Drivers in the emergency services have a dispensation that allows them to treat red lights as a give way, and proceed if it is safe to do so.

There was a case here recently where a fire engine killed the driver of a car after going through a red light, and that resulted in 6 points and a £750 fine.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...al/7546903.stm

Having been out in a traffic car, I would be more than happy for the Class 1 police drivers to come through town at whatever speed they feel is safe to do so, because their observation and car control is superb.

Unlike some people who would like us all to think they are fantastic drivers, but have actually scared the shit out of me with erratic driving, terrible positioning, and sheer lack of finesse.

 

but wihtout killing innocents along the way to the coffee shop yes?

 

Dojj

The people I'm talking about haven't killed anyone (yet) but I reckon that has been more luck than judgement. I know that I will never get in their car again.

 

you can be the best driver ever, but it still doens't stop someone pulling out in front of you (rememebr schumacker and his fense pole when the guy was clsoing his gate and left it hanging half way into the road a few months ago? )

 

seriously no im not. i admit i could of worded the post better, but its too late now. i was trying to make the point that just because they are the police, it doesnt give them the right to drive at exssesive high speeds. as there were no cercomstances in the artical it makes it more difficult to comment, but whats your recactions and breaking times at 140 mph. ifdont agree thats fine. dont need to be asked if im a "fucking retard" or anything else.

 

Iain Mac your rite their about the fire engine. i used to work with a firefighter (also a roofer) and one of the lads drivin the fire truck hit 2 people and killed them from speeding throu a light (sadly i do no 2 cases and thats y i am so against this) he was on holiday in dubai when he was arrested. his family had to sell their house cars and spend savings as the bail was nearly $1 dollars! im unsure on what happend to this man as i stopped working with his friend but i doubt he got away with it. another thing. . what if u have to move for an ambulance and go slightly over the white line and the camera flashes and you get a ticket?? is that a void??

 

im sorry to hear about freinds dad, but it just highlights just one of reason why 140mph traveling to a 999 call could be called excessive.

 

Mate, I am very sorry for the loss suffered, BUT, trust me here, CPS will have been consulted about any charges. CPS WILL be more inclined to prosecute a bobby than joe public, IF they can, purely to avoid the above kind of statement.

If I get a call via the control room then they grade the response, ie, immediate usually means as soon as poss, BUT, I make the final decision as to whether lights & sirens. The older I get the less I seem to use em.

All told I've had 8 weeks driver training and get refreshers every few years.

 

their is no excuse for what happened but for instance. the other week in greasby (wirral). a man killed his family with a mischettie (sorry cant spell this) i can see why police would respond to a call like this as the risk of somebody being killed by speeding and this crazy man cutting his family up are very high. in teh end aparently he did kill them all but police didn arrive in time

 

Good point, that is why good police drivers should never drive at 100 % to their limit, part of out training mantra regards making progress is that your driving plan has to be based on "what can be seen, what can't be seen and what you could reasonably expect to develop".

Only once did I give 100 %, whilst on a driving course. Blimey, I was damn fast, BUT, would not have been able to react in time had something developed Got a right royal bollicking and remembered ever since.

 

Dojj,

Iain's right about the class 1 drivers !! Difference bein between them & Schuey is that their taught with traffic, pedestrains, over road users, obsticles, on coming vehicles, lights & the unknown in mind.

Where as Schuey was taught with a clear race track & everything going in the same way (supposed to anyway).

I honestly believe if you were to stick my old man & Schuey in identical cars & race em round a track Schuey would win, but the complete oppersite if it were to be round Brixton or the city & my old man would win & while winning, he'd be comentating tellin you everything thats going on including all road names etc !! He's the best driver I've ever had the pleasure of bein in the car with, worked traffic in Brixton for like 33 years, now up Scotland Yard & been offered a training job up at Hendon, he's that good !!

From a driving perspective, I've got nothin but respect for the Class 1 drivers !!

jb

 

just our of curiosity what bhp are them volvo t5's on the motorway that the police use??

 

no, you get ticketed as you've broken the law

 

so police officers can do this but not members of the public?? then ur obstructing the emergency services. . its all politics and a lot of it is wrong. so next time if a policecar comes up behind me and i have to runa red lioght and get a ticket. am stayin put

 

You just said it yourself - there were no circumstances in the article that you could use to justify their use of speed was excessive.

So we don't know what the call was the cop was responding to. But what if it was a call about a guy with explosives strapped to his body in a shopping centre or wherever? Or what if it turned out to be a guy holding your mother hostage with a knife to her throat? Would you rather the cop drive slower and get there later, when it might be too late?

I'm all against "beat bobby's" driving around in dinky Astra Diesels thinking they can speed whenever they want, but when it's justified, and lets face it, response police and trained drivers can driver better than you, and practically everyone else on this board, and can do 140mph SAFELY (I pressume we are talking safely and your article never mentioned anyone getting hurt/injured/killed) then I see no problem. Do you know what road it was? Was it a twisty turny B-road? Or a highroad through a town? Or might it have been a long, straight, two or three lane A road/dual carrigeway? It makes all the difference.....

As for the nonsense about coppers getting away with carrying guns, "just because" they are armed police? Never heard anything so ridiculous in my life! IN this day and age, where gun crime is becoming more and more common, then I welcome cops with guns. If I had to choose in a scenario where my wife and young son were being held by a bank robber holding a gun to their heads, and I had to choose to have a cop turn up with a notepad, or one turn up with automatic weapons? I'd opt for the latter.

