How many times have you witnessed police drivers do something that we wuold have been booked for had we done the same thing.
what happened to me today was this-
I was waiting at a junction to join the dual carriageway to travel north.
While waiting for a gap in the traffic a police patroll car traveling south stopped in the gap in the central reservation to cross over and leave the dual carriageway (or so I thought).
When a gap appeared I made a move to join the carriageway.
What he did next was just plain stupid.
HE DID A U-TURN INTO MY PATH!!!!.
I was livid and he new it, in fact he deliberatly drove slowly forcing me to overtake him first then he put his foot down to overtake me, I call that intimidation.
I am losing respect for the police.
Comments please.
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Did you get the reg number? if so complain to the police complaints commission. I too have seen coppers performing dodgy manouvres and like yourself this infuriates me, they should be setting a good example. I am also losing respect for the police, all they want to do these days is collect fine money from motorists as its too much hard work to catch real crims.
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As they would then have my number I do not think it would be wise to go down that road for obvious reasons.
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Having the other morning come in to work and seen 3 police cars in 13 miles, (2 'traffic' cars and one section car) all three of which were doing something that would cause you to fail a test, I can only agree.
I'm just about to leave work. The first major junction I approach has two lanes from which you can ONLY turn right on to a two lane dual carriageway, which immediately (10 ft or so) becomes three lanes, the third being a right turn only lane. (Traffic lights in 80 yards here, not half a mile or so)
The amount of traffic that turns on to the dual carriageway in the lefthand lane, knowing full well they want to be in the right hand lane to turn right, is quite amazing - i'd guess about 30%+
And that right turn leads to the police station, and marked police cars are significantly worse offenders than the average !
I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
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Yes, I spend 12 hours a day servicing speed cameras and deliberately annoying 'reasonable' members of the public. The 23 fatal road accidents I dealt with last year just managed to slip in un-noticed. The three police Officers murdered in the last three weeks must have REALLY annoyed the people they were dealing with. Having just been assaulted with an iron bar, well, I guess it was my fault for annoying that person.
There are some terrible Police drivers around, I just hope this thread isn't going to turn into yet another ACAB thread.
As an aside issue, 99% of traffic officers are sickened by the misuse of cameras. But that's another thread already covered to death.
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MLC :-
I've just written a long and reasoned response to your post, which somehow got lost in the ether, probably to the benefit of both of us.
So I'll take a different tack.
Here are some people expressing the opinion that the standard of police driving is not as good as it should be. We don't want it to be average, we want it to be better, but what we see appears to be below average.
Your response does nothing to address that, It just makes me think I wouldn't like the day you may have had today, but that's your career choice and my career choice.
Is it wrong to expect the standard of police driving to be better than average ?
I would expect teachers teaching my children to know more about there respective subjects than I do - is that too much ?
I would expect doctors and nurses to be better at keeping people fit and healthy than i am - am I asking too much ?
I expect policemen to be better at observing the law than I am, and I perceive that in general that is the case, but when it comes to both motoring law and motoring standards in general, it is not the case at all.
I have no axe to grind, no conviction I think was not deserved, no accident where the other bloke didn't get nicked.
But I see bad driving by police officers quite frequently thats just plain bad
But I have a friend who spent weeks in hospital after being T-boned by a section car going through red lights at night without sirens and the policeman escaped prosecution
But I had too many relatives in the force who, particularly with respect to drink-driving, have been happy to observe double standards
But even now, I am aware of someone who concedes that they actually doze off fairly frequently on the way home after a shift, but when his last relief was broken up was quite happy to stay at the police station and split a couple of slabs of lager with the rest of his mates before driving home
I'm aware of stopping a police car to report a problem or an offence and having no interest shown whatever
I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
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I nearly got flattened by a police car coming home on the bike in the dark last Friday night.
The car in front of me suddenly stopped without warning. I swung out round it only to be tooted at by a police car which had been hidden by the van behind me and was now trying to overtake.
Speaking to a police aquaintance I asked why the police car would not have been using his two-tones and was told that they had been told not to use the "twos" after dark because they get complaints about the noise!
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mal,
Have you ever been in Tesco or Sainsburys, and had some idiot cut you off with a trolley?
