Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: JamesV6CDX on 19 December 2007, 17:03:54
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I was driving along the M4 this morning, about 11am. Two lane traffic.
I was in lane 2, and was approaching a tiny black Citroen C2. It was doing a really annoying speed of about 66mph, and wasn't making much progress towards overtaking anything. It had a clear, sufficient gap in lane one to move over - but it would not budge over to let me by.
Keeping a good distance - I gave a brief light flash. He looked in his mirror and saw it, but still didn't move over.
To cut a long story short, he seemed to be refusing to move over (I had a que of cars behind me also wanting to pass him).
I must hold up my hand to the fact that I was getting a little bit frustrated. I ended up getting far too close to the citroen - probably in the realms of tailgaiting. I gave a couple more light flashes which the driver saw, and made a (friendly) hand gesture that I wanted to pass.
All I was greeted by was a dab on his brakes, and again refusal to move to lane 1.
At one point he made as if he was going to move over, but then changed his mind, causing me to have to ease off, after preparing to pass him.
When he finally did move over, and I passed him, I was rather horrified. In the little Citroen, was the unmistaken presence of two uniformed police officers. And I had been effectively trying to "encourage" them out of my way for about 3 miles :'(
The officer made a very clear hand signal to me that he was furious, and as I pulled back in front he flashed his headlights at me. Being in a personal car I guess he couldn't pull me over, but still, I expect he noted the VRM, and I'm really not looking forward to any consequenses.
I'm not sure exactly what they can do when not in the "works" vehicle, but I'm guessing someone will pay me a visit very soon.
Bottom line is, I shouldn't have got so close behind it, and I hold my hand up to that. And I know it's not a valid defence, but I would expect a police officer to drive in such a manner that doesn't confuse and impede the progress of motorway traffic >:(
Any thoughts on how this might pan out, would be interesting :-/
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I hate to say this, but I was cought out doing something similar...I ended up with 4 points for careless driving :( :'(
I undertook the car though.
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I hate to say this, but I was cought out doing something similar...I ended up with 4 points for careless driving :( :'(
I undertook the car though.
Were you caught by an officer on-duty at the time, or a marked / unmarked traffic car?
I'm thinking, without video evidence on this occasion, I might get away with a rollocking... but I'm unsure!
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ANY points, and I won't be able to insure a meega!
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Bottom line is, I shouldn't have got so close behind it, and I hold my hand up to that.
He shouldn't have been lane hogging and brake testing people either. Should know better. Seems to me that he was trying to provoke you. It's unfortunate that you took the bait but I can't see anything coming of it, to be honest.
The worst you'll probably get if it's repoprted is a "slap on the wrist letter" like the one I got for doing 31 MPH (+/- the accuracy of the hand held gun!) in a 30MPH limit ::). "Whilst we are satisfied that an offence has been committed, on this occasion we have decided not to take further action..."
Kevin
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Are you sure they were police officers and not prison wardens or security guards or even a couple of guys in fancy dress.
The vast majority of our Police force are very sensible level headed people and I doubt an officer would lane hog as described.
I suspect you have little to worry about.
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Did cross my mind Mark - but fancy dress at 11am? :)
Either way, I'll sit tight and wait for a knock on the door!!
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Are you sure they were police officers and not prison wardens or security guards or even a couple of guys in fancy dress.
The vast majority of out Police force are very sensible level headed people and I doubt an officer would lane hog as described.
I suspect you have little to worry about.
Agreed :y
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Good thinking on the fancy dress. Mate of mine once took his driving test in drag due to an unfortunate clash with a staging of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
He passed. Doubt the poor guy dared to fail him. So, yes, all is not what it seems sometimes when you look inside a passing car. :-X
I doubt a real Police officer would have gesticulated his annoyance or flashed his lights. He would have pulled you over for a word or let it be.
kevin
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That would be a sorry sight - a Citroen C3 1.0 pulling over a Facelift Omega V6!!
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I was driving along the M4 this morning, about 11am. Two lane traffic.
I was in lane 2, and was approaching a tiny black Citroen C2. It was doing a really annoying speed of about 66mph, and wasn't making much progress towards overtaking anything. It had a clear, sufficient gap in lane one to move over - but it would not budge over to let me by.
