2 Nasty Experiences.....

[gordy.r]

But a lucky outcome in the end......

1st - I was driving through 'a certain South Coast garrison town' about 1030 at night when a blue Reanult Laguna came tearing up behind me ( i was doing 25mph ) and started weaving from left to right. It then went to overtake me on a single carriagway along the seafront and just sat on my back corner, so i put my foot down in 2nd to put a bit of distance between me and this nutter. I then pulled of the main road and towards a roundabout, but he followed, so again i tore off the roundabout upto about 40 and slowed back to 30 to try and discourage him from being an annoying twit, he then raced up behind me and sat on my ass again, so i took about 4 more turns, down small side streets to see if it was just my mind playing tricks or whether or not i had a stranger playing silly bu66ers with me, and yes he followed every turn, so eventually i got to a roundabout, planted my right foot down and left this car for dead along these narrow streets.
2 minutes later and he is up my ass again, so im just about to get really annoyed when the blue lights go on along the grill...... ''oh poo'' or words to that effect!
After a few words from both parties (i.e- two cops and me and myself) i argued my case that they were driving erratically and had followed me, they said i should have stopped, i disagreed and said if i stopped for every car that followed me i would never get anywhere, and also im not going to stop due to the fact i was on my own, and they could of been a group of lads out to cause trouble. It worked, i was let off, (because it was late at night, i had passed the breathaliser test, and my liscence was clean was what they said.... hmmmmm) but my ever lasting memory of the whole incident was when the copper said to me, ''we recorded you doing 38.2mph but know you were going faster...''
''how?'' i asked cunningly
''because we couldnt catch you......'' oh well

2nd - Today, going straight on at a duel carriageway roundabout, i was coming off the roundabout about 30ish in the outside lane, i hit a diesel spillage and had a huge chunk of understeer which sent my nose off to the left, my rear end to the right and the car drifting straight towards the central barrier, drivers side for the impact.
I dont think i have ever had to correct a slide this fast before, and had to accelerate to avoid sliding into the barrier which then catapulted me over to the inside lane now heading for the kerb and trees, again some more opposite lock to the right, the car spun again, now heading back towards the central barrier, and again some more fast footwork and a little steering bought us back into the inside lane, with the car going very slow and my heart feeling like i had just done a marathon!
Must have looked well held from the view point behind, but from inside the cockpit, it was more of a 'wing and prayer' scenario.... but all are ok, the car unscathed, i was a lucky boy to say the least. [-o<

(p.s- i don't condone speeding, but in my first story i would do the same again if i was being followed erratically, because with todays society, you never know who is behind you.... but thats my opinion.)

[Goldy]

Someone must love you Sounds like you had 2 lucky escapes... its things like that that really knock your driving confidence

[The-Shield]

they said i should have stopped

How the hell is this a justified comment? Just because someone is driving like a complete c.unt means you should pull over? tricks like this should earn the officer disciplinary action as its goading and intimidation, surely? Do all police vehicles have video recording equipment in place? If so and it was as bad as you said, you should report them and when they look into it they should see how much of a p.rick they were being.

[dawolf]

Yeah that's just wrong of the police. I remember one night an unmarked cop car followed me flashing it's lights for about 5 miles before the copper finally showed his badge and I pulled over.

[blue2]

I dont know how they can say that! Only a couple of weeks ago a bloke was kidnapped because he stopped for a fake undercover car. The police should use their heads and not initiate an offence, isnt that called entrapment in the US? I would have been a right smart @ss and refused to get out of the car till they had handed me their badges through the window.

[Lauren]

I'm with you on this. If i'm on my own in my car i will never stop for anything less than an obviously marked police car. I have had unmarked cars like you describe put the blue lights on, but i just ignore them... My stance is that i'm a lone female on my own and anyone could stick blue lights behind their grill. My doors are always locked too.

Can you tell i grew up in London? But seriously i just do not take risks i do not need to when it comes to safety.

[gordy.r]

anyone could stick blue lights behind their grill. My doors are always locked too.

Thats exactly what i said. I asked a pal who is a traffic cop in the Met about this and he said it was kind of entrapment and that if you do not stop for an unmarked police car with blue lights you can not be done for failure to stop, because it is ''just a car with blue lights''.
Obviously if it was marked up it is a different story, but unmarked cars are 'fair game' for not stopping.

