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I would be very surprised if it happened as you've described it. Not calling anyone a liar, just suggesting that there might be some crossed wires somewhere in the story. By all means write the complaint letter, as it might help straighten things out.
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I should have said...
The VOSA people were there, at the check point (and in fact one of them did replace the bulb for her). It's the fact that she was left to walk back to the car with the bulb that I'm objecting to. I have no reason to doubt the facts - there was nothing for her to to 'cover up' - she was simply driving home from work. As someone said, he could have made her follow him in the car and someone at Halfords would have fitted it.
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VOSA have the power to stop vehicles now, they don't need the Police. In 12 years in the job, nine in Road Policing, I've never heard of something like this! Sounds very odd.
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Doesn't it depend on the geographic location if VOSA can stop? There must be some enabling legislation somewhere.
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IMO, The fact is, that it is easier for the authorities to get results (ticks on charts) from hounding basically law abiding subjects than to go after the members of society who are harder to pin down and get results from. Why do the VOSA / police crowd not go into to the local ?do as you likey? camp and get them to comply with simple things like tax, insurance, MOT, and not running on red diesel.
No! the tick boxes is easier to fill by getting a fundamentally okay motorist to run around and fix a noteworthy yet slight defects with their cars.
You abide by the law, you pay your tax and insurance, thereby demonstrating that you have an ability to pay and a sense of right and wrong to meet the terms of society. QED you are a straightforward provider of income.
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My experience of VOSA is that they work daylight hours. There can be plenty of ticks without putting the driver to such inconvenience, eg a VDRS ( Vehicle Defect Rectification). So if the bobby had left the road check to give a lift why didn't they return? Seems a bit far fetched to me for a single light out'.
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Fullchat
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What they should do is give you a producer and tell you to get one of those certificates from an MOT tester, the inconvenience of it all would help prevent the widespread one-eyed ogres.
It's such a shame they are so rubbish.
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I agree with much of the above comments.
They remind me of a Lancashire drink and drive campaign just before Christmas on a single carriage way stretch of road close to where I live, where it is virtually impossible to turn round and then take an alternative route to avoid a cleverly sited police check.
The endless stream of drivers in the other direction, including me, had the ultimate satisfaction of knowing that any drink-drive motorists would have been nabbed, along with those who had other problems such as missing lights or headlights, fancy neon lighting, fog lights on even though visibility was excellent and a range of other offences
I have no sympathy for such individuals and say good on you Lancashire Police.
Incidentally, the stretch of road involved is less than a mile from the Merseyside Police area....:-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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It pays to check your lights/tyres at least once a week or before a long journey. A few minutes checking is well spent compared to however long it takes sorting things out at night or when pulled by the plod
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The person at the 'check' apparently does not know his Vehicle Lighting Regs:
Road Vehicles Lighting Rergs 1989
23.?(1) No person shall use, or cause or permit to be used, on a road a vehicle unless every lamp, reflector, rear marking and device to which this paragraph applies is in good working order and, in the case of a lamp, clean.
(2) Save as provided in paragraph (3), paragraph (1) applies to-
(a) every-
(i) front position lamp,
(ii) rear position lamp,
(iii) headlamp,
(iv) rear registration plate lamp,
etc,etc...........
(3) Paragraph (2) does not apply to-
(c) a defective lamp, reflector, dim-dip device or headlamp levelling device
on a vehicle in use on a road
between sunrise and sunset,
if any such lamp, reflector or device became defective
during the journey which is in progress or
if arrangements have been made to remedy the defect with all reasonable expedition;
This is Training School basics.....
dvd
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It pays to check your lights/tyres at least once a week or before a long journey.
>>A few minutes checking is well spent compared to however long it takes sorting things out at night or when pulled by the plod
We all agree with the theory but how do you get a bulb changed for you outside normal hours or even Sat afternoon.
I have a Mondeo with a bulb failed dash display plus, the tools, know how, and a FULL bulb and fuse kit.
It is a remove shield, grill and headlamp unit to change the bulb but it IS do-able by me but I doubt by most other Mondeo owners.
