What did he do to upset the BiB - did he get one of their daughters pregnant?
The surprising thing is that we have a driver who is cast as being so very dangerous, but he's not caused a single accident. A few flashes of headlights, a few brakes being applied, but no brown trouser moments at all.
Now that's not to say he's not about to have one, and a big one at that, but it does seem odd that so much effort went into catching someone who frankly is not the biggest idiot behind the wheel by a long chalk.
Funny handshakes, anyone? It might not be in Denmark, but I think something is rotten in the court.
Edited by oldnotbold on 01/07/2008 at 22:26
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Seems to me that the police are doing exactly what they should: responding to concerns by catching a bad driver, BEFORE a KSI. This is what we should have rather than an excess of robotic cameras.
One instance of tailgating would amount to dangerous driving. He's had umpteen instances where risk has been averted by chance, or other drivers compensating.
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Fair point Nortones - but I'd also like to see all the tailgaters he overtook taken to task as well.
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Fair point Nortones - but I'd also like to see all the tailgaters he overtook taken to task as well.
You mean the first five cars in the sequence who are all obeying the two second rule !!! Probably on their mobiles moaning about some looney in a white Transit racing a bike...
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If you read the report and links you will see that this case went to Crown Court - not the magistrates. The evidence gathered - witness statements from members of the public along with the full footage would have been considered by the CPS who deemed the seriousness sufficient to put before the beak.
To suggest that he was targeted because he had got a Police Officers daughter pregnant is both juvenile and absurd.
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Reading the comments below the article found this.
I jave seen this video in full if Chris's driving was so bad why wai 15 miles to stop him ? why was the only vehicle flashed for dodgy overtakes the facist on the motorcycle?
Seems he was followed for a considerable time, so as others have surmised, there probably is a lot more to this than the video clip shows.
On that basis can't really comment, as don't have all the facts- what is sad is that so many people see atrocious driving on a daily basis.
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No-one needs to be in that sort of a hurry. Pure arrogance and a disregard for other road users.
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No-one needs to be in that sort of a hurry. Pure arrogance and a disregard for other road users.
You are obviously the sort of mimser that lives up there. If you don't overtake the locals will literally follow anything for miles, not just big wagons but tractors etc.
As everyone has said their was no arrogance, no disregard for other road users, I suspect that more than one of the muppets he overtook speeded upto close what little gap they'd left.
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I suspect that more than one of the muppets he overtook speeded upto close what little gap they'd left.
I didn't see anything like that - the video wasn't all that good - but certainly mimsers often do it. Someone defined mimsers as 'not usually aggressive'. There are lots of ways of being aggressive and mimser's passive aggression is among the most dangerous behaviour on the road.
I used to overtake lines of mimsers on single-carriageway A roads, but I hardly ever do now. There's more stuff coming the other way just for a start. But once, in the seventies, the second-to-front car in a waddling chain of four or five pulled out without looking in its mirror at the exact wrong moment causing me to brake hard enough to see my tyre smoke in the mirror and take to the r/h verge for a moment. All below the 60 limit, in everyone's case but mine disgracefully far below it.
I saw white faces looking out of the miscreant vehicle as I hammered past it - something had appeared over the horizon coming the other way by then - but only noticed at the end of my journey that I had actually hit it with my n/s front bumper and wing, which were never the same again.
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Was what he did more serious than this?
tinyurl.com/47xa3a
The sentence would suggest so. Where's the consistency?
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I'm a 'press on' driver and make no apologies for it... and cannot stand dawdling fools that think it is their right to hold others up if they don't want to press on.
The evidence shown in the clip isn't that bad in the big scheme of things.
Fullchat's explanation explains all to me... and i'd be surprised if the full story isn't something along the lines of continous and habitual forceful and poor driving, at times certainly careless and other times downright reckless, which has meant a degree of enforcement not usually afforded to individuals. The Guilty plea at court gives some of this away.
I'd be happy to accept Fullchat's assertion that just rewards were the order of the day.
Edited by Westpig on 02/07/2008 at 04:57
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Re "The evidence shown in the clip isn't that bad in the big scheme of things." maybe we have seen so much driving of a poor standard, that we are surprised when the police have the resources to tackle it. If there were more police patrols there would be a deterrent effect. Maybe. Re mimsers: some might be economising!
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- but only noticed at the end of my journey that I had actually hit it with my n/s front bumper >>
Er, Lud, in which part of the country are you normally driving, and what type of car should we be particularly watching out for?
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Waino: perhaps you think I am so physically defective that I don't notice when my car hits something?
This was such an occasion, but very exceptional. The impact wasn't violent of course, both cars moving in the same direction; and it took place during extremely violent braking and evasive action at the wheel, sufficient to swamp what would anyway have been quite a gentle nudge.
You don't need to watch out for me. Just drive properly when you are on the same bit of road as me and you should be all right.
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Waino: perhaps you think I am so physically defective that I don't notice when my
car hits something?>>
No, Lud, no .... it's just that driving in rural East Anglia, I have a particular list of 'what ifs'. For example, what if a tractor turns out of that field entrance (as they do); what if a deer runs out* (as they do); what if a townie in his 4x4 roars towards me on a single-track road (as they do)? What if Lud's about? ;-)
*My mate's daft stepson (he has already written-off several cars, and shouldn't be allowed on the road) had hit a deer at 85mph on a country road at night. Fortunately, Saturday evening's dinner was over before my mate described the horrendous stench of having to hose deer innards and gut-contents from the engine bay of the wrecked car. When driving, it's worth reminding yourself that there are plenty of other loons like him out on the roads ........ loons who never think 'what if'.
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loons who never think 'what if'.
Yes, the total absence of reality-based imagination is a major factor in juvenile recklessness. But do I gather you think I am such a loon?
