MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Last night on my way home at after a nice night, driving within the speed limits another driver came up fast and close behind me. I commented to my wife about the idiot behind us. At this point we were doing 40mph, the speed limit, descending a step hill at that is also very potholed. I would normally drop my speed further at this point to ensure I avoided all the potholes but due to the vehicle so close behind me I couldn't without risk of them running into me. At the bottom of the hill it bends around to the right and starts to rise again. I slowed the car to within the 30 limit and the vehicle behind me had backed off. Further up the hill as we approached a t-junction the vehicle was right up my backside again. At this point I could see it was a white van. I moved into the other road which becomes a very steep decent that is extremely pot holed at the bottom where which requires constant braking to avoid them. As I was slowing to a stop for the t-junction the van was again right up my backside. Pulling out I realised it was police van as the marking were lit up by the other traffic. Another 400m along the road I was pulled over. Informed that I was driving aggressively and hard braking. I denied aggressive driving and any hard braking was to avoid the pot holes. I also made it clear that I would have braked going down the hill in the 40 zone had it not been for him being too close me for safety. The police officer then informed he had done this because he couldn't see my number plate clearly. This was rubbish as I pointed out to him as it is clearly visible as you can see looking through his window. He then told me that I was to be reported for doing 45 in a 30 which at no point had I done so. No proof was offered and the road he said it happened on he had closed right up on me which was the up hill when it changes from a 40 to 30 so no matched speed.
I ensured my comments were written down under my caution about him driving aggressively, too close and if he needed to read my number plate it would have been safer to pull me over there and then rather than drive up my backside. The female officer who was with him at this point churped up with couldn't you see it was police van. I said no. She sarcastically said it says police on the front and I replied you can't see anything past your headlights when you are driving right up the arse of my car other than lights. Which shut her up.
After they realised me I pointed to my number plate asking what wasn't clearly visible. I was asked to sit in the drivers seat of the police van and look. Which I did and it was still clear but he reckoned that one letter wasn't clear due to his headlight reflecting.
I'm more than a little wound up. If I had been speeding I would take the punishment as I had many year ago but I'll be damned if I accept something that hasn't happened.
Any links or information on how best to deal with this?
Get in touch with whichever level of superior officer you fancy and give them hell. You should however be aware that the only way to deal with people sitting up your arse is to slow down even more.
You appear to have been pulled by some **** coppers. There are quite a few unfortunately. Hopefully for you nothing will come of it.
You should however be aware that the only way to deal with people sitting up your arse is to slow down even more
yup, only really recently started trying this technique....... it's so much fun!
I reckon I'd be making a (calm) trip down to the station to have a conversation with someone in charge
Let it go to court if the cops are daft enough. Probably checking if you had been drinking.
Part of me says leave it, you'll get no satisfaction and just get more frustrated. There are asshole cops out there, often with asshole superiors. Part of me says you should write to their co. Then the other part of me thinks you should take to the twitter and facebook pages of the respective force and give the officers names.
I think the latter will probably be the only way to get the desired result in this day and age.
I think the slowing down for pot holes was my aggressive braking as he was already travelling too close. Slowing down any further and he would have rear ended me.
Assuming you've got to produce your documents take them in, ask to speak to whoever it is in charge so they can discuss your complaint. Make sure you write it all down before you go and ask how soon you can expect to hear back from them?
Do produce your documents though. Oh, and this is just what I would do and is based on no experience or expertise whatsoever 🙂
... at which point it would have been his fault!
Not been asked to produce my documents just given a ticket and told to wait to hear from central processing.
No such thing as 'can't slow down as he was too close to me', just back of the gas. Simples.
Sounds like maybe he was going to come past and you kept you speed just high enough to stop him, that pished him off and he decide to flex police muscles.
No stupid games. He had plenty of chances to over take me. Taking my foot of the pedal which had brought him way too close and hitting a pothole would have reduced my speed further causing a collision.
You didn't mention the pleb word I hope?
Fair enough, Copper being a bell end then.
I thought unless the were traffic trained they'd struggle to make it stick.
Speak to his gaffer
No plebs. Plenty of biting my tongue though.
Report the dangerous driving to the police?
What evidence do they have?
