My experience of getting pulled over (again)
Discussion
To preface this, I live near some NSL roads and have a history of noisy cars. About a week ago, whilst out Christmas shopping, I came back to my car to find my numberplate surrounds snapped and my numberplates missing. Obviously I reported it to 101.
Earlier tonight I was driving to visit my parents and had already been out to see some friends. Living somewhere quite rural (for Greater London), the police are quite hot on people drink driving, especially around this time of year.
Anyway, I was stuck behind a car driven by someone belonging to the 40mph everywhere brigade, and when the opportunity arose, I overtook fairly swiftly. Must have hit about 64mph (indicated) in a 60mph zone. I was driving a modified C63 with a rather noisy exhaust.
The subsequent piece of road is quite twisy and at 60mph is quite fun to drive down. However as I came up to the next 30 limit at a roundabout, I noticed the headlights behind me weren't of a Fiat 500 (the car I'd overtaken), or the 4x4 that was previously behind me. A glimpse from the headlights of a car going the other way made my heart sink a bit. Something white with what looked like a lightbar on the roof.
The officer followed me for about 5 minutes until we got to a wider piece of road, at which point he hit the blues and twos. I kind of knew it was coming so had already picked out somewhere safe to stop. Amusingly the car in front of me, who'd joined at the roundabout, also hit the brakes and stopped dead centre in the middle of the road, so I technically undertook them whilst pulling up into the layby just ahead.
Seeing the Fiat 500 I'd previously overtaken amble past was annoying.
The officer was polite, offering his reason for pulling me over straight away. I'd already got my licence out and handed it to him straight away, and his initial reasoning honestly made me go on Google Maps once I got to my parents' house. He said that I'd overtaken exuberantly, which was fair, but I'd started my overtake before the NSL sign. I drive down that road nearly every day and I guess had become accustomed to turning a corner and going up to 60, rather than waiting for the limit to change about 30 metres down the road. I offered a reasoning of "think I was a bit too keen on that overtake then" which the officer found amusing and agreed with.
I was at the side of the road for no more than 10 minutes, the officer had a nose around my car before asking if it was mine and where I was going. I confirmed it was my car, had my insurance certificate ready to present (I assumed he was going to ask if I'd declared my modifications, which I obviously have done) - he didn't want to see my insurance cert - and told him I was on my way to visit my old folks.
He also asked me if I was "known to the police" - I told him that yes, I was arrested once when I was 16 so the PNC may still have me listed as having long hair, and I now have a 0.5 buzzcut. He thanked me and, reading between the lines, it sounded like that was another "attitude test" piece used to ascertain someone's honesty.
He then asked me "would your car be known to the police for any reason, for example anything recently?"
I told him that I'd had my numberplates stolen, which is why it probably had a marker on it. He was happy enough and said "great, we're on the same page" and then told me that he was 6 cars behind me but with an exhaust as noisy as mine, to perhaps pick my overtaking spots and gear choices better. He also gave me a little insight in that my plates being stolen were most likely used to evade ULEZ cameras. The days of bilking etc are relatively uncommon compared to how many plates are cloned and the recipient cars driven completely legally in/out of the ULEZ catchment area, which a camera could never catch. Funnily enough what he told me was almost identical to the garage I used to make up a replacement set of plates.
To summarise, fair pull, if for nothing else than to remind me not to get complacent with speed limits on roads I drive down every day, and whilst I don't take the piss with a noisy Merc in built-up areas, it's still loud enough to draw attention from a police car quite far behind me.
As a side note, coincidentally just after I overtook the Fiat, I drove past a car stopped in the opposite carriageway with another police car behind it. As I was on a single NSL carriageway I flashed my headlights at two drivers coming towards me. The officer mentioned the "RA" (I assume road accident?) but made no mention of my headlight flashing. I assume he didn't see a problem with my actions there, even though one could argue that flashing high beams for 0.2 seconds is dazzling to oncoming road users.
Anyway, just thought I'd share. Flame suit on but I just wanted to share an account of reasonable policing and what I hope is the right thing to do when pulled over.
Earlier tonight I was driving to visit my parents and had already been out to see some friends. Living somewhere quite rural (for Greater London), the police are quite hot on people drink driving, especially around this time of year.
