No.

(and no, I've never been 'done')

Well i do like them, despite once being questioned for allegedly handling stolen goods.

Good job i had those gloves.

You see-that's my problem. What possible reason is there to take speed bumps at 130-other than the fact that the driver feels like a jolly? It's irresponsible. If a suspect needs following that desparately-call out the helicopter and follow it in that.

Its called pursuit driving. The Helicopter is good for navigating where the suspect is but unless the Police actually catch them in person, they end up getting off with a slap on the wrist at court due to 'lack of evidence' or 'procedural technicalities' and rubbish like that. Lots of people say we should just film them with the chopper and arrest them later but due to the workings of our legal system that just wouldnt work, we'd never be able to charge anybody. We need ground units to be following them closely also.

There are strict regulations over the use of speed with the Police. Loads of people think if they have the blue lights on then that gives them dispensation to do whatever they want but thats not true. Nor does using speed especially require blue lights either to make it ok. Police Officers do have to pay speed camera fines if they cannot justify their speed at the time.

To be honest, i think if you can do 130mph over these speed bumps without anybody dying or the sky falling down then that proves you dont need a 20mph zone on it. It was obviously fine at 30 before hand. But 'think of the children' and all that...

Really? Let's take a BMW on runflats and a cheap car on sensible tyres and see which one suffers suspension failure first.

The latter, at the speed they drive them. The Police uprate the suspension and brakes anyway, they dont use factory-fit rubbish like us earthlings make do with. The car has to be sturdy, and even then they're lifespan with the Police is generally short. Its an expensive job but a vital one which is worthy of our taxes.

Plenty of Citroens and Peugeots clocked up massive mileages as taxis.

Taxi's dont take speed bumps at 130mph or carry out of most of their driving in 'pursuit mode' unless you live in Scotland.

Personally theres little i like more than a good dose of Police Interceptors or Traffic Cops, with the 'Scoobies' doing 140mph on route to kick the crap out of a scrote. Makes you proud to be British.

Edited by jamie745 on 31/01/2012 at 21:12

So if they the suspect is ultimately going to be let off with a slap on the wrist, there's little point in a high speed pursuit, is there?

If we follow your logic we'd let people get away with all crime which we found too expensive to combat. Thats not how we run a civilised country. If we stopped battling criminals then they've won and there'd be more of them tomorrow - because they know they'd never get caught. I dont see how you can expect your Police force to be a crime fighting prescence if you tell them to not bother chasing anybody because there's no point.

Anyway, you never know exactly what the suspect has done until you get them. You might be chasing them for a faulty brake light and then find out they're a cocaine dealer with an AK-47 in the back. In most cases, stops for small offences usually do uncover big ones.

They dont all get off with nothing, usually drivers with no licence or insurance just get a fine they wont pay and points on a licence they dont have, which can seem pretty pointless, but thats not the Police's fault. They didnt make the laws or the penalties.

No, it's gaining a sense of proportion. There is no justification in a high speed pursuit of a stolen car-the risks outweigh the expected gain of an arrest.

It depends on the conditions. They wouldnt do 90mph through town in fog for a stolen car, for instance. in fact theres plenty of situations in which a pursuit would be abandoned, but its a judgement call for the officers.

I agree entirely. Which is why I'd rather see the police on foot learning names and faces.Anonymity enboldens petty criminals. Once criminals know that they are known to the police, their activities are curtailed. You don't learn anything racing round in an SUV.

So you want to see Traffic Police on foot? Rather than dealing with Traffic? The clues in the title :) Its not Traffic Cops job to be out learning anything about local criminals (unless those criminals are in a car).

Its not the job of the Traffic Police to be on foot as a beat bobby, thats the beat bobbies job (obviously). The idea that the Traffic unit should leave their SUV at home and do a different job to what they're paid for is quite bizarre.

Thats because we have Traffic Police (not enough of it though). If we didnt have it you'd soon find a need for them.

The threat of being caught doing something stupid keeps 90% of drivers compliant. Take away the threat - roads become a free for all.