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THIS THREAD HAS BEEN UPDATED AGAIN PLEASE SEE PAGE 3
Good morning all. I feel the following account of what happened to me yesterday evening is worthy of a post.
Please, may I advise the following - THIS IS NOT INTENDED AS A BIB BASH
Driving home at 11.45 last night behind a Mercedes SL500. Nice car. I picked it up at a set of traffic lights.
Over the next 3/4 mile, I observe its driver erratically crossing the centre lines of the road (40 mph limit town road).
I observe that in a hundred metres or so further there is an island in the middle of the road.
Sure enough, he hits it. Hard, not a clip with the sidewalls.
Both right front and right rear wheels look mildly buckled, both tyres flat.
Driver limps further along the road and pulls into a supermarket car park.
I pull in also, as driver parks up but stays in the car.
In my roofless Elise, I shout to him to ask if he's ok.....
The window winds down - "Just a couple of flat tyres" comes the reply.
The driver appears confused and groggy. I'm also miffed by the left hand drive / UK plates combo... anyway...
I drive off out of view and call 999.
Minutes later BIB arrive, 2 Octavia estates, and breathalyse the chap. He's several times over, and arrested on the spot.
Great! I'm filled with a sense of satisfaction, the police offer me sincere thanks and it was a pleasure to be able to assist the BIB in removing this drunken prat from our roads. I have little doubt that the prescence of a pedestrian on the traffic island would have made any difference, and am convinced that this guy could easily have killed.
So far, not a bad post, right? I'm sorry, but I need to bring up the following gripes.
The driver never exceeded 25 mph (according to Tomtom). A speed camera would not have registered this lunatic.
AND secondly...
Having got the job done, the BIB car sans prat drives off ahead of me as I make my way home.
Dual carriageway, brand new (opened last month) with all manner of barriers and great visibility, totally empty besides us.
50 mph limit imposed from the off. Absolutely daft.
BIB trundle off at what I estimate to have been 15 to 20 mph more than me, no lights, no sense of urgency.
My point, and further ones, present themselves.
Nothing really new here, but I thought it worthy of a post nevertheless...
Good morning all. I feel the following account of what happened to me yesterday evening is worthy of a post.
Please, may I advise the following - THIS IS NOT INTENDED AS A BIB BASH
Driving home at 11.45 last night behind a Mercedes SL500. Nice car. I picked it up at a set of traffic lights.
Over the next 3/4 mile, I observe its driver erratically crossing the centre lines of the road (40 mph limit town road).
I observe that in a hundred metres or so further there is an island in the middle of the road.
Sure enough, he hits it. Hard, not a clip with the sidewalls.
Both right front and right rear wheels look mildly buckled, both tyres flat.
Driver limps further along the road and pulls into a supermarket car park.
I pull in also, as driver parks up but stays in the car.
In my roofless Elise, I shout to him to ask if he's ok.....
The window winds down - "Just a couple of flat tyres" comes the reply.
The driver appears confused and groggy. I'm also miffed by the left hand drive / UK plates combo... anyway...
I drive off out of view and call 999.
Minutes later BIB arrive, 2 Octavia estates, and breathalyse the chap. He's several times over, and arrested on the spot.
Great! I'm filled with a sense of satisfaction, the police offer me sincere thanks and it was a pleasure to be able to assist the BIB in removing this drunken prat from our roads. I have little doubt that the prescence of a pedestrian on the traffic island would have made any difference, and am convinced that this guy could easily have killed.
So far, not a bad post, right? I'm sorry, but I need to bring up the following gripes.
The driver never exceeded 25 mph (according to Tomtom). A speed camera would not have registered this lunatic.
AND secondly...
Having got the job done, the BIB car sans prat drives off ahead of me as I make my way home.
Dual carriageway, brand new (opened last month) with all manner of barriers and great visibility, totally empty besides us.
50 mph limit imposed from the off. Absolutely daft.
BIB trundle off at what I estimate to have been 15 to 20 mph more than me, no lights, no sense of urgency.
My point, and further ones, present themselves.
Nothing really new here, but I thought it worthy of a post nevertheless...
Edited by jaykaybi on Monday 22 January 09:34
Edited by jaykaybi on Thursday 25th January 15:09
Edited by jaykaybi on Wednesday 31st January 13:03
herewego said:
If you can think of some way to modify a speed camera so it can catch drunks as well as speeders that would be great.
Police officers in police cars are free to drive at any speed they like. Speeding law does not apply.