Anyway, I was stuck behind a car driven by someone belonging to the 40mph everywhere brigade, and when the opportunity arose, I overtook fairly swiftly. Must have hit about 64mph (indicated) in a 60mph zone. I was driving a modified C63 with a rather noisy exhaust.
The subsequent piece of road is quite twisy and at 60mph is quite fun to drive down. However as I came up to the next 30 limit at a roundabout, I noticed the headlights behind me weren't of a Fiat 500 (the car I'd overtaken), or the 4x4 that was previously behind me. A glimpse from the headlights of a car going the other way made my heart sink a bit. Something white with what looked like a lightbar on the roof.
The officer followed me for about 5 minutes until we got to a wider piece of road, at which point he hit the blues and twos. I kind of knew it was coming so had already picked out somewhere safe to stop. Amusingly the car in front of me, who'd joined at the roundabout, also hit the brakes and stopped dead centre in the middle of the road, so I technically undertook them whilst pulling up into the layby just ahead.
Seeing the Fiat 500 I'd previously overtaken amble past was annoying.
The officer was polite, offering his reason for pulling me over straight away. I'd already got my licence out and handed it to him straight away, and his initial reasoning honestly made me go on Google Maps once I got to my parents' house. He said that I'd overtaken exuberantly, which was fair, but I'd started my overtake before the NSL sign. I drive down that road nearly every day and I guess had become accustomed to turning a corner and going up to 60, rather than waiting for the limit to change about 30 metres down the road. I offered a reasoning of "think I was a bit too keen on that overtake then" which the officer found amusing and agreed with.
I was at the side of the road for no more than 10 minutes, the officer had a nose around my car before asking if it was mine and where I was going. I confirmed it was my car, had my insurance certificate ready to present (I assumed he was going to ask if I'd declared my modifications, which I obviously have done) - he didn't want to see my insurance cert - and told him I was on my way to visit my old folks.
He also asked me if I was "known to the police" - I told him that yes, I was arrested once when I was 16 so the PNC may still have me listed as having long hair, and I now have a 0.5 buzzcut. He thanked me and, reading between the lines, it sounded like that was another "attitude test" piece used to ascertain someone's honesty.
He then asked me "would your car be known to the police for any reason, for example anything recently?"
I told him that I'd had my numberplates stolen, which is why it probably had a marker on it. He was happy enough and said "great, we're on the same page" and then told me that he was 6 cars behind me but with an exhaust as noisy as mine, to perhaps pick my overtaking spots and gear choices better. He also gave me a little insight in that my plates being stolen were most likely used to evade ULEZ cameras. The days of bilking etc are relatively uncommon compared to how many plates are cloned and the recipient cars driven completely legally in/out of the ULEZ catchment area, which a camera could never catch. Funnily enough what he told me was almost identical to the garage I used to make up a replacement set of plates.
To summarise, fair pull, if for nothing else than to remind me not to get complacent with speed limits on roads I drive down every day, and whilst I don't take the piss with a noisy Merc in built-up areas, it's still loud enough to draw attention from a police car quite far behind me.
As a side note, coincidentally just after I overtook the Fiat, I drove past a car stopped in the opposite carriageway with another police car behind it. As I was on a single NSL carriageway I flashed my headlights at two drivers coming towards me. The officer mentioned the "RA" (I assume road accident?) but made no mention of my headlight flashing. I assume he didn't see a problem with my actions there, even though one could argue that flashing high beams for 0.2 seconds is dazzling to oncoming road users.
Anyway, just thought I'd share. Flame suit on but I just wanted to share an account of reasonable policing and what I hope is the right thing to do when pulled over.
Second Best said:
To preface this, I live near some NSL roads and have a history of noisy cars. About a week ago, whilst out Christmas shopping, I came back to my car to find my numberplate surrounds snapped and my numberplates missing. Obviously I reported it to 101.
Earlier tonight I was driving to visit my parents and had already been out to see some friends. Living somewhere quite rural (for Greater London), the police are quite hot on people drink driving, especially around this time of year.
