Bad Police Attitude (written by a policeman)
Discussion
Taken from another forum I'm a member off. The car in question is a Skoda Octavia WRC limited edition.
Whilst driving along a straight coast road tonight at about 9:30PM, I noticed a silver Octavia vRS approaching me from behind at speed (I was doing 40mph as per the speed limit). After half a mile or so blue lights came on from behind the grille of the Octavia. As we were the only two cars around and he made no effort to pass me, I realised it was me he wanted to speak to so I pulled over.
I switched off my engine and got out to meet the officer. "Do you know your headlights are illegal", he says to me... No "hello" or "good evening sir". Anyway, I was slightly puzzled by his comment, so after stuttering a bit, I asked him to explain, to which he replied "the headlight bulbs you have fitted to this car are not suitable for road use, take a seat in my car please". I ignored his invitation and explained that my car has factory fitted Xenon headlights which are correctly aligned and un-modified. To this, he replied "The headlights in your vehicle are NOT factory fitted and have been changed by somebody at some point - and by driving the vehicle you are committing an offence". By this point I was getting rather irritated by the attitude of the officer, and his seeming lack of ability to listen to basic reasoning. I showed him my headlight switch, and then compared it to the switch in his car - I then explained that mine is lacking the load adjuster wheel because xenon headlights are automatically controlled. I offered to point out the sensors on the suspension but he refused to look!
I was struggling to stay calm and polite so forced myself to bite my tongue. It was fairly obvious that this gentleman would argue that black was white if it meant he was in the right. When I explained that I am a serving officer based in another force, I was told that he is a traffic officer with far more experience than myself. A traffic officer who is not familiar with xenon lights.. yeah, ok.
In the end I left, complete with my £30 fine. I have printed off the relevant pages from ETKA which show the various components and part numbers for the headlights. I will take great pleasure attaching them to my carefully worded letter...
It's all good fun!
Whilst driving along a straight coast road tonight at about 9:30PM, I noticed a silver Octavia vRS approaching me from behind at speed (I was doing 40mph as per the speed limit). After half a mile or so blue lights came on from behind the grille of the Octavia. As we were the only two cars around and he made no effort to pass me, I realised it was me he wanted to speak to so I pulled over.
I switched off my engine and got out to meet the officer. "Do you know your headlights are illegal", he says to me... No "hello" or "good evening sir". Anyway, I was slightly puzzled by his comment, so after stuttering a bit, I asked him to explain, to which he replied "the headlight bulbs you have fitted to this car are not suitable for road use, take a seat in my car please". I ignored his invitation and explained that my car has factory fitted Xenon headlights which are correctly aligned and un-modified. To this, he replied "The headlights in your vehicle are NOT factory fitted and have been changed by somebody at some point - and by driving the vehicle you are committing an offence". By this point I was getting rather irritated by the attitude of the officer, and his seeming lack of ability to listen to basic reasoning. I showed him my headlight switch, and then compared it to the switch in his car - I then explained that mine is lacking the load adjuster wheel because xenon headlights are automatically controlled. I offered to point out the sensors on the suspension but he refused to look!
I was struggling to stay calm and polite so forced myself to bite my tongue. It was fairly obvious that this gentleman would argue that black was white if it meant he was in the right. When I explained that I am a serving officer based in another force, I was told that he is a traffic officer with far more experience than myself. A traffic officer who is not familiar with xenon lights.. yeah, ok.
In the end I left, complete with my £30 fine. I have printed off the relevant pages from ETKA which show the various components and part numbers for the headlights. I will take great pleasure attaching them to my carefully worded letter...
It's all good fun!
M question the the BiB whom was stopped is why he/you didn't refuse to accept the fine and get arrested, then have it out with a qualified vehicle inspector at the stopping BiBs station???
But agreed the attitude is s h i t and such know-all numpties give the majority of excellent BiB a bad name...
But agreed the attitude is s h i t and such know-all numpties give the majority of excellent BiB a bad name...
edwardsje said:
Autonotiv said:
How the f
k, did he know your head lights were illegal, when he was following you?????
He was a highly experienced officer. Case closed.k, did he know your head lights were illegal, when he was following you?????JMGS4 said:
M question the the BiB whom was stopped is why he/you didn't refuse to accept the fine and get arrested, then have it out with a qualified vehicle inspector at the stopping BiBs station???
But agreed the attitude is s h i t and such know-all numpties give the majority of excellent BiB a bad name...
You don't get arrested for refusing to take the ticket. You just get reported. Nor does your car get taken to a station to examined by 'a qualified vehicle inspector'.But agreed the attitude is s h i t and such know-all numpties give the majority of excellent BiB a bad name...
I'd have taken the ticket..you still get the option to go to court. But you have a period of grace to write to the ticket office and dispute it. If you go for the court option, you've lost that opportunity (and the chance to save a few quid)
Battenburg Bob said:
JMGS4 said:
M question the the BiB whom was stopped is why he/you didn't refuse to accept the fine and get arrested, then have it out with a qualified vehicle inspector at the stopping BiBs station???
But agreed the attitude is s h i t and such know-all numpties give the majority of excellent BiB a bad name...
You don't get arrested for refusing to take the ticket. You just get reported. Nor does your car get taken to a station to examined by 'a qualified vehicle inspector'.But agreed the attitude is s h i t and such know-all numpties give the majority of excellent BiB a bad name...
I'd have taken the ticket..you still get the option to go to court. But you have a period of grace to write to the ticket office and dispute it. If you go for the court option, you've lost that opportunity (and the chance to save a few quid)
beeej said:
neelyp said:
I switched off my engine and got out to meet the officer.
As a general rule, isn't it better to stay at the wheel with the engine off?
NO...that puts you at a psychological disadvantage....
At least thats what I was taught on my aggressive driving course...
All the best Brett
Edited by Brett928S2 on Friday 8th August 12:12
beeej said:
neelyp said:
I switched off my engine and got out to meet the officer.
As a general rule, isn't it better to stay at the wheel with the engine off?When you get the fine repealed take the letter to his station, call him up and wave in front of his fat head mentioning what a thick prick he is. Might stop him being such knobhead. Doubt it, but...
Edited by NobleGuy on Friday 8th August 13:46
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