Police motorway driving…

brack – Member
Well…just do something about your so called incident then.

And stop bleating on here.

Because as I suspect you are just hoping to transfer your unhappiness on to someone else.

And this person just happens to be in uniform.
I’m sorry, when have I said I was unhappy or displayed/implied unhappiness – I have asked a perfectly legitimate question of those STWers on here who are part of the thin blue line, wanting to understand what his motivation for driving like he did was, in order that, should I find myself in that position again, I can act in a manner that will make his progress as painless, swift and safe as possible. All part of my continuing education as a driver…

And if I’ve not already made it clear – I wear a uniform too, so the fact he does has nothing to do with it.

Why not use your ‘uniform’ connections to investiagte this crime fully ?

OR TIME FOR A NEW UNIFORM – ONE THAT WOULD HELP YOU UNDERSTAND

Why not use your ‘uniform’ connections to investiagte this crime fully ?

OR TIME FOR A NEW UNIFORM – ONE THAT WOULD HELP YOU UNDERSTAND

Hmm, good idea, I hadn’t thought of that, I’ll get on to it and be sure to PM you to let you know my findings.

I take it you’re not quite getting the concept of “policing by consent”, by which the police are accountable for their actions to the public they serve, but well done for resorting to the STW stereotype of personal insult rather than reasoned debate. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t fit me but my son would like it so thanks again for the link.

This is the ‘bible’ that all police drivers and most other emergency services use to train their people..

http://www.learnerstuff.co.uk/roadcraft-the-police-drivers-handbook-p-223529.html?gclid=CMnD19Xot7MCFSHHtAodHyEAzg

The days of switching on the blues and twos on to get back to station, so the fish and chips don’t go cold, are long gone..
As has already been stated in previous posts, police cars still need to make progress through traffic without the use of blues and twos.. and yes it does seem aggressive driving sometimes..
OP, well done to you on spotting him in your mirrors and taking appropriate action, if everybody else in the line of traffic had done the same, then maybe his driving wouldn’t have appeared to be so dramatic/aggressive.. ?

What I want to know is how you managed to pull off the motorway and find somewhere safe to park whilst you noted down the registration number, time, and location and still keep up with the police car behind you 😕

You are welcome .

Police advanced driving techniques can be viewed as
Aggressive by other drivers
That’s just the system we are taught

OP, well done to you on spotting him in your mirrors and taking appropriate action

Indeed. The woman sitting in the outside lane yesterday chugging along wondering why she was suddenly getting preferential treatment from all the nice polite gentlemen drivers in front of her should take a leaf out of your book.

The look of the police driver sitting 5 feet behind her with full lights and siren going was priceless….

Having done blue lights training but not currently part of an emergency service, I despised the aggressive driving styles and techniques taught to get past traffic with out using your lights. I was also told that this was only to be used in times where traffic was not traveling at the speed limit, and if it was necessary to use it above the limit then lights should be used.

After all they are not beyond the law, I personal always remember what i was told when i first started to drive and that was if being tail gated reduce your speed.

I have done this to police cars before and it is very annoying for them but so is there driving for other road users. I do this as i have been clipped by a car that was practicing aggressive driving and ended up paying for the damage myself.

And as for the comment on be ready to be pulled over every chance they get, if you do report it,there is one word for that harassment.

Police advanced driving techniques can be viewed as
Aggressive by other drivers
That’s just the system we are taught

That’s fair enough, but it seems a little… irresponsible to be driving in a way that might make others behave erratically.

I mean, I’ve no doubt that police drivers are very highly skilled, but the people around them largely aren’t. If a liveried car comes steaming up behind them and starts tailgating, I’d guess that very few people are going to react in a rational manner. They’re going to panic or at least be very nervous, and as per the OP they’re being bullied into spaces which don’t exist which sounds dangerous.

My gut feeling is that assertive driving is fine, aggressive driving is not, and I’m genuinely surprised if police are routinely taught the latter.

Just because you wear a uniform doesn’t give you the right come over all superior and self-righteous or to act like a tool; as ably demonstrated by Brack here it sounds like some officers need to learn some humility.

Rightly or wrongly, if the upholders of law and order aren’t setting a good example then it just breeds resentment.

clearly marked patrol vehicle that would have been apparent to anybody looking in their rear view mirror,

See this assumption relies on people actually looking in their rear view mirror.

OP, from the detail you can recall you clearly pay attention to your driving. Not everyone does though which is why the police car probably had to be aggressive to make progress.

Lane discipline on British motorways is absolutely shocking

Well do something about it then…report them.

End of story.

Personally I wouldnt make a complaint as I wouldnt want to be driving the most picked on car in the county for the next several months as every possible excuse to pull you over is used repeatedly.

