American Police - Drivers
Author
Discussion

Wasted Bullet

Original Poster:

426 posts

272 months

Monday 8th September 2003
quotequote all
I was bored and casually channel hopping when I noticed an "American Police Camera" program... Although the commintary was really really annoying I decided to watch the program because the Police Drivers were so SH*T...

I was completly Stunned by just how BAD they were... completly ignoring the most basic road craft... and putting them selfs and the public in danger... treating there cars like battering rams... and the Annoying commentator was constantly justifying their actons...

chief-0369

1,195 posts

272 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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was that the one where the teenagers take a motorhome off road??

madant69

847 posts

267 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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I always LOVED the idea of fishtailing as a safe way to stop a vehicle

outlaw

1,893 posts

286 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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madant69 said:
I always LOVED the idea of fishtailing as a safe way to stop a vehicle



untill they meet some one who knows how to counter there crazy ramming moves.

from watch same programes. I wonder how many cars the american plod bust up a year bet the figgers would be intresting.

streaky

19,311 posts

269 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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What about the number of cars that get involved?

I guess they cut the videos just before the dozen or so policemen start in with their night-sticks ... the level of violence that you see being used by the police appears in some contrast to the low level of resistance by the arrested person. Still, where's there's a fair chance you'll get shot ...

And THAT 'Sheriff Roscoe B Coltrane' (or whatever his name is) ... he's one self-righteous son-of-a-gun!

cortinaman

3,230 posts

273 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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i take it you mean sheriff john burnett (retired).............he reminds me of an evil william shatner!!

as for the way american cops drive.......hahahahaha!

"we see the driver doing extreeme speeds of over 120mph"......they would be a bit ed if they chased someone who was actually used to sitting at a ton+........then again,you cant outrun a radio (or the chopper)

r55mur

177 posts

270 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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I can't believe when they spin some guys car out by clipping the tail of the offending vehicle, which then careers into 1 or 2 innocent motorists wrecking their cars..... and the police think they've done a good job....

sheepy

3,164 posts

269 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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I love these programs, reminds me how good our traffic guys actually are! I think they are pretty funny at times (obviously not when people get hurt). They dub so much of the car sounds onto the tapes that it's like a bad B-movie.

I talked to TonyRec about forced stops when we met at the LB meet. He'd not seen these shows, and I'm guessing from his raised eyebrows at my description, that he didn't think much of the technique!

Sheepy

outlaw

1,893 posts

286 months

Monday 8th September 2003
quotequote all
sheepy said:
I love these programs, reminds me how good our traffic guys actually are! I think they are pretty funny at times (obviously not when people get hurt). They dub so much of the car sounds onto the tapes that it's like a bad B-movie.

I talked to TonyRec about forced stops when we met at the LB meet. He'd not seen these shows, and I'm guessing from his raised eyebrows at my description, that he didn't think much of the technique!

Sheepy



They only work if the victim`s, aint looking in there mirros and dont know how to counter them.

If the driver knows, how to counter there most likely going to end up in the ditch.

and from the programs i have seen the usa cops dont execute the moves vert well anyway from what iv seen.

>> Edited by outlaw on Monday 8th September 08:36

sheepy

3,164 posts

269 months

Monday 8th September 2003
quotequote all
outlaw said:

They only work if the victim`s, aint looking in there mirros and dont know how to counter them.


Given that most of them are one or more of the following: young, stupid and drunk, I don't think they are particularly clued up on handling the car they are driving anyway, never mind with a cruiser trying to ram them off the road!

outlaw said:
If the driver knows, how to counter there most likely going to end up in the ditch. and from the programs i have seen the usa cops dont execute the moves vert well anyway from what iv seen.


What is the most effective counter? Most of the people caught seem to make the mistake of steering towards the police car whilst still keeping the foot down. I'm assuming that one of two possibilities would work: Either steer in the direction they are pushing you (making them steer further and thus potentially lose control) or Brake and steer into them (making contact with them further up the car to prevent the spin caused by contact).

Sheepy

Wasted Bullet

Original Poster:

426 posts

272 months

Monday 8th September 2003
quotequote all

I saw a program a while a go where the Police would stear in front of a fast moving vehicle... Giving the vehicle no chance to avoid hitting the police car... and then they would be aditionally charged with assault with a deadly weapon... When the police car deliberatly put it self in a position where it would have been impossible to avoid an accident...

Shocking!!!

tvrslag

1,198 posts

275 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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I watch these programs regularly, its a case of they're so bad they're funny.

I've often considered the responses the US police make. And can only assume that the large level of violence used against all the offendors is due to the constant threat of guns and knives being pulled. Thye can't even be sure little old ladies aren't going to pull a Magnum on them. This is what seriously differentiates the behaviour between our officers and the guys across the pond. Mut say some of driving is appaling, and why do they need 50 police cars, a helicopter and a small army of swat team vans just to pull over an armed robber?? That Sheriff John Burnell is a right Tw@t, his dentist must make a fortune from him.

FunkyNige

9,643 posts

295 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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Has anyone else noticed they change the voices for the British chases they show on the American shows? It's quite funny listening to the British police speaking in a stange Queen's English / Aussie mix and getting more excited than they do on UK shows.

I remember on one of these shows the criminal was going over 100mph so the police had to 'break out the Mustaaang' as the normal police cars couldn't keep up!

Derek Smith

48,369 posts

268 months

Monday 8th September 2003
quotequote all
The hysteria of the American police seems so much at odds with the American astronaughts. D'you remember when Tom Hanks (or was it Jim Lovell) radioed to Huston that "We have a problem". His voice was calm and matter of fact yet he knew there wasn't a spare in the boot for whatever had exploded. I, despite being brave and steadfast, would have cried, "We're all going to die!"

I also saw a film of a test landing of the shuttle. This unpowered craft was coming into land when the pilot spotted a Chinook in the way. He had no way of taking avoiding action and the commentry went something like: "We're going to hit it.". Measured tones, yet he must have thought he was going to die.

I used to work in a police control room and it was my job to allow or call off pursuits. Generally I couldn't get the drivers to tell us what was happening so I had to wokr out how they were feeling from their comments. If they swore on the air then I cut the chase as it showed their judgement was going.

I'd have called off most of these American pursuits.

Derek

gopher

5,160 posts

279 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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I've just come back from 3 weeks in the states, my fourth visit, and whilst I agree with the posts here about those chases etc shown on television I personally have seen nothing but good from the US Police.

An example from this time during a 7 hour drive from Tampa to Savannah (Convertable Mustang was quite nice but once you're up-to-speed and the cc is on there's sooo little to do) - the limit was mostly 70 but everyone was doing 80-85 and at those speeds no one (including some bl00dy big trucks!) was slowing down when seeing a patrol car.

However some rice boy in his heavily winged civic was doing easily over the ton when he passed me and he was caught some 4-5 miles down the road - and the officer just appeared to be having a chat.

I could have it all wrong but when you see these vids showing cars being thrown all over the place and the police comming out with guns etc - this seemed so out of place.

(vids are funny mind)

jvaughan

6,025 posts

303 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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makes you wonder, as others have said on here ... For those of us that are capable and very able to drive over the 100 mark, the US deem it extreeeeeem speed. So the recipt for success in the states is get a T5. or a top of the range Rangerover or X5. DRiven properly I have often wondered how the US police would cope.

They would surly get out their "Spike Sticks" ( stinger to you and me) in an attempt to slow you down

roop

6,018 posts

304 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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Heh heh, World's Wildest Police Videos / Chases. Great Program. Sheriff John Bunnell (pr. B'nell as in B'stard) is the greatest. What a goon. I don't think it's any coincidence that Chief Clancy Wiggum in the Simpsons sounds like a caricature of him.

I love the programs, seeing people piling off the road left right and centre and B'nell attepting justify their actions with all his "You can run, you can hide, but when you get caught, we'll kick your ass" etc. Amazing some of the shunts people walk away from.

The driving from the cops doesn't seem to be quite as great as our guys, but they are driving huge cars like old Crown Vics that weren't exactly known for their roadholding and who knows, maybe the training isn't as good...?

What I have noticed though is that in the majority of the cases, the cops seem polite and well mannered and generally cheerful when they pull people over for whatever reason. Every time I've got nicked I've had a right sarcastic goon giving me the verbal. When I got robbed in the Cinquecento, I got a :Nigelmansellvoiceon: I didn't know these cars could go that fast. Ha Ha. :Nigelmansellvoiceoff:. Duh, you're so funny. Mong. Maybe it's just Blackpool Police, I dunno, Preston lot seem OK.

Anyways, Cops has to be my fave show of the Genre. Basically cops from the southern states heading round trailer parks arresting people. Funny as you like, but you need one of those Franklin translator things to really get the benefit. Anyways, I digress...

Roop

hornet

6,333 posts

270 months

Monday 8th September 2003
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"When the World's Wildest Police Chases Attack 9"

Love the badly dubbed commentary, especially on the UK chases from the Police Stop videos. Maybe they should do a Dutch version...Police SCHTOP!

Whatshisface Bunnell is classic - "they thought they could run, they thought they could blah blah blah, but once the cops of Whitetrash County get on your tail, blah blah blah". I almost expect to see Roscoe chasing them Duke Boys...

Bunnell does all those dreadful "When Stunts Go Bad" programmes too. How about "When Grammar Goes Bad"?

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

275 months

Monday 8th September 2003
quotequote all
(An interview with John Bunnel www.liveworld.com/transcripts/Boxtop/4-29-1998.1-1.html)

Lilac: "What is the most humorous thing you've seen done by a criminal?"

JohnB: "We could probably think of quite a few! I get a charge out of watching film from private security companies and the like, showing crimes in progress. In one, a young man comes into a convenience store to rob it with a knife, and was concentrating so much on the clerk that he failed to see the uniformed police officer having coffee (and eating a donut, I must admit), and the look on the young man's face was very humorous! "

Donuts...sounds like Tonyrec or Madcop was stateside

streaky

19,311 posts

269 months

Tuesday 9th September 2003
quotequote all
Derek Smith said:
The hysteria of the American police seems so much at odds with the American astronaughts. D'you remember when Tom Hanks (or was it Jim Lovell) radioed to Huston that "We have a problem". His voice was calm and matter of fact yet he knew there wasn't a spare in the boot for whatever had exploded. I, despite being brave and steadfast, would have cried, "We're all going to die!"

I also saw a film of a test landing of the shuttle. This unpowered craft was coming into land when the pilot spotted a Chinook in the way. He had no way of taking avoiding action and the commentry went something like: "We're going to hit it.". Measured tones, yet he must have thought he was going to die.

I used to work in a police control room and it was my job to allow or call off pursuits. Generally I couldn't get the drivers to tell us what was happening so I had to wokr out how they were feeling from their comments. If they swore on the air then I cut the chase as it showed their judgement was going.

I'd have called off most of these American pursuits.

Derek
The cockpit voice recording from 'air incidents' in commercial aircraft generally show exceptionally professional attitudes even in the face of death. When BA012 (I think it was) lost all four engines through ingestion of volcanic dust, the skipper calmly says, "OK, trim for glide, get out the flight manual and we'll all read the mid-air restart procedure." They had 12 minutes to live at that point. Even when the Flight Engineer had restarted three engines but had to shut down one the voices were very calm. Throughout it all the First Officer was trying to contact any nearby airfield, his voice never wavers. The Flight Engineer keeps up a running commentary on the restart procedure, initially negative but then it gets more hopeful. His voice is level throughout - until they get three engines running when he sounds a little pleased. The Captain concentrates on keeping a non-functional 747 in the air long enough for the FE to do something to save them. The stress levels must have been very high. When it was over and the aircraft was reestablished in stable flight the skipper went down to talk to the First Class passengers in person (note the class distinction here ); he had to sit on his hands because they were trembling so much (adrenalin reaction I guess).

Streaky