I had a slightly different experience when driving along the M4 in Wales. A guy behind me came roaring up behind me and was struggling to stay in one lane. To aviod getting in his way I moved over to the inside lane and waited for him to go past. He did, using most of the middle lane and a bit of the outside lane. His speed was erratic, and he was gently meandering accross the two lanes. After about 15 miles of this and becoming increasingly concerned at the drivers ability to control the vehicle (and worrying that he was drunk) my girlfriend in the passenger seat phoned the police.
Rather than send out a patrol car to get this guy off the road, they asked a series of inane questions before saying we'll call you back. About 10 minutes later, they called back and said basically that there's nothing they can do at the moment, but they'll see if they can catch the driver at home.
The annoying thing for me is that this guy could have easily wiped out any number of motorists with his driving and the police couldn't do anything about it. 2 days after this the police phoned back and asked if we wanted to make a statement - to be honest we were so annoyed with nothing being done that we decided not to bother as it would just be hassle.
This is the problem with traffic policing now, they would rather have a photo or some video of someone speeding, than dealing with the truely dangerous drivers.
Machika - I wouldn't bother calling the police, they'll never get a conviction and it just waste your time.
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..honest we were so annoyed with nothing being done that we decided not to bother as it would just be hassle.
Bit of a contradiction there if they were prpeared to take a statement seems that were about to start the process so how could that be defined "nothing being done"
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This guy was a danger at the time - that's what needed dealing with. If I called the police and said there was someone brandashing a weapon in a threatening manor in a public place (another way to describe this) they would have been there in an instant. Waiting for something to happen and then taking notes on it is not pro-active.
The process of going to the police station to give a statement about something which there is little evidence of is a waste of time. Having had my car broken into, been the victim of a couple of other crimes, giving a statement when there's no concrete evidence is about as useful as a chocolate firegaurd.
It just frustrates me when you see the amount of police time going into the most stupid little things, like someone eating an apple whilst driving, yet here was this guy who was in some way incapable of driving his car in a straight line going unchallenged.
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I know the 'I can't be bothered' thing is a poor cop out (no pun intended) but I was due to be going on holiday the next day and the thought of going down to the police station to give 2 hours of my time for what surely would have been at most a slap on the wrist did not seem worthwhile.
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In the ten minutes it took to phone you they were probably checking on the location of nearest patrol car. Given the cuts in road policing their nearest asset was probably either miles behind you or tied up with another job. Just to clarify being pro-active, whilst desiarble would have meant targetting this driver long before you reported it, the only choice they had was to be reactive i.e. by sending a patrol car chasing after it following your report or following it up later by means of a home visit (which seems to be the option they were going to opt for). Radical thinking I know but crime reduction/detection is not just the responsibility of the Police, Joe Public has a part to play. If you are not willing to be a witness for the offence don't waste their time.
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So if there was someone waving a gun in the middle of the street you don't think they would've sent someone? More people die on the road than by getting shot, so this is just as serious in my humble opinion.
Admitedly 'pro-active' was probably the wrong word to use, but I just get fed up with where the police focus their time when it comes to traffic. Having a fully trained policeman sat in a camera van rather than being out on patrol to me is not good use of police time and does not represent any way of reducing crime or making our roads safer. Being pulled over by a cop car at least makes you think a bit, getting a nice 4 x 6" of yourself zooming along on your merry way doesn't.
I could've easily pulled off the motorway and gone another route and just forgot about this guy, but I tried to do something about the immediate problem, to me, going after this guy after the event is not worth while, same as someone waving a gun.
In an ideal world, I would gladly give up the few spare hours a week I have to help the police, in search of an unlikely conviction, 300 miles from my home.
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Having a fully trained policeman sat in a camera van rather than being out on patrol to me is not good use of police time and does not represent any way of reducing crime or making our roads safer.
I *believe* that officers do the camera van stuff on overtime, rather than during their routine shift.
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I *believe* that officers do the camera van stuff on overtime, rather than during their routine shift.
Round our way the cameras are manned by the Highways Agency - nothing to do with the police. Suspect Highways Agency guys are former Cones Hotline employees.
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Contact in police tells me that stops on motorways are now only done by multiple traffic units as a single police car stands a good chance of being shunted off the road by the guy they're trying to stop.
So unless two or three traffic cars are within range no stop would be attempted.