Keeping a good distance - I gave a brief light flash. He looked in his mirror and saw it, but still didn't move over.
To cut a long story short, he seemed to be refusing to move over (I had a que of cars behind me also wanting to pass him).
I must hold up my hand to the fact that I was getting a little bit frustrated. I ended up getting far too close to the citroen - probably in the realms of tailgaiting. I gave a couple more light flashes which the driver saw, and made a (friendly) hand gesture that I wanted to pass.
All I was greeted by was a dab on his brakes, and again refusal to move to lane 1.
At one point he made as if he was going to move over, but then changed his mind, causing me to have to ease off, after preparing to pass him.
When he finally did move over, and I passed him, I was rather horrified. In the little Citroen, was the unmistaken presence of two uniformed police officers. And I had been effectively trying to "encourage" them out of my way for about 3 miles :'(
The officer made a very clear hand signal to me that he was furious, and as I pulled back in front he flashed his headlights at me. Being in a personal car I guess he couldn't pull me over, but still, I expect he noted the VRM, and I'm really not looking forward to any consequenses.
I'm not sure exactly what they can do when not in the "works" vehicle, but I'm guessing someone will pay me a visit very soon.
Bottom line is, I shouldn't have got so close behind it, and I hold my hand up to that. And I know it's not a valid defence, but I would expect a police officer to drive in such a manner that doesn't confuse and impede the progress of motorway traffic >:(
Any thoughts on how this might pan out, would be interesting :-/
hell no, use that as your defense, i'd be equally annoyed if i was impeded in ANY way by a police officer who clearly has no idea how to drive properly, if anything, you should have took his details and reported him just so you at least have some sort of evidence on your own side
in the evening of a busy saturday I watch in amazement as a police woman got into her marked transit van and sped off down the road with no lights on, at all, and yes, i mean her headlights werent even on
it's not unheard of for traffic police to pull over beat cops for not driving properly :y
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I was driving along the M4 this morning, about 11am. Two lane traffic.
I was in lane 2, and was approaching a tiny black Citroen C2. It was doing a really annoying speed of about 66mph, and wasn't making much progress towards overtaking anything. It had a clear, sufficient gap in lane one to move over - but it would not budge over to let me by.
Keeping a good distance - I gave a brief light flash. He looked in his mirror and saw it, but still didn't move over.
To cut a long story short, he seemed to be refusing to move over (I had a que of cars behind me also wanting to pass him).
I must hold up my hand to the fact that I was getting a little bit frustrated. I ended up getting far too close to the citroen - probably in the realms of tailgaiting. I gave a couple more light flashes which the driver saw, and made a (friendly) hand gesture that I wanted to pass.
All I was greeted by was a dab on his brakes, and again refusal to move to lane 1.
At one point he made as if he was going to move over, but then changed his mind, causing me to have to ease off, after preparing to pass him.
When he finally did move over, and I passed him, I was rather horrified. In the little Citroen, was the unmistaken presence of two uniformed police officers. And I had been effectively trying to "encourage" them out of my way for about 3 miles :'(
The officer made a very clear hand signal to me that he was furious, and as I pulled back in front he flashed his headlights at me. Being in a personal car I guess he couldn't pull me over, but still, I expect he noted the VRM, and I'm really not looking forward to any consequenses.
I'm not sure exactly what they can do when not in the "works" vehicle, but I'm guessing someone will pay me a visit very soon.
Bottom line is, I shouldn't have got so close behind it, and I hold my hand up to that. And I know it's not a valid defence, but I would expect a police officer to drive in such a manner that doesn't confuse and impede the progress of motorway traffic >:(
Any thoughts on how this might pan out, would be interesting :-/
I agree with Mark. How can you be sure they were police officers?
There's little doubt that in my mind that had they been, and the driver was as furious as you say, they would have pulled you over to give you a once over even if they knew they they didn't have any video evidence of your tailgating.
Hope you learned your lesson, though. ;)
Nick
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I don't think you have anything to worry about mate, as people have said above I very much doubt an off duty police officer would drive like that, and if anything does come of it you can always ask to go to court and see motorway video evidence. Remember, big brother is always watching!