Perhaps I am. I have a scientist friend who loves chainsaws but doesn't trust cars or the road. But you have to trust them up to a point or you just can't bring yourself to do it. Agoraphobics are quite right to stay indoors. It really is awful out there. And the roads are awful too. So it must be right to crawl about at 20, mustn't it?
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I have a scientist friend who loves chainsaws but doesn't trust cars
or the road. >>
Like me, he is a scientist and recognises that his survival with a chain-saw depends on him and him alone - not on other half-wits on their mobile phones etc.
I'll bet you've never seen him use his mobile, or fiddle with his radio, or nod off to sleep while sawing?
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tr7v8
Did you by any chance see Top Gear last Sunday. Then I would put you in the M3 bracket.
No I am not a mimser. I get frustrated sitting behind said vehicles. But I don't push the boundary to endanger other road users.
Edited by scribe on 02/07/2008 at 11:37
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I reported a horse transporter driver to police for going through a red light at a junction once. It wasn't a matter of anber-gambling, they shot through a red light at a crossroads controlled by lights.
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There is another writeup in that paper at tinyurl.com/5awrku
Police were first alerted to Graily's motoring after reports to officers over several days about the manner of his driving on the A614.
Even off-duty police officers witnessed first-hand the aggressive and reckless driving.
It was in October last year that Graily's dangerous motoring first caught the police's attention.
After a number of reports, PC Dennis decided to use a covert motorbike with state-of-the-art video equipment to track and record Graily's dangerous driving.
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I showed this clip to my lady last night and predictably, she said such rubbish as "everyone knows it isn't normal to overtake 8 cars" and "gosh thath's just so dangerous". Many people just don't think outside the box with their driving and can't cope with any slightly abnormal situation as a result. Here's an example. I was on the M1 last week with the roof open, and it started to rain. I was in 50mph limit section. My roof only closes if the car is doing under 25mph. I looked in the mirror and there was only 1 car behind me, a red VW Polo a few hundred yards back. I slowed down to 25, activated the roof (which takes 15 seconds to close and engaged 2nd so I could quickly get back to speed. I watched the polo in my mirror for the whole duration, and they came up behind me, braked, and matched my speed of 25mph untill I jetted off again. Totally thoughtless and a complete lack of judgement and skill. People who criticise safe overtaking manouvers are unsafe and dangerous drivers themselves in my opinion.
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I can't work out what the man expected - he pleaded guilty after all. He had 'form' for bad driving on that road and was prosecuted. He may have been harshly treated but his guilty plea wasn't going to be a good start to a light sentence!
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 02/07/2008 at 21:50
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.....Totally thoughtless and a complete lack of judgement and skill......
Sorry, despite reading and rereading your post I fail to understand your point.
Are you being self critical or concerned that the car behind slowed and did not overtake?
Perhaps, if the latter, he was being conservative in not having seen the reason for you slowing and rather than pull out to overtake, opted for the cautious approach. For example, if a dog had run in front of you, and was the reason for you slowing, ( because the dog remain in front of you running in the lane), an overtaking manouvre by the Polo could had unintended consequences.
If you 'watched the Polo in your mirror for the whole duration', you drove about 2-300 yards without watching the road in front. Who then is demonstrating a complete lack of judgement and skill?
Ask yourself, if the only car behind had been a marked police car, would you have still done it?
pmh
Edited by pmh on 02/07/2008 at 22:21
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Many people just don't think outside the box with their driving and can't cope with any slightly abnormal situation as a result.
Many people don't think. I'm not sure what "outside the box" means in this context. Perhaps to do things which the majority of drivers would not expect? Hm?
I slowed down to 25 (... in a 50MPH section of the M1...) activated the roof (which takes 15 seconds to close and engaged 2nd so I could quickly get back to speed.
I am not sure that that was a wise thing to do, taking your words at face value.
I watched the polo in my mirror for the whole duration and they came up behind me braked and matched my speed of 25mph untill I jetted off again.
So, what was in front of you whilst you were watching the road behind? Did you indicate that you were slowing down?
Totally thoughtless and a complete lack of judgement and skill.
Hm.
People who criticise safe overtaking manouvers are unsafe and dangerous drivers themselves in my opinion.
Beauty is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder. It is difficult to criticise people who criticise, when not knowing exactly what they are criticising.
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"I was on the M1 last week with the roof open, and it started to rain. I was in 50mph limit section. My roof only closes if the car is doing under 25mph. I looked in the mirror and there was only 1 car behind me, a red VW Polo a few hundred yards back. I slowed down to 25, activated the roof (which takes 15 seconds to close"
Which bit of the M1 was this? Sounds a bit dangerous given the usual M1 traffic density - could get 42 tons of Lithuanian artic up your backside. Surely safer to pull onto hard shoulder then slow to a crawl while it goes up, then boot it and pull back out into traffic.
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with any slightly abnormal situation as a result. Here's an example. I was on the M1 last week with the roof open and it started to rain. I was in 50mph limit section. My roof only closes if the car is doing under 25mph. I looked in the mirror and there was only 1 car behind me a red VW Polo a few hundred yards back. I slowed down to 25 activated the roof (which takes 15 seconds to close and engaged 2nd so I could quickly get back to speed. I watched the polo in my mirror for the whole duration and they came up behind me braked and matched my speed of 25mph untill I jetted off again.
For some reason that doesn't suprise me, however, I am disappointed that you didn't just leave the roof down, I covered 30 miles in lashing rain with the hood down in my MG the other week, we were on the motorway with no convienient place to pull in. :-)
We got some strange looks from kids and adults alike but remained totally dry as we were doing 70mph, I would imagine that the effect would be the same at 50mph unless it was raining very, very hard. It's certainly an experience that's good for a laugh!
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