(i wouldn't quote me on that if it happens to you and you just give them a damn good ignoring too haha)

And me too, i also lock my doors all the time, you just don't know these days whats round the corner in life and who might try something funny while you are stopped or parked up.
If it's good enough for armed soldiers to lock their vehicle doors, then it's good enough for little old me haha!

[tonigmr2]

I checked this out - legally you are entitled to sit in your car with doors locked and ask to see an officer's identification if they are in an unmarked car. Seems reasonable to me, after all as Lauren said anyone can put blue lights behind their grill.

T

[JohnnyC]

I checked this out - legally you are entitled to sit in your car with doors locked and ask to see an officer's identification if they are in an unmarked car.

I wouldn't even stop.

[Tiamat]

Toni you can do that with any police car.

I have been stopped before and made the officer of a marked police car return to his car to get his ID.

It was 3.30 in the morning and on a very quiet road and I was takign no chances.

If you do get an unmarked car then the best bet is if they really will not leave you alone is to drive to the nearest police station and stop outside there.

[aaronjb]

That's just nuts.. so, they drive behind you, hassle you and generally make you feel like you're in the middle of a potentially dangerous road rage incident..

and then lecture you because you should have stopped before they even put the blue lights on!

Hell, that should earn them a good smack around the head with the clue-bat if you ask me.

[Dave Goodhand]

gordy.. this wasn't in Portsmouth by any chance? (as realised you posted on the spotted topic)

The Pompey cops are annoying when it comes to pulling people over and intimidating them.. quite a few are on power trips, so you just have to get used to it. They were probably expecting a chav to get out of the car!

[gordy.r]

gordy.. this wasn't in Portsmouth by any chance? (as realised you posted on the spotted topic)

The Pompey cops are annoying when it comes to pulling people over and intimidating them.. quite a few are on power trips, so you just have to get used to it. They were probably expecting a chav to get out of the car!

That is the correct seaside South Coast garrison town Dave!!! =D>

I know what you mean, they seem to be quite abrupt the way they go about theyre business. (ok i have to admit though, Pompey does have quite a few chav boy racers in its streets.)

[Ian Geary]

I read in Honest John's column a while back that if you don't feel safe stopping for an unmarked car, an accepted protocol was to acknowledge them by flashing your hazard lights.

Then, you can drive (legally) to somewhere like a 24 hour petrol station (ie with CCTV) although ideally your local police station (assumming it's not one of those 9-5 jobbies) before stopping.

Final point was, unmarked cars on a legit "sting" will often have marked cars running backup, and if they do want you stopped, it'll turn up sharpish.

hth

Ian

[rore]

I've had the same thing with an unmarked car following me at about 2am( a scruffy 10yr old escort ). First it flashed me to let me out of a junction (something you shouldn't do according to the highway code I think, correct me if I'm wrong), then glued itself to my rear bumper. So I took a very, very scenic route home, back streets, turning back on myself etc. Parked up outside my house and they parked beside me, blocking me in. It was only then I found out they were police officers. They were all pumped up and on edge when they got out because I'd given them the run around and said I'd been "driving like a nutter", to which I simpley replied that I had no idea who they were, I didn't break the speed limit at any point, and was driving erratically because I wanted to see if they were following me and I had no idea they were police officers. They then aked me if the car was mine, I said yes, Then where I lived, I said here pointing to my house and that was it.

What gets me is, how did they expect me to react when 2 geezers start driving behind me in an intimidating manner, At no point did they put on the blue lights or attempt to stop me. Call it entrapment or whatever it was nerve wracking to say the least.

[Bobby (aka Shaggar)]

You should have taken it further mate, especially if their car was video equipped.

I was drivng away from watford one nihgt when a couple of skinhead inan Astra start following me for about 3/4 miles. I hit the M1 and cane it to 70.

Within about 30secs two marked cars adn a highway Volvo T4 surround my car and force me to pull over. Low and behold behid all of them was the unmarked Astra, the plain clothes coppers.

I went bezerk at the plain clothes boys, the uniformed guys couldnt shut me up. I was yelling at them who the hell they thought they were to go round frightening lone people in cars like that. how the hell would anyone know who they were etc etc. Honestly, I didnt give a damn at that point. by the time I'd finished they all apologised and left me to it.

Ba$tards. I was hassled so much in my old Series 1 RS Turbo that I started action against a certain police force. re: harrassment.

They are not now alloowed to stop me or my family unless we are in the process of breaking the law now.!!!!! =D>

...and guess what, havent been stopped in their area ever since!!!!!!!!!