To add to the original story - I decided to call the police (on my hands-free ) ..I gave the details , location , car reg etc and the operator said she would inform a patrol car .
But then she asked me to find a police station and give a statement .I estimate that finding one, and getting the statement taken , would have used a couple of hours, which I didn't have . I suggested, if they stop the driver, I would do it later ; if they don't stop the driver my statement uis a waste of time .This didn't seem to be OK
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I once was behind a car near Rothwell Leeds which I noticed was being driven erratically - not quick, but all over the road, hitting kerbs etc. I kept my distance and we came to a motorway junction roundabout. The car drove straight in to the roundabout in the left hand lane after hitting the kerb. It then went round the roundabout twice before heading towards Wakefield. At this point my wife called the police and gave a running commentary - where we were, what it was doing etc. After narrowly missing plenty of parked cars we arrived in Wakefield where the car went straight in to another roundabout narrowly missing a bus. It then continued on the ring road and I lost him after he went through some lights on red. Told the police where it was heading and we were told to go to our nearest police station and report the incident. Went to our local station and the officer on duty didn't know why we'd been told to go there as no statement was necessary! The officer looked up the incident and the latest update was the driver was 14 and never driven before in his life, he had crashed in to a parked car shortly after we lost him!
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I called in an incident in similar circumstances and went straight to the police station. Was given a mammoth traffic incident form to complete and was asked to return it to the local traffic division within 5 days.
This I duly did, only to be advised that they hadn't proceeded with the case due to lack of evidence.
Perhaps I should have torn down a Gatso and driven after the lunatic to gather sufficient evidence. That would have got their attention.
My brother has been a Police Officer for 20 years and has little nice to say about situations like this......
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I called in an incident in similar circumstances and went straight to the police station. Was given a mammoth traffic incident form to complete and was asked to return it to the local traffic division within 5 days.
This I duly did, only to be advised that they hadn't proceeded with the case due to lack of evidence.
greenhey and no-dosh:
if the police catch the motorist, your statement will add to the evidence.
if they don't catch him/her, your statement can stil help in some cases - provided at least two independent witnesses have given the same story of the incident and details of car registration/makecolour/stickers/etc. distinguishing marks, plus description of driver/passengers.
personally if i felt strongly about it, i would give up my time to give a statement even if nothing were to come of it.
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personally if i felt strongly about it, i would give up my time to give a statement even if nothing were to come of it.
Dalglish, I wish I could say I'd do the same. Problem is that there's a lot of pretty awful driving out there, and it could become a rather frequent occurrence, so I tend to direct my energies where they will have some effect.
Sadly, it's not just a motoring problem. On monday night, I spent ages trying to persuade a group of friends to report some persistent vandalism, because they were put off by the previous lack of a response.
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A long time ago, but all the same....
1am Call police to let them know of a drug-fuelled party in the vicinity. Noise from said party is louder in our living room than our own stereo is capable of. "Thank you, sir, we'll investigate"
3am Call police to point out that nothing has happened. "We don't intend to take any action as you are the only person complaining"
6am Party stops
7am Chat to neighbour. She called the police at 2 am. So the reply at 3am was a blatant lie.
It was about then that I lost faith in the police.
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And just what are the odds on two or more motorists trundling down to their local station? What if the driving is near a county boundary and one report ends up in Surrey and the other in Hampshire?
It's open to abuse, but at least go and have a word with them!
ps. Actually saw a jam sandwich on the A31/M27 this morning. Result? Everyone doing 65 in the middle lane, inches from each other. I overtook them all at 75 and pulled back to the left lane in front of the police car and continued at a steady 75. Meanwhile the sheep kept bleating....
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If you haven't seen it already, read my thread at www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=23...4 about a friend who reported an incident to the police.
I've called the police in the past when I have seen people driving dangerously on the motorway, and further along my journey I have seen the vehicle pulled up by a patrol vehicle on the hard shoulder. Whether that was as a result of my call or not I don't know, but I always do find the time to go to the cop shop and make a statement. The way I see it, if that vehicle then went on to have an accident, at least there would be a statement to say how they were driving earlier.
Many years ago I was driving my mum and some friends when I was tailgated and intimidated by a car on a single carriage way road. My friend called the police and gave the details of the car, and about 5 miles down the road, after he had passed us, he was pulled up by the police. We all waved out of the window at him as I honked my horn!
Sweet.
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No doubt he got a good telling off, but as there won't have been anybody who saw him in action, there won't have been a conviction.
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Yel, but he would have been seriously inconvenienced, and it made his speeding pointless, given he will have probably spent a good 10 mins with the police.
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And what makes it better is that there is a good chance that there are other outstanding issues for the driver. Warrants, drink, o/s fines, insurance, tax etc etc.
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There was a programme last week about traffic cops in Yorkshire - they made the point that they try to check the tax status of cars they see driving around because if they pull them over for no tax disc then they often finds lots of other stuff.
They illustrated that with a lad they pulled over because a number plate check showed no tax. They asked him about insurance etc and he span a line which they looked into. End result was no insurance, one prosecution...
Best bit was when they explained that the car could not be driven legally as there was no insurance, so their colleague would be along presently to tow it to the pound. No they didn't provide a taxi service. Yes, sir, I know we're in the middle of nowhere. Well, you should have insured your car then....
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That's something that rings true - and something DVLA are highlighting at the moment with their "No Tax..." campaign. No tax disc, no insurance?, no MOT?, roadworthy? safe? It's a usual bet that if a car doesn't have in-date tax then the owner won't have any insurance in order to get the tax in the first place...and so it goes on.
And once you've got the car stopped, it gives you a chance to check out the occupants...
CP
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"Best bit was when they explained that the car could not be driven legally as there was no insurance, so their colleague would be along presently to tow it to the pound. No they didn't provide a taxi service. Yes, sir, I know we're in the middle of nowhere. Well, you should have insured your car then...."
I think I saw this - IIRC the fine was £150 - rather cheaper than insurance, unfortunately.
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I've been a journalist all my life and listening to police broadcasts was part of the job, even though the normal checks were made at the local nick regarding recent incidents.
I still occasionally listen in at night in bed and can pick up signals from as far as Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, North Wales, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and around Staffordshire.
Mostly it's Merseyside that gets the nod as there is more of interest.
One thing that has struck me in recent years is that the more mundane incidents such as "domestics" or vandalism in the various Liverpool divisions don't always bring a patrol car response (unless they are presumably passed on to a section car crew).
But if there is a request for a colleague with a breathtest kit on board to assist another patrol then, on average nine times out of 10, it's followed by the news that that colleague will "be with you in a few minutes."
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Have you also noticed, in recent years, the tendency for the 'Controller' to be rather less than that?
It used to be that a reluctant response was met with a "You WILL attend ......".
Nowadays, the emphasis seems to be on the 'can you do me a favour' approach.
Domestics seem to have priority over almost everything else round my way.
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...followed by gushing thanks because the patrol crew has gone out of its way to help rather than, perhaps, enjoy a canteen break....
But, to be fair, as one who knows a number of regular traffic and patrol car officers, their workload has soared in recent years and we, the public, suffer as a result.
The number of traffic car patrols has dropped dramatically all around the UK - a big mistake in my opinion.
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I think I saw this - IIRC the fine was £150 - rather cheaper than insurance, unfortunately.
Ah, but he had to produce a valid certificate of insurance to get the car out of the pound.
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Ah, but he had to produce a valid certificate of insurance to get the car out of the pound.
And deal with the inconvienence of getting home!
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