OP – you don’t happen to have a pair of string back driving gloves do you?

I made a formal complaint about a suicidal police motorcyclist riding on my rear quarter and bullying his way in at a motorway junction – in torrential rain. Right palaver.
Its bad enough all the moronic nutcase riders I have to put up with commuting, without the rossers doing it too.
I would have ‘pulled him over’ at the lights we stopped at and made him get one of his ‘colleagues’ to attend, if only I had a valid tax disc at the time …. 😆

Report them.
If they had a reason for driving like that, no harm done.

psling – Member
What I want to know is how you managed to pull off the motorway and find somewhere safe to park whilst you noted down the registration number, time, and location and still keep up with the police car behind you

Sorry, how could I keep up with a car behind me…? 😀 I didn’t pull over, I memorised the details and then wrote them down when I got home – a previous appointment for my employer saw me spending 7 weeks being trained how to observe and pick up detail…

OP, well done to you on spotting him in your mirrors and taking appropriate action,

I don’t claim to be perfect but try to apply skills I have learnt elsewhere (see above) throughout everything I do in life, as well as learning from my own and others’ actions – “every day is a school day”… – hence this thread, I accept there will be times when discreet progress is required, what I was curious about was why the need to tailgate when there were potentially other, safer, methods of encouraging traffic to make way.

As for me getting carried away with the speed, or not, I accept that may have been a mistake, as I said – flame me, I have broad shoulders and can accept criticism where it’s due – I may have got carried away, lesson learnt and not to be repeated.

mrchrispy – Member
OP – you don’t happen to have a pair of string back driving gloves do you?

Fraid not, sorry to disappoint… 😀

Could be any one of a thousand reasons for the way they were driving. Maybe they were making a video of how people react to being tailgated. Practicing driving in close proximity to other vehicles. Maybe they were taking part in an exercise. Who knows.

If I had been in your position I’d have adopted a position on the road where I could safely watched what was going on and see if anything could be learnt from it.

Also – what is unsafe for you to do is probably pretty safe for them to do given their training and car handling ability.

Also – what is unsafe for you to do is probably pretty safe for them to do given their training and car handling ability.

Alain Prost tried this one as defence to speeding once, didn’t work for him either.

Doesnt matter how skilled you are when you are caught out going too fast or too close – slowing down and leaving a gap is the safety margin.

Alain Prost probably wasnt in a police car doing police business at the time though….

Have you read the thread at all?

Shhhh I reckon the OP is ex SASSSSS

Nobody mention Hereford…

Report it. If it’s legit, they’ll be able to justify their driving to their superior and case closed. If it’s not, they won’t and will presumably have the evidence of their poor driving presented back to them.

Do all police cars have cameras?

Also – what is unsafe for you to do is probably pretty safe for them to do given their training and car handling ability.

Can driver training really ensure that it is safe to drive 6-10 feet from the car in front in busy traffic at 85mph.

That question sounds quite facetious but it is meant genuinely – if this is possible then I am more than a little impressed.

How pointless is this?
Just another excuse for a dig at the Police.

Can driver training really ensure that it is safe to drive 6-10 feet from the car in front in busy traffic at 85mph.

Maybe not training on it’s own, but with training AND careful selection people with the appropriate attributes I’d say you probably could. After all F1 drivers can manage it at double the speed and then some. Touring car drivers is probably more similar as a comparison though.

It’s just like some of us can rattle down Fort William DH in 4 minutes, where as some of us could never ride down it.

Touring car drivers is probably more similar as a comparison though.

The touring car drivers can do it nearly touching let alone 6-10 feet.

But racing drivers do it surrounded by other highly skilled drivers and, when I have watched it, certain crashes are attributed to less experienced racers; typical drivers out for a visit to see Auntie Mary are unlikely to possess advanced driving skills and could easily panic or react in an unsafe manner.

Typical drivers out for a visit to see Auntie Mary are probably not going to be doing 85mph with a police car up their backside.

Could be any one of a thousand reasons for the way they were driving. Maybe they were making a video of how people react to being tailgated. Practicing driving in close proximity to other vehicles. Maybe they were taking part in an exercise. Who knows.

Practicing covering up their liability because of an accident they caused by aggressive and inappropriate driving?
Needing to get back to the stationn before the chips got cold?
Who knows?

Most folk on the M62 between Manchester and Leeds seem to be doing 80mph plus (roadworks permitting). Should a Police car pull behind them without light or sirens to a few feet I can imagine some unpredictable driving might result, especially as their first rection is likely to be to try to get back below 70.