If the Citroen was driving as you described I'd imagine it wouldn't be far off driving without due care and attention, although I'm not an expert so don't quote me.
Good job it wasn't me....I wouldn't have waited 3 miles. If theres room to undertake he had room to pull in....good luck with it though :y
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I was driving along the M4 this morning, about 11am. Two lane traffic.
I was in lane 2, and was approaching a tiny black Citroen C2. It was doing a really annoying speed of about 66mph, and wasn't making much progress towards overtaking anything. It had a clear, sufficient gap in lane one to move over - but it would not budge over to let me by.
Keeping a good distance - I gave a brief light flash. He looked in his mirror and saw it, but still didn't move over.
To cut a long story short, he seemed to be refusing to move over (I had a que of cars behind me also wanting to pass him).
I must hold up my hand to the fact that I was getting a little bit frustrated. I ended up getting far too close to the citroen - probably in the realms of tailgaiting. I gave a couple more light flashes which the driver saw, and made a (friendly) hand gesture that I wanted to pass.
All I was greeted by was a dab on his brakes, and again refusal to move to lane 1.
At one point he made as if he was going to move over, but then changed his mind, causing me to have to ease off, after preparing to pass him.
When he finally did move over, and I passed him, I was rather horrified. In the little Citroen, was the unmistaken presence of two uniformed police officers. And I had been effectively trying to "encourage" them out of my way for about 3 miles :'(
The officer made a very clear hand signal to me that he was furious, and as I pulled back in front he flashed his headlights at me. Being in a personal car I guess he couldn't pull me over, but still, I expect he noted the VRM, and I'm really not looking forward to any consequenses.
I'm not sure exactly what they can do when not in the "works" vehicle, but I'm guessing someone will pay me a visit very soon.
Bottom line is, I shouldn't have got so close behind it, and I hold my hand up to that. And I know it's not a valid defence, but I would expect a police officer to drive in such a manner that doesn't confuse and impede the progress of motorway traffic >:(
Any thoughts on how this might pan out, would be interesting :-/
I agree with Mark. How can you be sure they were police officers?
There's little doubt that in my mind that had they been, and the driver was as furious as you say, they would have pulled you over to give you a once over even if they knew they they didn't have any video evidence of your tailgating.
Hope you learned your lesson, though. ;)
Nick
Thing is - he wouldn't be allowed to pull me over if he's in his personal shopping trolly car with no blues...
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Sounds like you have escaped any nastyness with the law.
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Whist I still maintain the C3 driver is a daftie...
It's still taught me that you can never be too careful, and never know who is watching!!
When you think about how much you rely on your licence, and how easy it would be to lose...
Food for thought. Next time I will bite my tongue and arrive 10 minutes later if needsbe!
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I was driving along the M4 this morning, about 11am. Two lane traffic.
I was in lane 2, and was approaching a tiny black Citroen C2. It was doing a really annoying speed of about 66mph, and wasn't making much progress towards overtaking anything. It had a clear, sufficient gap in lane one to move over - but it would not budge over to let me by.
Keeping a good distance - I gave a brief light flash. He looked in his mirror and saw it, but still didn't move over.
To cut a long story short, he seemed to be refusing to move over (I had a que of cars behind me also wanting to pass him).
I must hold up my hand to the fact that I was getting a little bit frustrated. I ended up getting far too close to the citroen - probably in the realms of tailgaiting. I gave a couple more light flashes which the driver saw, and made a (friendly) hand gesture that I wanted to pass.
All I was greeted by was a dab on his brakes, and again refusal to move to lane 1.
At one point he made as if he was going to move over, but then changed his mind, causing me to have to ease off, after preparing to pass him.
When he finally did move over, and I passed him, I was rather horrified. In the little Citroen, was the unmistaken presence of two uniformed police officers. And I had been effectively trying to "encourage" them out of my way for about 3 miles :'(
The officer made a very clear hand signal to me that he was furious, and as I pulled back in front he flashed his headlights at me. Being in a personal car I guess he couldn't pull me over, but still, I expect he noted the VRM, and I'm really not looking forward to any consequenses.
I'm not sure exactly what they can do when not in the "works" vehicle, but I'm guessing someone will pay me a visit very soon.
Bottom line is, I shouldn't have got so close behind it, and I hold my hand up to that. And I know it's not a valid defence, but I would expect a police officer to drive in such a manner that doesn't confuse and impede the progress of motorway traffic >:(
Any thoughts on how this might pan out, would be interesting :-/
looking at what you said here there are a few things that jump out at me.
He was occupying lane 2 when lane 1 was free, if this was the case then i believe this is an offence
I don't believe there is anything in the law that says you cannot flash someone to gain their attention (the first flash you did) however getting a bit close may be seen as being intimidating.
isn't a 'brake test' illegal? Bruucie might be able to clear that one up, i was under the impression that at the least doing a brake test is viewed with a lot of contempt by traffic officers
if the police to visit then say it as it happened, that's all you can do mate
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It wasn't a "brake test"... more of a dab on the brakes / flash of his brake lights. Probably to tell me to back off.
But yes, if it could be proved somone deliberately "brake tested" a following motorist, and especially if they caused an accident, I would imagine that would fall into dangerous / reckless driving catagories.. and would definately attract a dim view from a good traffic officer..
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Report him now - phone up the Police NOW and report them for bad driving
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Report him now - phone up the Police NOW and report them for bad driving
It would be fruitless - I didn't take his VRM :(
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It wasn't a "brake test"... more of a dab on the brakes / flash of his brake lights. Probably to tell me to back off.
But yes, if it could be proved somone deliberately "brake tested" a following motorist, and especially if they caused an accident, I would imagine that would fall into dangerous / reckless driving catagories.. and would definately attract a dim view from a good traffic officer..
the point is James why did he do that if the inside lane was clear? it strikes me that he was trying to provoke and dabbing the brakes/flashing the lights is another way of doing that.....
I would go with what Martin has just said, if you have the details then report him for driving like a muppet
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Driving like that - no chance of anything happeneing, report them anyway as impersonating Police officers.
I have reported crap Police drivers many times and will continue to do so
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honestly i still cant see what you personally did wrong!
common sense and decency would dictate that if you're driving below the speed limit, your left lane is empty, and you have a progressive tailback behind you, you move over out of courtesy! To dab on the brakes, then "think about" changing lanes and move back as if changing your mind just to annoy the following motorist, is just blatent childishness and if that's the kind of police we're relying on to help us when we need them, its not a good picture is it
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the worse that could come out of this is a visit from the boys in blue and a statement being taken.
this sounds like a bit of tit for tat /winding up
he's being a dick in lane 2, you ask him to move over
he spits dummy out, dabs brakes, you get closer
6 of one half dozen of the other, i can't see how anyone would try and make an offense stick
sorry if i have made it sound less than it was, just cutting it back to its simplest
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Are you sure they were police officers and not prison wardens or security guards or even a couple of guys in fancy dress.
... or male strippers..
now you'll be worried if they pay you a visit ;D
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[/quote]
Thing is - he wouldn't be allowed to pull me over if he's in his personal shopping trolly car with no blues...
[/quote]
I'm sure someone will confirm this, but I think he would be allowed to pull you over - or at least try. There are plenty of unmarked police vehicles out there and provided they had their warrant cards on them and they are in uniform , it doesn't matter what mode of transport they are using. A PC on a bike could pull you over and claiming the bike was his own and not police issue wouldn't make any difference in court, IMHO.
But, as I said earlier, I don't think they were police officers. :)
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Just a reminder that there are some idiots on the road and it's best to leave them behind without compromising yourself and not to get worked up over them.
Had one 10 mins ago on the way back from work. Overtook him perfectly safely on a dual carriageway, a good 2 car lengths in front I indicate to pull in as we came to end of dual carriageway and he decided that I wasn't going to be pulling in in front of him and accelerated up my inside.
Temptation was to floor it and create a log jam where the road narrows to single, but tried to stop red mist descending and pulled in behind. He can continue to drive his company car policy-dictated Passat TDi repmobile like that until he does it to an unmarked cop car as far as I'm concerned. ;D
Kevin
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Just a reminder that there are some idiots on the road and it's best to leave them behind without compromising yourself and not to get worked up over them.
Had one 10 mins ago on the way back from work. Overtook him perfectly safely on a dual carriageway, a good 2 car lengths in front I indicate to pull in as we came to end of dual carriageway and he decided that I wasn't going to be pulling in in front of him and accelerated up my inside.
Temptation was to floor it and create a log jam where the road narrows to single, but tried to stop red mist descending and pulled in behind. He can continue to drive his company car policy-dictated Passat TDi repmobile like that until he does it to an unmarked cop car as far as I'm concerned. ;D
Kevin
You should have flashed him - advantage of driving an Omega - people still think they are Police cars
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Thing is - he wouldn't be allowed to pull me over if he's in his personal
shopping trolly car with no blues...
[/quote]
I'm sure someone will confirm this, but I think he would be allowed to pull you over - or at least try. There are plenty of unmarked police vehicles out there and provided they had their warrant cards on them and they are in uniform , it doesn't matter what mode of transport they are using. A PC on a bike could pull you over and claiming the bike was his own and not police issue wouldn't make any difference in court, IMHO.
But, as I said earlier, I don't think they were police officers. :)[/quote]
But they always have hidden blues and twos and aint citroen c2's ;D
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I cannot see any traffic officer brake testing you on the motorway or hogging lane 2 or 3, we have to deal with the results of such stupid actions
you can use your headlights to 'warn others of your presence' and im sure thats what you were doing.
its likley to have been a couple of shift officers going to court or something and i would not worry about it too much. easy for me to say! most of them dont know how to complete the required forms for a careless driving and dont worry about it
Perhaps they were giving an appreciation flash to thank you for pointing out their error ;)
whatever you will know in 14 days max!
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I'm confident an officer couldn't pull you over in his own car. Firstly, his personal insurance wouldn't allow him to do "policing" activities such as this on the road. Secondly, no obligation to stop unless you are 100% confident it's a police officer, and also no obligation to stop if they cannot display blue lights...
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For my two penneth......don't worry.
66mph sounds police like to me, but if they were both in uniform then they would have also had walkie's and could have called ahead to have you watched and pulled.
I think they let you see the error of your ways and that's it. ::)
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Could of even be the silly PCSO or what ever there called....security guards that think there Sweeney ::) ;D
Regards the getting too close to the other car sounds like you every reason too,however just remeber theres idiots on the roads just like my friend....whilst being tailgated (he had just severely cut someone up :o) my friend then decided that the guy behind is out of order and slams and i do mean slams his brakes on causing the car behind to loose control under breaking/swerving......could of ended up as a major accident simply due to said friend driving like a complete cock.
We may all drive a fairly big car but we all still need to be carefull,there really is some loonies on the roads. :y
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I'm sure that you have nothing to worry about.
I had a wierd one this morning, going up the M6 between J12 and J13, the information screens displayed
SLOW 20
ONCOMING VEHICLE
:o :o :o :o
I decided to pull behind a lorry and wait for the end sign ::)
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I'm sure that you have nothing to worry about.
I had a wierd one this morning, going up the M6 between J12 and J13, the information screens displayed
SLOW 20
ONCOMING VEHICLE
:o :o :o :o
I decided to pull behind a lorry and wait for the end sign ::)
A wise move ;D
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besides, if he reports you, your word against his
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besides, if he reports you, your word against his
Not when there where two of them its not.
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I was once behind a marked car on the motorway, not a traffic car, just marked car. It was doing 65 mph, I indicated and moved out to lane 2 to pass and the car increased speed to 80 mph, so I dropped back in behind and they slowed back down to 65 mph. I went to pass again and they did the same but this time I carried on to 82 mph to get past and the driver gesticulated at me, so I gesticulated back gave him the look and pulled in front and sat at 75mph until they pulled off next junction.
Traffic officer wannabe me thinks :-X
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Wait 14 days for a letter to reg keeper and take it from there.... If nothing, forget and learn.....
I would bet it was a couple of standard cops heading from/to court as witnesses and decided to play at Trafpol for the journey....
and failed.....
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Wait 14 days for a letter to reg keeper and take it from there.... If nothing, forget and learn.....
I would bet it was a couple of standard cops heading from/to court as witnesses and decided to play at Trafpol for the journey....
and failed.....
Thanks for the wise words as always Broocie :y
I am the registered keeper, so it would come to me.
