Just been to the cash point to drawer some money out and drove around the corner to book my runaround car in for a few bits when an unmarked police car stops and fines me for not wearing a seat belt. Also got breathalised at midday obviously negative. Have the police not got anything better to do. I have owned my scoob for two years and driving for eight and never been pulled over before, thought a warning would have been enough but no pc plod quizzed me about my car asking if it was mine where i work why im not at work. am i not entitled to a day off. Bas***ds.

 

I get stopped at least once a fortnight in the early hours ( I'm a Techie) and have to answer the same where what etc ,but you can really pi** them when they ask what you were doing, tell them they will not understand ! and then explain what I was doing with a network etc ,and then ask them "did you really understand that or am just I wasting more of my time" their faces are always a picture !!!

 

I would say that stopping someone not waering their seat belt is a good use of the officers time, once you have seen the after effects of not wearing a seatbelt you soon realise that they are their for a purpose.

the image below is of a woman who didn't wear her seat belt and was involved in an accident :-

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...W/73cba152.jpg

She was required to have over 70 stitches in her face

 

There's a really easy way to avoid the aggro.

Put your seatbelt on, no matter how short the journey.

Easy really.

Nathan..

 

I feel totally uncomfortable in a car without a seatbelt on! Besides.... it's pretty difficult to forget in the new Scoobs, as soon as you pull away with no belt on it starts making a very VERY annoying noise and flashes lights at you untill you belt up.... well thought out alarm.... you really couldn't cope with it going off for more than a couple of minutes without going insane......

Paul

P.S. I have to agree with Ian.... I think that's a good use of police time... far better than setting up ambush points with "cash wagons" (oops... I mean safety camera vans.... silly me!) to trap unsuspecting speeding pensioners pushing the boundaries of warp technology at 3mph over the limit!!!

 

I've read about some of the police strategies for stopping people in cars.

Not wearing a seatbelt is a good reason to believe that the person isn't thinking straight, either caused by drink or drugs or that the person is nervous as the car may not belong to them. Other than that, it's a not sensible.

Others include:
Driving too slowly - normally under the influence drivers.
Stroking back of head when passing police car is a sign that something is wrong.

A seatbelt is like insurance - you hope you never have to use it, but when you do you're glad it was there.

 

For those of you who don't like the police........

Q. who you going to call if your car gets stolen, or twat3d by some idiot.

I know who i'll be putting my money on.

Without the police we couldn't have such cars, whether we like them or not they are a firm pillar of our society and they're here to stay.

Stopping people at random does reduce car theft, anyone seen Streetcrime UK.

 

HANG ON A SECOND IM NOT SAYING I WAS RIGHT I KNOW I SHOULD OF BEEN WEARING MY BELT AND I NORMALLY DO. THE POLICE ARE THERE FOR A REASON AND I RESPECT THAT ALL IM SAYING IS THAT I WAS NICE AS PIE TO THE OFFICER AND I THOUGHT A WARNING WOULD SUFFICE. I ADMITTED I WAS WRONG BUT HE SEEMED NOT RUDE BUT NOT FRIENDLY.

 

Sorry to hear that Pudders, but unfortunately seatbelts are a legal requirement... and the Police are just doing their job. What did they give you -- should have been a FPN only... which is a lesson in itself really and means you don't have to worry about points.

Of course, extra lip and mouthing could prompt the Police into playing their max. £500 fine card, or even an MS60 offence code, points of their choice, and a trip to court.

Take it on the chin mate -- if just a FPN then you got off very well IMHO.

Jonts.

 

Yeah So you can be given a fukcin' crime number and probably no visit!

Too busy harrassing the newly criminalised motorists

Thanks a lot, Billy Liar and Lying Labour.

Alcazar

 

I was always slack at putting my seat belt on and one day I got stopped by the police for not wearing it, lots of appologies didnt stop him from lecturing me and giving me a ticket.

Annoyed at having been fined I religiously put my seat belt on every journey and made sure my wife did the same, telling her to put her belt on if I didnt see her do it.

About 2 weeks later my wife had gone out with her sister and husband when they had an accident. My wife, who was sat in the back of the car,was thrown through the rear screen and died instantly.

I wanted to contact the policeman who gave me the ticket to tell him what had happened, so that he could reinforce his campaign of getting people to put there seat belts on.

 

A Salutary Lesson

 

Zesty, I'm deeply saddened to read about that... and it just proves what seatbelts are designed to do. It really does make you think.

Jonty.

 

Zesty, I am very sorry to hear this.

You are probably the most qualified person to post on this thread.

 

If you don't like wearing a seat belt you can always reverse everywhere!!! then you wouldn't be required to wear it.
dave

 

....Exactly. You broke the law so don't whine about it.

 

Fair play i will shut up now! and wear my seat belt

 

Sorry quick question most probably very silly but do i need to declare this to my insurance companies as it is a fixed penalty?

 

Ianw - you have a point but you really should have posted a link and a warning. My six year old was right next to me when I clicked in to this post - please could you remove it. The majority here don't need the shock tactics.


Thanks.

 

Pudders.

No you don't as it doesn't carry points. It's just a knock on the chin.