Police officers in police cars are free to drive at any speed they like. Speeding law does not apply.
It applies unless the situation requires the extra speed.
Edited by Zod on Monday 22 January 10:19
jaykaybi said:
Having got the job done, the BIB car sans prat drives off ahead of me as I make my way home.
Dual carriageway, brand new (opened last month) with all manner of barriers and great visibility, totally empty besides us.
50 mph limit imposed from the off. Absolutely daft.
BIB trundle off at what I estimate to have been 15 to 20 mph more than me, no lights, no sense of urgency.
My problem isn't the (perfectly sensible) speed they drove off at. It's that other responsible, safety conscious drivers (i.e. me) would have been prosecuted for following this example, possibly by the very same BIB!
Essentially, the following may just as easily have ben true -
-- I might not have reported the drunk.
-- BIB might, by chance, have followed me along that dual carriageway. I might have been doing (what they have shown to be) a sensible, but illegal speed.
In which case the drunk (clearly dangerous) would be on the road, and I (safe even by BIB's example) would have been fined.
Edited by jaykaybi on Monday 22 January 10:41
ipsg.glf said:
herewego said:
Police officers in police cars are free to drive at any speed they like. Speeding law does not apply.
That is absolutely and totally inaccurate. Under SOME circumstances, they have exemptions.
Section 87, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984:
'No statutory provision imposing a speed limit ... shall apply to any
vehicle on an occasion when it is being used for fire brigade,
ambulance or police purposes, if the observation of that provision
would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose to
which it is being put at the time'.
Show me where it mentions the circumstances.
zumbruk said:
ipsg.glf said:
herewego said:
Police officers in police cars are free to drive at any speed they like. Speeding law does not apply.
That is absolutely and totally inaccurate. Under SOME circumstances, they have exemptions.
Section 87, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984:
'No statutory provision imposing a speed limit ... shall apply to any
vehicle on an occasion when it is being used for fire brigade,
ambulance or police purposes, if the observation of that provision
would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose to
which it is being put at the time'.
Show me where it mentions the circumstances.
May I remind you, there was no question that this BIB car was not in any hurry, please take that as fact.
In which case, please accept that obeying the law would not have been hindering the use of said vehicle.
Hollywood Wheels said:
Stop bloody whinging James! You did a top job, most people wouldn't have bothered, so major 
to you. BiB had a prompt response and also did a top job. Everybody happy. Now get back over to the Elise forum! 
to you. BiB had a prompt response and also did a top job. Everybody happy. Now get back over to the Elise forum! Hehe! Thanks HW! And may I remind you (and this thread) that I was chuffed to have helped the BIB do a top job and have no issues with their conduct.
zumbruk said:
ipsg.glf said:
herewego said:
Police officers in police cars are free to drive at any speed they like. Speeding law does not apply.
That is absolutely and totally inaccurate. Under SOME circumstances, they have exemptions.
Section 87, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984:
'No statutory provision imposing a speed limit ... shall apply to any
vehicle on an occasion when it is being used for fire brigade,
ambulance or police purposes, if the observation of that provision
would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose to
which it is being put at the time'.
Show me where it mentions the circumstances.
Going the speed limit in this case is not hindering the use of the vehicle for the purpose to which it was being put at that time. The enitre second half of the sentence is a circumstance.....
zumbruk said:
ipsg.glf said:
herewego said:
Police officers in police cars are free to drive at any speed they like. Speeding law does not apply.
That is absolutely and totally inaccurate. Under SOME circumstances, they have exemptions.
Section 87, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984:
'No statutory provision imposing a speed limit ... shall apply to any
vehicle on an occasion when it is being used for fire brigade,
ambulance or police purposes, if the observation of that provision
would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose to
which it is being put at the time'.
Show me where it mentions the circumstances.
The circumstances are that where the observation of that provision..... at the time.
jaykaybi said:
zumbruk said:
ipsg.glf said:
herewego said:
Police officers in police cars are free to drive at any speed they like. Speeding law does not apply.
That is absolutely and totally inaccurate. Under SOME circumstances, they have exemptions.
Section 87, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984:
'No statutory provision imposing a speed limit ... shall apply to any
vehicle on an occasion when it is being used for fire brigade,
ambulance or police purposes, if the observation of that provision
would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose to
which it is being put at the time'.
Show me where it mentions the circumstances.
May I remind you, there was no question that this BIB car was not in any hurry, please take that as fact.