I reckon Dave nailed it. Checking for drunk drivers to complete Xmas quota and pissed (sorry) that you didn't qualify! (Sorry that's too harsh for the boys in blue who do a great job)
Their word against mine. They couldn't do a speed match to determine my speed as they never kept a constant distance from me. Nothing else offered as evidence.
I'd just leave it - nothing will come of it as they have no evidence against you
if you complain you are likely to be put onto a stop on sight list - look forward to getting pulled over by every police car you ever meet!
Never mentioned alcohol, not that it would have mattered as I had only had soda and lime all night and nothing for the previous week.
Surely a police van isn't "calibrated" correctly speed wise to issue a fine, pus was there any video evidence such as in the traffic cars.
For one Police officer in the a police vehicle without the right equipment they need to prove the accuracy of the vehicles speedo at that time. Least that's how I understood it.
You know what - I'm calling BS/troll.
Sat in the van I couldn't see any recording equipment just a radio, nor was any proof offered.
You know what - I'm calling BS/troll.
I wish I was.
seems from a number of videos from helmet cams and protests etc ive seen this year some police seem to have lost any common sense or humility and wont ever admit they have made a mistake or that you haven't done anything wrong.
Do you have their badge numbers? as others said there's no evidence, if they issue a fine contest it and ask for the evidence.
makes me think of .. [img] 
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So did you actually get a ticket or did he just 'say' he was going to report you?
If the latter then forget about it!
For one Police officer in the a police vehicle without the right equipment they need to prove the accuracy of the vehicles speedo at that time. Least that's how I understood it.
One officer in a vehicle cannot offer an opinion of speed unless they are in a vehicle with a speed varification system. Two officers can put in a statement offering their expert opinion on the speed of a vehicle without said equipment.
Craig, I am in emergency services,
If you got the officers' details pop down to your local police station. Ask to speak to a supervisor (sgt or above) and explain what happened. Any good supervisor would speak to the cops involved, you may get it resolved or not.
I am sorry you were treated in this way, hope it gets resolved.
Those two officers were pissed off with your speed rather than your driving but using your driving as an excuse to stop you.
They also prefer you to damage your car by driving into pot holes then having to avoid them or slowdown. For them they are driving "company" car which they drive into pot holes as much as they like at tax payers expense.
Those two officers are job worth zombies that should not work as police for being anal and abusing their power.
😡
only been pulled over a few times in my life, but every time it's been this kind of thing, usually late at night, Each case had almost identical features foremost of which is a rude surly police officer blatantly lying.
I guess being human they just get tired/fed up/bored, and given the line of work I should imagine general respect for random strangers evaporates to almost nothing.
Nothing came of any of my cases, I just shrugged and got on with my life and try to stay out of their way.
I mean your law abiding speed ... they officers for some reasons did not like being slowed down.
barkm - Memberonly been pulled over a few times in my life, but every time it's been this kind of thing, usually late at night, Each case had almost identical features foremost of which is a rude surly police officer blatantly lying.
I think they are checking for intoxication but could not admit they were wrong about when they stopped so came up with silly reasons.
Sometimes zombie bureaucrats need to be seen to do something in order to justify their position. I have no doubt that some want to be seen as doing something so that they can either be seen as promotional materials or be seen as "pro-active".
Just back from a run and had time to think and reflect on the comments on here.
I think my best action is document the details of last night included the freezing temperature which should have been a factor taken in by the police officer and his safe distance. Take pictures of my car number plate showing how clear it is to read. The road from the point the van came right up behind me to when I was actually pulled over making sure I capture the poor road surface and gradient. Then pay a visit to the police officers station to speak with his superior.
I've not had the chance to read all the posts so apologies if already said. If you are going to complain, then absolutely make the complaint online. Reason for this (and told by a friend that is a plod) is that the complaint starts centrally, is logged and cannot be swept under the rug. I had a similar situation a few years ago - pulled over for using my phone when I wasn't. Complaint against the officer online, ending up dealing with someone with many more stripes. Good luck.
You know what - I'm calling BS/troll.
No children were pushed over in this story.
Is this a road you are not familiar with, if not and you know this road I don't understand why you would brake aggressively for the potholes if you know they are there.
Just saying like.
He did not brake aggressively he says the copper said he braked aggressively
Typical coppers, why are you surprised?
Never met a copper I could trust, they love to push people around, why else would they join the 'force?'