 

I think it'll really depends on what the insurance companies are asking of you. The safest bet would be to simply contact them and ask/declare what happened... and you may find they're not fussed. The second best option is to check out your paperwork and see how things are worded, i.e. if they ask you about any 'convictions' or 'FPN's with points' then you're okay and don't need to tell them. If, like Elephant, they ask you for details of convictions, FPN's, and bans then you would... simply because they've stated FPN's full stop.

I guess if it was me then I'd go by the paperwork -- insurance companies are always asking me to check if my details are right and that the forms/paperwork are legally binding etc... so it therefore works both ways.

Jonts.

 

Not my intention to start an argument (I see your point Trashman), but there was warning really... "the image below is of a woman who didn't wear her seat belt and was involved in an accident... SNIP... She was required to have over 70 stitches in her face"

I myself guessed what was coming, although I expected worse.

Just my oppinion of course...

Jonts.

 

I see where you're coming from but I shouldn't need to creep down a page or zoom past all other posts.

"Not my intention to start an argument " - not been here long then

 

Guess i'm going to have reply here!

Well lads, im a copper and I respect motorists and love fast cars (got a WRX myself). The Police always get criticised for persecuting motorists.

I know all to well that this is unfair, the scum who dont register their car, go thru gatso's drive off at petrol stations without paying, no insurance etc etc the list goes on, they get away with it all. When they are caught the courts do nothing!!!! Scum go and burglar ur house, smash ur car windscreen, what happens conditional discharge, courts basically say dont do it again!!!!

But motorists!!!!! Heres £60 and points on your licence (u have a licence, scum do not) and ur insurance will go sky high, (u have insurance, scum do not). Its unfair, i agreee.

Glad to see some people on here have respect for the Police and can see the implications of not wearing a seat belt, i have seen them too many times to recall and not a pretty sight, so of course if we see someone not wearing a seat belt we are going to deal with it. Granted not all the times we deal with it in terms of fines but its the descretion of the officer.

And the line, 'I always drive with my seatbelt on, I had only just pulled off' isn't good enough.

My advice to stand u in good stead is to agree, apologise, no attitude and show some interest in road safety. Cant guarentee this will stop a FPN coming ur way but to be honest mmost Police (except traffic cops) will probably only give u verbal advice.

Saying that, take the **** and not put ur seat belt on when seeing a cop car and its game on!

Just remember lads, Impreza's are stolen all the time by the scum usual ways:

1 - Break down your door at tea time, 4 lads with claw hammers making a nice work of art on ur face and taking ur motor (happens too mush!)

2 - Traffic lights/junctions, u get dragged out of ur seat or window smashed, dragged out and beaten up, see the back of ur lovely car go wheel spinning off.

3 - Nicked straight from were u parked it, no excuses enough ways of protecting ur car these days

4 - Using a fishing rod hook ur keys thru the letter box whilst ur asleep upstairs ....... another one far to common!!!

5 - Autotrader, ur selling it, some lads come to meet u to have a look, get beaten and there gone

The list goes on!!!!!

Most of the stolen Imprezas are used in serious crime, armed robberies/ram raids etc, so their stolen by professional serious violent criminals.

One more point: Criminals use cars, so cars is a good way to catch them

Enjoy

 

To be completly honest i dont normally wear my seat belt until i have been driving for a mile or so , i dont know why i guess it is just force of habit. I always make sure my passengers wear a belt and if they dont i will not move. I think it stems back do the days of driving with my dad who never used to wear his. Not saying it is right but just a habit like smoking or chewing ur nails. I have always been a law obeying motorist always had tax , mot , insurance, always make sure my cars are in tip top condition etc. I have never been pulled over before and considering i have always had flash cars since i passed my test consider that a credit to either my driving or just luck. I now since being done for my seat belt always make sure i wear my belt but to be honest even the shock of being pulled over would have made me do this anyway. its not the fine that bothers me its the fact i have to tell my two insurance companies now which will probably put up my premium for the next five years that annoys me. I know i only have myself to blame but there needs to be strict rules about this either issue a fine full stop or not it should not be up to the descretion of the officer.

 

[QUOTE=nyscooby]For those of you who don't like the police........

Q. who you going to call if your car gets stolen,

my car did get stolen phoned the police as you do all they did was take a statement i didnt even see a police man and they never recovered it. so where were they then ? probably still in the coffee shop having a another doughnut thats where. so naturally i don't have a good word or a lot of time for the police especially when they nick you for doing 100yds without a seatbelt, easy paperwork is all they want with maximum revenue i.e "cash wagons"

 

I put money on if your car got stolen tomorrow you'd still call them.

I've travelled all over the planet with work and seen real crooked coppers, and i dont mean coppers with daft attitudes.

I know a couple up here in the N/E who have the nick name Starsky and Hutch, not by the public, but by some other cops who are mates, the locker room taunts them cause of they're policing style.

Go to the USA, you cant go anywhere without seeing cops driving about. You hardly see them at all over here, I can say i havent seen 1 on the motorways up here all year.

Anyone been to India or Thailand, Indoneasia, you'll know what i mean.

 

of course your gonna ring the police if your car gets stolen, you havent got any choice, you need a crime number to give to your insurance.