The Police driver who did this to you was possibly trying to get to an emergency situation - maybe an advanced police driver who thought that he could do it without the Blues and twoes?
Maybe, just maybe, he sat behind you to see what you were going to do next?
If you, or any of your family, ever have need of the Police in the event of an incident, your respect for the police might return...think about it!
Regards,
Matt35.
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I'm not in any way police driver qualified, BUT surely there are times when blues and twos are necessary no matter who you are. The rest of the time, surely we, the motoring public, are entitled to assume the same standard of behaviour (i.e., they might be an idiot, but they shouldn't) as we would from a civilian car.
If he was going to an emergency, why would he have then sat behind Mal? I don't think it was intimidation, but the implication that police mistakes are inherently forgiveable or unavoidable in the name of a greater cause is just ridiculous.
Most traffic cops do a good job, I imagine. I've only really encountered them once, when I was a passenger in a crashed car. I do respect them, and overall the benefits to society outweigh the negatives - but there is always some social cost to the police actions, even if it there is a net benefit. We should praise and support the police when we see the good work they do, but that is not at all the same as exempting them from what we, as outsiders, perceive as justifiable criticism.
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Was his r/h indicator still flashing Mal?? If so was really a mini roundabout situation. I assume he turned into the outside lane leaving you room to go left on the inside.???
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mal, Have you ever been in Tesco or Sainsburys, and had some idiot cut you off with a trolley?
Yes but only at the risk of being bruised or having my shoes scuffed.
The Police driver who did this to you was possibly trying to get to an emergency situation - maybe an advanced police driver who thought that he could do it without the Blues and twoes.
I do not believe he was about to attend an emergency he was just being clever by u-turning into the fast lane and giving me a hell of a fright at the same time as i was entering the slow lane.
Maybe, just maybe, he sat behind you to see what you were going to do next?
when he had an emergency he had to attend?.
If you, or any of your family, ever have need of the Police in the event of an incident, your respect for the police might return...think about it!
Maybe I was a bit hasty in saying I am losing respect for the force, but they were my feelings at the time of posting.
For the benefit of midlifecrisis i do not think A.B.A.C. in fact I have some good friends in the force and have had in the past reason to be very gratefull to them.
This member of the force "pulled rank" on me.
Regards, Mal.
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It is very difficult to spend all day and every day behind the wheel without making a mistake now and again - no one is perfect. When driving a vehicle in which you are expected to behave in a saintly fashion, such as a police car or in my case a mobile driving school advert, anything you do wrong stands out like a sore thumb and is remembered and commented by all who witness it. Deeply embarassing, but occassionally inevitable.
We all have our bad days.
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i think it,s the old scenario in every organisation/eshtablishment there are a few rotten apples but lets get things into perspective compared to the bad old sweeney type days with forced confessions etc the new police forces generally have to be a lot more accountable to their paymasters(us the taxpayer) and thats certainly got to be a good thing
the speed cameras collecting monies etc in all fairness is just another goverment scheme to bleed the taxpayer even more granted speeders should be done but nobody can tell me that the main motive for these cameras is public safety how many people walk accross our motorways?ok except for a few crazies but they still whack cameras on them.
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The problem as I see it is that the police are sitting ducks when it comes to this sort of criticism. However many times have we cringed when plod stands up in front of the cameras and pontificates on drivers driving dangerously in poor conditions, treating us all like kids?
splodgeface
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There is a fairly tedious advert on Talksport at the moment, or at least there was until recently.
Essentially it is an extremely irritating man professing to be able to predict something about your current circumstances.
Each guess is withdrawn as he makes another - three in total.
I think they are;
1) you're late
2) someone has pulled out in front of you today
3) you're speeding
I am determined that one day I will listen to that advert at a time when not even one of the three applies to me.
My point being that I doubt a day goes past when I don't make at least one mistake of some description while driving.
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"My point being that I doubt a day goes past when I don't make at least one mistake of some description while driving."
Likewise I'm sure.
The trick is to have a margin in hand so that minor mistakes can be corrected before they escalate into major ones.