When I was asking about skills I was more meaning the ability to assess and predict others which I assume is still part of advanced driver training.

Maybe not training on it’s own

Read the thread? You mean the parts were where you make the unfounded assumptions that the rossers in question are a)on some mysterious ‘police business’ that requires them to drive agressively and dangerously, and b)are ‘trained and selected’ super humans for whom they laws of physics bend and the duty of care to other road users doesn’t apply.

F1 drivers DONT manage it, because by definition it is not possible to safely drive damgerously, and when it goes wrong in such situations the results are often catastrophic.

Stop watching action films and put the playstation away.

Racing drivers can do it because they know where the other cars are going to brake. Look at what happened to Nico Roseberg in the Grand Prix when a car slowed down unexpectedly. Its not the same as being on a road. Also look at the number of persons killed by police involved in RTC’s to see their ‘advanced’ driving skills are not what people here are trying to make out.

Maybe not training on it’s own, but with training AND careful selection people with the appropriate attributes I’d say you probably could. After all F1 drivers can manage it at double the speed and then some. Touring car drivers is probably more similar as a comparison though.

F1 Drivers and Touring Car racers crash all the time!

As pointed out earlier in the thread, it doesn’t matter how highly trained you are, the laws of physics still apply, especially given the unpredictability of a public road.

He might have just been a ***.

Simple as that.

brack – Member
Shhhh I reckon the OP is ex SASSSSS

Nobody mention Hereford…
Damn, sussed, OK I admit it – I was the second man on the balcony of the Iranian Embassy… 😆 I wish, too old, not got the requisite 20/20 vision and have no desire to be one of “Them” – quite happy reading about their exploits in the airport paperbacks or listening to Bob or Legs spin a dit in the NAAFI bar about some improbable exploit.

bren2709 – Member
How pointless is this?
Just another excuse for a dig at the Police.

So you’ve not read my posts where I explain that I’m not in the business of bashing the police, just would like to know why/how this kind of driving could/would be considered approrpiate so I know what to expect and do the next time I find myself with a big, heavy Volvo patrol car on my bumper at 70mph and wanting to get past? Or to put it another way, a question for you – would you be happy to have said patrol car sat on your buumper in heavy, high speed traffic where a mistake or twitchiness on the part any one of the drivers, experienced or otherwise, could have potentially serious consequences? That’s a simple yes or no question by the way…

…know what to expect and do the next time I find myself with a big, heavy Volvo patrol car on my bumper at 70mph ….

Same thing you do any other time someone is sitting too close behind you – ease off the gas and make the gap in front of you bigger and therefore safer.

Same thing you do any other time someone is sitting too close behind you – ease off the gas and make the gap in front of you bigger and therefore safer.

Narain Karthikeyan tried that. Turns out it wasn’t safer. Who’d have guessed eh?

glupton1976 – Member

…know what to expect and do the next time I find myself with a big, heavy Volvo patrol car on my bumper at 70mph ….

Same thing you do any other time someone is sitting too close behind you – ease off the gas and make the gap in front of you bigger and therefore safer.

And get out of his way, when safe to do so, to allow him to continue to make progress – you forgot that bit… 😉

I reported a traffic car for overtaking me with all the lights flashing. I was doing an indicated 70mph and it went flying past me. I stopped about 5 miles later at the local chippy to see said car outside chippy. I know the chippy owner who informed me that they had been in to collect fish suppers and had arrived with their lights flashing. Hmmmmm. Actually got a response from an inspector in the road dept. That said I hate a cold fish supper myself 😉

I am a police advanced driver and if you want to know more about driver training then as already pointed out have a look at the road craft book. I had to take a 4 week driving course (on top of the 2 week basic course) to become an advanced driver, it isn’t an easy course and is as much about attitude as actual driving. If I wanted to become T-PAC trained that would be another course. Unfortunately we are going to look aggressive in our driving when attempting to make progress, of course we are, especially when not using our blues and twos. It is worth noting that there are a whole host of reasons why I may not use my blues and twos in certain situations and it is down to our own discretion. The myth about being late for meal or shift change is a load of rubbish, every police vehicle has it’s own black box and no officer I know is willing to risk having a collision and risk losing his job just to get back to the station quicker. Just going back to the point about blues and twos, have any of you seen the reaction of some drivers when an all singing all dancing emergency vehicle approaches from behind? I always take the opinion that the car you are attempting to move past will always do exactly what you don’t want it to, no surprises then! We are highly trained, we often drive in a manner which may look aggressive to others but that is often purposeful, to get where we are going, it isn’t wreckless driving and hazard perception is a big part of driver training. Above all else, the motto for all emergency service drivers should be ‘drive to arrive’ .