In which case, please accept that obeying the law would not have been hindering the use of said vehicle.
Sorry, but it is not fact. It is merely your opinion. They may have received a job on the radio. Obviously you wouldn't know that.
ipsg.glf said:
jaykaybi said:
zumbruk said:
ipsg.glf said:
herewego said:
Police officers in police cars are free to drive at any speed they like. Speeding law does not apply.
That is absolutely and totally inaccurate. Under SOME circumstances, they have exemptions.
Section 87, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984:
'No statutory provision imposing a speed limit ... shall apply to any
vehicle on an occasion when it is being used for fire brigade,
ambulance or police purposes, if the observation of that provision
would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose to
which it is being put at the time'.
Show me where it mentions the circumstances.
May I remind you, there was no question that this BIB car was not in any hurry, please take that as fact.
In which case, please accept that obeying the law would not have been hindering the use of said vehicle.
Sorry, but it is not fact. It is merely your opinion. They may have received a job on the radio. Obviously you wouldn't know that.
My apologies - your argument holds some weight, but I have neglected to mention that at the end of the duel carriageway there is a traffic light controlled roundabout, at which the BIB observed the red light. I'm sorry that I failed to mention this previously.
jaykaybi said:
ipsg.glf said:
jaykaybi said:
zumbruk said:
ipsg.glf said:
herewego said:
Police officers in police cars are free to drive at any speed they like. Speeding law does not apply.
That is absolutely and totally inaccurate. Under SOME circumstances, they have exemptions.
Section 87, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984:
'No statutory provision imposing a speed limit ... shall apply to any
vehicle on an occasion when it is being used for fire brigade,
ambulance or police purposes, if the observation of that provision
would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose to
which it is being put at the time'.
Show me where it mentions the circumstances.
May I remind you, there was no question that this BIB car was not in any hurry, please take that as fact.
In which case, please accept that obeying the law would not have been hindering the use of said vehicle.
Sorry, but it is not fact. It is merely your opinion. They may have received a job on the radio. Obviously you wouldn't know that.
My apologies - your argument holds some weight, but I have neglected to mention that at the end of the duel carriageway there is a traffic light controlled roundabout, at which the BIB observed the red light. I'm sorry that I failed to mention this previously.
The call may have got cancelled in the meantime. They may have felt that it wasn't necessary to make use of that particular exemption.
I do find it a sad reflection that after having dealt with the drunk as per your wishes, you then seek to castigate them.
Vehicles being used for police purposes have certain exemptions:
speed limits
trear red light as give way
off-side a keep left barrier
The sooner people fully understand this, the better.
jaykaybi said:
Good morning all. Please, may I advise the following - THIS IS NOT INTENDED AS A BIB BASH.
jaykaybi said:
... may I remind you (and this thread) that I was chuffed to have helped the BIB do a top job and have no issues with their conduct.
jaykaybi said:
My problem isn't the (perfectly sensible) speed they drove off at. It's that other responsible, safety conscious drivers (i.e. me) would have been prosecuted for following this example, possibly by the very same BIB!
Essentially, the following may just as easily have ben true -
-- I might not have reported the drunk.
-- BIB might, by chance, have followed me along that dual carriageway. I might have been doing (what they have shown to be) a sensible, but illegal speed.
In which case the drunk (clearly dangerous) would be on the road, and I (safe even by BIB's example) would have been fined.
and
ipsg.glf said:
I do find it a sad reflection that after having dealt with the drunk as per your wishes, you then seek to castigate them.
- 
Traffic law inconsistency with particular regard to safety and speeding policy -
P.S the BIB were not dealing with the drunk as per my wishes.
I hope you understand that you might have known the person that prat could have gone on to kill.
Edited by jaykaybi on Monday 22 January 13:57
gridgway said:
where was the drunk pratt all this time? I'm a bit confused by the story.
Graham
Graham
Initially, driving in front of me.
Then he had his accident.
Then he parked up in a supermarket car park, where I asked if he was ok before calling BIB (out of his view).
Then BIB came to arrest him in the car park.
ipsg.glf said:
herewego said:
Police officers in police cars are free to drive at any speed they like. Speeding law does not apply.
That is absolutely and totally inaccurate. Under SOME circumstances, they have exemptions.
I guess he's talking about real life, where Police Officers are untroubled by laws (especially exceeding the speed limit and dodgy parking) that everyone else is supposed to obey.
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