Watch out the police are out to get you!

[gpx001]

Car snooker is an interesting concept, but I'm afraid it is an urban myth

It may be a myth in some areas of the UK, but in good old Leicester some of her majesties finest were filmed talking about the japes they had doing it - hence the apology. As with all walks of life tho' it is the minority of eejits who give the decent folk a bad name.

 

[Elmer Fudd]

.............As with all walks of life tho' it is the minority of eejits who give the decent folk a bad name.

You're right there, I've met some right peanut coppers in my time, not through my career choice I hasten to add !
But Ive met a load of good ones too. One saved me from doing something totally stupid on a bridge a few years ago. P.C. Brian Moore was his name if I remember correctly. Killed a few years back, police car rammed off the M6 by a van in a motorway pursuit.

 

[User269]

I see a lot of police cars being driven stupidly and carelessly. I delight, whilst driving, in flashing them, gesticulating etc., because they're going too fast, driving on the wrong side of the road, driving without lights in conditions of poor visibility and so on. As a member of the IAM I look forward to them stopping to discuss the matter with me.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

I see a lot of police cars being driven stupidly and carelessly. I delight, whilst driving, in flashing them, gesticulating etc., because they're going too fast, driving on the wrong side of the road, driving without lights in conditions of poor visibility and so on. As a member of the IAM I look forward to them stopping to discuss the matter with me

.

Yes Whiskywheels, I do sometimes drive on the wrong side of the road, but unlike you, I have been trained to carry out such manouvres in a safe progressive way, and invariably it's whilst I'm responding to someone being assaulted/had a collision/ having a domestic, and I come across some cumudgeonly old git who has failed to hear/see me with my warning equipment on, because he was too intent on flashing his lights and gesticulating! Touche

 

[User269]

There's no such thing as "carry out such manouvres in a safe progressive way" and no matter what duty you're carrying out you have no right to endanger the public, even with blues and twos. Your comments give a clear indication as to why there is a problem.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

I don't intend to get into an argument with you regarding this topic, but as you have probably never undergone the level of training that I have (unless you can tell me otherwise) in fairness you are unable to make an informed comment on the skills of trained police drivers. I would never endanger other road users or myself for that matter, and that is the whole reason for undergoing the intensive course that we do, in order to become a safe driver.
I'm sure that if you ever had to call on any of the emergency services, you would expect them to get to you as soon as they possibly could in the safest quickest way, if this requires the trained driver to exceed the speed limit, and drive on the wrong side of the road, then you can rest assured that they would do that in a safe manner when, and only when it was safe to do so, crossing red lights, when you have established that all other road users have seen you and given way in order for you to proceed safely towards your destination. On the other hand we can just amble over making best speed and get to you eventually.

 

[papercorn2000]

Sorry Motirology, but even with the level of training, I have seen some police officers display a woeful standard of driving and a breathtaking ignorance of the Highway code and RTA!

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Just wondering. But I am required to update my Health and Safety training every three years at work. And First Aiders also have to retrain every few years otherwise their "certificate" is no longer valid.

So is there a time limit on Police Driving "certification"? How often is an officer required to take a test to demonstrate continuing high skill level?

I hope the answers are "Yes" and "3 years" (or something very sensible) because we are all human and develop bad habits/become forgetful - even (dare I say) well intentioned police officers.

And thanks to all those officers who do respond rapidly and safely to incidents.

 

[papercorn2000]

Sorry, the answer is "No" and "once, unless you do something really daft".

 

[spen666]

I don't intend to get into an argument with you regarding this topic, but as you have probably never undergone the level of training that I have (unless you can tell me otherwise) in fairness you are unable to make an informed comment on the skills of trained police drivers. I would never endanger other road users or myself for that matter, and that is the whole reason for undergoing the intensive course that we do, in order to become a safe driver.

I am sorry to say but that is such pious crap. You may be a highly trained driver, you may indeed be a very good driver, but the fract that someone has not had the training you have does not prevent them from being able to make informed comments on the standard of driving of a police officer.

This is the typical attitude that prevails amongst several police officers that seeks to put themselves above the law and seeks to run the defence that they should not be tried for alleged offences as a jury cannot make an informed decision on their actions.

Sadly for such police officers, this is not part of English Law and you are subject to the same tribunal for alleged crimes as others- ie a jury of 12 persons.

I'm sure that if you ever had to call on any of the emergency services, you would expect them to get to you as soon as they possibly could in the safest quickest way, if this requires the trained driver to exceed the speed limit, and drive on the wrong side of the road, then you can rest assured that they would do that in a safe manner when, and only when it was safe to do so, crossing red lights, when you have established that all other road users have seen you and given way in order for you to proceed safely towards your destination. On the other hand we can just amble over making best speed and get to you eventually.

So there has never ever been an emergency driver who has driven in an unsafe manner has there? Perhaps all those who were convicted were victims of miscarriages of justice because you seem to think you are above the law and are perfect drivers

EVERYONE is prone to make mistakes, training or not

 

[Keith Oates]

As always Spen, you make some good points, but the thing that gets up my nose is when an emergency vehicle, with lights and horns flashing, does not get the priority it should from other road users who should give way to them regardless of the colour of the lights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[col]

As always Spen, you make some good points, but the thing that gets up my nose is when an emergency vehicle, with lights and horns flashing, does not get the priority it should from other road users who should give way to them regardless of the colour of the lights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Iv seen this happen soooo often,most of the time the driver isnt paying attention,and doesnt notice whats coming up behind them,others just dont have the sense to move out of the way,either way it shows how bad standards are in general.

 

[laurence]

i was dozing in bed last year, in that space where waking and dreaming are one and the same... "nee nar nee nar nee nar" growing louder by the second... "nee nar nee nar nee *THUMP* *bed shook* neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

the highly skilled driver of the fire engine had ploughed into the roundabout next to my flat... it's a very large roundabout... with a brick wall around it.

guess it jumped out in front of him.

cue two more fire engines... one for the original fire and the other to cut the first crew out of the wreckage.

L

 

[col]

Accidents do happen.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Sorry, the answer is "No" and "once, unless you do something really daft".

Oh dear oh dear. Time for reform. Indeed all drivers should be retrained/retested should they not? After all it is THE most life threatening activity all of us have to deal with. Indeed if a Health and Safety risk assessment was to be conducted at the same levels of stringency as for any other activity I suspect the roads would be closed down overnight. But double standards are applied in many areas of life