I believe the police have their "Regular customers" and Mr Average Joe Public rarely has contact with the police. This may have changed due to ANPR, but Mr AJP will usually have insurance.
Me, never.
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Boxing Day 199? Left front fogs on by accident - stopped by an Officer whose nickname is "the pig" (by his own colleagues) - lot of finger wagging etc etc.
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1996. I overtook at 50mph before the 40mph limit ran out, using the solid hatched centre of the road to do so.
I talked my way out of it.
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I tell a lie, I was stopped at a police roadblock looking for drunks. Bit of bad luck they were having with me. Also twice at different choke points in rural Scotland after criminal activity.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Thu 5 Aug 10 at 21:41
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I think the last routine stop was some 13 years ago early hours of the morning returning from night shift in my Landcruiser, about a mile from an itinerants camp, the bill stopped me but as soon as i gave my name and address and told them i was on the way home from work they bade me cheerio i thanked them and they disappeared.
Good coppering that, it wouldnt have been the first nicked 4x4 that ended up in bits at said camp.
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Two years ago, routine stop by an unmarked car.
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I was stopped driving a Granada at about 115mph along the M4 once (in 1986), being matched by another Granada....when two Thames Valley Police Vx Senators stopped us... eventually.
There was a good old arguement on the hard shoulder...ended when my instructor waved a copy of the exemption certificate provided by the Secretaty of State, that permits Police driving schools to break some laws.
We all had a little chuckle at that one.
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monthly lately
i think the rozzers ate me
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In my first year of full licence-holding, I got stopped 45 times.... Guess I looked a bit young, plus I passed my test only a couple of months after turning 17.
My last stop was in the lorry just before Christmas 2008. I posted on it in some length on HJ but a thorough search on there just now has failed to turn up any trace. Basically a London cop, claiming to be (and looking) very high-up in the Met, being driven into Birmingham on the A45, cut me up in his unmarked car then pulled me over, bawled me out and forced me to apologise for my driving... Still leaves a sour taste even now.
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I remember reading about it on HJ.
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To my eternal shame I was stopped when well over the limit in 1988. My nearside headlight had failed the previous night (when I had not been drinking) and I had not had it replaced, hence the pull-over. I must have been reasonably convincing in explaining to the officer that I knew that the light had failed and that I had been unable to have it replaced. He shone his torch on all four tyres (which were all totally legal) and suggested that I have the lamp replaced the following day. I had the lamp replaced and have never had a drink prior to driving since.
Please don't post to say that I was a berk. I know that I was.
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Confucius might well have said...
"Man who knows he was berk is no longer berk"
:-)
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Mid 80s, I suppose. New Years Eve. Doing a medical repatriation from Manchester Airport to West Yorkshire with an old couple on board who'd been flown home by Mondial Assistance.
I was in my Citroen BX, on the eastbound track of the M62 getting up speed to attack Windy Hill , just past the Rochdale turnoff.
Saw the blue lights come off the slip behind me. Whatever it was tucked in behind me and there were so many lights, I thought it was a fire engine and as he wasn't overtaking, perhaps he wanted to get off at the Milnrow gate, not far up. I actually put my foot down a bit.
Red Rag/Bull.......It was a Range Rover. Tugged me, showed me the Vascar showing 93.
Said it was the worst bit of driving he'd ever seen and threatened to ' Take my licence away from me '.........arrogant sod. Let me go after a good telling off. ( And me telling him I had a patient on board who I had to get to hospital in Leeds )
The daft thing was, there was absolutely nothing else on the motorway in either direction and I was maintaining a steady line down lane 1....Worst bit of driving ? Must have been new to the Road Patrol then ! Probably bored.
Ted
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>> Said it was the worst bit of driving he'd ever seen
I had a similar experience in 1992 on the M25.
Travelling anti-clockwise from J24 to J23 about half past midnight on a clear dry summer's night, in my Cavalier at around an indicated 80mph. Very very gently gaining on a marked Rover 827 in Lane 1, which was very very gently gaining on a motorbike. Signalled and moved out to Lane 2, then continued out to Lane 3 to allow cop car to overtake bike. Cop car overtook bike whilst being overtaken by me, then we both smoothly moved back to Lane 1, now with me leading the cops, then the bike bringing up the rear.
About two miles further on the Rover belted up behind me with all the blue lights going, pulled me over to inform me that he'd VASCARed me at 83.44mph over the last mile and that it's "maniacs like you" who are responsible for the fatal accidents he has to attend every day. Cue a further 5 minutes of lecturing / roadside MoT test before being allowed on my way with no futher action.
I never cheek police officers, never have done, but have been treated like something they trod in on several occasions seemingly for the offence of driving in the wrong place at the wrong time. :(
I'll still help the police if I'm in a position to (been first on scene at two accidents in two years, helped one driver out of an overturned car and comforted/checked another freshly knocked-down pedestrian).
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In this country, a few decades ago.
Just a few hundred yards from home, late one wet evening in a 30 mph town road.
Another car shot out from a side road on my right into my path and then did not accelerate.
I chose to take to the other side of the road to avoid him and doing so "overtook" on a pedestrian crossing and was immediately flagged down by a local police guy.
He had seen what happened and accepted that I was attempting to avoid rear ending the guy.
he then said he was off to give the other guy a roasting and that I should drive very slowly around the bend.
There I came across a multiple car crash with one vehicle in a front garden and the reason why the police guy was sentry to slow down any approaching cars.
I just drove past and learned that there were injuries no no one killed.
I have been stopped more times in the Capetown area, late at night, random stops asking politely if I had been drinking and let on my way. Yes I had a small glass of wine with my meal - honest. SWMBO does not drive so that is my limit.
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Never actually been pulled over or stopped but I did get a telling off in slow moving traffic.
Dual carraigeway, police dog vehicle inside lane doing an indicated 68mph. No one else would overtake him but me, at no more than an indicated 75mph.
When we reached a roundabout on the same dual carraigeway he pulled alongside me and shouted to me that when he is doing the speed limit he does not expect to be overtaken by an ordinary member of the public.
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Dave, were you expecting anything else by overtaking a marked traffic car whilst breaking the speed limit?
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when I first past my test ?0 years ago I got pulled quite a few times for various (non)offences
Last time, summer 2008 on the way in to Innsbruck from the airport. As the policeman was stood in the middle of the road and carrying a semi automatic, there was no problem with the language barrier... :-)
(There had been an armed bank robbery in Innsbruck - can't understand the logic of stopping traffic heading for the scene of the crime, but I wasn't going to ask questions)
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2008, doing 45 mph in a 30 zone. The time before that was 1982 when I failed to notice a patrol car following me, and managed to do 55 in a 30 limit showing off to my mate. At night. In pouring rain.
Both times I got let off with a serious talking-to (and a '5 day wonder' in the 1982 instance). Both were examples of good assertive policing. Touch wood, I've always been impressed by the Police whenever I've had to deal with them.
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2002 doing 96MPH on the A30 in Cornwall.
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2009 in France, pressing on a bit on the A10. Lovely sunny day, failed to spot until I went shooting past it, park on a raised section, a bright blue Impreza with all manner of lights and stickers, quite visible from a distance I imagine to those who were looking. Can't remember exactly what I was clocked at - just over 100 mph I think. Two gendarmes, polite but serious guys, not much joy in their lives, no English spoken of course, relieved of 90 euros, on my way.
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A couple of years ago, driving down Birdcage Walk, hand in air and asked to stop. Policeman searched car; checked car for guns and bombs; rang to base to check my insurance.
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When were you last stopped by the police ? - R.P.
