Quote from thisnameistaken :

A bit of tailgating justifies a high-speed chase that would put others in danger of being killed? You're a ****ing lunatic and you shouldn't be on the roads at all.

It's not the tailgating Kev, the point is the tail car was matching speed as the lead car tried to let it past, but instead 'gated no matter what speed was travelled, no matter what rear lights where shown, after 5 miles of empty dual carriageway, late at night. I'm not a lunatic to then believe the people in the car behind are after me... I wouldn't be paranoid either, why in the example scenario above the people in the car behind really where after the people in the car ahead.

As for whether a response is justified. In my world there are no half measures. I can't hope to come out on top unless I give everything i've got. So yes, once i've been targetted to be a victim i'll do everything to make sure it's them who's the victim. Problem with that? Then you have led a very sheltered life. I've had my car shot at with less warning, with me in it, by sub machine gun. If you want to play paddy to the lunatics out there and make yourself a victim, you go ahead boy. Me, i'm a survivor.

Had a good chat with the supervising sergeant last night. As I suspected the officer was not a trained traffic officer and for because of this had no cameras in the car, either forward facing or recording the conversation once I was pulled over. It was also confirmed that they were waiting in a side road with their lights off, so I had no way of seeing them as I went round the roundabout.

The explanation given for the tailgating was trying to read my number plate, though the officer admitted the majority of the time he was waiting for the PNC check to come back, not actually trying to read it. I mentioned alternative reasons to why I felt I may be being tailgated but did not push the issue. In the end I got a call back later saying that following discussion with the officer they had agreed that in the future he should either drop back once they had the plate for the check or overtake and to show that they are a marked police car. He also said they agreed that the blue lights should have come on as soon as the car being followed started showing signals of being unhappy at being followed, regardless of whether the check had been completed at that stage.

I think it is pretty poor practice that a car with no method of recording evidence and without the correct training was lying in wait, if they were just stopping suspicious drivers and breathalysing them I wouldn't have a problem, but once I blew zero and they had a poke at my car and realised it was a prepared rally car, as opposed to an old banger with illegal tyres and covered the issue of modifications being declared they should have just let me go, not try and make up nonsense about me failing to indicate on an empty roundabout or driving anti-socially for driving round it twice. The sergeant did say that bringing up the issue of indicating was probably something he would not have done in the same situation.

Overall I am very happy with the way the complaint has been dealt with quickly and satisfactorily, although I'm still not impressed by the driving in the first place and am livid at the guy trying to obstruct me making a complaint.

nice man sounds like they listened to what you had to say rather then be like the cops we have here if enough complaints pile up maybe they will do something

Sounds like a good result for you. Didn't get nasty enough that they should want to make your life difficult, but still ended on your side. Glad to hear it.
Although I bet in hindsight if you'd known he had no recording equipment and couldn't read the plate you could've dusted him and he'd never have been able to prove it

As for indicating on roundabouts, I don't think half the people on the road know how they work, let alone how to correctly indicate on them.

Quote from Becky Rose :

Problem with that? Then you have led a very sheltered life. I've had my car shot at with less warning, with me in it, by sub machine gun. If you want to play paddy to the lunatics out there and make yourself a victim, you go ahead boy. Me, i'm a survivor.

Sorry Becky but I don't believe you. People wandering around with automatic weapons up their jumpers don't randomly open fire on passing cars. And if they did I would expect it to turn up in the news. Unless of course this is part of some taller tale about you selling crack during the time you lived in Compton.

Quote from ajp71 :

Overall I am very happy with the way the complaint has been dealt with quickly and satisfactorily, although I'm still not impressed by the driving in the first place and am livid at the guy trying to obstruct me making a complaint.

Nice one. I imagine that copper won't do it again.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Sorry Becky but I don't believe you. People wandering around with automatic weapons up their jumpers don't randomly open fire on passing cars. And if they did I would expect it to turn up in the news. Unless of course this is part of some taller tale about you selling crack during the time you lived in Compton.

Do you believe that every incident with a gun involved gets on the news? You really do live a very sheltered life if you believe that to be true. In actuality I believe the 'trend' of the last firearms incident I had was reported to some extent, the specific incident wasn't. I havn't said very much about the specific incident involving myself and I don't feel the need too - as for my past in drugs I dont feel the need to enlighten you about that either.

This is the internet so yes I could be full of shit, then again i've been posting on these forums for years and I have always spoken my mind and said it how it is [or atleast how I see it which I know isn't always the same thing]. So disbelieve away, I really don't care.

