Luke

Clean as a whistle..

ProperCharlie

been pulled a few times for this and that. some plod in nottingham tried to do me for DD one time - bit of a long story but i really *hadn't* been driving (someone else had). they took me down the station and tried to get me to admit to various things. i was absolutely hammered so i just said no to anything they asked me. eventually the other guy's solicitor came in and told the plod that they had to let me go as his client had already admitted to the offence that they were trying to get me for. i then asked if they could take me back to where they found me - it was about 2 am and i had no idea where i was. they basically said that if i didn't get out of their nick in the next 5 seconds they would think up something more serious to charge me with!

Only got stopped once in the impreza, in 18 months of driving. 30 year old, '02 STi. They followed me around for ages, eventually pulled me and tried to make out i had been speeding about 1/2 an hour beforehand. They were pretty ok though. I was very polite as i didn't want to get a ticket, although they could not confirm what speed i had alledgedly been doing (apparently it "looked a lot more than 30" - couldn't have been that much over as I was just pottering about). The sarcy comments like "Do you have a clean licence, then?" "Yes" "Well it won't be for long." are a bit unnecessary, but in the main I don't have any problem with the attitude of most police.

Leslie

Jamie has got the most sensible attitude I reckon. Absolutely no reason to be rude if you are stopped. Generally the bloke will be doing his job and can't be blamed for that. If he is polite to you then you should return with the same attitude to him. It really is not clever to try to impress your mates or try to make yourself feel better by making an idiot of yourself. Remember that in the end he has the ultimate power to do you or not and if you try to act the smartarse then you will get what you deserve!

Les

pbee

95 (17), Was pulled over at 3am in my bosses calibra turbo, for doing 48 in a 40, got a sp30 3 points and producer ect. Copper was friendly enough, I thought i was going a lot quicker but wasnt argueing.

96 (18) got a 405mi16 LM as a company car, pulled over normally about twice a week, a lot by the same coppers around town, Went to see the sergeant as it was getting stupid. wasnt pulled anymore in that car.

2002, waved over in a focus rental car by a copper outside a shop, for supposdly speeding down a road 30 in my in-laws village, i refused to agrre as the road is narrow with parked cars and you always have to pull in to let oncoming traffic pass. He said his collegue was in a bush with a speed gun, I said i would like to see the readout as I do not belive it.

Turns out there was no other copper just didnt like the way i was swooping in the parked cars to let other people past. WTF.I couldnt of been doing more than 25, he didnt ask for any other details about the car ect.

So my view is some coppers ive meet are ok but others are complete up their own *** gits. But I reserve judgement until i meet them.

P1_BEN

Haven't been pulled for about a year now... Last time was at about 1 in the morning and I was driving away from my house where the car was registered. I had been going reasonably quickly.. Pulled over and the police just checked it was me who owned the car... Had a few very nice comments on the car etc etc...

then he thanked me for Stopping...

P1 v 406

I'm 25 and have also in the last 12 months been asked for ID for alcohol..

To be honest it wouldn't bother me being pulled every now and again jus to check i'm driving MY car...

Goochie

I'm 23 and been stopped once in my Corsa for having "funny coloured head lights". Credit to them, they were off road only bulbs so I was breaking the law. Nice guys though, said they liked my wheels and the Ferrari key ring "is the Vauxhall one not good enought for you?" - I was so tempted to say "no, coppers drive Vauxhalls"

Anyway, I think they had good reason to pull me over and dealt with me very reasonably asking me to change them the next day.

Thames Valley Police even sent me a customer satisfaction survey a few months later!

Aztec Performance Ltd

iTrader: (234)

I used to get stopped all the time when I first started driving but not had any hassle since.

Get stopped a couple of times a year to check reg details, but never searched...usually when there have been 'incidents' involving Imprezzas in the area.

Are there any satistics on vechile stop searching and will they show similar to street stop searches (ie you are more likely to get stopped searched if you are from an ethnic background)?

...also if people were to include ethnic background it may make your research more conclusive?

Chris: just my opinion, but I would not rely on the police to help me in any way, in any car-related incident...seem to be more than happy to hand out tickets but when you report (even a serious gun-related) crime they don't seem to care.

...I thought that maybe an armed car-jacking attempt in a city centre on the same road as the police station...reported immediatley may be worthy of some sort of response...evidently not though.

Bob

^Qwerty^

Stopped for taking a "strange route" through a town.

Stopped as part of a convoy by South Yorks.

RS Grant

Been stopped ALOT in my RS Turbo, a couple of times they were just checking that it wasnt stolen... Which is kind of nice to know that they are at least keeping an eye out!!

I have been caught for speeding, only slightly over the limit every time apart from the time I was doing over 40 in a 30 in a 1.1 106 Courtesy Car when someone had driven into me @ 80 and put my car off the road for a long time!

