Safe Speed Forums

I have heard of a few reports where the Police receive a call of drivers that are 'going from curb to curb, just avoiding oncoming cars' as a good example. Yet 15 miles down the road the police are still not in attendance. In this case the Police called back the reporter and was told that the car was not on the database was he sure about the registration. He confirmed the car details, and location to the Police but they never showed up. They had called him back so had his number to obtain location update. For 15 miles to elapse with no show is appalling.
If Police are either too understaffed to deal with immediate and necessary situations no wonder the Police Public rift is so extreme.

So how much of this goes on ?
Have you heard of these type of cases ?

This Story (Here) [Safety guidelines 'stopped police from saving drunk man killed on motorway'] nearly beggars belief as the Police that reported to Police of a drunk heading down embankment to Motorway, could have flashed their lights and at least alerted the public to the person but what procedures and 'equipment' could they possibly have needed.
Couple this with fines for blowing your nose or dropping money (agreed one 'over-zealous' cop) adds to the belief that the whole situation needs to be severely shaken up and reminded of common sense and proportionate enforcement. It is worrying that these cases are not dismissed by senior officers before even reaching CPS etc. I do appreciate these cases at the moment are rare but to those that have this happen and have to fight is still outrageous and not in the slightest interest of any public safety.

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

Exactly, my mates an ex Met copper from the 70s and he was saying that half the things that get put forward today, would have been laughed down back then, it's all political correctness now.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

Yep indeed. There does seem to be a rise in the media of reports showing a serious lack of investigation and then over -zealous enforcement. It has been common for disproportionate enforcement but is it just that there is a need for better training?
I am quite sure many Police are just fine and sensible, so is this just a case of better communications that has led to easier reporting.
However when we hear that cases are pursued that is a concern as the implication is that it has been approved by another department (CPS)also.

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

1. to botach - budget for PCSOs is ringfenced budget. Has nowt to do with mainstream budget. We request budget in the normal way - and it can be capped as well.

I cannot let this thread go without comment as it does prove the OP tends to believe the tabloid press way too much




And the police station was where exactly? Within easy reach of this reported incident? Did whoever it was wait around? Was he or she following this car to keep the officers advised of the routes this dangerous driver was taking? Was he on a hands free phone? Were these vehicles driving horizontally from kerb to kerb? Zig zagging and weaving across the road into other side of the road at high speed regardless of other traffic? It may be that at speed the driver got a digit incorrect in any case. Had the other drivers in the oncoming cars also reported this? Do you have the actual source and actual report of this story?



We've always responded to clear reports and looked into it. Bear in mind when we track down the reported driver and have words - it can be one word against the other and there may not be enough to take to CPS. but maybe enough to make the "offender" reflect/evaluate/think all the same. You do not get these reported in the press though.. the rouitine follow ups... Folk harp on the occasional negatives instead which may be inaccurately reported in any case





And the average driver would have really realised why the officers were flashing lights of course .... ? So let's see .. I am on the HS with lights flashing in the past. Would anyone stop as a result? Officers may and should have bundled him into car - had they stopped but then we only have the waily's report here anyway.




Eh? A fine for discarding a used snotty kleenex would be issued by wardens. It gets to court if the person then refuses to pay the fine for being a litter lout. A person has the right to challenge a fine /FPN etc - and this would then get to the magistrates courts who would then hear the case and decide to dismiss or listen to mitigation if any. Seems to me to be classic waily reporting here.




Ted once posted up a story of a drunk on the M61 - who was killed, Motorway fencing is being made higher per further reporting after that inquest so as to prevent straying and "temptation to short cut over the carriageway.

It may be that the first car had passed too quickly - could not reverse back to retrieve/rescue the drunken person and radioed through ...to get help aasap. Their level of training may not be sufficient to loop back at high speed to return to location - and this sounds to be their case on that one from the incident as reported in the waily linky.
You are quick to criticise off little actual facts.


We do not know who made an error as to location and I am sure the force in question will be investigating and checking up each stage of their procedures as a result -given the allegation of incorrect actual location. Do bear in mind that other drivers may also have contacted police about this chap as well and response may have been affected by conflicting information as well.

I would thus not condemn the police and accuse of zero response based on such flimsy evidence if I were you and wanted to be taken seriously as a campaigner for road safety and not a bib basher and mere campaigner against speed cams... which will still be present.. in our cars even if you eventually manage to persuade the pratsters to ditch the fixed ones (and signs are that these will be removed in favour of mobiles anyway )

But reports are not going unattended as you are now claiming and your opener suggests you expect the plod to arrive at supersonic speed here. How far away was the police station and how far would the nearest response vehicle have to travel to reach this destination... given they would have to cover more than 15 miles perhaps to catch up and see for themselves what was going on.

Media love stories and very often they slant the story for sensationalist effect.

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

A few years ago, I joined the M6 at J 36, and a coach already on the motorway pulled out to lane 2 to allow me and a couple of slower cars off the exit slip. Since he was behind me, I soon pulled out to pass the slower cars - but by the time we entered a contraflow at Carnforth, the coach was still in lane two, and as I slowed to the 50 limit, continued on past me well in excess of the limit - while talking on his mobile phone!
Since his course was erratic, my wife first telephoned the coach company whose number was conveniently on the back of the coach, thinking they might call their driver and urge him to mend his ways - but the traffic manager simply said "so what" and put the phone down.