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I believe I am right in saying that a mobile camera MUST be operated by a pollce officer otherwise the matter can not be prosecuted as only a police officer is authorised under the law to operate such a device. Could anyone confirm/deny.
Also, road rage, don't do it. I always think back to the Kenneth Noye case. I am fairly sure the young fit guy involved probably showing off in front of his girlfriend thought he'd give the old git in the 4 wheel a good pasting, only to find an armed stone killer in front of him...
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yes, you are right everyone who wishes to use surveylence cameras has to apply beforehand and have it approved to do so, i cant remember what the new legislation is called but it is there to protect members of the public, whether criminal or not.
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Contact in police tells me that stops on motorways are now only done by multiple traffic units as a single police car stands a good chance of being shunted off the road by the guy they're trying to stop. So unless two or three traffic cars are within range no stop would be attempted.
So why do they persist in car chases on crowded single carriageways, which sometimes (all too often I think) end up with a fatality?
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I saw two cars being pulled over on the M40 on saturday, one by a patrol car, the other by an unmarked car. Neither had any backup.
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I always report stuff like this:
I give the reg, location and what is happening. If later on there is an accident involving that vehicle, the details are in the system as will be my recorded call. If anyone need me to elaborate later on I will. If every one did this after a while there would be more patrol cars about.
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By the time I recovered from the shock of what had happened and, in particular, wanting to keep well away from the BMW, I couldn't read the reg. number. I wasn't about to go chasing after the car either, given the way it was being driven.
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Generally only Police Officers are qualified to "form an opinion" that a vehicle is exceeding the Speed Limit - they then use devices to corroborate this. However in this very complicated legal age some "partnerships" are looking at putting civillian operators in vehilces to free up Officers for what some may see as "real" Police work. May need a change in the law. DVD over to you.
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For what it is worth, I recently saw a BMW with more than one smashed widow on the M4 with two 'dodgy' loking guys in it.
My wife and I called the Police on the Mobile (this was as I was leaving Bristol, heading home). They were interested, asked for more info, explained they were busy, explained how many people were on duty and where, (along with explaining priority of meeting alls with staff levels, which made perfect sense). They then radio'd onto the next district that we were about to enter who had a patrol car waiting. They called us to confirm car and location on our mobile. We followed at a safe distance (not requested but considered helpful) and the car was stopped.
As it turned out the car had been vandalised the previous evening in Bristol and the driver and passenger were legitimate.
Apparently they asked the Police to thank us (which they did on the mobile later that day) as, if the car had been nicked, they would have been grateful for the assistance in getting the thiefs arrested. We can all do our bit. At the end of the day if it was our car and someone took the time to help us............?
The Police (often critisised when it comes to car related matters) have to deal with short staffing (Government funding) and priorities. Cut them a little slack. When they can, they will. Thanks to Avon & Somerset Police & Wilts Constabulary for being both helpful and informative.
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" The BMW pulled in front of me and the driver braked, fortunately, not too hard. "
I think that this was called "Teaching him a lesson". I've had it happen to me two or three times now, but really needing me to brake hard to avoid collision. One big muscle man stomped on the anchors twice in front of me. It wakes you up, sharpish!
Another idiotic thing of note is drifting on and off the hard shoulder. I was once driving down the M1 in heavy but slow traffic, following a lorry which was wandering on and off the shoulder. My passenger asked me to overtake, but I felt far safer where I could see it in front of me.
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Well, just to make people feel better, a couple of years ago I was behind a car on the M8 which, at one point slowed down to 20 mph. I phoned 999 and gave them a running commentary, as did several other drivers. When the car took the slip road off at Anderston, they were immediately stopped by the Police.
As I drove alongside them I knew I was correct when the woman driver stumbled out the car and watched as her car rolled back into the police car behind her!
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Thank you, Bobby. That was a cracker!
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Similar experience on the Hogs Back (A31) on Friday. In this case I was in the BMW and like others in front of me, sitting on the 60mph limit. Suddenly, a goon in a black Golf appeared rapidly and large in the rear view mirror. I immediately started to move over on the basis that the smart idea is always to allow idiots to put distance between themselves and me.
He undertook anyway and repeated the same manoeuvre further on.
No point in calling up the Bill - I suspect they would have been on camera duty on the A325 in Farnborough anyway, detecting drivers doing 34 in the 30 limit zones.
Oz (as was)
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