SWMBO was pulled a few years ago between the M6 and Chester, possibly on the A51. Driving my Xantia with me in passenger seat and then young kids in back.

I'd seen jam sarnie Volvo turn out of side road and follow us. Four or five miles later, just coming into Chester's suburbs the blue lights came on and he flashed his headlights.

Mrs B stopped as tidily as she could and one officer walks up to drivers window and asks us where we;re from and going to. No doubt mention of Northampton village where car is registered and my gender were enough to tally with PCN record for car.

Suggested we'd been weaving slightly, possible as Mrs B may have glanced at the map I was reading by torchlight, and let us on our way. If he'd smelled drink however.......

Living in Northamptonshire you should be used to police attention. They are right scallywags in that area for motorists

Many years ago, while passing Northampton on the M1 southbound at somewhere around cough miles per hour, I observed the following. I was in lane 3 and a Vauxhall Carlton came haring up behind me. I moved into lane 2 and it shot past. I remember thinking; "Hmm, he's doing well over a ton.". Checking the mirror to move back out, I saw a red object approaching awfully fast, braked and stayed where I was.

As that shot past, catching the Carlton, I saw it was a Sierra Sapphire 1.8L. I recall thinking; "Hang on, those don't go that fast....". With my curiousity piqued, I moved back into lane 3 and applied a bit of welly to keep an eye what was going on. The Sapphire hared up behind the Vauxhall and flashed its lights, at which point the Vauxhall moved into lane 2. The Sapphire passed the Carlton and pulled into lane 2 in front, at which point its rear parcel shelf flipped up to display four flashing red lights and the words "POLICE. STOP.".

Cosworth "Q" car with the body kit deleted and badged as a 1.8L I reckoned at the time......

That's not fair - police using decoys to trap ordinary motorists !

You would not believe what cars the police have. Years ago Dorset police used a Porsche 911 as a pursuit car. I have seen all sorts of exotic vehicles which have 'pulled' a speeding motorist, and the only giveaway is the blue lights behind the front grill. Around here at present plod is using Skoda Octavia VR5's and Ford Galaxy or S Max with the big engine. Quite inocuous vehicles really and they would not set the alarm bells ringing if they were following you. Sneaky trick really, when plod lets you commit a crime so they can pounce instead of a prescence to warn you off. Little wonder they lose some respect. Shame really, just revenue gathering which sticks in the craw a bit. Cheers Concrete

"Sneaky trick really, when plod lets you commit a crime so they can pounce instead of a prescence to warn you off. Little wonder they lose some respect."

Am I the only person to find this sticks in my gullet?

You're saying the police should stop you committing a crime? So you have no morality of your own? No sense of responsiblity to guide your actions?

No, not just your gullet FP. Unmarked cars are a response to the law abiding 'bubble' that forms round marked cars. There's notihng new about them either, unmarked 'Q' cars were around thirty years and more ago. If you don't want to contribute to fine revenue don't speed. Easy peasy.

If people treat obeying the law as a game it's not surprising if the powers that be up the ante.

My objection is to the proliferation of 'revenue' cameras (fixed and mobile) and the implication speeding causes most accidents.

What are these 'revenue' cameras of which you speak? The limit is posted. The real or likley presence of a camera is advertised or there's a bloomin great van by the side of the road.

You only contribute the revenue if you're unobservant or chancing it.

Speed, even if not direct cause, worsens the consequence of accidents.

"Sneaky trick really, when plod lets you commit a crime so they can pounce instead of a prescence to warn you off. Little wonder they lose some respect."

Am I the only person to find this sticks in my gullet?

You're saying the police should stop you committing a crime? So you have no morality of your own? No sense of responsiblity to guide your actions?

And what about the argument that "pouncing" instead of "warning you off" might just encourage more people to believe they might get caught if they do wrong? And what has "pouncing" got to do with losing respect?

Well, this seems to have attracted your attention FP. I am sorry my remarks stick in your gullet. As for your second statement I am not saying anything of the sort. You are posing your own questions and attributing them to me. You may well think that but I could not possibly comment. Suffice to say my moral compass is in working order thank you.

I believe the police should have a visible presence to act as a deterent to offenders. Of course you never break the law or exceed the speed the limit so this will not apply to you. Would you feel the same if the police deliberately witnessed a break-in, or an assault so they could arrest the cuprit? Or would you feel more comfortable if the police actaully took steps to prevent the crime? As you point out, pouncing has nothing whatsoever to do with respect, but good policing does.

As motorists we are easy targets. There are so many of us to choose from. We all get swept along with the traffic flow, terribly immoral, but usually a bit quicker than the posted limit. The marked police car tends to regulate the flow, the unmarked car cannot. He obviously picks his target though, because if a line of traffic with say, ten cars in it, is exceeding the speed limit, one will be chosen because he cannot stop them all. So the process is purely arbitrary. The victim has a right to feel 'why me'. Where there is no logic there is no reason and consequently little respect for the process. Concrete

Hello Bromptonaut, I quite agree with you. You are driving, you are supposed to be in control, if you get nicked then tough luck. It still doesn't make it any easier to accept. Around towns etc I always stick to the posted limit and sometimes less if the conditions dictate, but I see no sin in driving along a good road, in good conditions at an appropriate speed. It is the sheer randomness of the 'safety camera' on the bridge which takes no account of any other factor than speed. They are a self fullfilling prophecy, if you have the 'safety cameras' you need to pay for them, to pay for them you need to catch motorists, to catch motorists you need a site where they cannot see you and are likely to be speeding. Therefore they are foremost a revenue gathering tool rather than a safety one. It seems the bean counters rule over common sense. Everyone speeds at some point, and I mean everyone. The man who never made mistake, never made anything. But it is nice to the 'sherrif' coming. Cheers Concrete

"but I see no sin in driving along a good road, in good conditions at an appropriate speed."

Neither do I concrete but it is against the law so that is why the police are involved.

Quite agree AS. Generally 99.99% of the time I am within the posted limit. I know some people who regard the speed limit as a starting point and they never seem to get caught. It is the sheer random nature of enforcement procedure that rankles. Still, it is what it is. Cheers Concrete

"Please get out of your car!"

"Can I see some form of identification?"

"I'm in uniform and that's a police car."

My reaction to that would be to assume it was a bogus officer - a real officer would simply show you his warrant card just as they would off-duty and out of uniform.