Disqualify Drink/Drug Drivers at Roadside

[Profpointy]

I heard once that cannabis can be detected in the system for up to 30days or something... i don't condone drug/drink driving but it wouldn't be fair to be banned from driving because one shared a spliff at a festival three weeks before being tested

Q

I'm amazed by all the above responses. I used to get tailed and stopped all the time. Usually just a polite reminder about a dead bulb, although once I had to produce my documents at the station - apparently it was wrong for my exhaust to scrape the tarmac and send sparks towards the petrol tank! Have been stopped for having too many passengers, and many times for for driving late at night - especially near international airports. Have also been breathalyzed on numerous occasions (always a 'clear' reading).

Must be something about my cars or the way I drive them; I've also been pulled over many times by UK & French border guards for car inspections, swabbing of handles/boot/etc, and sniffer dog inspections.


Glad it's not just me!

Me too !

Back in the day, driving my 68 Cortina in the early 80s I'd expect to be stopped once a week. The police were often rather hostile too, almost as if trying to provoke a reaction. It got rather irksome. Just to be clear I was never once stopped for my driving or doing anything wrong. Sometimes a polite
"routine check sir" othertimes more or less "what do you expect driving an old car" though ironically my current, seemingly respectable Saab is now nearly twice as old as my "old" Cortina was then, and has done twice the miles too. Another funny one was "you're strangers in town" whilst driving through west Wales on the A40 with a Carmarthen reg car. To be fair the copper instantly realised he sounded a bit silly talking like Rod Steiger in "In the heat of the night" and we were quickly on our way. I also remember parking up somewhere and being looked at by a PC on foot. I thought about parking elsewhere but realised it was too late. He asked if I got stopped a lot the said "It's them young coppers. I know people in old cars like that always have perfectly OK paperwork" and we had a bit of a laugh

My record was six times in one week. To be far this was on a week in Fermanagh, so two of the stops were by the British Army and once by the Guards late at night just over the border, but the last stop was at about 2am when I was finally parking up ourside my digs in Hertfordshire after a very long drive and ferry trip back. The hostility got irksome as did the roadside MOT when you're paperwork is good and they've not seen a dodgy light or bald tyres or anything.

One fair enough one was when I'd parked up in a closed petrol station late at night with a blown exhaust. I'd actually stopped to look at the map intending to bodge the exhaust in daylight. All was fine, but it turned out they'd not heard the exhaust (which would wake the dead - it had bust just after the manifold) but legimatelely thought I might be casing the joint. When I started up they heard the racket and stopped me again. To be fair they were cool about as I explained I couldn't possibly be intending to go far, but just going to my nearby destination to sort in the morning ready for my longer journey home. It was duly bodged with a bean can and some jubilee clips, and replaced a few days later

 

[Brandane]

I've been stopped more on my pedal bike than in a car! Only time in a car was when I was puzzled about which way to go at a small junction in rural Lake District whilst trying to find my way back to a campsite in the dark and 'lingered too long'

Same here! September 1982 I think it was. On the pavement, pissed, heading home in the dark, no lights..... Saw 2 of my mates walking towards me on the pavement so put my head down and rode straight at them for a carry on. They split to create a gap at the last second - unfortunately for me the local beat officer (remember them?) was walking about 20 yards behind them. Oops. Especially as I was at the application stage in my effort to join the Police! Being a small town however, we knew each other and no harm was done. A semi humourous word of warning and all was good.

 

[Punkawallah]

I’d be more impressed if they were planning to have a police presence on the high street and investigating burglaries and enforcing court orders against stalking.

 

[Bazzer]

I've been stopped twice in >40 years of driving. The first time was in my early twenties; breathalysed and passed. The second time was around 20 years ago on a manufactured stop. It was obvious they were looking for drink drivers, but I was driving back from France with my family in the car.

 

[Gwylan]

I'll fess up. I got busted one Friday evening in a European capital. On my way to the station to pick up our grown up children from the arriving train from London. All this for a significant extended family get together elsewhere in Europe

I went through a radar speed trap and was pulled up about 500m later.
Escorted to a caravan by police motorcyclists.
Judge and the full works. Was this me in the car? Two policemen said yes, they also indicated the speed I was travelling at.
Judge said very clearly that he was confiscating my licence for 14 days. I could appeal but it would take about 28 days to process to get a court date.
All part of a much bigger trip thrown into chaos. I didn't dare face telling my wife we were not going to this do.
Cost me about €3k in new plane tickets, changed transport and accomodation.

On the 14th day my licence arrived in the mail

Later, much later I got a day in court. Because I was listed as a director of several companies I got a monstrous rollicking from this judge and €500 fine.

 

[BoldonLad]

I'd be interested to see if what happened to us is common: Drink driver ploughed into our garden wall, one of the neighbours was quick thinking and grabbed the car keys before he could drive off. He was arrested 20 mins later, but refused a breath test. He was so violent at the hospital that they couldn't get a blood test. So he got off because no evidence of drink driving could be obtained

I am no expert (where is @Drago when you need him? ), but, isn't that two more offences to charge him with?

