Bizarre and odd encounter with undercover police car

Caporegime
Joined
20 May 2007
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Surrey
So driving home from work tonight, I had the most bizarre encounter with an undercover police car. An unmarked Lexus to be exact. This is long and boring but I am really interested as to what was going on and why I seemed to have been singled out for a bizarre sort of pursuit.

I was on was on a single carriageway 50 stretch with some madman in a Mercedes up my bum until I came to a roundabout where the road I take is a NSL dual carriageway. So I come off the roundabout, accelerate fairly swiftly to 70mph but not exactly gunning it. The chap in the Merc obviously flies past me at silly speeds. I roll my eyes and carry on doing 70. As the Merc passes me I notice a flash from the headlights of a car some way off in the distance behind me (just coming off the roundabout). I think nothing of it.

I come to the next roundabout, again accelerate off it up to 70mph but suddenly this car (I can see it is a Lexus saloon now) that flashed it's headlights is now right on my tail (must have sped hugely to catch me at this point seen as how far back it was). The road then goes down to 40mph and a single lane where there is roadworks. As I slow down for this the car goes to overtake me (again rolleyes, everyone goes silly speeds through the 40mph roadworks like idiots so I just assume they are going to blaze past me and continue at 70 through the 40 section). However, as soon as the car is along side me and sees I am slowing down properly to 40mph this car puts the brakes on and darts back behind me, right up my bum again.

So I proceed to go 40 through this roadworks section by which time a third car has joined behind the Lexus tailing me. As the 40 part comes to an end I accelerate up to 70mph again and the Lexus just stays behind me. The third car (an Astra Van) proceeds to go way above 80 and overtakes me. Then comes another roundabout and once we come off that, the Astra Van just goes up to what must be at least 90mph and disappears. All the while though, this Lexus is stuck behind me.

Then the Lexus pulls out into the right hand lane and cruises slowly alongside me for a bit. I don't look at the driver but have a quick glance and I can see an overall or bit of clothing with 'POLICE' emblazoned on it, hanging from the back of the passengers seat. Eventually the car passes me then pulls in front of me in the left hand lane. I then get a flash of their brake lights and they proceed to go about 60mph the rest of the way up the 70mph dual carriageway. After seeing the police logo I just stick behind them not really sure what is going on. I thought I was going to get pulled over but nope they just carried on.

Another car then overtakes the undercover police car over the speed limit and it doesn't seem bothered. Eventually we come to my turn off from the dual carriageway and at this turn off the police car c9omes off then does a u turn and goes back onto the dual carriageway but in the other direction.

I seriously do not know what just happened. Part of me is worried I am going to get something in the post but then I didn't do anything wrong or go over the speed limit. Also presumably if I was going to get a telling off for some reason they would have pulled me over.

I am also annoyed at the fact these Police seemed to ignore the mad dangerous driving of the Merc and then ignore two other people who sped past them at quite a bit over the speed limit.

I really can't fathom why I was singled out, other than the fact I drive a new Fiesta ST, but this is hardly that fast or special in the grand scheme of things and hardly synonymous with boy racers just yet seen as they are still new and cost a decent bit of money. I also don't know why they ignored other people who were actually breaking the law, especially the Merc driver and Astra Van as they were clearly driving far too fast.

Anyone have a clue what they were doing/thinking? To be honest it made my drive home quite stressful and it was quite confusing and intimidating, especially as I didn't know it was a police car for a while (in terms of what they were doing, flashing, pulling alongside then darting back behind, overtaking then proceeding really slowly for the speed of the road and flashing their rear lights at me etc). To be honest I thought the whole thing was quite unprofessional and I didn't see the purpose of it.
 
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Totally irrelevant to your experience, but I remember some similarly bizarre experiences from my youth (1970's)

#1 I was driving through Richmond (I had also had a bit of a skinfull, as one did back in the dark ages! ;)) I pulled into a filling station but realised I had gone on the wrong side for my filler cap.

I was about to back up to pull in on the other side of the pumps but the car that was behind me pulled up after me and blocked me from reversing. So In a huff I sped off.

3 seconds later the lights came on!

"Why did you speed off when you saw us Sir??"

Well, (Explanation offered and accepted) Name and address Sir (No "x " "ABC" street!)

Nice area, Good evening safe journey Sir!

:eek: :p

#2

M20, mid 80's

I was in L3, bout 85 (At this time I had a 5.3 V12 66Coupe) Loads of stuff in L2. Blues and Twos came up behind me. "Obviously" this wasn't for me (It really wouldn't have been back then)

They were obviously in a serious hurry. I had two choices. Brake hard and attempt to merge with the 20MPH slower L2 traffic. or go for it to get past the L2 traffic to the gap I could see about half a mile ahead and then pull over.

Obviously I went for option two :D

By the time I got there I was doing well over 120, (Top on 1970's V12 jag was about 145)

As I pulled over the Cops gave me a nice little wave.

Would never happen nowadays though! :(
 
^Ha :D

I guess I am just concerned about receiving something in the post even though I didn't do anything wrong. It was just their sheer persistence with me that I found worrying.