Copper stopped me, asked if I knew how fast I was going, I explained that I was trying to get out the junction quickly and that I was on my lunch break (all true )... Then he asked where my car was, I told him the story and he said he was pretty surprised that I was still about!!

Told me to go and enjoy my lunch but to watch my speed in future. Top Cop!!

Have also been stopped for my small front numberplate, fair enough, it was TINY, but also been stopped for the font on my plates, which is VERY clear to read and know of a standard 206 5dr that drives about with a stupidly thin curly wurly font and never gets any attention even though it drives through the town at weekend in the early hours right past marked/unmarked and traffic cars!! [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

Also, had picked up my Scoob at about 3pm, and was coming out of my village, saw a car coming into the village but decided that I would put the foot down to get past the last couple of cars that were parked on my side of the road, so going into the 60 I must have been doing about 80 (km/h ) and the car coming the other way flashed............... Traffic Police BMW?! They never turned round, but I hit the brakes very hard!!

I find that if the Police talk to you as an equal, and not as if they are better than you, then they get a much nicer response from the "accused"

Cheers,
Grant

Chris29

Bob,

As with stop search forms nowadays we put down ethnicity as well as self-defined ethnicity (show a table ask you to choose etc) on a producer. I'm sure somewhere it's logged as to who is getting stopped in what and when.

As for the 'more likely to get stopped if black/asian etc argument' i'm afraid from personal experience in a very multicultural city (manchester) i tend to stop a lot more white males aged 14-19 than any other ethnic background. This is never borne out in statistics as i believe they are calculated as a % of ethnic background in a city rather than % of city poulation. Just to put in perspective, if you were a ghurka living in manchester and where the only one in the city, if you were stopped the stats would say you had a 100% chance of being stopped!!

Fact is i am quite shocked by these results, as a rule i stop scoobs, just to make sure the owner is driving, i think a lot is to do with clocking the driver and making a decision, age is a factor and don't forget that instinct we all get when something isn't right.

Nice to see we are of help sometimes

Aztec Performance Ltd

iTrader: (234)

Chris,

The figures are correctly worked out to give a %chance of being stop/searched. It is not realistic to say if there was ony one person from an ethnic background you stand a 100% chance of being stopped. All major cities are multi-cultural and thus have many ethnic minorities to make the compling of such data accurate to a point, in as much to say you are more likely to be stopped/searched if you are from...backgrounds.

I'm not saying that all law enforcement officers are racist in any way but the police force has been shown time and time again as being institutionally racist, which is a great shame for a 'multi-cultural' country.

If it wasn't for the above then I would have probabaly joined the force myself.

Sorry, its gone off the topic a bit.

Regards,

Bob

Andy H STi

21 ( turned 22 today ) I drive a WRX STi V5 TypeR Coupe.

I haven't yet been pulled in the car ( unlike when I drove the Saxo, which was at least twice a week ).

Maybe it because the windows are tinted??

Andy

paulr

3 times in 20 years for not wearing seat belt.

Guilty every time.

2000 sport

iTrader: (1)

got pulled when i was 17 for having a tail light out at 3am.. and for "shifting along a bit !!" decent copper, just sent me on my way..

havent been pulled since, in my escy or the scoob..

had a RS focus a few weeks back, from 11pm on the sat night i had police behind me most of the night.. was very funny watching them speed up and slow down, pull off then another pull out, waiting for me to put my foot down.. 29mph all the way officer !!

was out of town later that night on an empty A road, saw blues a way back, looked down and saw the speedo was way past where it should of been, slowed down.. he stayed behind me for half a mile with the lights on, then shot off !! very lucky...

Jolley

1993 (18, Opal Kadette!): Pulled for overtaking a police car at night without my lights on (I had been to the cinema in MK, and it is so well lit around there that I didn't notice). They realised my genuine mistake and let me go after a look round the car. Fair Copper

1995 (20, Escort Ghia Si - not mine!): Pulled by a camera car in Loughborough. He followed me doing 80 in a 40 and 65 in a 30. Said that I could have lost my licence, but that he would just give me a warning this time. Top copper.

1997 (22, Uno Turbo): Spun my car on a snowdrift and parked it in the bottom of a 6' deep ditch on the other side of the road (was only doing 40mph). Anyway, 2 policemen on their way to work stopped and asked me if I needed clean underwear! Even Coppers see the funny side of things if no-one is hurt or being stupid.

1998 (23, Punto GT): Pulled at 5 in the morning on the Buckingham bypass for having my front Fog lights on. I said they were on from the night before (go off with the ignition), and that I had forgotten to turn them off. They checked around the car and let me go. Top coppers again.

1999 (24, R5 GT): Phone call at work telling me there was a message on the answer phone at home. I had overtaken 6 cars in a rush to get to Bletchley station. One of the cars was a policeman on his way to work, who took my number and decided to get all upset. Fair play to him for just warning me and not taking it any further, but he tried to say that I pushed into the queue and made the car behind me brake, which was a complete lie. Reasonable copper.