 

[Gwylan]

I'd be interested to see if what happened to us is common: Drink driver ploughed into our garden wall, one of the neighbours was quick thinking and grabbed the car keys before he could drive off. He was arrested 20 mins later, but refused a breath test. He was so violent at the hospital that they couldn't get a blood test. So he got off because no evidence of drink driving could be obtained

Consider a CCJ against the driver for the damage. Takes time, but soon satusfying.
It just grinds on and the mire they wriggle the more it costs them

 

[Fastpedaller]

If only they could have immediatley taken away the car or licence in a case local to us then some justice may have happened......... Two cars driving towards each other and a triathlete cyclist was killed. One of the drivers was breathalised and found to be over the limit. Neither driver was charged with the fatality (reason cited as no evidence which car(s) were responsible. One of the 2 drivers (at least) had a part in it. The drunk driver wasn't even charged with DIC because the police officers handling the case left it too long to charge him! A real tragedy and made more terrible for the family and friends because there was no justice.
I wonder what truly happened (re handling the case) as the drunk driver's name was the same as a customer I went to a few years ago who happened to have retired from a senior position within the Met? maybe just a coincidence.

 

[steveindenmark]

I don't see how you can ban them at the road side. New laws can be made where if they blow over at the police station. That they cannot drive until after their court hearing. But new laws take time.

 

[Drago]

I am no expert (where is @Drago when you need him? ), but, isn't that two more offences to charge him with?

Back when I joined in '91 there's a good likelihood he'd have fallen down the stairs in the back of the police van, so to speak. There were a lot of pre-PACE coppers still about, some who'd been in since the sixties, and they tended to handle things a bit differently. That had died out by about 2000.

 

[BoldonLad]

Back when I joined in '91 there's a good likelihood he'd have fallen down the stairs in the back of the police van, so to speak. There were a lot of pre-PACE coppers still about, some who'd been in since the sixties, and they tended to handle things a bit differently. That had died out by about 2000.

Yes, one of my drinking pals is a retired (20+ years ago) policeman, he does have a few stories of “unconventional”, but effective, procedures.

 

[Drago]

Sort of relevant off topicness. A lot of coppers emigrate to Oz, but many come back fairly quick.

The main reason being they have no PACE over there, and a bit of five knuckle justice is quite common. Few people dare go not guilty in court for fear of the repercussions, and UK bobbies can't handle it. I don't think I could handle it either if I'm honest.

Oh, and not getting annual leave for the first two years, the casual racism towards pom recruits, it all mounts up.

Sorry, as you were.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Sort of relevant off topicness. A lot of coppers emigrate to Oz, but many come back fairly quick.

The main reason being they have no PACE over there, and a bit of five knuckle justice is quite common. Few people dare go not guilty in court for fear of the repercussions, and UK bobbies can't handle it. I don't think I could handle it either if I'm honest.

Oh, and not getting annual leave for the first two years, the casual racism towards pom recruits, it all mounts up.

Sorry, as you were.

Sorry @Drago, What`s PACE?

 

[Alex321]

Sorry @Drago, What`s PACE?

Police And Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/contents

It sets out various requirements regarding whatv the police are allowed to do.

 

[Time Waster]

Back when I joined in '91 there's a good likelihood he'd have fallen down the stairs in the back of the police van, so to speak. There were a lot of pre-PACE coppers still about, some who'd been in since the sixties, and they tended to handle things a bit differently. That had died out by about 2000.

Oh there's still a few dodgy coppers around, with dodgy mates out to protect them. A mate was pulled up at traffic lights in a right turn lane with handbrake on I neutral. A high speed police car answering a call overtook a van moving up to the lights in the straight ahead lane and totally didn't see my mate's car until after he'd shunted it straight across the junction. The traffic investigation officer at the scene told my mate it was clear by the skid marks the brakes were on and working. Also by how far the car had moved the police car was shifting. Meanwhile the copper who was driving the car approached my mate and mentioned that the accident would affect his career. Would my mate take the blame? My mate is a tough bugger who he stubborn so a definite no in no uncertain terms!

Anyway the copper drove off and later on my mate was called into the station for a statement. That was delayed a week as my mate had bad whiplash. When my mate turned up statement made. Then another call to go in for additional statements. The officer who called collected my m mate at reception and led them into the station. The happened to bump into the police driver on the stairs at which point the escorting officer suddenly had to be somewhere! My mate told the driver in no uncertain terms to leave them alone. At which point the escort officer reappeared and took my mate to a room, asked a few pointless questions and took them back to reception.

Anyway, after that the police arranged for my mate's car to be collected, repaired and returned before my mate was fit to drive it even return to work.

Sorry but I have respect for the police, still have despite the ex police officer I met at a company I worked in fit a month or so. He'd retrained as an engineer after 30 years in the force. However the stories of his colleagues he told me made me more open to question police officers. That ex copper really didn't like his ex colleagues because he said they were all corrupt and backed each other up.

Sorry for the off topic, but I just had to point out that corruption isn't uncommon still. It's just not treated as such or there's the 3 wise monkeys thing going on. Still a minority but it's the don't look don't see thing is possibly not minority. Of course they're doing a job I couldn't so I still have a default respect for that.