Very nice policeman
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Mr Gearchange

Original Poster:

5,892 posts

236 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
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A few weeks ago i took my car out for a bit of exercise on a dry sunny day. On a particularly straight bit of a-road I overtook an unmarked police car at a speed which should have seen me banned for a good few weeks at least.

He pulled me over and we had a a chat - he was thoughtful, more than reasonable and not in any way condescending. His summation was that whilst my driving was not in any way dangerous, careless or reckless - my speed was excessive and if it went to court it would be a lengthy ban and a very large fine.

He then said that if I agreed not to do it again - he would delete the video from his car and I could be on my way. His reason for this being that 'we aren't all bds sir'

Could have been very bad news for me - but i was very grateful to have encountered such a pragmatic police officer with petrol in his veins.

So if you are reading this I thank you very much and your advice and guidance has been taken on board!

Bill

58,765 posts

285 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
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Mr Gearchange said:
...your advice and guidance has been taken on board!
Yeah, yeah. wink


hehe

LordHaveMurci

12,338 posts

199 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
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Didn't think they could delete the video?

Perhaps he meant to say he couldn't nick you as he couldn't verify your speed?

Either way, sounds you passed the attitude test & got lucky with a decent copper biggrin

Black_S3

2,839 posts

218 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
quotequote all
Mr Gearchange said:
A few weeks ago i took my car out for a bit of exercise on a dry sunny day. On a particularly straight bit of a-road I overtook an unmarked police car at a speed which should have seen me banned for a good few weeks at least.

He pulled me over and we had a a chat - he was thoughtful, more than reasonable and not in any way condescending. His summation was that whilst my driving was not in any way dangerous, careless or reckless - my speed was excessive and if it went to court it would be a lengthy ban and a very large fine.

He then said that if I agreed not to do it again - he would delete the video from his car and I could be on my way. His reason for this being that 'we aren't all bds sir'

Could have been very bad news for me - but i was very grateful to have encountered such a pragmatic police officer with petrol in his veins.

So if you are reading this I thank you very much and your advice and guidance has been taken on board!
They do exist smile

Mr Gearchange

Original Poster:

5,892 posts

236 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
quotequote all
I don't know if it was material to the decision, but he set off from a set of temporary lights like a stabbed rat up to 90mph - I caught him up about a minute later and overtook.

"I may have provoked you into doing what you did by the way i set off from the lights" said Mr Policeman.

Anyway - he played me like a harp and wanted to see how his new 330D compared against my car. I was very contrite and polite but know i dodged a major bullet.

I have learned to be far more circumspect about what i overtake though.

WD39

20,083 posts

146 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
quotequote all
Mr Gearchange said:
A few weeks ago i took my car out for a bit of exercise on a dry sunny day. On a particularly straight bit of a-road I overtook an unmarked police car at a speed which should have seen me banned for a good few weeks at least.

He pulled me over and we had a a chat - he was thoughtful, more than reasonable and not in any way condescending. His summation was that whilst my driving was not in any way dangerous, careless or reckless - my speed was excessive and if it went to court it would be a lengthy ban and a very large fine.

He then said that if I agreed not to do it again - he would delete the video from his car and I could be on my way. His reason for this being that 'we aren't all bds sir'

Could have been very bad news for me - but i was very grateful to have encountered such a pragmatic police officer with petrol in his veins.
I'm guessing that your speed was 90+ ?

In my estimation that has got to be careless / reckless whatever the time of day or road conditions.

Lucky? you bet.

Lesson learned?

Davidonly

1,080 posts

223 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
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WD39 said:
I'm guessing that your speed was 90+ ?

In my estimation that has got to be careless / reckless whatever the time of day or road conditions.

Lucky? you bet.

Lesson learned?
Why careless or reckless? VH often states that speeding is speeding...... no matter how fast. Unless there is an aggravating factor, then other offences may be considered for prosecution - in this case there is nothing to suggest that.

???
(different in the soviet republic of Scotland however)

poo at Paul's

14,619 posts

205 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
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Mr Gearchange said:
His reason for this being that 'we aren't all bds sir'




vsonix

3,865 posts

193 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
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Durzel

12,999 posts

198 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
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Thing is, it's just discretion. You're singing his praises because it went in your favour. The next guy he pulled he may have figured he'd doled out his share of advice that day, and chose instead to report for prosecution. By definition this "very nice policeman" isn't going to be giving out warnings to everyone he comes across.