We called the police as we passed Lancaster, as the coach was still weaving in lane 2 - and talking on the phone.

The police were waiting on the bridge just past Forton services, and joined straight after, where they videoed the coach, as he now tailgated another coach at a distance of little over ten feet.

We got a call just after the coach was pulled over, and arranged to meet the police vehicle at Preston to give a statement.
I was asked if we wished to have charges laid, so I suggested that the officer had the best view as to whether the driver was arrogant after his pull, or likely to repent, so the officers decided to simply report the driver to his company, and not lay any charges.

I thought the police response was not only quick, but the attitude of the officers in making sure I was not going to counter their leniency with a complaint was the right thing to do.

I would guess that the police must get a lot of complaints where there is little justification for sending a response.
I remember Ian H stopping a driver who had been reported for conforming to the 20 mph limit at Waterhead, by following drivers who thought this indicated he may be over the drink drive limit!!

The driver was simply cautious, and worried he might get a ticket if he stuck to the speed of the rest of the non compliant public at large!!
I have always found the response to any concerns I have expressed in Cumbria and Lancashire to be very good and appropriate - but of course I cannot speak for elsewhere in the country!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

I once reported a case to C Div HQ in this area of possible dangerous driving and was informed that they "couldn't do anything" . I enquired why they didn't even want to interview the driver as I had given the Reg No of the vehicle. "Nothing we can do" they said. I then responded with, "But he may kill someone". "Oh, then we would do something". Don't try and tell me that we have an effect and efficient police force. There is far too much PC in this Country and also a large set of thieves in Westminster and other entities. Senior police officers and others never respond to questions with a direct answer, always like an MP who never commits himself. Promotion is the key factor in these areas. Just look what has happened at the Met. I have a family bakground in the police of over 55 years and was always law abiding but I have had my outlook changed 100% over these past years with all the bullshit that we keep getting fed. The justice system has been wrecked, there being no justice when some cases are compared. One only has to look at the Media programmes on TV to see what a shambles the whole rotten system has become. The past 12 years have been nothing but a failure of the highest order and the Country will never return to what it was like and what it should be like. My hope is that my son and daughter will take their families to other parts of the World, and yes, I have been to those places which I refer too and also many more so know what its like. My only regret is that I'm too old to do the same. OLLIE

Had something similar to Ernest ( but at least five years ago) -artic between J2/3 of M6,heading north ,wandering from L1 into the hard shoulder ,with one set of plates UK,the other foreign( can't remember which was on the tractor unit). Decided that it was too dangerous to try and get off at J3, so moved ahead and came off at Corley ,to find a Traffic unit at Corley , with a Traffic bloke very pleased to get the report .Don't know the result ,but from the welcome ,think that it was actedon

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Have to admit the Daily Mail do an awful lot of 'elf n safety' bashing articles and this reads like another one.

The page in firefox comes up with the header 'Health-safety-stopped-police-saving-drunk-man-killed-motorway'

The headline reads 'Safety guidelines 'stopped police from saving drunk man killed on motorway'

Yet the article states: 'A man was run over and killed on a motorway because police regulations prevented two officers stopping to help him, an inquest heard yesterday.'

Seems a never let the facts get in the way of a good story, this appears to be a two for one - a chance to bash the police and another to bash H&S.

Though as to the post's title I've reported a few drivers and have necer had any follow up, I've even driven past a traffic division car in a layby whilst on the phone and told the operator that I'd just past one of thier collegues, but nothing happened. If any of my calls were dealt with without my involvement I can't say...

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No in the slightest.
Well Police Stations 2 miles and Traffic Unit approx 10 miles but of course the patrols could have been closer or further away.
The person who reported the incident is a doctor and he followed at an appropriate distance. Yes he notified them as explained.
As a responsible member of society I feel sure he goes hands free ...
Not sure what you mean by 'these vehicles' it was one. There was no mention of excessive speed, it was the dangerous positioning and clear danger that is the issue (he needed to be apprehended urgently).
I have no idea whether oncoming drivers reported this. And yes to the 2nd question.
[quote=SafeSpeedv2]This Story (Here) [Safety guidelines 'stopped police from saving drunk man killed on motorway'] nearly beggars belief as the Police that reported to Police of a drunk heading down embankment to Motorway, could have flashed their lights and at least alerted the public to the person but what procedures and 'equipment' could they possibly have needed.[/quote]

You misunderstand my point. By the Trafpol flashing their B's & T's it crucially warns all drivers to 'an' incident, so they naturally slow and go 'on alert', had they done this until the correct unit arrived then this would have helped all concerned.
Precisely and hence why did they not do this, or minimally await arrival of others.
No authority is not without blame from time to time and it is looking at the problems that often help to improve and develop solid solutions. Recognising that this happens is one of the first ways to ensuring a better Force and service to the Public.
Really, what makes you say this?
What signs ? Care to elaborate what you mean here ?
No - just attend.

From my report here of this incident the original nearest Police station was about 2 miles away, but Police tend to come from various location depending upon where they are on patrol already, or if a Traffic Police unit is requested in which case the Police Station is based elsewhere but they were heading towards it so a closing gap (starting at worst at approx 10miles).

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Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.