Quote from Becky Rose :

I havn't said very much about the specific incident involving myself and I don't feel the need too

Probably wise.

The cops here have their lights on all the time.

Kev, i know becky in real life as opposed to just as 'someone on the internet', and i have to say that in the large convo that we had on the way to wales about various topics including the shooting incident, i have no reason at all to doubt any part of it, when you talk to someone face to face it is easy to tell wheather people are being genuine or not, and she is, 100% straight talking, no bullshit, just the truth.

The majority of them are dirty bastards, I used to own a silver golf mk4, GTi alloys and rear lights, full silver, very clean looking car. It was an R reg, the very first of the mk4's to come out. In Cumbernauld there was masses of police cars and bikes going around from Thursday to Monday, I have no idea why but i heard it was some sort of training thing.

Anyway, was heading up to my friends house, Friday night, drive by a BMW speed cop about 100m from the slipway to the motorway, they just look at me, didn't follow me etc. So I get on the motorway just cruising up the road, I know there are more police around so i take it easy when I see flashing lights and a police car flying up behind me, after blinding the **** outta me I pulled over and they searched the car, checked the tyres, my licence, all the usual shit.

Then they ask me into the back of the car, I ask them why I was pulled over and they claim it was because my car was "pre registered" because they didn't make the Mk4 golf in an R reg. (R is late 1997-March 1998 iirc) Eventually, after all the crap questions about who owns the car and what not, I was allowed to go, somewhat annoyed at the way they handled things but meh, atleast I didn't have a bald tyre or anything.

Then I drove through about 40 feet on bus lane coming up to a set of traffic lights because I was turning left and all the cars ahead were turning right, where I stopped at the lights was about 100feet from where the buslane ended. Though the police who saw me do it still decided to stop me and give me a £30 fine for it. Because I really can't be arsed with any trouble I just paid it.

THIRD story (:razz a friend of mine (well a guy I play in a pool team with) has a BMW X5 and the police pulled him over for "driving over a mini roundabout" even though he only just touched it with his wheels (Some are very tight and near impossible to stay off of) the police wrote on his ticket that he "disrespected the highway code" or some bullshit, so he didn't take the fine and is taking them to court, hes lucky enough to have enough money to hire one of the best lawyers around. Not so much to evade the £30 fine but now thet he didn't pay the fine he could actually get points on his licence if it doesn't go his way, which for someone with 9 points isn't very good.

Anyway, i've had my speel, Kev and Beck can go back to arguing now, HF.

Well, as for getting pulled over, 2 to 3 times a week any good??

Seriously, when i had my super white 2 door mk2 astra GTE replica (it was a 1.2 pushrod powered slow thing but we won't go into that) i used to get pulled SO much it was just stupid.

To be fair though, it was such a shed, roadworthy, but unfinished.

GTE bumpers were on but unpainted/filled/primed in places due to previous damage as all bits were from scrapyards for cheap money, the front bumper was cut out so it and the front grille were one big meshed part, rear spoiler was black and never got sprayed, sideskirts were 1 red one and one silver one, these did eventually get sprayed, as did the bumpers, massive green neon light kit underneath all the way around, (turned OFF when driving though) 17" white alloys, lowered to the floor, massive DTM twin upswept exhaust, a stupidly loud stereo system, 'badboy' bonnet with 2 big triangles cut out of it with mesh, and a green neon under there too, i only wish i had pictures to illustrate the fail of that car.

Most of the time they would just say it was a routine stop, or if it was after 11pm or so they would say it was a drink driving check as i was around the town centre, plus according to them it looked like it wasn't roadworthy, which i can understand, plus i looked quite young to be driving what, despite all the unfinishedness, looked like a GTE astra.

There was one time where the copper was a right cocky git when he pulled me over as he was sure that i would be uninsured or something, but as i am and always have been, was fully taxed MOT'd and insured, with a vaild license etc... so he decided to go through the car, BIG STYLE!!

2 hours on the side of the road, he had the seats up, lifted the carpet, all over the interior, glovebox, boot, (probably looking for drugs i would guess) bonnet up, checked every inch of the car as he was just praying to find something wrong, but with me being an ex-mechanic, i knew it was all sound, even if the car looked like crap, which it did.

So eventually, he had to admit defeat, and not so much as an apology, all he said was you can go on your way now sir.

Needless to say, i felt just a little smug that night lol.

ah the joys I can expect when I get a car Although the police won't give me a second glance in a Kia Rio. (Hmm RB26DETT in a Kia Rio, Sounds like fun)

Are you trying to beat me in the "shittest first car" front, Luke? What next, Sam93 pimping a Perodua?

