Bizarre behaviour from a Police Officer
Discussion
This si not inented to give anyone the opportunity have a pop at police in general etc etc ect but for me to try and understand why a police office might do the following that I saw today;
This afternoon travelling south on the M40 a Marked Vectra (V6 Turbo) with a single officer in pulled onto the Motorway no blue lights or anything at Junction 11.
Any cars which were travelling south duly slowed to the posted speed limit.
Police car then proceeded to "make progress" driving between 80 and 90mph all the way down to Junction 5 (35 miles) with a queue of cars behind pretty much matching his speed.
When he got to Junction 5 he left the motorway and turned right and right again to go back onto the M40 northbound.
Now I'm used to seeing police patrolling and they usually do so at about 60mph in the inside lane, he could have been going to an incident between junction 5 & 6 on the north bound but there was none.
Even now after a few hours reflection I still can't fathom the reason and I'm sure there must be one.
This afternoon travelling south on the M40 a Marked Vectra (V6 Turbo) with a single officer in pulled onto the Motorway no blue lights or anything at Junction 11.
Any cars which were travelling south duly slowed to the posted speed limit.
Police car then proceeded to "make progress" driving between 80 and 90mph all the way down to Junction 5 (35 miles) with a queue of cars behind pretty much matching his speed.
When he got to Junction 5 he left the motorway and turned right and right again to go back onto the M40 northbound.
Now I'm used to seeing police patrolling and they usually do so at about 60mph in the inside lane, he could have been going to an incident between junction 5 & 6 on the north bound but there was none.
Even now after a few hours reflection I still can't fathom the reason and I'm sure there must be one.
Making progression to have a look at vehicles ahead? Making his way to a non-urgent incident but one that requires prompt attention. Needs to be at a location for a set time (operation). Taking the car for a check run after its been in for repair. Could be a number of reasons to be honest. Urgent duty driving is not the same as just going faster than the posted limit. Urgent duty driving is normally with lights/sirens (but not always) and will involve red lights/ wrong side of bollards etc. I will often make progression in spurts on the motorway or on roads to have a look at cars ahead in relation to any offences.
Mr_annie_vxr said:
Making progression
That made me laugh. I remember watching one of the first fly-on-the-wall documentaries about the police more than a couple of years ago. The camera crew were in a van with a load of BiB in riot gear. The driver was obviously chosen for his size not brains, was on his best behaviour and minding his p's and q's. On reaching some congestion he asked in posh cockney "Shall hai make prohgression Sarge?".You had to be there I suppose.
so are police allowed to break speed limits to check if cars ahead are breaking the speed limits. Seems a bit silly to break the limit at all unless its an emergency.
And as for having to be somwhere for a certain time (operation) that just sounds weak. Sorry but he should have set off sooner. A friend of mine was late for his flight to iraq cos he'd been on guard duty and had to hand a drunk over to civvy BiB before he could leave. Got pulled doing 90ish on his way to pick up his kit for his flight. He explained to the policeman but got his ticket anyway.
And as for having to be somwhere for a certain time (operation) that just sounds weak. Sorry but he should have set off sooner. A friend of mine was late for his flight to iraq cos he'd been on guard duty and had to hand a drunk over to civvy BiB before he could leave. Got pulled doing 90ish on his way to pick up his kit for his flight. He explained to the policeman but got his ticket anyway.
definitive answer here...
As a police officer in the force that covers the place you mention the reason is pretty boring but is the M40 from the border with Warwickshire down to J5 is covered by the roads policing base in Bicester. J5 south is Aylesbury. So he turned round as its the end of his patch.
As for the speed, well, have you seen the queue behind the patrol car when we stick to 70?? And remember on a calibrated speedo it will have only been a touch over.
As a police officer in the force that covers the place you mention the reason is pretty boring but is the M40 from the border with Warwickshire down to J5 is covered by the roads policing base in Bicester. J5 south is Aylesbury. So he turned round as its the end of his patch.
As for the speed, well, have you seen the queue behind the patrol car when we stick to 70?? And remember on a calibrated speedo it will have only been a touch over.
cj-sharpy said:
so are police allowed to break speed limits to check if cars ahead are breaking the speed limits. Seems a bit silly to break the limit at all unless its an emergency.
And as for having to be somwhere for a certain time (operation) that just sounds weak. Sorry but he should have set off sooner. A friend of mine was late for his flight to iraq cos he'd been on guard duty and had to hand a drunk over to civvy BiB before he could leave. Got pulled doing 90ish on his way to pick up his kit for his flight. He explained to the policeman but got his ticket anyway.