I don't mean that as a criticism, of you or the Police, rather an observation. Discretion means things don't always go in your favour. When they don't the rationale is often just as valid as this was.

Sheepshanks

41,205 posts

149 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
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Mr Gearchange said:
I was very contrite and polite...
I bet they love that.

S. Gonzales Esq.

2,559 posts

242 months

Thursday 14th April 2016
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WD39 said:
I'm guessing that your speed was 90+ ?

In my estimation that has got to be careless / reckless whatever the time of day or road conditions.
Not sure if serious...

Black_S3

2,839 posts

218 months

Friday 15th April 2016
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Davidonly said:
VH often states that speeding is speeding......
This is exactly what happened when I met an absolute gent of a Police Officer.... Informative & realistic discussion about why I was being a idiot followed by a ticket of ''Motorway exceed 70''

Hats off to the bobby in the Silver Octavia VRS that got the black audi at 1XX+ by junction 21 of the M1 in Jan 2009

Mr Gearchange

Original Poster:

5,892 posts

236 months

Friday 15th April 2016
quotequote all
WD39 said:
I'm guessing that your speed was 90+ ?

In my estimation that has got to be careless / reckless whatever the time of day or road conditions.
Yes but you are just making wild assertions based on nothing whereas the experienced traffic officer was sharing the same peice of highway as me and decided that the best and most appropriate course of action was a freindly chat despite the fact that my speed was well in excess of the limit. I'm guessing that he used his experience as a policeman to arrive at a judgement that although the speed was high it wasn't causing any other harm. I do however appreciate how lucky I was here.

Durzel said:
Thing is, it's just discretion. You're singing his praises because it went in your favour. The next guy he pulled he may have figured he'd doled out his share of advice that day, and chose instead to report for prosecution. By definition this "very nice policeman" isn't going to be giving out warnings to everyone he comes across.

I don't mean that as a criticism, of you or the Police, rather an observation. Discretion means things don't always go in your favour. When they don't the rationale is often just as valid as this was.
True - but since I have been on the wrong end of some rather efficious policing in the past I thought it only fair to call out when i felt I was dealt with pragmatically and more than fairly. Again, I appreciate how lucky I was in this instance. I have no doubt that had my driving been in any way risky as far as the officer was concerned it would have been a very different roadside discussion.





4rephill

5,168 posts

208 months

Friday 15th April 2016
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Sheepshanks said:
Mr Gearchange said:
I was very contrite and polite...
I bet they love that.
So what do you suggest doing in that situation? Give the Officer a "couldn't give a scensoredt!" attitude, tell them to go fcensoredk themselves, then come on here belly-aching how they're all a bunch of wcensoreders because you've now got a driving ban?


Being polite, contrite, respectful and honest with Police Officers has saved Me from a driving ban on more than one occasion!

At the end of the day, if you've been pulled over by the Police, chances are it's because you were doing something wrong, not the Police, they're just people doing their job -It's nothing personal!

poo at Paul's

14,619 posts

205 months

Friday 15th April 2016
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I aint sayin nuffin wivaat my breef!

StottyEvo

6,860 posts

193 months

Friday 15th April 2016
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I read the title and thought "I bet they let him off for something hehe"

Well on the flip side, some very polite and nice police officers once confiscated and impounded my car irked

It was fair given the circumstances, top blokes too.

Sheepshanks

41,205 posts

149 months

Friday 15th April 2016
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StottyEvo said:
Well on the flip side, some very polite and nice police officers once confiscated and impounded my car irked
The policeman in N Wales who gave me a ticket for speeding was the personification of politeness. That was an unmarked car too and he done me good and proper - I'd seen him then he disappeared and trapped me later.

He messed up my clean (paper, so he could see it was clean) licence and my begging and pleading was spurned.

jogger1976

1,251 posts

156 months

Friday 15th April 2016
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I think it just depends on the circumstances.

I've come across some very rude, patronising officers. Such as the time I got a massive bking for stopping on the slip road of a motorway hard shoulder, despite the fact that the dashboard of my Fiesta was lit up like Blackpool illuminations and steam was pouring out of the bonnet. Bizarrely he didn't give me a ticket and took off like a stabbed rat on his BMW after reading me the riot act.confused

Yet one the two occasions that I've been issued with a ticket; once for a failed brake light and once for traversing the South Mimms roundabout rather too enthusiastically,the officers were polite, professional and actually quite understanding.

Them's the breaks.smile

Ryusen

4,727 posts

138 months

Friday 15th April 2016
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How can you overtake the car in front if your not going faster than they are?