Anyway, I was stuck behind a car driven by someone belonging to the 40mph everywhere brigade, and when the opportunity arose, I overtook fairly swiftly. Must have hit about 64mph (indicated) in a 60mph zone. I was driving a modified C63 with a rather noisy exhaust.
The subsequent piece of road is quite twisy and at 60mph is quite fun to drive down. However as I came up to the next 30 limit at a roundabout, I noticed the headlights behind me weren't of a Fiat 500 (the car I'd overtaken), or the 4x4 that was previously behind me. A glimpse from the headlights of a car going the other way made my heart sink a bit. Something white with what looked like a lightbar on the roof.
The officer followed me for about 5 minutes until we got to a wider piece of road, at which point he hit the blues and twos. I kind of knew it was coming so had already picked out somewhere safe to stop. Amusingly the car in front of me, who'd joined at the roundabout, also hit the brakes and stopped dead centre in the middle of the road, so I technically undertook them whilst pulling up into the layby just ahead.
Seeing the Fiat 500 I'd previously overtaken amble past was annoying.
The officer was polite, offering his reason for pulling me over straight away. I'd already got my licence out and handed it to him straight away, and his initial reasoning honestly made me go on Google Maps once I got to my parents' house. He said that I'd overtaken exuberantly, which was fair, but I'd started my overtake before the NSL sign. I drive down that road nearly every day and I guess had become accustomed to turning a corner and going up to 60, rather than waiting for the limit to change about 30 metres down the road. I offered a reasoning of "think I was a bit too keen on that overtake then" which the officer found amusing and agreed with.
I was at the side of the road for no more than 10 minutes, the officer had a nose around my car before asking if it was mine and where I was going. I confirmed it was my car, had my insurance certificate ready to present (I assumed he was going to ask if I'd declared my modifications, which I obviously have done) - he didn't want to see my insurance cert - and told him I was on my way to visit my old folks.
He also asked me if I was "known to the police" - I told him that yes, I was arrested once when I was 16 so the PNC may still have me listed as having long hair, and I now have a 0.5 buzzcut. He thanked me and, reading between the lines, it sounded like that was another "attitude test" piece used to ascertain someone's honesty.
He then asked me "would your car be known to the police for any reason, for example anything recently?"
I told him that I'd had my numberplates stolen, which is why it probably had a marker on it. He was happy enough and said "great, we're on the same page" and then told me that he was 6 cars behind me but with an exhaust as noisy as mine, to perhaps pick my overtaking spots and gear choices better. He also gave me a little insight in that my plates being stolen were most likely used to evade ULEZ cameras. The days of bilking etc are relatively uncommon compared to how many plates are cloned and the recipient cars driven completely legally in/out of the ULEZ catchment area, which a camera could never catch. Funnily enough what he told me was almost identical to the garage I used to make up a replacement set of plates.
To summarise, fair pull, if for nothing else than to remind me not to get complacent with speed limits on roads I drive down every day, and whilst I don't take the piss with a noisy Merc in built-up areas, it's still loud enough to draw attention from a police car quite far behind me.
As a side note, coincidentally just after I overtook the Fiat, I drove past a car stopped in the opposite carriageway with another police car behind it. As I was on a single NSL carriageway I flashed my headlights at two drivers coming towards me. The officer mentioned the "RA" (I assume road accident?) but made no mention of my headlight flashing. I assume he didn't see a problem with my actions there, even though one could argue that flashing high beams for 0.2 seconds is dazzling to oncoming road users.
Anyway, just thought I'd share. Flame suit on but I just wanted to share an account of reasonable policing and what I hope is the right thing to do when pulled over.
Christmas gold!Earlier tonight I was driving to visit my parents and had already been out to see some friends. Living somewhere quite rural (for Greater London), the police are quite hot on people drink driving, especially around this time of year.
Anyway, I was stuck behind a car driven by someone belonging to the 40mph everywhere brigade, and when the opportunity arose, I overtook fairly swiftly. Must have hit about 64mph (indicated) in a 60mph zone. I was driving a modified C63 with a rather noisy exhaust.