They can break the limit where sticking to it would unnecessarily hinder them in performing the role they were carrying out at that time, provided that role is for a Police purpose. And as for having to be somwhere for a certain time (operation) that just sounds weak. Sorry but he should have set off sooner. A friend of mine was late for his flight to iraq cos he'd been on guard duty and had to hand a drunk over to civvy BiB before he could leave. Got pulled doing 90ish on his way to pick up his kit for his flight. He explained to the policeman but got his ticket anyway.
Your friend didn't have an exemption, whether he was prosecuted or not was at the discretion of the Police officer.
vonhosen said:
cj-sharpy said:
so are police allowed to break speed limits to check if cars ahead are breaking the speed limits. Seems a bit silly to break the limit at all unless its an emergency.
And as for having to be somwhere for a certain time (operation) that just sounds weak. Sorry but he should have set off sooner. A friend of mine was late for his flight to iraq cos he'd been on guard duty and had to hand a drunk over to civvy BiB before he could leave. Got pulled doing 90ish on his way to pick up his kit for his flight. He explained to the policeman but got his ticket anyway.
They can break the limit where sticking to it would unnecessarily hinder them in performing the role they were carrying out at that time, provided that role is for a Police purpose. And as for having to be somwhere for a certain time (operation) that just sounds weak. Sorry but he should have set off sooner. A friend of mine was late for his flight to iraq cos he'd been on guard duty and had to hand a drunk over to civvy BiB before he could leave. Got pulled doing 90ish on his way to pick up his kit for his flight. He explained to the policeman but got his ticket anyway.
Your friend didn't have an exemption, whether he was prosecuted or not was at the discretion of the Police officer.
There seem to be rather a lot of them around at the moment MiniRich said:
definitive answer here...
As a police officer in the force that covers the place you mention the reason is pretty boring but is the M40 from the border with Warwickshire down to J5 is covered by the roads policing base in Bicester. J5 south is Aylesbury. So he turned round as its the end of his patch.
As for the speed, well, have you seen the queue behind the patrol car when we stick to 70?? And remember on a calibrated speedo it will have only been a touch over.
Minirich...........what a great informative 1st post, thank you!!As a police officer in the force that covers the place you mention the reason is pretty boring but is the M40 from the border with Warwickshire down to J5 is covered by the roads policing base in Bicester. J5 south is Aylesbury. So he turned round as its the end of his patch.
As for the speed, well, have you seen the queue behind the patrol car when we stick to 70?? And remember on a calibrated speedo it will have only been a touch over.
And yes I have seen the queue when they do 70..........wasn't much better when doing 80/90 just moving faster!! :LOL:
But as I said previously in response to DVDs comments everything was better spaced and maintained better lane discipline.
Sensible policing imo......please let's not discuss "cancelled jobs" as this post was deliberately not intended to provoke such arguements/debates/discussion/discord
I was under the impression that if a BiB was driving at 100 in front of you on the motorway, sensible or not, you could follow at a matched speed immune from prosecution. I also thought that unless covert approach was required, then the blue's & two's must be on if the BiB wish to break the limit.
I really don't think taking the car for a test run after a repair on a busy public road is any excuse to speed.
I was overtaken by a trafpol T5 some time ago doing in excess of 100mph. He stopped about 5 minutes later and I drove past as he was filling up with petrol, some emergency!
I really don't think taking the car for a test run after a repair on a busy public road is any excuse to speed.
I was overtaken by a trafpol T5 some time ago doing in excess of 100mph. He stopped about 5 minutes later and I drove past as he was filling up with petrol, some emergency!
Lotusespritforum said:
I was under the impression that if a BiB was driving at 100 in front of you on the motorway, sensible or not, you could follow at a matched speed immune from prosecution. I also thought that unless covert approach was required, then the blue's & two's must be on if the BiB wish to break the limit.
I really don't think taking the car for a test run after a repair on a busy public road is any excuse to speed.
I was overtaken by a trafpol T5 some time ago doing in excess of 100mph. He stopped about 5 minutes later and I drove past as he was filling up with petrol, some emergency!
We have done this so many times.I really don't think taking the car for a test run after a repair on a busy public road is any excuse to speed.
I was overtaken by a trafpol T5 some time ago doing in excess of 100mph. He stopped about 5 minutes later and I drove past as he was filling up with petrol, some emergency!
No requirement to use blues and twos to exceed the speed limit.