I had a dip bulb fail and imediately changed it for a used, (cos I have fitted Osram Silver Stars) spare that lasted two hours so in spite of my best efforts I was one eyed for a further period.
Bad access to bulbs, less traffic boys and a possible two years between MoTs looks like we have a dimmer future.
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I've read all the comments on here and have to say I would do what I normally do and ring the AA, they have changed the last 3 on my car, it costs me 8.99 for the bulb and they have no objection to changing it, As said earlier in the post, modern cars are so difficult to get to the light fitting especially for a young girl!
The amount of police cars i have seen round the west mids lately with headlights out is crazy, I remember a few years ago now there was a area car around where i live, it was a Mindeo Si on a N plate, used to see it everyday virtually, 1 Friday night i followed it and it had no back lights at all but front were fine, obviously a fault so i popped into the police station and they radioed him to come back! Dont think they believed me to be honest, and didnt get any thanks for it!!
Jon
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Just to put the record straight...
Following some of the comments above I thought that I perhaps might have misunderstood what my daughter was telling me so I double-checked the facts with her.
She was directed into the check point by a female police officer. The check point was being operated by the VOSA people. The nearside dip was out (but the sidelight part of the headlight was still working and she was travelling on a lit road). The VOSA man declared the car 'unroadworthy' due to the bulb out. After the visit to the filling station the female officer gave her a a lift to Halfords but, for whatever reason, couldn't give her a lift back so she walked the half mile or so back to the car.
It pleases me that, according to some comments above, some of you are diligent enough to physically check all lights before every journey. Bulbs can go at any time and it could be that my daughter's had blown earlier that journey, not that she had been driving about for a while with it out.
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I do agree that your daughter should be cut som eslack here by some of the posters since a duff light can happen to anyone (me last week in a Merc for example).
However, by the same token the title of your note is "Incredible police actions" - From what you say it seems that the "incredible" action by the police was to offer her a lift to Halfords - when they didn't have to, even if they were unable to give her a lift back. Hardly a crime or diabolical or anything else.
Now VOSA may be behaving like a bunch of gits with nothing else to do, but that wasn't the title of your thread.
Or am I missing something ?
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I do agree that your daughter should be cut som eslack here by some of the posters since a duff light can happen to anyone (me last week in a Merc for example). However, by the same token the title of your note is "Incredible police actions" - From what you say it seems that the "incredible" action by the police was to offer her a lift to Halfords - when they didn't have to, even if they were unable to give her a lift back. Hardly a crime or diabolical or anything else. Now VOSA may be behaving like a bunch of gits with nothing else to do, but that wasn't the title of your thread. Or am I missing something ?
I take your point - it was perhaps more the 'negligence' of the VOSA people in declaring the car unroadworthy and preventing her from continuing. In a way I should be grateful that the police did give her a lift at least one way to Halfords but I do feel they could have dealt with it better i.e. ring me to go and collect her /sort it out or, as someone else says, let her continue with a warning, get it fixed and report to the police station later. The 'incredible actions' relate to the fact that they put her in a situation that was potentially dangerous
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Does the car become immediately unroadworthy with a blown bulb? DVD's post suggests otherwise. Where is the documentation? Who told the driver that the car was unroadworthy? The key is the paperwork. Why are plod involved if VOSA can do the stopping?
If the documentation is correct, and the OP is vindictive (nothing wrong with some justified vindictiveness), then start reporting vehicles with defective lights to whoever is in charge at VOSA and demand immediate action.
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The amount of police cars i have seen round the west mids lately with headlights out is crazy
How many officers does it take to change a light bulb?
The answer: none of them can, at least that's the case in Warwickshire. Even if it's a simple job like a rear bulb thet have to call out a vehicle maintenance contractor who no doubt charges extortionate prices for the 2 minutes it takes him.
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Mike Farrow
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If the police and VOSA did this in Northamptonshire there would be many fewer cars on the roads.
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I agree on that one.
Either the traffic problems would be sorted out overnight or Halfords would do a roaring trade in bulbs.
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