The subsequent piece of road is quite twisy and at 60mph is quite fun to drive down. However as I came up to the next 30 limit at a roundabout, I noticed the headlights behind me weren't of a Fiat 500 (the car I'd overtaken), or the 4x4 that was previously behind me. A glimpse from the headlights of a car going the other way made my heart sink a bit. Something white with what looked like a lightbar on the roof.
The officer followed me for about 5 minutes until we got to a wider piece of road, at which point he hit the blues and twos. I kind of knew it was coming so had already picked out somewhere safe to stop. Amusingly the car in front of me, who'd joined at the roundabout, also hit the brakes and stopped dead centre in the middle of the road, so I technically undertook them whilst pulling up into the layby just ahead.
Seeing the Fiat 500 I'd previously overtaken amble past was annoying.
The officer was polite, offering his reason for pulling me over straight away. I'd already got my licence out and handed it to him straight away, and his initial reasoning honestly made me go on Google Maps once I got to my parents' house. He said that I'd overtaken exuberantly, which was fair, but I'd started my overtake before the NSL sign. I drive down that road nearly every day and I guess had become accustomed to turning a corner and going up to 60, rather than waiting for the limit to change about 30 metres down the road. I offered a reasoning of "think I was a bit too keen on that overtake then" which the officer found amusing and agreed with.
I was at the side of the road for no more than 10 minutes, the officer had a nose around my car before asking if it was mine and where I was going. I confirmed it was my car, had my insurance certificate ready to present (I assumed he was going to ask if I'd declared my modifications, which I obviously have done) - he didn't want to see my insurance cert - and told him I was on my way to visit my old folks.
He also asked me if I was "known to the police" - I told him that yes, I was arrested once when I was 16 so the PNC may still have me listed as having long hair, and I now have a 0.5 buzzcut. He thanked me and, reading between the lines, it sounded like that was another "attitude test" piece used to ascertain someone's honesty.
He then asked me "would your car be known to the police for any reason, for example anything recently?"
I told him that I'd had my numberplates stolen, which is why it probably had a marker on it. He was happy enough and said "great, we're on the same page" and then told me that he was 6 cars behind me but with an exhaust as noisy as mine, to perhaps pick my overtaking spots and gear choices better. He also gave me a little insight in that my plates being stolen were most likely used to evade ULEZ cameras. The days of bilking etc are relatively uncommon compared to how many plates are cloned and the recipient cars driven completely legally in/out of the ULEZ catchment area, which a camera could never catch. Funnily enough what he told me was almost identical to the garage I used to make up a replacement set of plates.
To summarise, fair pull, if for nothing else than to remind me not to get complacent with speed limits on roads I drive down every day, and whilst I don't take the piss with a noisy Merc in built-up areas, it's still loud enough to draw attention from a police car quite far behind me.
As a side note, coincidentally just after I overtook the Fiat, I drove past a car stopped in the opposite carriageway with another police car behind it. As I was on a single NSL carriageway I flashed my headlights at two drivers coming towards me. The officer mentioned the "RA" (I assume road accident?) but made no mention of my headlight flashing. I assume he didn't see a problem with my actions there, even though one could argue that flashing high beams for 0.2 seconds is dazzling to oncoming road users.
Anyway, just thought I'd share. Flame suit on but I just wanted to share an account of reasonable policing and what I hope is the right thing to do when pulled over.
I think over time we have all had good and bad police experiences. Most of mine are bad,
But some have been good, like the guy who followed me for a while came up alongside, and finally stopped me before getting on a motorway as I was not wearing a seatbelt, this was a long time ago, and for some reason I was being a jerk about wearing it, he only gave me a producer when he could have been much more severe.
Or the guys who have stopped you for a headlight or tail light and just asked you to get it fixed.
But also been stopped by some real jobsworth knows and been treated badly by plod who are just having a bad day!
But some have been good, like the guy who followed me for a while came up alongside, and finally stopped me before getting on a motorway as I was not wearing a seatbelt, this was a long time ago, and for some reason I was being a jerk about wearing it, he only gave me a producer when he could have been much more severe.
Or the guys who have stopped you for a headlight or tail light and just asked you to get it fixed.
But also been stopped by some real jobsworth knows and been treated badly by plod who are just having a bad day!
OP - Good to hear.
