Why did the police let me off when I crossed a solid white line near Dover port?

Last night at about 19.00hrs I left Dover dock and got into the wrong dedicated lane and found myself going up the A2 instead of the A20. There was no traffic in sight coming towards and nothing behind me and so at the end of a 100-metre refuge I did a U-turn, rejoined the traffic island and entered the A20. Just over a mile later I was pulled up by the police and asked to turn off the road at the final traffic island in Dover. I was informed that I had committed an offence by crossing white lines (extending up the A2 from the end of the refuge) and that I was liable to a £60 fine and an endorsement.

I confirmed that I had done exactly as they said. When asked if I had my licence on me I said that I had but when I asked if they would like to see it they declined. Then they asked if I had any endorsements on it and I said that I hadn't and offered to show the licence again but they declined. At this point they said that I looked like someone who would normally obey the rules of the road and so they dismissed me whilst hoping that I would have a safe journey back to Devon. The bizarre aspect was that their van had the inscription, "Dover Port Police" on the outside.

Asked on 20 November 2010 by NW, Exeter

Answered by Honest John
I think they just did the decent thing and proved that some police officers are still reasonable human beings. If you start bringing out the rulebook then yes, they should have booked you for crossing the line, checked your insurance, even breathalysed you. The questions they asked were to establish what sort of person you were and decide whether to exercise discretion, which they did.
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