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Agree with all of this, but my point is that the police go out of their way to criticise other drivers in a most patronising way and therefore open themselves to criticism when they make their mistakes.
I actually disagree with what has been said regarding poor police driving since I have not really encountered any. But I can see why people get annoyed with the police if they have witnessed some themselves.
splodgeface
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We all make mistakes at some time or another myself included but when I make a mistake which offends another driver I raise my hand as if to say sorry.
Had the police patrol car driver did the same I doubt whether I would have been annoyed enough to start this thread.
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I have an Officer "on the books" at the moment. Prosecuted by his own organization for driving one of their cars in a non-accident situation....perhaps not so much of a law unto themelves as the public think. By the way its not an uncommon situation.
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So pug, If we hit each other while he was doing a u-turn who would be at fault? He was indicating right but don,t we all when turning across a dual carriageway, I did not expect him to be doing a u-turn.
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"I did not expect him to be doing a u-turn"
I wasn't there, but that sounds like a fault on your behalf, not his. "Expecting" other drivers to do things has been at the root of several near misses in my driving career. I now try to expect other drivers to do anything at any time, so I get caught out a great deal less.
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Is the manoeuvre he adopted not illegal, I'm sure if roles had been reversed he would have booked me for careless driving had we hit each other.
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If he was sitting on the intersection still signalling right I would have EXPECTED him to be doing a u-turn.
If he was simply turning right into the road you were coming out of then I would have expected him to have cancelled his indicator as soon as he turned into the intersection.
Even if he had not cancelled the indicator manually then the fact that it was still on would mean that his wheels had not straightened out and therefore he was going to emerge in "right turn" mode.
A certain amount of lateral thinking based on observation is required.
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Two nights ago I joined the M6 northbound at junction 1. As I pulled into lane 1 at 75, a jam butty passed me in lane 2. I was coming off at J2 (6 miles ish), but followed him all the way at between 90 & 110. No blues & twos - ordinary Primera jam butty, four up (uniformed).
I have had little respect for the police since I used to get stopped several times a night in the South Manchester area and given a "producer". Early 80's - I was 17 to 19. Never once got a "proper" ticket. Every lad I knew in my 6th form had the same problem.
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Cyd, by having the "Front" to follow them I wonder if you could have been pulled for speeding.
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Once driving a marked patrtol car down a fast stretch of road when would you believe it a b***** civvy pulled out across my path from a junction. Had to half car the verge and road to avoid him. Of course I had words but took no further action as there were no other witnesses and the guy was contrite and I could see very upset. Justice was served by his fright. Made me wonder what the standard of civilian driving instruction and test had come to.
Likewise I pulled out of a junction and caused a civvy to brake hard. This was after a quick turn over after nights and MLC will tell you how you feel after one of those. To this day I sid not see him. I also spoke to the driver and it was my turn to be contrite. Gracefully he did not report me and avenue I told him that he could take.
As Tom Shaw succinctley states "Let him without sin cast the first stone".
Experts shouldn't have incidents - tell that to the Sunderland cobbler (Shoemaker)when he puts the red devil into the Armco.There is nobody on the road today with or without training that at some time will commit a boob. It's the nature of driving.
Finally, to try and balance the books because of the shortage of cash Police Services you will find have cut down on their Driver Training programme to what it was. No doubt this, coupled with the increase in traffic etc will lead to such incidents.
Plod car turning right on main road from intersection and as stated signalling. The other on a minor road joining. Fault??????? We will argue all day.
As to the anti Police feeling they are through this all the time but please bear in mind so far this year 3 officers have given their lives serving you Mr Joe Public.
DVD
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And that is probably a good place to leave this subject.
Mark.
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I'll second that!
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Bit late with the seconding! :-).
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And that is probably a good place to leave this subject. Mark.
I too thought Dwight's reply, being fairly unbiased was a good time to leave this issue.
Obviously Pugugly does not agree with you.
Neither do agree with him.
Mark, I would appreciate you placing a stop on this thread altogether.
Thankyou, and Regards,
Mal.
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If it was four up it was probably driver training. They don't need to use blues and twos when exceeding the limits. - I would consider yourself lucky that you wern't tugged for "buzzing" him !
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