Cops on Patrol have *so* much more information available to them now prior to stopping most vehicles, albeit there is clearly skill in identifying what might be a concern.
The "Attitude Test" is a very simple way of putting it, but Cops are exposed to people who lie/conceal what they are really up to, and a low-IQ solution to hiding offending is often to give it some attitude in the hope they can intimidate the Cop into not seeing the reality.
My brother is a Police Officer, working in the neighbouring force area to where he lives - he used to get stopped regularly on his way home late at night and not once told the Officers stopping him what he did for a living ("I work in an Office" was his stock phrase, I believe). He found it a fascinating insight.
Cops on Patrol have *so* much more information available to them now prior to stopping most vehicles, albeit there is clearly skill in identifying what might be a concern.
The "Attitude Test" is a very simple way of putting it, but Cops are exposed to people who lie/conceal what they are really up to, and a low-IQ solution to hiding offending is often to give it some attitude in the hope they can intimidate the Cop into not seeing the reality.
My brother is a Police Officer, working in the neighbouring force area to where he lives - he used to get stopped regularly on his way home late at night and not once told the Officers stopping him what he did for a living ("I work in an Office" was his stock phrase, I believe). He found it a fascinating insight.
Driving in London last night I spotted a mk1 TT and the number plate had been altered with black tape to look 10 years newer by changing it from a 55 to a 65.
I wondered at the time why someone would do that but now I realise it’s to evade the ulez charges so thank you OP for answering a question that’s been lingering in my head
I wondered at the time why someone would do that but now I realise it’s to evade the ulez charges so thank you OP for answering a question that’s been lingering in my head
iDrive said:
My brother is a Police Officer, working in the neighbouring force area to where he lives - he used to get stopped regularly on his way home late at night and not once told the Officers stopping him what he did for a living ("I work in an Office" was his stock phrase, I believe). He found it a fascinating insight.
I'd like to hear some of those insights! fooman said:
iDrive said:
My brother is a Police Officer, working in the neighbouring force area to where he lives - he used to get stopped regularly on his way home late at night and not once told the Officers stopping him what he did for a living ("I work in an Office" was his stock phrase, I believe). He found it a fascinating insight.
I'd like to hear some of those insights! Nemophilist said:
Driving in London last night I spotted a mk1 TT and the number plate had been altered with black tape to look 10 years newer by changing it from a 55 to a 65.
I wondered at the time why someone would do that but now I realise it’s to evade the ulez charges so thank you OP for answering a question that’s been lingering in my head
Are the ULEZ cameras high enough resolution to show this alteration by tape ? I wonder if there is any AI software running behind the scenes looking for discrepancies between a plate and the vehicle it is on ? E.g. a MK1 TT on a 65 plate is worth flagging given that this is late MK2 early MK3 territory. A MK1 eyeball then has to confirm the AI's findings before it's officially flagged on the PNC. Plod will take dim view of alterations like this but they are massively resource stretched and catching those dodgy plates to evade ULEZ won't be at the top of the list I wondered at the time why someone would do that but now I realise it’s to evade the ulez charges so thank you OP for answering a question that’s been lingering in my head
fooman said:
iDrive said:
My brother is a Police Officer, working in the neighbouring force area to where he lives - he used to get stopped regularly on his way home late at night and not once told the Officers stopping him what he did for a living ("I work in an Office" was his stock phrase, I believe). He found it a fascinating insight.
I'd like to hear some of those insights! Being searched on the basis that the Officer could smell cannabis (that was some time ago) - He had been working in an environment where there was cannabis and only mildly surprised that they could smell it on his clothing (for the avoidance of doubt - He believed they could, it was just that he couldn't as he'd been accustomed to the environment, and when sat in the confined space of a Police car it no doubt honked..)
Swift but professional dealing when it was clear to Officers that there was nothing more for them to investigate.
Signs that Officers had "done the checks" on his car before stopping him - conversely, others who hadn't.
Body Worn Cameras - often switched on, but not always (see first point).
"Tricks of the trade" - nothing untoward, just spotting the Officers with Street Skills.
popeyewhite said:
Second Best said:
T
I'd already got my licence out
Why?I'd already got my licence out
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