 

You fucking idiot. You're saying you are going to refuse to move for an ambulance or fire engine incase you get a ticket? Well, I hope it's your family burning to death in a house fire that fire engine is on route to, and not someone elses, cos then you'd only have youself to blame

I drive for a living, all day everyday. Towns, motorways, rural, you name it, I drive on it. I will mount curbs, pull onto hardshoulders, drive in bus lanes, stop on padestrian crossings if need be, so I can make room for emergency services to get through if they need to. And I've NEVER got a ticket for doing that. I've got one for driving in a bus lane so I could avoid a queue, but never for diving into a bus lane to let a cop/ambulance/fire engine get through.

 

ok. maybe that cam across abit wrong. i have always moved over for emergency vehicles and will do in the future. but if police officers are supposed to re-inforce the law then they should not be breaking it and expect you to when it suits them. it would be different if u got pulled 2 in the mornin for not stopping at a red light that had just changed (unablr to break in time) and u get a ticked from a police officer sat at the cross roads.

 

Lol at this thread, i just hope mate that if your ever in need of the law for any reason they take there time getting to you and not acting outside of your sense of law..as for me they can do 150mph past the local school if there was a real need to do so..you know like saving lives and other weird shit the "PIGS" do

 

Ahahaha! I'd give you my opinion if I could but I can't drive on blue lights despite being a response officer. I won't get a driving course for about another two years, which makes it a total of four years in!

 

I think u need to read the thread properly not the last 2 comments! idiot!

 

150mph past a school??? i think weve all established the orignal thread was a bit vage. but thats just silly.

 

Elwood, I feel your pain mate. I had just short of two years in when I did a 5 week standard car course, which basically allowed me to drive area cars with a qualified advanced driver next to me. 12 months later I did the 3 week advanced car course and came away with a proud grade 1.

 

i wonder how many young innocent kids will be killed then. . 5-10 perhaps if they are at a crossing????? u shouldnt have ur lisence

 

Just being over the top like most of this thread.

 

Had my license for nearly twenty years chum, with no points, fines or my fault accidents.

 

Seriously, i'm speechless. I'm amazed some of the people on here have enough motor skills to remember how to breathe....

 

Believe me it gets worse. We have a silly traffic light system for driving permits:

Red (which I am cursed with) is the basic, no frills, drive like everybody else on the road permit

Amber: This allows use of blue lights and provided the training has been done, "initial" pursuit of vehicles.

Green (Known as the Kermit Permit): starts going into TPAC's etc and are usually reserved for traffic and firearms.

Problem is......it takes around 4 years to obtain an amber permit, then around 2-3 years before getting a green permit...which means some response officers are more qualified than the traffic officers, who are supposed to be specialists!

 

what do you mean by that?

 

1) if you were unable to brake in time, you were either i) not paying attention to the lights sequence of green to amber to red, ii) were using exessive speed meaning covering more ground in less time, thus outbrakeing yourself, or iii) were attempting to "beat the lights" and jump through on amber.

2) I'm not advocating the police break the law anytime they so wish. I often sit behind cop "panda" cars around town and clock them at 40 in a 30 etc, but I can't say nothing, I do that also - I bet you do too. But what I am saying is if they are on an emergency call, blues and twos on, and they need to get somewhere fast, they have no problem running red lights, turning right on "no right turn" intersections, and breaking the speed limit, by however much is nesacary, so long as it is safe to do so... And with all that in mind, I have no problem with them doing that. That is not them "doing it whenever they want", thats them doing it cos thats whats required.

As for if you are worried about getting a ticket should you go in a bus lane or across white lines etc when letting a police car past - make a note of the date and time, and if anything happens, contest it, ask for photo evidence and ask for the time and date to be corralated against emergency response calls in the area. You'll get off.

 

Cases I know of are ambulance and fire brigade, not 100% sure if police are different, but would like to think so as they're effectively directing you - but people have gone to court to fight it and lost.
Never found out if police are different in these cases.
The one in the papers was fire brigade, matey went to court and lost for going through red light.
Going through a red light could cause an accident for example, they can't encourage you to do this.
You are not expected/allowed to break the law getting out of their way.

 

well said. you are 100% rite on this topic! the only thing is u no sometimes u cant stop when the lights change. . . it happens

 

Going too fast then, it's that simple, you have to slow up for green lights incase they change and you get caught out.

 

Probably because you don't get many ambulances and fire engines capable of going 140mph.........
So if you phoned 999 and they said we're stuck in traffic, be there in about 25 mins or so you'd be fine with that??? They are EMERGENCY services, they respond to EMERGENCIES!!!!!

 

Is there anyone good with paint able to draw spookie a picture explaining what I mean?

 

been there,d one that, LOADS of times, you don't "get off" because you need the police to coroborate that they were doing a blues and twos run at the time of the offence
and they won't give you that info so you get fucked
so if you want to jump the lights to let panda pop throug and then get a nip in the post, don't come running to us saying "how do i get out of this one?" because you won't

i've got absolutly shed loads of these doing what i do, and every time the drivers ask me "can you sort it" and there is nothing i can do because the police won't help

even when there is a picture of the police car in the middle of the road straddling the centre lines and our man was half in and half out the buslane they still fucked him for £100 as all they want is the money and don't give a shit about poor old joe public

 

From what I already knew, along with Dojj's input, I conclude all you can do is sit there and wait for lights to change.
Who's prepared to get 3 points, I'm not.

 

I'd quite happily get 3 points for running a red if it meant someone lived because of it. I'd be a bit pissed if i couldnt get off the points but at the end of the day someones life is WAY more important than my licence.

 

These threads always cause a bit of a stir and the pages are building on this one.

Are you really that surprised/hacked off that a member of the blue crew has walked for speeding

Fuck me they kill people and have walked for it on more than one ocassion so a speeding fine will definately be brushed under the carpet


Luciano

 

hang on, jb, your old man is a Traffic Copper????


Does he know his son is #1 most wanted boy racer daaaaan saaaaaaf?

 

i was thinking the exact same thing when he wrote it