To protect and serve the community by putting bad people in prison or for the unending gratitude of the population, I forget which.
Every organisation has nobheads even STW
Chip, I know the road very well. The potholes are at the bottom of a very steep hill. You need to control your speed coming down the hill then slow even more for the last 150 metres which is riddled with potholes that can't be avoided. By heavy braking we are talking about dropping from 30mph to less than 10 with 150 metres to go to the t-junction which is a stop not a give way. Regular users of this road all do the same to avoid damaging their cars.
I didn't say I was braking aggressively, the police officer did.
If what the OP is saying is true then yeah, put a complaint in, but more often that not, the full truth doesnt always come out on internet forums. There is always 2 sides to a story!
Unfortunately for you the opinion of two officers is enough to convict with regards to speeding. No calibrated devices needed. If you end up in court by and large the mags side with the police. The expectation is that there is no need for the police to lie about speeding motorists.
Did he say something like I'm reporting you for the offence of.....
Or have you got paperwork?
if it's the former I think they have 6 months to get it to court
If it's the latter you've got 14 days to pay the fine or possibly take s speed awareness course
If you got none of the above it was proberbly just a power trip. I wouldn't bother complaining to a senior officer. That could cause more trouble than it sorts.
euans2 - MemberIf what the OP is saying is true then yeah, put a complaint in, but more often that not, the full truth doesnt always come out on internet forums. There is always 2 sides to a story!
That's one reason you need dash cam nowadays (front, rear, both sides) in order to prove that you are innocence.
When officers stop you, I bet you, you are [b]guilty first until proven innocence[/b] or at least they consider you as guilty otherwise they would not stop you, not the other way round. Try it and see what's the probability like. 🙄
I was stopped by officers because I was driving on the same road many times (4-5) in one night (I was driving around in order to charge my car battery and checked out my new TomTom coz I did not drive it for a while) and they stopped me to say I was driving funnily and brake aggressively (yes, I did brake at a roundabout aggressively because of a taxi turning in at the last minute cutting across me but no cars was behind me so how did they know). I bet central CCTV monitoring the roads must have alerted them of a strange bloke driving around ... 🙄
MartynS - MemberIf you got none of the above it was proberbly just a power trip. I wouldn't bother complaining to a senior officer. That could cause more trouble than it sorts.
^^^ this. There are simply too many zombie maggots around nowadays so get at least one dash cam ...
The paperwork and the procedures to complaint will destroy you instantly. i.e. read the procedures to complaint, the procedures for the procedures to complaint and read the small print in all then take up courses to understand the procedures to complaint, that's before you are even consider arguing with the zombies.
Martyn, I was given a ticket and told me it was being sent to central processing who will contact me
craigxxl - MemberMartyn, I was given a ticket and told me it was being sent to central processing who will contact me
Damn! That boils my piss as I think most STW members are so law abiding I thought (actually consider) you lot are brain dead zombies, and if you get a ticket just like that what chance do I have when if I switch to 3rd world driving style? Worst still your insurance (another lot of zombie maggots) cost will go up as a result.
I feel sorry for you or ... me ...
😮
If you believe you are hard done by surely it is best to lodge a complaint, if only because if this officer genuinely went around stopping people for no good reason and all of his victims did the same surely their unreasonable behaviour would then become apparent to their superiors due to a disproportional amount of complaints levied against them.
chip - MemberIf you believe you are hard done by surely it is best to lodge a complaint, if only because if this officer genuinely went around stopping people for no good reason and all of his victims did the same surely their unreasonable behaviour would then become apparent to their superiors due to a disproportional amount of complaints levied against them.
That's assuming their superiors know how/where to check for offiers' records or keep records of officers involvement in details. I bet the superiors are not even computer literate ... 🙄
Edit: ... in the 3rd world the officers would stop you and give you some bollocking or point their pistols (they like that) at you but would seldom/not give you a ticket.
They do like pointing their pistols at you though so the technique is to beg for forgiveness by saying how shinning their pistols are and they would let you go (you are actually begging for the pistol not to misfire) ... 
