Following a 'speeding police car'
Discussion
When a police car passes me without the blues and twos on and I’m doing the legal limit I usually simply slip in behind at a safe distance and follow at the same speed [can be up to an indicated 85-90mph!!]. The theory being he’s an officer of the law, he isn’t attending an emergency call and therefore by default isn’t speeding.
I do this regularly where possible [yesterday evening on the M62 West-bound carriageway for instance] but thought I’d ask the question regarding legality…What would happen if I got pulled? What should I say? Can the officer legally speed without the sirens/lights on?
I do this regularly where possible [yesterday evening on the M62 West-bound carriageway for instance] but thought I’d ask the question regarding legality…What would happen if I got pulled? What should I say? Can the officer legally speed without the sirens/lights on?
John Laverick said:
When a police car passes me without the blues and twos on and I’m doing the legal limit I usually simply slip in behind at a safe distance and follow at the same speed [can be up to an indicated 85-90mph!!]. The theory being he’s an officer of the law, he isn’t attending an emergency call and therefore by default isn’t speeding.
I do this regularly where possible [yesterday evening on the M62 West-bound carriageway for instance] but thought I’d ask the question regarding legality…What would happen if I got pulled? What should I say? Can the officer legally speed without the sirens/lights on?
I do this regularly where possible [yesterday evening on the M62 West-bound carriageway for instance] but thought I’d ask the question regarding legality…What would happen if I got pulled? What should I say? Can the officer legally speed without the sirens/lights on?
Did you seriously ask this question?
Why would it be any less illegal to speed behind a police car?
Unless you are an emergency services driver yourself, you would be breaking the law, and as VH, subject to being "nicked".
tvrgit said:
I think it's covered by the section of the Road Traffic Act that says "Don't take the f***ing p*ss".
It's a well known fact that police don't speed .
Which brings to the bit about "faulty " cameras - if police don't speed and get flashed by cameras, and no action is taken (proving that they were in fact not speeding) ,then there's a lot of faulty cameras out there
supermono said:
It's the damned ambulances on a shout that get on my tits. I was once held up for about 10 miles of the A11 at about 90 (flat out for the ambulance) in the small hours. Even though the road was clear he was in the fast lane all that way.
SM
SM
So you were stuck doing 90 behind an ambulance for nearly seven minutes. In the all time top ten of frustrating journeys it's not too near the top is it really? Could the driver not have been trying to avoid wobbling the person in the back around to much by changing lanes just to allow you to go a bit faster?
supermono said:
It's the damned ambulances on a shout that get on my tits. I was once held up for about 10 miles of the A11 at about 90 (flat out for the ambulance) in the small hours. Even though the road was clear he was in the fast lane all that way.
SM
SM
I seem to remember reading in a thread far far away, a long long time ago, that the emergency services drivers are trained to sit in the "fast" lane when on an emergency call. Something to do with this being the safest place to be for themselves and other road users, something which I did question at the time, but I seem to remember that the explanation made some sense. I'm sure a BiB will be along shortly to clarify.
supermono said:
It's the damned ambulances on a shout that get on my tits. I was once held up for about 10 miles of the A11 at about 90 (flat out for the ambulance) in the small hours. Even though the road was clear he was in the fast lane all that way.
SM
SM
Supermono,
There is no such thing as the 'fast lane.' On the motorway system the nearside lane is NOT the 'slow lane,' it is called LANE 1. The middle lane is called LANE 2. Guess what the 'fast lane,' is called? This term shows the paucity of knowledge amongst MOP when it comes to m'ways.Mnay simply don't have an igloo. They associate lane 3 as the 'fast lane.' They associate lane 2 as the lane to stubbornly sit in & refuse to move over to allow faster moving traffic through-thereby causing lane 3 to become saturated-causing congestion. I regularly use the M57 m'way to reach different parts of my beat area in Knowsley. No matter what the time of day, 3pm, or 3am-(empty m'way)-lane 2 always has it's resident buffoon hogging the lane & refusing to pull into the nearside. My favourite trick is to pull along on their nearside & give them a Paddington Bear stir....They usually wake up then and shrink into their driver's seat!
The sheer ignorance of the public when it comes to m'ways never ceases to amaze me. The misuse of the system causes much congestion. IMHO motorway driving should be taught & tested as part of the driving test.
Cheers,
Ped
John Laverick said:
Right I better slow down then!!
I honestly though they had to have there sirens and lights on and weren’t allowed to speed willy nilly!! Must have been a urban myth I heard somewhere!!
I honestly though they had to have there sirens and lights on and weren’t allowed to speed willy nilly!! Must have been a urban myth I heard somewhere!!
Regardless of what they are doing does that make it OK for you to break the law? andmole said:
I seem to remember reading in a thread far far away, a long long time ago, that the emergency services drivers are trained to sit in the "fast" lane when on an emergency call. Something to do with this being the safest place to be for themselves and other road users, something which I did question at the time, but I seem to remember that the explanation made some sense. I'm sure a BiB will be along shortly to clarify.
Perhaps it makes it easier for other drivers to give way to emergency vehicles by moving into a lane on the left, whilst at the same time keeping themselve clear of merging traffic when passing junctions. Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff