Lancashire Policeman cleared by magistrates.
Discussion
A Lancashire Policeman caught speeding 36 in a 30 by a camera has been cleared by magistrates. He was not on an emergency call, he was not responding to anything, his defence " I would not break the speed limit for no reason. I was not aware the camera had been activated. I was obviously concentrating on something in front, I assume I was catching a vehicle up" So this is the excuse we can all use. The precedent has been set, prepare to get off all speeding tickets with the excuse, I was concentrating on something in front, I was not aware the camera had been activated !!
Richard C said:
Good decision - but carmunicate and the rest of us might have this sneaky suspicion that the result would have been different if it had been a civilan motorist.
Of course it would have been different and quite rightly so.
At the risk of stirring up a Hornets nest here.....he is a Policeman and he was doing his job after all!
No offence tonyrec but here goes :laugh
Why should it be different. He was a Policeman. He might have a Class 1, he might not. His driving skills may or may not be higher than any civilian. It was stated he was not responding to anything.
Any of us here could say the same thing with equal justification - we were concentrating on the car in front, kid / dog running around on the pavement etc etc etc. 36 in a 30 ..........so :censored ing what ?
Its refreshing that a magistrate can throw it out for once without being influenced ( which I'd sincerely like to think was the case ) by the " you must be guilty otherwise you would not be in front of me " or " we sympathise with you but rule are rules " party line that motivates the vast majority when dealing with motoring offences.
If it was a " Well, you are a policeman even if you were not on a call, so that OK ........but woe betide the rest of you " thing which it could well be then again it just re-inforces the contempt that I and sooooo many others have recently acquired for this process.
said:
" I would not break the speed limit for no reason. I was not aware the camera had been activated. I was obviously concentrating on something in front, I assume I was catching a vehicle up"
Why should it be different. He was a Policeman. He might have a Class 1, he might not. His driving skills may or may not be higher than any civilian. It was stated he was not responding to anything.
Any of us here could say the same thing with equal justification - we were concentrating on the car in front, kid / dog running around on the pavement etc etc etc. 36 in a 30 ..........so :censored ing what ?
Its refreshing that a magistrate can throw it out for once without being influenced ( which I'd sincerely like to think was the case ) by the " you must be guilty otherwise you would not be in front of me " or " we sympathise with you but rule are rules " party line that motivates the vast majority when dealing with motoring offences.
If it was a " Well, you are a policeman even if you were not on a call, so that OK ........but woe betide the rest of you " thing which it could well be then again it just re-inforces the contempt that I and sooooo many others have recently acquired for this process.
I appreciate what you say.....
I just think that its a total and utter waste of public money and you can rest assured that whilst im at work i dont give speed cameras a second thought.
To put it another way,if im patroling...i will be doing the speed limit so i dont have to worry about them.........and on the other hand, if im targeting/shadowing another vehicle or for that point,on an Emer call,then i again dont give them a second thought.
If a Policeman just wants to 'hooly around' whilst on duty then he should suffer the consequences and be asked to explain his actions as this is totally out of order.
Ive heard from Madcop etc who sadly has to waste time filling out forms from Gatsos units etc when really they could/should be weeded out at the unit before they even reach your intrays.
It will be a sad time when Police slow down for speed cameras whilst doing their jobs.........and i for one will just get out my big beat helmet and start walking.
I just think that its a total and utter waste of public money and you can rest assured that whilst im at work i dont give speed cameras a second thought.
To put it another way,if im patroling...i will be doing the speed limit so i dont have to worry about them.........and on the other hand, if im targeting/shadowing another vehicle or for that point,on an Emer call,then i again dont give them a second thought.
If a Policeman just wants to 'hooly around' whilst on duty then he should suffer the consequences and be asked to explain his actions as this is totally out of order.
Ive heard from Madcop etc who sadly has to waste time filling out forms from Gatsos units etc when really they could/should be weeded out at the unit before they even reach your intrays.
It will be a sad time when Police slow down for speed cameras whilst doing their jobs.........and i for one will just get out my big beat helmet and start walking.
Richard C said:
Any of us here could say the same thing with equal justification - we were concentrating on the car in front, kid / dog running around on the pavement etc etc etc. 36 in a 30 ..........so :censored ing what ?
So by your logic if there's a kid or a dog on the pavement you speed up??
I think you're missing the point here. Policeman sees vehicle about 200 yards in front of him and think "Hmmm, worth a tug..." and plays gentle catch-up (and goes 6 miles an hour over the limit). You justification for doing the same would be...???
If any one of you lot got stuck on for 36 in a 30 we'd have a burning thread contributed to by the Olympic whining team...
The fact is the Policeman had no justification for going too fast and got away with claiming he was concentrating on somthing in front. Well any motorist can now use that excuse I was concentrating on the road in front. He broke the law and got away with it, So now all motorists should be able to use the same excuse. One LAW for all.
carmunicate said:
The fact is the Policeman had no justification for going too fast and got away with claiming he was concentrating on somthing in front. Well any motorist can now use that excuse I was concentrating on the road in front. He broke the law and got away with it, So now all motorists should be able to use the same excuse. One LAW for all.
Difference is that he was on duty!
madant69 said:
So by your logic if there's a kid or a dog on the pavement you speed up??
Nooooooo ...... Wrongggg !!! I mean most of us here believe that its more important to pay attention to whats around one such as kid /dog and all the other hazards than spend overmuch much time concentrating on the speedo. And in the majority of speed limits, in reality so effing what if you stray over the speed limit by 6 mile/h.
And before the predictable shriek of increased stopping distance '35 kills, 30 doesnt' is heard, I have shown elsewhere that slavish attantion to speedo because of the current enforcement / revenue generation techniques renders a 30 mile/h speed equivalent to 38 mile/h
john_p said:
I thought police cars 'driven for police purposes' did not have to abide by speed limits?
Does this mean that if a policeman thinks he's seen something wrong with a car in the distance, and speeds up to catch up, he can't exceed the speed limit? That's absolutely crazy.
You made my point better than I did mate
Ta! This Lancashire Policeman was not chasing anything and as he said he did not know the camera was active, implying he had known he would have slowed down. One rule for the Police,Lancashire has the most cameras of any county, and it is beyond a Joke, I drive looking at my speed now, not the road !
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