I know some of the members of this forum are police officers and I wondered if you could answer me a simple question. Here is my story:
I was riding my motorbike today and as I went through a quiet town centre I rounded a corner to see a panda car pulling up to the junction of a side street ahead. He waited until I went past and then pulled out after me. I was not doing anything stupid, I was being the perfect model rider. Anyway after a few hundred yards I had to stop at a set of traffic lights because they were turning to red and he took this opportunity to pull up along side me and wound down the passenger side window and shouted across "Oi mate, the number plate on the back of your bike is illegal. Its not the right size and is not in the correct style. I've made a note of your registration number, so get a proper number plate on it".
Okay so the number plate is a bit smaller than it should be but I don't mean stupidly small like you see on a lot of bikes. And I consider myself told off and lucky not to have got a ticket for it. My question is when he said "I've made a note of your registration number" does he mean it will be marked down against my bike that he has given me a bit of a warning about it or was he just bending the truth slightly on that score?
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I don't think "Oi mate!" is correct etiquette for a police officer to address a member of the public. The proper form is "Excuse me, Sir, is this your motorbike (car, pushbike, weapon of mass destruction, etc) ?"
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I don't think "Oi mate!" is correct etiquette for a police officer to address a member of the public.
I think I'd prefer that than being prosecuted!
It seems to me like rather sensible policing to warn someone in a chatty way rather than getting heavy.
The proper form is "Excuse me, Sir, is this your motorbike (car, pushbike, weapon of mass destruction, etc) ?"
If we were talking WMD, the answer would be easy, given how many WMDs have been found ...
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Considered yourself warned al biet a sloppy way of dealing with the matter IMHO. A proper stop and explanation as opposed to a drawl from a car window would have been more appropriate.
He may have a made a note in his OPB (Official Pocket Book) and if both or you are local then unless the matter is put right may well have another word with more clout next time. From what you say I suspect a frightener.
There again, on the plus side, he let you off, the worst a Court appearance, the next a Vehicle Defect Rectification Notice (you make good and get an MOT Garage to certify work done).
Have a look at
www.tinyurl.com/m7v5
scroll down to Schedules 2,3 and 4 and comply to save any further advice from the BiB.
DVD
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Hiya..
Probably means, as DVD says, that he's literally made a note of it. If he's something like a community beat officer (and in a panda car it sounds likely) then that's an area he's on all the time, and if you are too then he's kept a note in case you happen to see eachother again.
I'd get it made legal as soon as possible and count yourself lucky that you got an officer using his discretion in a sensible way.
Hope that helps.
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>>I was being the perfect model rider.
There is a school of thought which believes that is one way of being noticed; But in that case it would be blow in the little bag, probably!
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Probably saw the number plate, thought, I'll have a word, rather than stopping you, having to go through the whole palaver of "Is this your bike?", etc, "Do you have any of your documents with you...?", etc (and so it goes on). Then, the "Did you realise that your number plate is illegal?", "No?" "Right, well, the actual dimensions are......" Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme Form issued, Form for driving licence, MOT, Insurance Certificate, etc issued... Much better to lean out and point it out - doesn't take up your time too much - the "I've made a note" routine is more a mental note - if he sees you running around town again in a few weeks and you ain't got the plate changed - then you'll get booked, rather than a mark onto the computer or even a note in his notebook. If you're both local, he'll remember the next time he sees you out and about!
CP
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