Hypothetical question for you.

[Phooey]

The other day coming back from work on the motorway I was travelling at 70mph, honest guv! It really was 70 mph, and a police car with no blues and two's sped past me at 85 - 90 estimate. Since they are supposed to be upholding the law and not break the law, if I accelerated to match their speed would they book me for speeding? If so, would they not be dropping themselves in proverbial also?

[TimR]

They dont have to be on blues and twos to exceed the limit .. they must have a reason if called up on it ..

If they had issue with the manner if your excessive speed imsure they would have had words

and i doubt you saying well you were going that fast why cant i... would be a black mark towards you

[Phooey]

They dont have to be on blues and twos to exceed the limit .. they must have a reason if called up on it ..

If they had issue with the manner if your excessive speed imsure they would have had words

and i doubt you saying well you were going that fast why cant i... would be a black mark towards you

 

I wasn't speeding Tim. I did ask a police officer that I bumped into at Mc D's and he said if they were exceeding the speed limit they must be displaying blues and two's. But refused to comment on their excessive speed! They are required to comply with the law.

[TimR]

Question 5

https://www.surrey.police.uk/foi-disclosure-logs/police-car-responding-to-an-emergency-call/

[Phooey]

Question 5

https://www.surrey.police.uk/foi-disclosure-logs/police-car-responding-to-an-emergency-call/

 

I am only stating what the police officer told me, Tim. Surrey MAY be different to Bristol.

[Joeman]

I've followed police cars at speeds over the limit before, but only the standard panda cars and vans, not the traffic cops with high tech stuff onboard to nab me!

I've overtaken police vans before too with me going over 70 and I always speed past the fake police on the motorway just to let them know their police disguise didn't fool me and to get the rest of the people sheepishly following at 68mph to realise it's not a copper and get moving!

[TC1474]

As someone who did the job for 25 years and teaches traffic law, let me clarifynthe situation,

Police drivers aremrequired to obey the sane traffic laws as you and I have to comply with. End of........

However, Police drivers are permitted to exceed the speed limit if it is required in order to perform their duties. For example doing a following speed check. They may be on an emergency call but what is called a silent approach is required, in other words no sirens or blues. They may be required to get from point A to point B rapidly without drawing too much attention to themselves, for example to intercept a target vehicle, the list goes on and it is a judgement call the driver has to make which is why most forces no longer allow drivers of Panda cars to get involved in pursuits.

On an energency call, the some traffic laws can become flexible. For example going through a red traffic light may be treated as a "Give Way" they can go the wrong side of traffic islands and so on, but.... the onus of responsibility and liability remains with the driver. In other words if the driver gets it wrong he (or she) has to answer for it and they run the risk of double jeopardy as they can get done by the courts as well as internally on a disciplinary.

There may be slight variances from force to force but not that many, and if you have been tol by a serving copper that they can only speed if displaying blues and two's the he needs to get sent back to his force driving school because I don't care what force he is from, he is wrong and I know quite a few Avon and Somerset Traffic cops (Bristol) and they work to the same policy as everyone else.

[TC1474]

I've followed police cars at speeds over the limit before, but only the standard panda cars and vans, not the traffic cops with high tech stuff onboard to nab me!

I've overtaken police vans before too with me going over 70 and I always speed past the fake police on the motorway just to let them know their police disguise didn't fool me and to get the rest of the people sheepishly following at 68mph to realise it's not a copper and get moving!

 

The driver in any Police vehicle can do you. Panda car drivers, van drivers, it matters not, but they can only do a following check which has to be over a minimum distance of 3/10 of a mile on non motorway roads and 1 mile on Motorways.

They then have to get the accuracy of the speedometer checked for callibration and accuracy as this forms part of the evidence, and so for divisional personell it is too much aggravation, where traffic cars (and bikes) are fitted with callibrated speedos and their accuracy is checked every week over the measured mile at 30 and 60MPH.

Highways Traffic officers have limited powers but speed enforecement is not one of them, although there is some talk that this may change in the future.

[Westbeef]

I've followed police cars at speeds over the limit before, but only the standard panda cars and vans, not the traffic cops with high tech stuff onboard to nab me!

I've overtaken police vans before too with me going over 70 and I always speed past the fake police on the motorway just to let them know their police disguise didn't fool me and to get the rest of the people sheepishly following at 68mph to realise it's not a copper and get moving!

 

The driver in any Police vehicle can do you. Panda car drivers, van drivers, it matters not, but they can only do a following check which has to be over a minimum distance of 3/10 of a mile on non motorway roads and 1 mile on Motorways.

They then have to get the accuracy of the speedometer checked for callibration and accuracy as this forms part of the evidence, and so for divisional personell it is too much aggravation, where traffic cars (and bikes) are fitted with callibrated speedos and their accuracy is checked every week over the measured mile at 30 and 60MPH.

Highways Traffic officers have limited powers but speed enforecement is not one of them, although there is some talk that this may change in the future.

 

I've been told on a motorway you don't have to stop if a panda car pulls you over, or the highway traffic officers. Only if it's a RPU, is this correct?

I'd pull over for any of them anyway, I just always wondered if that was BS. I assume it's probably correct for the Highway traffic officers but not a panda car.