You lot are lucky. Police in the US are no where NEAR the quality of the guys in the UK.

Quote from Becky Rose :

You can actually fail your advanced driving test for indicating when there is no need too, because it highlights a lack of awareness...


Give them hell !

Quote from Jakg :

You can fail your ordinary test for it, too - indicating when no-one is there implies you haven't noticed the lack of people and so you get an (imo rediculous) minor for it. And they say the test gets easier

It's retarded, any self-aware person knows that indicators are a benefit to pedestrians just as much, if not more than other road users.

Quote from Jakg :

Are you trying to beat me in the "shittest first car" front, Luke? What next, Sam93 pimping a Perodua?

I mock your first car because you wanted to pimp it and are choosing to buy another Proton when you get the chance and post fantasies about doing so on this forum... Behind the mockery however the truth is that most of us had an embarassing first car, mine was a Fiat 126, those who remember it are usually thinking of the larger 127, the 126 was smaller than a classic mini and had a canvas roof that would open itself above 50mph! Air cooled for excess engine noise it's only redeeming feature was that it was rear wheel drive.

Sadly, the driven wheels had a tendancy to drive regardless of throttle position or even turning the ignition off due to the throttle being a badly fitting cable that had a tendancy to react to changes in ambient temperature and jam itself open.

Mind you at least I didn't try to pimp it, I recognised the true value of my first car... it was worth the old microwave I swapped it for.

It's tiny

Quote from Becky Rose :

it's only redeeming feature was that it was rear wheel drive.

and rear engined which in any northernish country other than england (you know those that have proper winters and where the whole country doesnt completely shut down if so much as 2 snowflakes are on the roads) equals a great car to learn with (youd need a large collection of fresh undewear to change after every drive on snow though i suspect)

It's too short wheelbase to have great handling, and sex in it is really bloody difficult - you have to open the sun roof but oddly girls loved it because it was a character car.

Oh and the brakes where diabolical. You could die at a minutes notice at any time driving it...

Quote from Jakg :

You can fail your ordinary test for it, too - indicating when no-one is there implies you haven't noticed the lack of people and so you get an (imo rediculous) minor for it. And they say the test gets easier

You guys have insane driving tests. Unless you do smoething catastrophic (tunnel vision, hit something, no shoulder checks), you'll pass your first road test.

Quote from dawesdust_12 :

You guys have insane driving tests. Unless you do smoething catastrophic (tunnel vision, hit something, no shoulder checks), you'll pass your first road test.

Have you passed (or even sat) a UK driving test?

No, hence why I'm saying it sounds pretty harsh. Over here, you haffto be pretty ****ing terrible to fail.

Quote from dawesdust_12 :

No, hence why I'm saying it sounds pretty harsh. Over here, you haffto be pretty ****ing terrible to fail.

If you screw up whilst driving in Canada the only thing you're going to hit is some snow.

In Britain, that country with the really bad population per square metre of land ratio, when we screw up we hit everything. You think Coventry was obliterated by bombing in the war? No... The real truth is that a learner driver forgot to indicate.

Quote from Becky Rose :

In Britain, that country with the really bad population per square metre of land ratio, when we screw up we hit everything. You think Coventry was obliterated by bombing in the war? No... The real truth is that a learner driver forgot to indicate.

Hahahahaha

Quote from Jakg :

Have you passed (or even sat) a UK driving test?

The test is too easy, and you only have to take it once, which is crazy, you should have to retake your test at least every 5 years, perhaps with refresher courses at the end of each year. Advanced driving should be included in the standard test too, but as it stands in the standard test you don't even have to learn to drive in the rain, on country roads, in one way systems, at night or on the motorway.

I passed mine first time with 2 minors, but I would have failed myself by my own standards. My two minors were failing to check my blindspot when pulling away, and lack of observation at a junction, basically I was too confident for a learner and exploited a gap I shouldn't have, it was perfectly safe to do it otherwise it would have been an instant fail but I should have waited anyway. Earlier in the test I reacted very slowly to an emergency stop, and just before my first minor I touched the curb while reversing around a corner which meant I had to correct the manouver. Personally I think both of those things should be an instant fail. That curb could have been a childs foot, and my slow reaction at the emergency stop was crazy, it was so bad I almost got out of the car and admitted failure after I did it. I think I might have been saved by the amount of verbal abuse I was directing at myself afterwards, the rest of the test was a torrent of swear words and insults muttered under my breath, and a rather louder comment along the lines of "what the **** was that?!" after my emergency stop.