Test runs of new vehicles / vehicles that have been repaired or have a fault are allowed due to the fact that some vehicles only show up faults at the higher speeds we drive as part of the job. One of our vehicles handling became an issue at 110+ when before the repair 140+ was fine. Without the ability to test such a repair the officers would not be able to identify the fault or if it had been fixed. (The police mechanics are not allowed to exceed the limit)
A whole host of authorities have to be given first though.
So officers turn out to get to a call, realise they are low on fuel (T5 drinks like a fish) and quickly stop to refill before making way to the job.
Been there done it. Vehicles sometimes get left low on fuel between shifts. I have even got in a car to go to an emergency call to find the fuel light on.
As for following at a matched speed. You may well not get pulled.However you do not have an exemption and its not unheard of for people to be dealt with. Trying to argue your case in court along the lines of he did it so I did it will just see you disqualified.
If you really are so desperate to be able to break the speed limit and to do urgent duty driving. Then please feel free to join the police / ambulance service or fire brigade.
I don't have theses exemptions off duty.
My ex is in the Met and this is what she told me. If under these circumstance I was prosecuted and the BiB came to court, how would they justify that they were doing 100 without due reason? Surely times you exceed the speed limit are logged in case you pass a safety camera and get flashed? I didn't think you had a blanket excemption to speed limits?
Wrt the testing, I understand where you are coming from and it is of course sensible to test cars you are going to drive at these speeds, at these speeds but wouldn't it be safer with your lights on to warn other road users how fast you are going? I'm sure lots of people have trouble judging speed/distance in their wing mirrors/rear view mirror but if anyone sees blue lights, they duck straight out of the way.
I did in fact ring Kent Police HQ about the T5 and they had no record of the car being on an emergency call, it was 9pm xmas eve and the roads were very quiet.
Wrt the testing, I understand where you are coming from and it is of course sensible to test cars you are going to drive at these speeds, at these speeds but wouldn't it be safer with your lights on to warn other road users how fast you are going? I'm sure lots of people have trouble judging speed/distance in their wing mirrors/rear view mirror but if anyone sees blue lights, they duck straight out of the way.
I did in fact ring Kent Police HQ about the T5 and they had no record of the car being on an emergency call, it was 9pm xmas eve and the roads were very quiet.
Lotusespritforum said:
My ex is in the Met and this is what she told me. If under these circumstance I was prosecuted and the BiB came to court, how would they justify that they were doing 100 without due reason? Surely times you exceed the speed limit are logged in case you pass a safety camera and get flashed? I didn't think you had a blanket excemption to speed limits?
Wrt the testing, I understand where you are coming from and it is of course sensible to test cars you are going to drive at these speeds, at these speeds but wouldn't it be safer with your lights on to warn other road users how fast you are going? I'm sure lots of people have trouble judging speed/distance in their wing mirrors/rear view mirror but if anyone sees blue lights, they duck straight out of the way.
I did in fact ring Kent Police HQ about the T5 and they had no record of the car being on an emergency call, it was 9pm xmas eve and the roads were very quiet.
Your ex is wrong. Wrt the testing, I understand where you are coming from and it is of course sensible to test cars you are going to drive at these speeds, at these speeds but wouldn't it be safer with your lights on to warn other road users how fast you are going? I'm sure lots of people have trouble judging speed/distance in their wing mirrors/rear view mirror but if anyone sees blue lights, they duck straight out of the way.
I did in fact ring Kent Police HQ about the T5 and they had no record of the car being on an emergency call, it was 9pm xmas eve and the roads were very quiet.
The reasons are not logged. If you trigger a camera you have to be able to justify it. On an emergency call its logged but in normal patrol or where your making progression to location in relation to criminality or a set operation there will not be a call on the system. I may on a motorway drive in spurts of 90 then 70, 90 then 70 to have a look at each car around me or to catch up with someone who is breaking the limit, I will not make entries as it would be impractical to do so.
If you cannot justify your actions then you get points like everyone else as well as a disciplinary action.
The officers are culpable if you don't see them (within reason) however most drivers should be able to judge a vehicle doing 100ish as thats about the speed many motorists drive. It would depend again how fast. If your travelling at 140 odd then yes, 90-100 probably no as your not undertaking urgent driving.
There may have been another reason they did not divulge. Depending on who you spoke with they may not have known the answer. If the officer had no justification for breaking the limit then he/she would have been disciplined.
9PM xmas eve is never quiet in the towns they may have had an operation to be at or some other location. Without speaking to the officer I can't tell you the reason. They may have had no reason at all.
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