[tuktuk]

Me and my mate encountered this very early one day a few years back on a dual carriageway. We were sat at the limit when a police car came past about 15mph faster, my mate matched them keeping a 2 or 3 car distance. Panda car dropped back and the passenger cop gave us a slow down signal with a very stern expression. My mate shook his head and continued to follow until the police car dropped to the limit.

Nothing happened but on the same trip he legitimately got a ticket from an average speeed camera lol.

[Phooey]

As someone who did the job for 25 years and teaches traffic law, let me clarifynthe situation,

Police drivers aremrequired to obey the sane traffic laws as you and I have to comply with. End of........

However, Police drivers are permitted to exceed the speed limit if it is required in order to perform their duties. For example doing a following speed check. They may be on an emergency call but what is called a silent approach is required, in other words no sirens or blues. They may be required to get from point A to point B rapidly without drawing too much attention to themselves, for example to intercept a target vehicle, the list goes on and it is a judgement call the driver has to make which is why most forces no longer allow drivers of Panda cars to get involved in pursuits.

On an energency call, the some traffic laws can become flexible. For example going through a red traffic light may be treated as a "Give Way" they can go the wrong side of traffic islands and so on, but.... the onus of responsibility and liability remains with the driver. In other words if the driver gets it wrong he (or she) has to answer for it and they run the risk of double jeopardy as they can get done by the courts as well as internally on a disciplinary.

There may be slight variances from force to force but not that many, and if you have been tol by a serving copper that they can only speed if displaying blues and two's the he needs to get sent back to his force driving school because I don't care what force he is from, he is wrong and I know quite a few Avon and Somerset Traffic cops (Bristol) and they work to the same policy as everyone else.

 

Thanks TC

[Phooey]

Me and my mate encountered this very early one day a few years back on a dual carriageway. We were sat at the limit when a police car came past about 15mph faster, my mate matched them keeping a 2 or 3 car distance. Panda car dropped back and the passenger cop gave us a slow down signal with a very stern expression. My mate shook his head and continued to follow until the police car dropped to the limit.

Nothing happened but on the same trip he legitimately got a ticket from an average speeed camera lol.

 

That''s why I asked the question because I assume in your case the officers were not responding to an emergency but felt it OK to exceed the limit only to wrap your knuckles when you did!

[TC1474]

I've been told on a motorway you don't have to stop if a panda car pulls you over, or the highway traffic officers. Only if it's a RPU, is this correct?

 

If it is a marked vehicle any marked vehicle and you fail to stop, you commit the offence of failing to stop.

It is rare that you will find a Panda car crew stopping vehicles on a Motorway, but it does happen frpm time to time.

Highways Traffic officer only have limited powers to stop traffic, but again it is rare for them to need to have to do this. Usually only applies where the carriageway has been closed off at the junction or they are putting on a rolling road block, but even then rolling blocks will usually be done by a traffic car.

So to go back to your original question, you have been fed BS

Edited December 3, 2016 by TC1474

[Six30]

So Basically they can do what the fook they like .

[TC1474]

Nothing happened but on the same trip he legitimately got a ticket from an average speeed camera lol.

 

If a Police car gets caught on a camera, the driver is just as liable as any other driver unless they can justify the excess speed and this is usually either confirned by the cameras showing that they were on lights, or radio traffic is recorded and retained for a period of time along with a log so it can be confirmed that there was a genuine need to exceed the limit.

In my day when we were double crewed, the observer would often send a quick radio message to the affect that the crew were about to activate a speed camera so it flagged up the issue straight away.

Fire and Ambulance services are in the same situation. They have to obey the same rules as Police drivers.

[TC1474]

That''s why I asked the question because I assume in your case the officers were not responding to an emergency but felt it OK to exceed the limit only to wrap your knuckles when you did!

 

How does anyone know what they are responding to unless you are monitoring radio traffic (as you used to be able to do)? Simple answer is You don't.

I go back to my original comment. You do not have to be on an emergency call to be in a position to be required to exceed the speed limit. Even Panda cars can exceed the speed limit if deemed an operational requirement.

What they could have done (had they been more switched on ) is radio'd in the fact that they were being tailed by a vehicle matching their speed which is xxx above the limit and requested that a traffic car in the vicinity take over and stop and reort the driver and then all the Panda car crew would need to do would be to submit a statement and a speedo callibration check, Simples

As Mr Brightside will possibly confirm, it is called "The ways and means act" A coppers most valuable asset and still used today I believe

[Phooey]

I'm not criticising you trade TC, just asking the question but I have seen some obviously blatant acts by police that isn't answered by 'we don't know', and are definitely illegal!

[Phooey]

Fire and Ambulance services are in the same situation. They have to obey the same rules as Police drivers.

 

I did read somewhere that MI5 and MI6 are not allowed to speed or pass red lights even if responding to an emergency!

[TC1474]

Fire and Ambulance services are in the same situation. They have to obey the same rules as Police drivers.

 

I did read somewhere that MI5 and MI6 are not allowed to speed or pass red lights even if responding to an emergency!

 

They do not respond to front line emergencies, but they are just as much subject to the law as the rest of us.

The only person who cannot be prosecuted in the country is the Queen. She cannot prosecute herself

 

I'm not criticising you trade TC, just asking the question but I have seen some obviously blatant acts by police that isn't answered by 'we don't know', and are definitely illegal!

 

Not my trade anymore, that was a previous life. I work in a different area of law now, and training given today is very different to the training I was given back in the day.