I have a mate Colin whos brother is head of traffic here in Kent.There are good cops and extremely bad ones.Some are polite and approachable and others that are Mr popularity.His brother got his stripes being Mr popularity nicking anything that has pissed him off.His latest goof/triumph came as he nicked the chief inspectors wife of a different county who was drinking and driving.He stood his ground whilst they bleated DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!! He didn't give a f*ck and would nick his own brother if he done something wrong.Traffic cops in their eyes see alot more than the domestic pc.When they deal with a fatal accident involving a bike then 2hrs later see you or me speeding with our small plates no wonder they are pissed off with us.Treat them with respect first and if they are an arsehole then fight it out if you know the law.Oh and there are fewer Police in Kent traffic and domestic than there was 10+ years ago due to appalling restrictions.Police work is not what it was.No wonder theres cameras and boxes everywhere.Sleep well tonite folks cos there maybe just 4 officers on to look after your town
I'm reading some of the replies to this thread in total bemusement. It's as if certain individuals are being victimised by their respective force but then admit their plate was slightly smaller than legal. If it's slightly smaller then it's illegal, if you're going 5 mph over the limit then it's illegal. I would suggest we've all been done for speeding at some stage, we're all big boys and if we've been speeding then we need to man up and accept we've been caught. Right the big secret is this......don't do anything illegal and you'll have nothing to worry about. If you do, as we all occasionally do, then just accept it.
I don't think I've ever met a cop who didn't think he was above everyone else, on or off duty. I've been to court to give evidence against two cops that chased a young lad, caught him, cuffed him (hands behind his back) then beat him around the head with a truncheon! Ok, this was some years ago but he'd done nothing wrong other than loitering around the village chippy! I watched the cops bare faced lie in court and the lad was prosecuted for assaulting an officer! A few years ago an off duty traffic cop came on a rideout with myself and a few mates, he had an air about him that screamed "I'm better than you" although at the time I didn't know he was a cop. As he followed, he quite obviously wasn't "better than me" as he subsequently ploughed head on into a landrover killing himself instantly!
I think to a certain degree you have identified much of the problem with the job today. When I first joined the job as a local plod, my tutor had been serving since the days of the Bow street runners, been there, done it had the T shirt, and the one thing that always stood out was the fact that he could talk to people regardless of class, race or gender. I then went on Traffic, and my first crewmate had been on Traffic since the days of horse and cart, what he did not know about traffic and traffic law was not worth bothering about and could be written on the back of a postage stamp. He was the ultimate professional, knowledgable, polite and good company. But what really stood out was the first major incident I went to as a Traffic cop. It was a multiple fatality with hazardous chemicals involved. I was 21, keen and enthusiastic and had ony been on the department a matter of weeks. We got to the scene and I was ready to pile out and go and offer whatever assistance and help I could, but as I opened the door to the car, Mick my crewmate took hold of my arm and said, "Stay where you are". When I asled why, he explained that there were multiple fatalities already, but more importantly there was hazardous chemicals involved and if I went piling in, I could also end up being a messy puddle that would also have to be cleared up causing even more problems. Therefore our job was to relay as much information back to our control room so that the right resources could be deployed. I learnt more on that first job than probably any other before or after. Anyway, I digress. The point I was making badly, was that my generation were taught by old sweats who knew the job inside out and were professional and could talk to people. These days young coppers are being taught by other young coppers who themselves still wet behind the ears. They are unable to talk to people, a lot cannot even hold a decent conversation, and because of the cuts, those that know the job and could make things better are being pensioned off because they are considered as dinosaurs and they can employ 2 youngsters for the price of 1 experienced sweat. We used to have to do a minimum of 12 months full time on the Motorway before we could specialise. You got to know every nook and crannie, you knew all the marker posts and where they were, you had experience in dealing with multi vehicle crashes. Now the Police leave Policing the Motorway to the Highways Agency and are not even required to go onthe superslab unless to deal with an incident. They say that things move on and improve for the better, but with Traffic policing it has in my opinion taken a retrograde step.. I am a Kent Police trained advanced rider and driver (Used to be one of the Home Office schools) and Kent used to be one of the most go ahead forces in the country and often had the best kit. I have recently dealt with a crash in Kent where I had to interview the dealing officers, and I could not believe the bullshit the WPC I interviewed came out with, and this was a potential fatality where the WPC decided that it was actually a minor injury crash How times have changed!!
I am not a great lover of traffic police, I have been pulled and fined a few times for having undersize plate. Ok hands up small plate can mean a big fine, if I speed I expect to one day get caught, but could I do their job ? Simple answer is NO !. Dealing with the aftermath of a fatal bike/car crash, having to visit and tell a family of the death of a son/partner etc NoWay. The glamorous side of the job, driving around in a traffic car pulling over scum bags who have no insurance/tax, people who text as they drive etc etc, they are the low life that should be done. But it would be good if the Police could be a little more flexible when we get stopped riding our £7k bike wearing £1k of leathers/helmet etc, we aint all the same and that 6 " x 5" plate looks so good
I totally agree with this, in fact they should introduce hundreds of new laws that are nonsensical and we should abide by them without question or complaint
I think the reason why we will get a ticket for an undersized plate other than its illegal is this,I along with other mates have been pulled for them before,we invariably got a vehicle defect form asking us to be nice chaps and get a proper one put on get the form stamped and problem would be resolved for very little expense.We always had the proper one in the garage so when we got home we'd put the right size one on,go get the form stamped at the MOT testing place send the form off and then put the illegal one back on.The cops eventually wised up to that'piss take' and now if someone gets stopped they get a fine,simples.Kentblade,don't think T.C was after sympathy about seeing/dealing with more smashed up dead bodies than we've had hot dinners,I think the point is,you see enough of them it affects your view on life in general and the consequence is hardline cops.