Also, if you want to bribe them you need to know the market price i.e. the cost of a full fine deduct 20-30% off that and bargain like hell ... 😆
My guess is that this will go nowhere if you forget it . very hard for non traffic officers in a van to prove speeding very hard to prove due care by evidence you were braking on a potholled road if risk was caused they were careless by driving too close to you impossible to prove number plate offence you have a photo of your plate they will have had a works BlackBerry or private mobile and could have taken a photo. But if you make a complaint they may feel professioaly bound to try and press some charge to legitimise their conduct. Andrew Mitchell's big mistake was his parting shot to the officer that he would take matters further.
Since when was braking an offence? I think if I were accused of braking aggressively my response would be, "and?" The only situation where that would be dangerous would be if the vehicle behind was driving too close. Oh, wait.
he reckoned that one letter wasn't clear due to his headlight reflecting.
I fail to see how their incorrectly adjusted headlights is your concern either.
My guess is that you'll hear nothing more about it, they were trying to intimidate you. Personally I'd be reporting them, but then I have a thing about bullies.
Speeding but wasn't. If you had noticed straight away it was a copper, would this have panned out in exactly the same scenario. Absolutely?
May be worth getting photos of the potholes etc before they get filled in just in case? What exactly did they report you for? Sounds really petty, if you weren't dealt with politely without reason and they were c*cks, worth making complaint otherwise they'll keep subjecting others to the same behaviour. Can't see you have anything to lose other than devoting the time to do it.
Nightjacks penultimate point
http://nightjackarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/survival-guide-for-decent-folk-240708.html
OP what Exactly did you get at the scene. It sounds like from what you say you've been reported and you have paperwork.
If that's the case something Will come of this, the other bad news is he's reported you for a speed higher than the threshold tor a course (above 42 in a 30)
I'm not sure if they now have 14 days or 6 months to deal with this (a camera ticket is 14 days I don't know about a roadside stop)
If he just said I'm going to report you. He was just saying words to scare you
Head over to pepipoo for some decent advice
Agree that pepipoo is good, you will get decent advice there, including from serving or retired experienced traffic cops who have as little time for the nobs you encountered as the rest of us do. If you do go on pepipoo then don't try and give a biased account (not suggesting you have done), blaggers get caught out very quickly on there. Good luck, sounds like a pile of shite to me, and I wouldn't want to go up in the box to give evidence about that incident 🙂
MartynS - it will be six months, because provided it was done correctly, he's had his Section 1 warning (verbal equivalent of an NIP).
Police can be obnoxious from time to time and do daft stuff. One of the most idiotic drivers I knew as a kid was a traffic cop. I've been undertaken by an marked police 3 series BMW doing 120 before. Of course if I did such a thing I'd be nicked (yes I can confirm he was going that fast and I know it was an unmarked police car as he put his blue lights on - hidden in reversing light cluster - in order to force his way back into my lane. I assume he'd got the hump as he had earlier nearly crashed into me moving into my lane without looking.
I was cautioned and then given a Traffic Offence Report. The code for the offence is RR84061, exceed 30mph local traffic order and the speed is quoted as +45. No explanation was given as to how my speed was calculated and as I previously mentioned the way he kept getting close up to me he wasn't keeping a distance to match my speed.
From the back of the form it appears I just wait for them to decide what action will be taken.
I have his details on the ticket but not hers. Not sure if relevant or not that when I was cautioned again before he handed the ticket to me I asked for it to be recorded that he had driven aggressively behind me coming way too close for safety just so they could read my number plate, which was clearly visible. It would have been much safer to pull me over and read the plate. As I said this the male officer said "bear in mind that I have only one line left on this page to this down" to which I replied "then you'd best get another to ensure you write it all down". He then replied that it was the last page and he didn't have another notebook. I said it wasn't my problem and he needed to record what I said. The female officer continued my statement in her book.
As said the word of two officers is enough "evidence" to convict in court.
You can make an official complaint regarding th officers actions. That may result in the ticket being scrapped but I wouldn't bet on it. If you really want to fight it, be prepared to go to court, collect your evidence and see a solicitor.
Plus 45 in a 30 is bad news I'm afraid. I would go on the attack as your going to get hit with 3 points as that's over the limit for an awareness course. It's drink drive season I'm surprised they never breath tested you as well.
