Police are dangerous and should be banned

[echo]

This morning I was driving along the a34 at 70.
I noticed ahead loads of panic braking rippling down the road and the traffic slows.
I get to the cause of the braking - a marked patrol car sat well off the carriageway in a dissused slip-road. No Laser/radar just a bobby watching the traffic.

I know the location well and know for a fact it was a weight enforcement (looking for overweight HGVs) so no one was in danger of being nicked for speeding unless extremely stupid.

From what I saw - if we get rid of speed cameras and increase the number of Patrol Cars the traffic will grind to a halt and accident statistics will rocket.

[jamescarter1981]

people tend to over react when they see a police car, and drive so slowly i can get out, and run along with the car.

The main reason people will be braking is cause they're speeding and shit scared of being caught!

[8Pack]

The reason drivers over-react is because the penalties for minor motoring transgressions are so high, that people brake first and think later, just to be on the SAFE side.

When you ARE "caught" it's: Pay up and send in your licence, or, we'll make it ten times worse for you!
Even your local scrote gets his day in court, but OH No! Not You! You're a MOTORIST!

I admit, I have been "halfway" to the brake pedal many times before now! And been behind sudden braking cars that were NOT speeding in the first place. It shows that we are all driving IN FEAR, not the best start for road safety, is it?

[mechsympathy]

It used to be that if you saw a trafpol car you'd back off gently, on the grounds that if you were braking hard you'd be more noticeable and so more likely to be pulled. These days you don't get a second chance, so braking hard is the best option.

Improving road safety? My ar$e.

[Munter]

Well on Sunday I was driving around B'ham on my way back to london. Police Range Rover joins the motorway up ahead. I ensure that i'm doing a nice steady 70. Which means that i'm now whipping past most people, this apparently attracted the attention of said poilce range rover. So he catches up with me, overtakes, pulls infront of me, slows, so I pull out and overtake at 70 and pull in again, he pulls out overtakes and pulls in, slows, i pull out and overtake again at 70, he stays with me for a bit, and then blasts off into the distance.

Now what was all that about!

[spice]

maybe he liked your car munter

[volvod5_dude]

Munter said:

Well on Sunday I was driving around B'ham on my way back to london. Police Range Rover joins the motorway up ahead. I ensure that i'm doing a nice steady 70. Which means that i'm now whipping past most people, this apparently attracted the attention of said poilce range rover. So he catches up with me, overtakes, pulls infront of me, slows, so I pull out and overtake at 70 and pull in again, he pulls out overtakes and pulls in, slows, i pull out and overtake again at 70, he stays with me for a bit, and then blasts off into the distance. Now what was all that about!

Sounds like he's got a mental problem and is unfit to be a policeman. You should have reported him for dangerous driving.

[Munter]

volvod5_dude said:

Sounds like he's got a mental problem and is unfit to be a policeman. You should have reported him for dangerous driving.

I wouldn't have said it was dangerous, it was all very gentle. Possibly it was the 1st car he'd seen prepared to actually do 70 with him around...bit of a novelty?!

[BlackStuff]

mechsympathy said:

It used to be that if you saw a trafpol car you'd back off gently, on the grounds that if you were braking hard you'd be more noticeable and so more likely to be pulled. These days you don't get a second chance, so braking hard is the best option. Improving road safety? My ar$e.

Here's a perfect example:

Last week I went to look at a car in Llandudno. Having heard all the horror stories about North Wales I am being pretty sensible about my speed along the A55 dual carriageway. At one point as I crest a rise I see a police car parked in the side of the road about 1/2 a mile away. I jump violently on the brakes and immediately scrub off speed from the indicated 80 I was cruising at. In making absolutely sure I am under the limit as quick as poss I actually end up doing about 65 and nearly get shunted by the car behind.

Now I am travelling noticably slower than all the traffic around me, so I abort the overtake I had nearly completed, and completely confuse the car in question by slotting in behind him.

When the time the distance to plod had reduced to about 400 yards all the other traffic now does the same maneouvre, so now I have to brake to stay behind the car I was previously overtaking, as he is now doing about 55. So I pull out to overtake him once again. More confusion and un-necessary manoevring, all of which is being undertaken with very frequent speedo checks (like every couple of seconds or so) to make damn sure I'm not over the limit.

And when we get to the police car in question, is he just observing the traffic? Well actually no, he is slyly pointing a laser gun out of his drivers door window. so everyone was right to panic, swerve, swap lanes etc etc...

And then they wonder why fatalities are up!

[Cooperman]

The motto, JT, is 'Don't go to Wales!.

[james_j]

Munter said:

Well on Sunday I was driving around B'ham on my way back to london. Police Range Rover joins the motorway up ahead. I ensure that i'm doing a nice steady 70. Which means that i'm now whipping past most people, this apparently attracted the attention of said poilce range rover. So he catches up with me, overtakes, pulls infront of me, slows, so I pull out and overtake at 70 and pull in again, he pulls out overtakes and pulls in, slows, i pull out and overtake again at 70, he stays with me for a bit, and then blasts off into the distance. Now what was all that about!

The exact same thing has happened to me. It's as if they're so p1ssed off that you don't slow down too much (i.e. to below the limit) and are therefore not scared of them, that they have to get back at you somehow (maybe to encourage you to go faster and then nick you?).

What a sad waste of resources.