5 Car Police Tail for 40 miles?
Discussion
Left my girlfriends house tonight on the motorbike, we currently live approximately 40 miles apart in different cities. The majority of the road between the two cities is dual carraigeway NSL and 3 sections of single carraigeway with 30/40 and 50mph limits.
Entering a roundabout to take me onto the dual carraigeway just outside of the city, I noticed a fully marked police Focus estate sitting in a lay-by. When I was approx 1/4 a mile from the roundabout I noticed he had started heading in my direction.
He followed me for approx 5 miles (I was cruising at 70mph), and then suddenly shot by at about 90mph without blues.
A mile or so later, I entered a second large roundabout, shortly after I noticed a pair of headlights in my mirrors fast approaching (I was again cruising at 70-75mph), only to back off to my speed once a reasonable following distance. He followed me for approx 10 miles. I thought it may well be the Police, so made sure I kept to 70mph, he was holding back at any roundabouts so I was unable to confirm at this point if it was indeed a plod car. Curiosity got the better of me (and I wanted to hoon!), so at the next large roundabout I circled it twice, which despite his backing off, allowed me to see it was a fully marked Mercedes traffic car with two coppers inside.
He continued to follow me for 2-3 miles, then turned off in another direction.
Mile or two up the road, and I notice a car pull out of a lay-by as soon as I pass it. The type of car rang bells (dark Skoda Octavia vRS) so I kept to 70mph. He followed me at a reasonable distance and, intrigued again, I repeated my trick at the next largest roundabout and ascertained that indeed it was an unmarked vehicle with two traffic officers inside.
This traffic car was joined by a marked Ford Focus upon entering a small costal town. Traffic car then dissapeared and I was closely followed by the Focus through the 50/40 and 30 limits. Once I got to the outskirts of this small town, the Focus peeled off.
No more than 2-3 miles later, I pick up a further tail in the shape of a fully marked V70 T5 traffic car at a dual carraigeway interchange. This car follows me the further 10-15 miles until I turn off into my village.
Surely this is more than coincidence? I often do this journey (In a car) at night and have only rarely seen a single police car, let alone five. The bike has only recently come off SORN having been stored for a number of years and insurance and MOT have only recently been carried out, hence I thought ANPR may have flagged the vehicle as being devoid of tax/insurance/MOT. But no attempt was made to stop me.
I'm not put out at all by the situation, except being robbed of a possible midnight hoon along some empty dual carraigeways in clear weather!
Any possible explaination? I crossed a county boundry in the course of the journey, and obviously had interest from both traffic units and 'beat bobbies'. I had only left my girlfriends house about a mile before I picked up the Focus and was keeping to the 30mph limits in the city whilst the bike was warming up.
Entering a roundabout to take me onto the dual carraigeway just outside of the city, I noticed a fully marked police Focus estate sitting in a lay-by. When I was approx 1/4 a mile from the roundabout I noticed he had started heading in my direction.
He followed me for approx 5 miles (I was cruising at 70mph), and then suddenly shot by at about 90mph without blues.
A mile or so later, I entered a second large roundabout, shortly after I noticed a pair of headlights in my mirrors fast approaching (I was again cruising at 70-75mph), only to back off to my speed once a reasonable following distance. He followed me for approx 10 miles. I thought it may well be the Police, so made sure I kept to 70mph, he was holding back at any roundabouts so I was unable to confirm at this point if it was indeed a plod car. Curiosity got the better of me (and I wanted to hoon!), so at the next large roundabout I circled it twice, which despite his backing off, allowed me to see it was a fully marked Mercedes traffic car with two coppers inside.
He continued to follow me for 2-3 miles, then turned off in another direction.
Mile or two up the road, and I notice a car pull out of a lay-by as soon as I pass it. The type of car rang bells (dark Skoda Octavia vRS) so I kept to 70mph. He followed me at a reasonable distance and, intrigued again, I repeated my trick at the next largest roundabout and ascertained that indeed it was an unmarked vehicle with two traffic officers inside.
This traffic car was joined by a marked Ford Focus upon entering a small costal town. Traffic car then dissapeared and I was closely followed by the Focus through the 50/40 and 30 limits. Once I got to the outskirts of this small town, the Focus peeled off.
No more than 2-3 miles later, I pick up a further tail in the shape of a fully marked V70 T5 traffic car at a dual carraigeway interchange. This car follows me the further 10-15 miles until I turn off into my village.
Surely this is more than coincidence? I often do this journey (In a car) at night and have only rarely seen a single police car, let alone five. The bike has only recently come off SORN having been stored for a number of years and insurance and MOT have only recently been carried out, hence I thought ANPR may have flagged the vehicle as being devoid of tax/insurance/MOT. But no attempt was made to stop me.
I'm not put out at all by the situation, except being robbed of a possible midnight hoon along some empty dual carraigeways in clear weather!
Any possible explaination? I crossed a county boundry in the course of the journey, and obviously had interest from both traffic units and 'beat bobbies'. I had only left my girlfriends house about a mile before I picked up the Focus and was keeping to the 30mph limits in the city whilst the bike was warming up.
tunku said:
I would have loved to have heard the radio what with your roundabout circling. 
Towards the end I was trying to provoke them into pulling me over. Still riding completely within the law, but in the last few miles I was sticking bang on the NSL on some very twisty country roads.
From my experience of driving many Volvo T5's on that road, he would have really had to work it around some of the corners to keep up with me, even sticking to the NSL. High speed cornering and tight bends are not a Volvo T5's forte!
Interesting call on the training possibility though, if they were trying to do an undercover tail they didn't do a very good job of it!
Not knowing much about this sort of thing, i am by no means an expert. It does sound like it could be a good set of "hooning" roads, so maybe they were just practising and using a motorist who was sticking all the speed limits to do so. I guess if a car failed to stop they would have to do all the same things as they did with you (ie handovers) to cross county lines.
All i can say is it's a good job you didn't break any laws, because you can bet all five of them would have been in on the action! Nice trick circling the roundabout, i will try that next time i'm being followed!
All i can say is it's a good job you didn't break any laws, because you can bet all five of them would have been in on the action! Nice trick circling the roundabout, i will try that next time i'm being followed!
had that once, pulled off some road and onto a track which is hard to see from the road, killed the engine....
waited and drove off, copper spotted me a while later and stuck to me like glue after doing u turn, was quite young and on a honda c70 that looks like a moped but is a motorbike
waited and drove off, copper spotted me a while later and stuck to me like glue after doing u turn, was quite young and on a honda c70 that looks like a moped but is a motorbike
MKH9130 said:
beyond rational said:
Maybe they suspected that once one a marked car had gone, you were going to hoon it?
In that case they suspected right!
Damn shame they interupted my hoonage
Maybe you've upset the girlfriend & she gave them a call after you left to let them know you were on the way.
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