A warning to anyone planning to ride in Kent

<snip>

A very, *very* good idea in cases like this is (if possible) to make
notes on the spot of what happened and what exactly was said. These are
admissible as evidence in court. Particularly useful if , as is likely,
Plod hasn't followed suit.

 

The BMW I mentioned which baited me... one male occupant, wearing a
dark jacket and white shirt.

Like I said, they're a lot more sneaky now than they used to be. ;-)

 

If that's your bag, but what has this to do with Plod cars?

 

There does not need to be two in the car though IIRC. I've clocked the
unmarked car on the A64 a couple of times with one body and once it was a
her. Whether they were cruising for it at the time I don't know.

Are there any female motorcycle plod?

 

I seem to remember that asking to see a copy of PACE always used to go
down well at the side of the road. ;-)

As I said elsewhere, Dad reckons he got off lightly and so can't be
arsed with the potential grief in pursuing this... but I do think it
would be an awful shame if someone took it upon themselves to capture
the tactics being used on film and then asked the Chief Constable to
comment upon it.

 

I meant more in general ... keeping a lookout for what's possibly
tailing you. Like the white car (that turns out to be a panel estate)
with a blue light on the roof (that turns out to be the top of some
ladders). Because I'm old, rarely in a rush (futile on many roads
round here anyway) and only drive / ride gutless old shite I'm
generally only just around the speed limit, especially the higher
ones.

That'll probably what'll do for me, the portable stuff. Luckily /
normally I'm not the one in front so get the prompt from those jamming
their brakes on in front of me. ;-)

I'd say most times. ie. If you took all the speed limits away would
most of us long-term drivers / riders with clean tickets be any more
dangerous. I think the answer would be 'yes' but only down to the
incompetence of others, those less skilful than ourselves (and I'm not
saying I'm brilliant here, just that I manage). There are some folk
who only drive in the congested cities and put them out in the open
and they can't cope. All the judgment and timing is locked in for 23
mph.

Yup, or indicators indicating for 10 miles etc.

Oh yes.

My 'thing' is folk who have all that crap (or even one small pine
tree) swinging about on the interior mirror of their car. One day it
could be you on yer bike in the field of vision being ignored by their
brain behind all the dangly junk ...

Not these days it seems. Years and years ago they had a binge on vans
(I drove a white Morry Minor) and I got pulled up 6 times in 5 weeks.
Not because I was doing anything different to the cars around me but
because I was in a van. In 5 of the cases I got read the rules and
sent on my way. In one I got done for 'Exceeding the speed limit for a
goods vehicle' (63 in a 70, restricted to 50 for 'goods'). First
offence, dry sunny day, empty road, full paperwork, the bastards.
However, I *could* have been done for 4 of the other 5 but in those
days I believe they were more reasonable, just doing their job rather
than trying to reach targets and make money etc.

Hmm, tricky ... I work on the premise that if anyone comes up behind
me I make sure I'm giving them room to get past. If they don't want to
I play by the book.

It takes all sorts. ;-(

I've never had the pleasure to meet a bike cop on the road as such but
I believe many of them are more reasonable to other bikers because
they 'get it'. The ones I've seen on telly certainly seemed so. Right
iffy riding just getting a telling off and 'on yer way'.

Hmm, frustrating isn't it. Rock and a hard place.

Ah, and there's the difference. I had similar recently when some twat
tried to cut me up when his lane turned into 10000 cones entering some
road works. Through the road works he was all over the boot of my car
and as soon as he could he overtook then slowed right down in front of
me. I just stayed 50 yards behind him, watching him getting all
steamed up in his car .. before he drove off. We had all day, he was
in a rush (obviously or why else would someone drive like that)?

It isn't of course, it's dirty and underhand but we can generally
avoid it (as you did). What we can't avoid are the true acts off
fiction / trumped up facts or them even being 'over zealous'.[1]

T i m

[1] Mate recently pulled over for having a small flashing brake light
on his bike. He knew it was probably wrong but would rather risk a tug
than have some clown run him up the arse .. 'again'. I believe the
flashing light would have been legal if he was wearing it but not if
fitted to the bike. They got into a Light - LED discussion and mate
was eventually sent on his way. All this while cars were going through
the red lights beside them and other 'bad' driving.

 

Are we talking specifically about 'traffic' here? Is yer std plod
interested in general vehicle related stuff?

Nope, you never know do you.

Hehe.

T i m

 

Does sound like a lone working directive breach waiting to happen.

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Making getting nicked a pleasure!

 

Do you think this may have any bearing on TOG's plans to relocate?

 

Augusto's Angels?

 

I've been tugged twice by unmarked cars, once in 2001, once in 2008. In
both cases there was one bloke in the car, no obvious antennae and a
lovely video of my vehicle on a screen in the dashboard.

 

London is absolutely crawling with unmarked cars these days and the
telltale signs are very, very well concealed. No need for separate
lights these days when you can just stick a few coloured LEDs in the
existing light clusters.

It's only a matter of time before there's an armed roadblock waiting for
me again, this time somewhere near Vauxhall.

 

Didn't work for me in 75. Just unobservant I guess.

I did both. Speed up whilst overtaking MGBV8GT, slow down when they
put the 'blues ans twos' on.

 

Look at the way Traffic Plod handle you in a stop though. It would be
easy to sit like a nice little boy in the back of the car, then unzip
your bike jacket and slot them both. Torching the car as you go to
destroy the video of your fake number plate.

 

Absolutely - we'd passed him a few miles further back down the road
when he was sat on the hard shoulder with his blues on.

I suspect he was just finishing up the paperwork from nicking someone
else.

Well... as I understand it they used to need two plods per car for the
purposes of confirming evidence etc.

In these days of GPS trackers fitted to vehicles / evidence gathered
by way of video etc, I suspect it's rather negated the need for a
second person to be in the car.

That aside, the rider of the bike that nicked my old man wasn't
carrying a pillion. ;-)

 

Seen in Worcester tonight on my way home, an unmarked black Octavia on
a shout. Single occupant wearing a black polo shirt.

Black polo shirts are standard issue for plod in Worcester, a
colleague's husband is plod there and she mention it made life a lot
easier when he moved from West Mids because she no longer had to iron
so many shirts.

 

That, and they're much better than a white shirt at masking any blood
that gets on them when you're assisting a miscreant down the station
steps etc. ;-)

 

Yes, I 'know' one

 

That's next on the to be read pile, read jupiters travels ages back
and saw the battered triumph at iirc the 1976 bike show.