Share your experiences with police officers

Discussion in 'The Guru's Pub' started by Fyew-jit-tiv, Nov 26, 2010.

  1. Fyew-jit-tiv

    Fyew-jit-tiv Guest

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    Hi Gurus,

    So this morning I'm taking the kids to school (how cold is it), On my way back home, driving at a steady 30mph (within the law) i glance in my mirrors and wow a police car approaching towards the back end of me pretty fast, so I'm keeping my eye on the police car which ended up about a cars length away from the rear of my rear bumper, the were that close i could now clearly identify the two officers in the car. So I'm driving with my eyes pinned into the mirror think WTF are they up to, then BAM.. i end up driving through a red light (JUST). So they end up pulling me over for it and then the arguments start (their attuide towards me was very harsh)... Now my argument was they were way to close to me to brake (being such a cold day) and my attention was not completely on the road (having to keep an eye on what they were doing). They argue that they were more than 2-3 car lengths away from me and slammed me with a £60.00 fine and 3 penalty points. Now i feel hard done by, I feel they were unfair with there approach and also feel they were driving dangerously. I plan to appeal against this through the courts, What do you guys think? And have you guys had any such incidents with Police Officers.?

    P.S if there are any police officers here @ guru please feel free to comment on this as i'd love to hear how you would have handled such an incident
     
  2. HeavyHemi

    HeavyHemi Guest

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    Kinda hard to drive with the rear view mirror. :3eyes: Personally I don't pay much attention unless they've got their lights on and I need to move over. Either you ran a red light or you didn't. I can't say much about their attitude but, apparently you stared off by arguing with them? I suppose you could try to appeal but you've already admitted you were not paying attention and you ran a red light... Good luck.
     
  3. DF-1

    DF-1 Guest

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    never drove by myself yet, so i dont have any real experience,
    but in nyc my friends and i parked somewhere and went to eat.
    coming back we see a ticket, says we were too close to a bus stop, this bus stop was about 200-350ft ahead of where we parked, pretty lame :S
     
  4. Chillin

    Chillin Ancient Guru

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    Police are just regular people at the end of the day, deal with them as such.
     

  5. Fyew-jit-tiv

    Fyew-jit-tiv Guest

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    Hi HeavyHemi,

    Thanks for you P.O.V,

    I probably didn't explain clearly but didn't want to bore readers by going to into detail,
    When say i was in the mirror i wasn't driving by looking totally in the mirror, what i mean is my attention was constantly being drawn to my mirror as they were that close to my rear end. When i had noticed the lights the had gone amber which left me no real time to break. Also i didn't get out of the car blazing with fury i did give them the chance to open the dialog with me, there tone was very hard from the off. I then felt annoyed that they didn't even want to hear my side of the story. that's when i lost my cool.. ALITTLE.!

    Regards.!
     
  6. Fyew-jit-tiv

    Fyew-jit-tiv Guest

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    I dont deal with people differently because they wear a uniform. In general i deal all people the same "respectfully" untill given reason not too.!
     
  7. WhiteLightning

    WhiteLightning Don Illuminati Staff Member

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    there are cops that are quite friendly and i like to drink coffee with, then there are also cops that want to prove their authority,and live by their own laws.
    typical human behaviour. but it shouldnt be when your a cop.
     
  8. Tat3

    Tat3 Ancient Guru

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    If you start to argue with cops, it does not end well.

    I would just pay that £60 and next time try not to get into problems.

    I really dont want to get into more problems, if you are polite, they might ignore few things, like my motorbike's lack of front turn signal lights (going to add these at winter tough), exhaust pipe not made for road use and it's ****ing loud (I dont use [very often] high rpm's in city), rear tire not in list of accepted types for that bike (big deal, it works and is safe), back light which has build in turn signals is legal (works well enough), just not allowed to use in that bike without showing it at inspection center and what not :p
     
  9. Finchwizard

    Finchwizard Don Apple

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    I think there are very few good cops who are friendly.

    I think the majority of them are there to just piss people off, collect more fines (Probably on some quota system)

    I've had cops pull over a mate who's tyres were 2mm off the standard for his type of car. And it's an instant on the spot fine of $300.

    Now that's a load of rubbish, back in the day it would of been a warning with "Mate fix that would you" and things were fine.

    Now they're too busy trying to make as much money and piss people off, I think they're all pretty crooked.

    Also think if you're a cop, you have a superiority complex or short man syndrome to begin with. They go power mad.
     
  10. Fyew-jit-tiv

    Fyew-jit-tiv Guest

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    Hi Tat3,

    The way i see it TAT is if they weren't there and certainly not that close to me and I'm not exaggerating with the distant between cars they were that close then i wouldn't have broken any laws. i have had my driving licence now for 21yrs and this is the first traffic violation i have ever had.! Not even a parking ticket.! But hey i guess there is a first time for everything. Thanks for you P.O.V
     

  11. inklimited

    inklimited Ancient Guru

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    If too many people are making infractions, the police will start to target even the most minor of infractions. Driving, intoxication, road-rules - if everyone starts ignoring the laws the cops crack down.

    Wanna hot up your car to fit in with the neighbourhood hoons? You will be fined alongside them.

    Just stop breaking the law and the cops leave you alone quick smart.
     
  12. Chillin

    Chillin Ancient Guru

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    In nearly every accident insurance case, the person who hit you from behind is guilty. So you had no reason to worry.
     
