverts watching the high school girls!
Besides, if the car is there all the time, you would have thought people would have stopped panicking by now and just slowed down - or else carried on past because after all, its just an ambulance...
>> Edited by Buffalo on Thursday 31st July 10:51
-Bacchus- said:
"they park behind a 2ft or so high wall...... with just the light bar protruding over the top"
Wow real custom jobs done on these. How do they fit all there gear in?
Stands to reason it's not a cop car.. they're all too fat from eating doughnuts, to fit in something that small!
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