In that case, you obviously know Lester then, best traffic cop I have ever had the pleasure to deal with
I don't know him as I am not ex Kent Police, we only used Maidstone as they were a Home Office school along with Chelmsford, and my days at the school were back in the 70's and 80's The only guy from Kent who I am still in regular contact with is Terry Friday who used to be the chief bike instructor and is the founder and president of the KAMG
At the end of the day, with the justice system and current policing, there's only one true statement. 1. the scum on the streets and crims have no respect for police and justice system. 2. The law abiding citizen and general public who are respectable have lost respect for the police and justice system. Catch 22, and as soon as the JS and police realise this,then they could get back to the matter in hand, not persecuting easy money targets like respectable joe public. Stats are all well and good, but only tell you a minute amount. There's dudes doing coke in every pub theses days, as well as other hard drugs,so the cops ain't that good in getting drugs off the street, the druggies are snorting left right and center. Plenty to go around as far as I can see! Makes me laugh it does.
never mind doing coke in the pub.. how many cars have you followed that have drivers obviously smoking weed whilst driving ?
Si and R1monkey as good citizens you both have a duty here... The next time you see these people with such drugs could you please get me a half oz of coke and oz of weed
Weed aint a drug, it's an 'erb. Coke, on the other hand..causes distortion of the face, chewing the jaw and fighting in the pub.
Filtering daily through London traffic, it's a commonplace smell, especially in the morning rush hour Must be a lot of feckers out there that can't face the working day without some plant extract assistance
These days however, trafic cops do not get the training that we had (and I don't mean that to sound big headed), because many get a 3 week driving course and a 1 week law course against our 12 weeks + and 18 week traffic law course.[/QUOTE] Your not wrong there, I was stopped about a month ago for speeding ( I have a legal plate ) I was doing 70mph on a dual carriageway with central reservation and barrier ( A556 Chester to northwich ) signs where national limit not speed specific. He stopped me asked me to sit in his car and proceeded to show me a video of my riding. The comp had averaged me at 70mph, at which point I laughed and asked him to let me out of his vehicle, the young policeman got very irate when I had told him that is the speed limit on that section of the road. I had to wait 15mins until another policeman turned up, after a discussion between them I was asked to get out of the car and be on my way !!! I asked for an apology and the other policeman asked me to leave it or I'm likely to get stopped very regularly !! I had taken both officers numbers and have complained about the both of them on a free phone number and as yet over three weeks I've heard nothing and have resigned myself that the police have 'nothing better to do' never mind training their officers or checking their complaints phone line !!
It's amazing how many do it hey. We'd be on it too if A) it was possible whilst riding B) actually smoked it (I don't know if you do but assuming your a good boy lol) Fecking rat race
Your not wrong there, I was stopped about a month ago for speeding ( I have a legal plate ) I was doing 70mph on a dual carriageway with central reservation and barrier ( A556 Chester to northwich ) signs where national limit not speed specific. He stopped me asked me to sit in his car and proceeded to show me a video of my riding. The comp had averaged me at 70mph, at which point I laughed and asked him to let me out of his vehicle, the young policeman got very irate when I had told him that is the speed limit on that section of the road. I had to wait 15mins until another policeman turned up, after a discussion between them I was asked to get out of the car and be on my way !!! I asked for an apology and the other policeman asked me to leave it or I'm likely to get stopped very regularly !! I had taken both officers numbers and have complained about the both of them on a free phone number and as yet over three weeks I've heard nothing and have resigned myself that the police have 'nothing better to do' never mind training their officers or checking their complaints phone line !![/QUOTE] That would of been fun to have a day in court. Offence doing 70 in a 70. Costs please!
My Husband was very happy that he was pulled by a incompetent WPC... In fact it was this years "Lucky Day". A few weeks ago we had been out for a Sunday ride I became a little impatient with the flow of traffic and over took on the chevrons.Unfrotunatly the car I over took was an unmarked police car.So she wanted to pull me for being naughty,my husband also a bit impatient under took her on the next roundabout and then shot off up the new bypass.She soon forgot all about little ole me and took off in hot pursuit of o/h..I saw the blue lights flashing in the grill of the car and dropped in with the flow of the traffic my husband didn't, he took off like a scolded cat.When she managed to catch up with my O/H she didn't do him for speeding(119 mph) she fined him for "Been inconsiderate to other road users".. She didn't know how many points to issue, she openly admitted to not been able to get a lock on his speed even though it was all on video. I did what any loyal wife would do, turned round and went the other way.. All he ended up with was 3 points and £100 fine.. Im sure if this had been a real traffic police officer the outcome would have been a lot different..