  13. Fyew-jit-tiv

    Fyew-jit-tiv Guest

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    IMO i got plenty to worry about.. the complete inconvenience of having my car being of the road. I hear what your trying to say but we depend on our car to get kids back and forth to school.
     
  14. David Lake

    David Lake Master Guru

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    We are all human beings and should be treated as such if you dont like what they did do what u can to fight it!
     
  15. Fyew-jit-tiv

    Fyew-jit-tiv Guest

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    Thanks for comment David.. Just what i intend to do. I just found out that there are cameras on this road which cover the lights and a short distance before and after the lights . This will help prove that they were driving WAY to close to me. I will post any updates and results but i expect its gonna take months to even get to court.
     

  16. Wicky

    Wicky Maha Guru

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    When somebody drives up too close, I always step on the break with a slight touch, just enough that the rear lights go up. You'd laugh how they frantically step on the break themselves, when they notice they were driving too close, then they realize they couldn't have stopped in time if I would have pushed the break for real !
     
  17. krisby

    krisby Guest

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    The fact you were doing 30 and they caught up to you sounds like they were speeding for a start, so yeah, I would argue the case and ask local council for proof from camera's if possible.
    Just to make a point to the local police is all. I wouldn't wanna piss off the cops too bad in case of retribution by them or their colleagues, but enough to make it an impersonal claim and you getting let off the hook.
     
  18. JohnMaclane

    JohnMaclane Ancient Guru

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    I dislike cops due to a personal habit which I feel does no harm to anyone.

    Plus usually your average police officer is a dumb as a doorknob ******* with something to prove, there are exceptions obviously but were I live its the norm.
     
  19. rflair

    rflair Don Coleus Staff Member

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    Take it to court your going to lose, you ran a red light.

    You can't use your mirrors as judgment to distance. I know this for a fact cause when I was younger I did the opposite of what happened to you. I was behind a police cruiser and he slammed the brakes on hard, I'm pretty sure the way he braked he wanted to cause me to rear end him. Long story short I was ticketed and fined for following to closely and dangerous driving. Went to court and the judge threw it out stating 'mirrors can not be used to judge distance'. The judge even berated the cop driving for putting me at risk for braking hard for no apparent reason.

    As for what I think of Cops, they have a job to do, do it.

    I've also found being honest yet stern keeps things in check when dealing with the police.

    One thing most people don't know and I have found to be true is that if you feel an officer is treating unfairly ask them to call for a supervisor to come out.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2010
  20. Thug

    Thug Guest

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    Being a (UK traffic) cop, who (according to people on this site) has a 'superiority complex' (thanks Finchy), only wants to make money and piss people off (again, thanks Finchy), is crooked, with short man syndrome (again, Finchy - there is a pattern here) is as dumb as a doorknob (thanks this time to John Mac), here is my view...

    Look at what evidence we have...

    Firstly, you say that they were about 1 car length behind you, but they believed it to be 2-3 car lengths?
    Well the highway code states that the braking distance (at 30mph) is 23 meters (75 feet) OR 6 (yes, SIX) car lengths. This includes thinking (9 meters) and braking (14 meters).
    It will also be CONSIDERABLY MORE (at least doubled) if wet or icy.
    So according to the governments handbook that is a law that we all have to abide by when we drive, they should have been at least 12 car lengths behind you in order to stop safely.

    Secondly, traffic lights dont just turn to red. They go through a sequence from green to amber to red. Amber ALSO means STOP (if safe to do so). You went through on red, but could have slowed upon it turning to amber. Also, you must have seen the lights in the distance (If not, why?), and should have adjusted your speed, allowing for them to change. Giving the road conditions and the braking distances (as stated earlier) this should have been planned way in advance. If i see a green light ahead i know that there is a good chance it may change to amber as i know the sequence they go (and so should you).

    Thirdly, The police have 2 people in the car, and therefore the driver has a witness to what happened, where you were by yourself.
    The police car 'may' also have a black box that records everything that the police car does, including stopping, starting, lights, indicators, speed etc. The officer has to place his/her warrant card on this black box to register that they are the driver.
    If it was a traffic car they also record audio and visual.
    This may be an avenue you can go down to help your case, as well as CCTV.
    But bear in mind that they can prove YOU to be in the wrong, just as easy as it is to prove the officer in the wrong (only you and them know the truth).

    Lastly, get EVERYTHING wrote down so you dont forget. Its VERY easy to forget, believe me. Buy a highway code, and read it. Note the relevent page numbers and sections.
    If asked if you seen the light change say YES, dont say no (or you admit to driving without due care). Let them know that you decided in your mind that stopping would have been dangerous for both you and the officers.

    When they cautioned you what was your reply? Did they write this on the ticket and ask you to sign it?

    How do you know they were this close? was it cos you couldnt see their car front? If so, write this down.

    I personally believe that you have a good chance of getting off with it if you go to court, but going by experience, if found guilty you will get 6 points and a £200 fine...
    But what do i know, i am only a dumb copper

    When i see a light go to red i will count to 3. If a car goes through within 2-3 seconds i will let them go, if its after, i will give them a ticket.

    In the UK, calling for a supervisor wont help at all, as we generally only have one and they are extremely busy. Also what would you hope for them to say when they werent even there?
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2010

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