A tense 14 days, especially over Christmas :'(
Yes, lesson learned - but in fairness it's not something I make a habit of.
I still think it's blinkin' bad luck that the one time I am a little bit out of character and push someone on, it's a pair of cops :-X
:-[
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Wait 14 days for a letter to reg keeper and take it from there.... If nothing, forget and learn.....
I would bet it was a couple of standard cops heading from/to court as witnesses and decided to play at Trafpol for the journey....
and failed.....
Thanks for the wise words as always Broocie :y
I am the registered keeper, so it would come to me.
A tense 14 days, especially over Christmas :'(
Yes, lesson learned - but in fairness it's not something I make a habit of.
I still think it's blinkin' bad luck that the one time I am a little bit out of character and push someone on, it's a pair of cops :-X
:-[
Nothing will come of it James - they were being absolute dicks - did you report them?
Trafpol are very interested in this sort of thing, do you know anyone, my contact retired a few years ago - used to drive a Senator on the M5 and was based at the Golden Valley Bypass junction.
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Wait 14 days for a letter to reg keeper and take it from there.... If nothing, forget and learn.....
I would bet it was a couple of standard cops heading from/to court as witnesses and decided to play at Trafpol for the journey....
and failed.....
Thanks for the wise words as always Broocie :y
I am the registered keeper, so it would come to me.
A tense 14 days, especially over Christmas :'(
Yes, lesson learned - but in fairness it's not something I make a habit of.
I still think it's blinkin' bad luck that the one time I am a little bit out of character and push someone on, it's a pair of cops :-X
:-[
Nothing will come of it James - they were being absolute dicks - did you report them?
Trafpol are very interested in this sort of thing, do you know anyone, my contact retired a few years ago - used to drive a Senator on the M5 and was based at the Golden Valley Bypass junction.
I don't know anyone, and as before, can't really report because I don't have the VRM, there are (unfortunately) lots of black citroen C2's out there :)
Golden valley junction is great when approaching from cheltenham. That straight bit is great, with full view of any potential hiding speed traps right the way to the bridge ;D :-X
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I still think it's blinkin' bad luck that the one time I am a little bit out of character and push someone on, it's a pair of cops :-X
Isn't that just typical? The one time you do something different, you regret it.
*Try* not to worry too much - easier said than done I know.
Like others have said, I reckon that it will come to nothing to be honest. I hope that this proves to be the case.
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Based on your account....
1) It's careless driving on your part.
2) The Citroen was also driving without due care and attention.
3) Won't be traffic police (or at least not traffic police on patrol)
4) If you were the police in the Citroen, would you fancy completing statements, a Notice of Intended Prosecution Form, prosecution file, a probable interview and a CPS meeting - especially since they'll know they had no business behaving like that?
5) The police acted poorly and contributed to your driving reaction.
6) It probably was police trying to enforce the speed limit but in a very unprofessional way.
7) I recommend you make some good notes NOW of the events including description of the car, description of the 'police' drivers, weather conditions, road conditions and everything that happened including how you felt by the poor Citroen driving, date and sign it and put it away. Should the worst happen, when you go to court, you have notes made while events were fresh in your memory that are probably better that the police notes - making your evidence of their driving compelling.
8) Enjoy Christmas and forget it, I'd bet dozens of mince pies that nothing will come of it!
Keith :)
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As said by others...
If they were not traffic cops, they will really have to get out of their way and it would inconvenience them to no end to get you done. They will have to be pretty determined to get through the paperwork!
Also, they have no supporting proof, e.g. video etc, now this is not a must for conviction but I suspect that when the 'proper' traffic cops do look at their account of events they may not find enough to secure conviction and may decide not to prosecute.
So on balance probably not much will happen, me thinks....
And as mark pointed out they could be anything from PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers aka Blunkett's bobby's) to Prison Wardens....
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if they were the law and you were driving dangerously im sure you would have had a visit by now!
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I would'nt worry on this one James, looks like they were giving it the biggun & don't intend following it up. The other angle is :- If you have the reg. no. of the citroen report the incident to the local force as dangerous driving without letting on you noticed they were wearing any kind of uniform, ie. just a civilian car/occupants. Imagine the roasting they'd get from their superiors!!!!!! ;D