Any coppers on here?

[richard104]

Do the Police Vans carry breathalisers?

 

[Von Smallhausen]

Do the Police Vans carry breathalisers?

Not as a rule but it may vary from force to force.

We signed them out at the beginning of a shift and back in before leaving.

Alternatively if someone is stopped and they are clearly under the influence you can arrest without a roadside breath test under Section 4 of the Road Traffic Act. A breath test maachine isn't always required.

 

[richard104]

Ah ok, thanks for the information.

I was followed on Friday night by a van and the officer got out and had a chat when I stopped at Tescos for fuel. Asked if i had a drink i told him what i had had then he told me i was all over the road and that was that....needless to say i will never even have a shandy and drive now...

 

[linktoinsanity]

I do have a question as well actually. 8 months ago, it was dark and I was driving along a 40mph road, going 40 having being out at a pub (not drinking alcohol) and was now on my way home. A car came up quite close behind me and the lights were quite bring in my rearview mirror and kept changing colour (to orange and back to yellow), which was quite distracting. I flipped the mirror down and kept on going.

I then came up behind a car that was going 30, meaning I had to slow down, flipping the mirror up so I could see behind me better I noticed the annoying car was still on my tail, so indicated and overtook the car infront, though I did go 45 to get past it quickly. Nothing was coming the other way, and I thought "yes, got away from that annoying car," unfortunately not. It overtook as well and then drove up right behind me again. The road then changed from 40 to 60 and I was off, up to 60mph, with this annoying car still right behind me.

Soon, however I caught up with some other car going 40. Now I understand that in a country lane, it is not necessarily sensible to speed along at 60, but this was a main road, pretty wide. I would have overtaken that car straight away, but couldn't due to the various bends that stop you seeing far in the other way, so I waited, biding my time, with this annoying car right behind me, with the strange colour changing headlights.

Finally I got past a dangerous bend with straight road, nothing coming so I overtook the 40mph car, so did the annoying headlit car, then more lights appeared on it, blue ones on the top, however just coming up to a roundabout I couldn't stop safely, so I though "*** it, I'll stop when it's safe to do so." The police car stop flashing aswell, I'm sure he understood why I didn't stop at that moment, and continuing to follow me, at the next safe bit of road, the lights flashed again and this time I indicated and pulled over.

Apparently I'd done two things that were wrong. I counted one, going 45 when I overtook the first car in the 40 zone. But apparently the other place was unsafe too. I started to argue, but cut myself short and just politely agreed and apologised. They checked out my car, asked my name and then said "on your way." I drove home. Now this annoyed me slightly, especially due to the fact that this police car had been driving up close for the whole journey The next thing annoyed me even more a few months later...

I was driving along the same patch of road, having come accross several police cars, that had gone in different directions. A random merc came up behind me, right on my tail (they like doing it when you are going at the speed limit = 40 and then later on the road = 60) and then some other car was right behind him, I was begging for it to be a police car, he was on my tail all the way up to the roundabout, then undertook me at 50-60 mph (roundabout aint that big) I was thinking "please be a police car, car behind and follow him," The merc went onto the dual carriage way, the other car came up closer to me, didn't stop the merc and as I turned off at my roundabout he drove back the way he had come.

Why did the policeman not stop the merc for what he did and yet be perfectly happy to stop me a few months earlier when I even gave that 40mph car plenty of space until I overtook him?

P.S. Sorry for the wall of text.

 

[Fr0dders]

Unlike a female friend of my sons.
She was pulled and told her vehicle was not insured, so she produced the certificate of insurance etc. They still wouldn't accept that she had insurance and had the car removed. She went along to the station, sorted out the obvious ****-up (she had pays her insurance monthly so took her policy and bank statements showing the payments) so they gave her car back.........subject to her paying the £145+vat cost of having it removed?????
So, apparently the database was wrong or they just didn't want to check?

being impartial to this

i dont think you've heard the full story

Sounds to me like the person telling you the story has forgotten to tell you that they cancelled the monthly payment or at least let it lapse

the insurance became invalid so technically at the time she was driving without insurance.

I imaigne she possibly re-instated the payment to get the car back.

 

[miniyazz]

*snip*

You haven't said if the car that followed the merc was actually a police car. Even if it was, you don't know it was the same driver. Even if it was, they're human and have good/bad days, they don't always react the same way to a situation. Plus it's probably not particularly easy to assess tailgating from behind the tailgater, and if he was able to do 50-60 around the roundabout with you to negotiate, especially if it wasn't that big, implies he took the first exit; and accelerating onto a dual carriageway from the start of the roundabout's hardly a crime
Assuming that you were in the right hand lane, in which case he's perfectly allowed to pass you on the left if he's turning left (arguably even if he was going straight on, especially if entering a dual carriageway).

 

[Maccy]

Cheers for the info Von and tommo

 

[malfunkshun]

being impartial to this

i dont think you've heard the full story

Sounds to me like the person telling you the story has forgotten to tell you that they cancelled the monthly payment or at least let it lapse

the insurance became invalid so technically at the time she was driving without insurance.

I imaigne she possibly re-instated the payment to get the car back.

I dont doubt that there is something I wasn't told but I absolutely believe that her insurance is, and was, entirely legit.

 

[linktoinsanity]

You haven't said if the car that followed the merc was actually a police car. Even if it was, you don't know it was the same driver. Even if it was, they're human and have good/bad days, they don't always react the same way to a situation. Plus it's probably not particularly easy to assess tailgating from behind the tailgater, and if he was able to do 50-60 around the roundabout with you to negotiate, especially if it wasn't that big, implies he took the first exit; and accelerating onto a dual carriageway from the start of the roundabout's hardly a crime
Assuming that you were in the right hand lane, in which case he's perfectly allowed to pass you on the left if he's turning left (arguably even if he was going straight on, especially if entering a dual carriageway).

Merc = 3rd exit and it was a police car. I don't care about good or bad days or whether it was the same police driver, I'd just like the police to give the same treatment to someone driving a black ford escort as to a big silver mercedes.

 

[miniyazz]

Merc = 3rd exit and it was a police car. I don't care about good or bad days or whether it was the same police driver, I'd just like the police to give the same treatment to someone driving a black ford escort as to a big silver mercedes.

TBH onto a dual carriageway I don't reckon the 'undertaking' is a problem. Which roundabout was it? (Google maps ) 50-60mph seems exceedingly fast to turn right at a not-too-big roundabout - just to corner it, let alone pass someone safely

 

[Paramount]

you can arrest without a roadside breath test under Section 4 of the Road Traffic Act. A breath test maachine isn't always required.

As a funny sidestory my PC friend arrested someone for drink driving under section 4 without performing the test, he was all over the place and could barely walk. Got him back to the station and he blew a flat 0. Now he's sueing the force, turned out he was just disabled lol

 

[Fr0dders]

I dont doubt that there is something I wasn't told but I absolutely believe that her insurance is, and was, entirely legit.

police dont sieze cars with insurance and then charge you costs once they realise their mistake.

You've not been told the full story.

 

[Gustov]

I've been pulled over for 'reckless' driving.

First thing they asked for was my license.

I was wearing my tesco uniform after picking a mate up from a club and he still asked if i had been drinking

Yes sir, raving all night at the tesco fancy dress party.