Online complaint, officer falsified a police report, his driving manner caused you to feel harassed, alarmed and distressed. 'Aggressive braking' is his opinion and wouldn't be an issue given he had given you the legal requirement of braking distance. The fact that there were two of them in an ill equipped vehicle to even record your speed makes no difference. Don't even listen to the advice of police officers on here because half the nitwits can't do their own job. Ask for an official apology and a response otherwise it will be escalated to the IPCC. You will get a letter from the divisional commander of central division to address the issue. I've been this route more than once, don't feel intimidated they are there to serve you and must follow the same laws we do.
If there is a CCTV around that road you might be able to use it ...
Online complaint, officer falsified a police report, his driving manner caused you to feel harassed, alarmed and distressed. 'Aggressive braking' is his opinion and wouldn't be an issue given he had given you the legal requirement of braking distance. The fact that there were two of them in an ill equipped vehicle to even record your speed makes no difference. Don't even listen to the advice of police officers on here because half the nitwits can't do their own job. Ask for an official apology and a response otherwise it will be escalated to the IPCC. You will get a letter from the divisional commander of central division to address the issue. I've been this route more than once, don't feel intimidated they are there to serve you and must follow the same laws we do.
Bravo. Thank goodness an expert has arrived.
thegreatape - Member
Bravo. Thank goodness an expert has arrived.
Ya, someone actually make sense here.
Aggressive braking ... bloody hell ... that is the same words I got when they let me go. 😯
Definitely report to his superiors ASAP.
If it does go to court this will be useful evidence. If not, it could be what stops you from having to go to court.
Speaking as someone who has spent days on end (and thousands of pounds) in court defending myself from untrue accusations prosecuted due to police ****wittery, do all you can to stay out of court, and all you can so that if anything does go to court you have evidence at least of your side of the story being consistent.
And next time, brake check them properly then when they run into you make sure all occupants of your car have "severe whiplash".
@pk they didn't breatherlise him as they weren't traffic cops and they did have a breatherliser. See what @pitchpro said, that's the course of action.
Pitch pro +1
Ignore the squares on here.
Get the complaint recorded.
Police work for the public.
Some police are bell ends.
Report, record, follow up the apology.
Email / recorded letter better.
Not going into details but this has happened to me and I got compensation from the police man (bell end twit) that stopped me.
Good luck
If you're in Scotland, don't expect this to be quietly dropped. The procurator fiscal seem to be taking all manner of long shots - even when the evidence refuting the charge is made plain to them 9 months before the court case. Further, they're disinterested in even fixing mistakes on the charge because the magistrate will discount them.
I was charged with speeding and contested it in court. Thankfully my evidence was bulletproof and the PF ended up looking foolish and my case was dismissed. But it should never have gotten anywhere near court.
45mph is over the limit for a fixed penalty, so if you're found guilty you'll have a criminal record - same situation I was in. For starters, get photographic evidence of the way your number plate looks (time stamped by the camera), and get video evidence of the road to demonstrate the pot holes/implausibility of driving at 45mph. And check the signage on the road. It may be wrongly signed, in which case you'll be guaranteed a dismissal. It's a real shame that a few crappy cops destroy faith in the whole system. While you're getting done on a dodgy pretext, the police have yet to even contact the taxi driver that drove into me and then drove away 3 weeks ago. AKA no further action. Wrong targets and bad results. Good luck!
One final thing - expect months to pass before you hear anything more. It doesn't mean it's been forgotten about. I waited 8 months before I got the date for the first pleading diet. And eventually went to court 13 months after the alleged (and non existent) offence.
When I say I'm surprised it's because they never got traffic involved.
The plod do a hard job and fools in hats and hi viz jackets make it even harder. Every job has idiots I'm afraid.
I assume you have gone back up the hill from where you were stopped and noted every road sign to make sure you are right, re the speed limit on that section of road.. . . ?
Or let us all have a look on Street View
pk13 - MemberThe plod do a hard job and fools in hats and hi viz jackets make it even harder. Every job has idiots I'm afraid.
Those with power are the ones that create nightmare for many and they should be put to hard labour ploughing padi field like ox.
There's a very simple but handy device on mobile phones called "audio record", or wtf . I've got this on a shortcut on my phone for such circumstances. Easier said than done in the heat of the moment, but if you can remember to hit that Record button and slip it into your top pocket or whatever....
Always take their badge numbers too.
Bravo. Thank goodness an [s]expert[/s] the pleb has arrived
As noted the force is not perfect but ACAB is an equally sad response to reality.