I would just love to know why they were so obsessed with me when there were people going much faster around me. I also didn't get why they pulled alongside so I could see the Police sign in the car, then proceeded to pull in front and flashed their brake lights and slowed down to 60 on a NSL dual carriageway, bearing in mind i was going 70mp. All the while, the bloke in the Astra Double glazing company Van disappears up the road at 90_mph :confused:

It just all seemed so strange.
 
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I can only imagine if you did something wrong they would stop you to tell you what it is and issue a corresponding ticket.

Fiesta ST does have a boy racer image, maybe there was a report of one racing in the area and you just happen to be there so they were checking you out but still sounds little odd. Maybe they were just bored and messing with you :p
 
Whilst if is true someone could have being playing cops n robbers, I have seen them sometimes bait people into speeding by getting right up their bums and forcing them to speed and then pulling them. May have just been that? Who knows. You won't get anything through the post as they would have had to pull you to give you something.
Anyway, we'll played on sticking to the limit etc.
They probs thought everyone else is speeding at this time of night, this clot isn't... Must be drunk! Then they thought they would just leave you to it!
 
Had something very similar happen to me on the M6 a while back with an unmarked Jaguar XF. Anyone would think they were trying to get me to speed, but of course they wouldn't do that would they? :p
 
In a Lexus? Sounds like someone off duty who was just messing around. Or someone with a police top who was a nobody.

Sometimes peasants have so little going on in their lives they need to create some drama.
 
They probs thought everyone else is speeding at this time of night, this clot isn't... Must be drunk! Then they thought they would just leave you to it!

This may be it tbh - I'm sure someone posted on here at one point that he'd been pulled over and asked why he was sticking to the speed limit at 3am or something similar :p
 
Most probably either not really a policeman or off-duty plod being a knob.

I was once tailgated by a new mini up the A23, lots of traffic in L1, me in L2 doing about 80. Mini was on my rear bumper for about a mile or so and as I pulled in and he drew alongside I gave him the finger. He (30ish, fashion haircut, polo shirt) showed me his warrant card. I certainly wasn't about to pull over for an unmarked, out of uniform power-trip and as luck would have it the next exit was mine. I pulled off, he carried on and that's where the story ends.
 
Maybe they were tailing you whilst they check to see if your car was stolen, potentially another fitting the description had been stolen

If OP is driving a fiesta st theres been loads of them stolen recently so that's likely but it takes them two minutes not even that. Pull up to the car, ANPR activates checks PNC and they're done.
 
Part of me wants to call 101 and complain/ask for an explanation but I should probably just let it go.

I would just love to know why they were fixated on me and what the flashing of the brake lights and proceeding at only 60 in a 70 in front of me was all about. I felt like they were telling me to slow down even though I was not going over the speed limit and whilst others went past at silly speeds.

I would like to know why they ignored the actual dangerous drivers, especially the Mercedes.

I don't think they were just checking if the car was stolen. They followed me for 6+ miles.
 
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M20, mid 80's

I was in L3, bout 85 (At this time I had a 5.3 V12 66Coupe) Loads of stuff in L2. Blues and Twos came up behind me. "Obviously" this wasn't for me (It really wouldn't have been back then)

They were obviously in a serious hurry. I had two choices. Brake hard and attempt to merge with the 20MPH slower L2 traffic. or go for it to get past the L2 traffic to the gap I could see about half a mile ahead and then pull over.

Obviously I went for option two :D

By the time I got there I was doing well over 120, (Top on 1970's V12 jag was about 145)

As I pulled over the Cops gave me a nice little wave.

Would never happen nowadays though! :(

Necessity is still an absolute defence: "It was clearly an emergency situation, my Lord; the police wouldn't have had their spinners on otherwise."
 
DO you drive a Merc or something similar in colour to the one you mention. Maybe they thought it was you, but if they were going to issue you a ticket they would have stopped you, nothing to worry about.
 
I **** myself last night coming back from Stafford station on an empty road I opened it up a little and as I entered a village I slowed right down to 30 to then hear bee barp bee barp and thinking oh ****. X5 flies up to me, then around me to which I notice ambulance on the side. And breath out...
 
DO you drive a Merc or something similar in colour to the one you mention. Maybe they thought it was you, but if they were going to issue you a ticket they would have stopped you, nothing to worry about.

No, a red Fiesta ST. Nothing like the white Merc saloon. I know they likely would have stopped me but I have read they can still said a NIP in the post without stopping you. Although I don't know what that would be for as I didn't do anything wrong! I just got the feeling they were overly interested in me for some reason seen as they were following me for over 6 miles and ignoring other people quite clearly speeding.
 
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Could be that a known person drives a very similar car to you and they were just sticking with you while they ran the plates?
 
Not all cars have ANPR and they might have been wanting physical driver description details of a known person with a similar vehicle.

You did nothing wrong according to your account and if anything was to happen it would have at the time. I wouldn't worry about it. If they were sending an NIP, what could it ever be for?
 
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