1999 (24, R5 GT): Pulled at a roadside checkpoint for having front Foglights on. I pleaded ignorance and he let me off. Top copper (By the way, I am now reformed and do not drive with my front fog lights on).

1999 (24, R5 GT): Policeman with speed gun fell into the carriageway on the other side of the road in front of me in Towcester. He had heard me pull out of the junction and thought that I would speed (I didn't), and in his haste to get round the cars parked on his side of the road he fell over... his hat even fell off. Comedy copper!

2000 (25, Punto GT): Copper going the other way did a u-turn and pulled me over in Coventry. Aparently I looked like a local drug dealer!! Once he could tell I wasn't a dealer, and I hadn't stolen the car, he let me go. Observant copper.

2001 (26, Pulsar GTiR): Pulled in Manchester for doing 38 in a 30 and having one of those tiny motorbike numberplates (it looked good!). He even got out a chart and tape measure to show me what was wrong with them. Given a producer and sent on my way. Friendly, helpful copper (a big scary b@stard too!).

2002 (27, Punto GT): M6 was closed due to an accident at Easter. Decided to take a back way through Coventry. Caught on a front facing camera (a blue thing with a red flash) doing 69 in a 50 (though it was a dual carriageway). 3 points.... those things don't let you off with a warning!

2003 (28, 172): Pulled for drag racing an unmarked Vectra along the Tingewick bypass at 7 in the morning. I was doing 115mph by the time I got past. He put on his lights, but I wouldn't pull over on the dual carriageway because there was no hard shoulder... this upset him and he forced me to stop in the drainage channel. I explained that I just wanted to get past (the whole thing started when we were only doing about 30mph off of the roundabout, and as soon as I got passed I slowed down), and after another warning that I could have lost my licence he let me go. Top drag racing copper (a bit miffed that a clio got past his Vectra probably!).

2003 (28, 172): Pulled away from a set of traffic lights on a roundabout onto the A5 nr MK (where the little chef used to be). I was next to a marked car, so obviously was not going to speed. I hit 70 and then stopped, but because it took him so long to accelerate, he had to do 85 to catch me. Therefore, in his mind I had to have been doing at least 80, and he wouldn't even entertain the simple laws of physics. The situation got even worse when I pointed out that one of his brake lights was not working (he was about my age, but actually called me "sonny"!). Arrogant @rse!

Only had my Scooby 2 months and have not been pulled yet.

So, in 10 years of driving I have been pulled 11 times. All but one of them was my own fault (I could not help looking like a drug dealer!), and I have only met one unreasonable policeman (luckily for me, I was not actually doing anything wrong at the time).... So I cannot complain really. Top blokes doing a difficult job (I just wish they could give fixed penalties for people hogging the outside lane, or for people who do not know what indicators are for).

Rally

used to get stopped a couple of times a month at 17 in an Astra 16v GTE which was on adjustable Spax, lowered 60mm, nice alloys, gpN rally exhaust and quite dark window tints all round. I used to work in a pub and I think they waited around corner for my to finish, they usually followed for at least a mile (all 30 limit) before pulling me, HORT1 everytime.
Had a couple of big accidents in it and then got a saxo VTR, never pulled once.
Had 2 saxo VTS, got pulled once after patrol car nearly drove head on into me as it turned left out of a side street when i was half over white line passing a load of parked cars, should of done himself for that crap driving but tried to say i was driving too fast and should of stopped to let him pull out, ha.
Bought a 309GL 1.6 as a commuting car, got followed by a CID focus with no blue lights or sirens fitted, i was doing exact speed limit, they followed me for 2 miles nearly to me home. They then proceeded to falsh main beam at me and wave, to me it was just 2 nutters following me, i rounded a 90 left doing about 10mph stopped dead and jumped out to confront these lunatics only to find them waving badges saying they were Police officers. No producer, just sort of said they stopped me because they thought I was someone else and continue on my way.
309 GTi (had 2 of these) never stopped.
Fiat Coupe 2.0 20v turbo, never stopped
Astra Coupe turbo, never stopped
95 Impreza WRX since june'03, stopped once when I had accelerated a bit quick out a junction, 3" full decat on full song. Traffic cop, 1 up in a Focus going opposite direction, turned around, no lights, followed me into my works carpark and had a chat. He never asked me who i was or gave me a HORT1, nice bloke, said he owned a Porsche Boxter.
Noticed a patrol car stop and look at me when exiting my home street other day but didnt stop me (i was definately not in wrong as car was not warm, only drive under 2.5k revs when cold)
I am generally good, only floor it in NSL limits, and only if quiet as get loads of plonkers trying to stop me overtaking them when they are doing 45 in a 60 by moving over white line into my path.
It has taken me 11 years to build 4 years no claims due to previous mis calculations and i cant afford to loose it or get any points.
I have just gone 30, no points (now), £1200 fully comp.