A nice copper tale

[st4]

I went through an Amber light this AM and apparently when I went over the line the light went red. A policeman appeared promptly in my mirror with blue lights blazing after a short whole. I had an idea what it was for....but didnt let on when he asked why was pulled over....

He said I crossed the line and the light was red, I said I didnt realised and went thru the Amber as there wasnt time enough to stop (lights are on a blind corner you need to know dumbarton to get it).

He advised he was going to give me a warning and to be careful as weather conditions at this time of year werent favourable. Didnt even have to get out my car, whole stop lasted about a minute.

Other points to note only 1 policeman in the car, (arent two needed in Scotland) and didnt have to leave mine. He drove up behind me incredibly quickly without blues on, I slowed and then he put them on....

 

[oldcro]

Think of it as an early Christmas present Steve. I'm not sure about the two policemen needed to prosecute, sounds wrong to me.

 

[Dryce]

I'm not sure about the two policemen needed to prosecute, sounds wrong to me.

Two PCs generally required in Scotland.

 

[flango]

Yep 2 definitely needed in Scotland one to charge one to coroborate. Law is totally different to that of England when it comes to a stop and charges. Unfortunately I speak from personal experience of being on the wrong side of it !

 

[oldcro]

Does that mean if there is only one policeman I can merrily break any law and there is nothing he can do about it? I'm not saying your wrong, it's just that it seems wrong to me. Of course, as I'm living in a part of Scotland it is to my advantage so I'm certainly not complaining.

 

[Dryce]

Does that mean if there is only one policeman I can merrily break any law and there is nothing he can do about it? I'm not saying your wrong, it's just that it seems wrong to me. Of course, as I'm living in a part of Scotland it is to my advantage so I'm certainly not complaining.

You might note that officers work in pairs.

If you leave evidence or there are members of the public who are witnesses then that should be sufficient corroboration for most misdeeds.

As regards speeding or minor traffic offences then if there is single officer then you will normally be warned. While not as bad as a fine and points if you don't have your documents then you can still effectively be hassled with a notice to produce those documents and deal with discovered vehicle defects.

 

[stevesey]

Yep 2 definitely needed in Scotland one to charge one to coroborate. Law is totally different to that of England when it comes to a stop and charges. Unfortunately I speak from personal experience of being on the wrong side of it !

As does Steve.

Steve - you could have tried "you were following so close officer I didn't believe it would be safe to stop."

 

[st4]

Think of it as an early Christmas present Steve. I'm not sure about the two policemen needed to prosecute, sounds wrong to me.

aye tis true, 2 witnesses needed in scotland, suprised therefore that only 1 copper on board. Nice quick stop and advice he gave duly noted....it was one of those "should I or shouldnt I" and bad driving on my part. I'll not do it again.

Down in Banbury for other forums meet, didnt speed at all and nice leasurely drive that didnt take that much longer and above combined MPG cycle.

 

[johny5_uk]

was this a traffic cop or a local bobby? I would have thought lots more paperwork if a local bobby and that they wouldn't be up to scratch on traffic laws.

 

[scumbag]

now I know I seem to be a bit "off the wall" but would you think more of this proactive policing might have a benefit?

much prefer being reminded on what I should be doing, than being given a fine. I mean, most people seem to get very uptight about speed cameras and so on, when really the fine is meant to be doing what the Police did here, reminding you what you should be doing.

 

[Gollom]

now I know I seem to be a bit "off the wall" but would you think more of this proactive policing might have a benefit?

much prefer being reminded on what I should be doing, than being given a fine. I mean, most people seem to get very uptight about speed cameras and so on, when really the fine is meant to be doing what the Police did here, reminding you what you should be doing.

Nice one Mark. Let's find the good in things and not just gravitate toward the negative!

 

[Iben]

Traffic lights are becoming a real pain these days, is it me or are the amber lights changing to red quicker than they use to. I was under the impression that an amber light meant 'prepare to stop' and the red light light 'stop'. These days you hit the line of the lights at the entry point on green, see the amber light on the ones at the exit line ahead of you as they change and by the time you're crossing the exit line the lights have turned red, literary a few seconds between red and amber.
I can only suppose an amber light now means 'hit the brakes as hard as you can, test the ABS on the car and wait for the shunt up the ****'.
Anyone know what the regulation time for lights going from amber to red is?

 

[Iben]

LOL, just read my previous post above are **** has been starred out. Sorry folks, didn't even think that the 4 letter word starting with a and ending with e with an r and a s in it meaning backside was an offensive word. Political correctness going berserk again me thinks.

 

[Sp!ke]

Amber means stop I thought. (unless it is unsafe to do so)

 

[Howard]

I think you'll find its a swear word which is automatically edited by the forum , not PC gone mad , just making the forum a nice place so it doesn't degenerate into a Max Power type place. remember kids read the forum too.

The reason you might be thinking that they change that much quicker is because more and more traffic lights are changing to LED and their response time to a signal ( electricity ) is quicker , hence instead of the time the filament in the normal bulb takes to start glowing in the red and cool in the amber , you appear to get a crossover . We are only talking fractions of a second .

LEDs are pretty much instant so it just 'flicks' over.

 

[bassist]

​

"AMBER means ‘Stop’ at the stop line. You may go on only if the AMBER appears after you have crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to pull up might cause an accident "

Official copy of Highway Code entry

But I agree they do seem quicker or am I just getting slower ??

 

[st4]

was this a traffic cop or a local bobby? I would have thought lots more paperwork if a local bobby and that they wouldn't be up to scratch on traffic laws.

aye traffic, white hat and 5 series BMW

 

[Gridlock]

Amber = "stop if safe"

You should always approach traffic signals as if they could change anyway - blasting towards them at the speed limit isn't really the spirit of them.

 

[horsesuitedfool]

I think you'll find its a swear word which is automatically edited by the forum , not PC gone mad , just making the forum a nice place so it doesn't degenerate into a Max Power type place. remember kids read the forum too.

The reason you might be thinking that they change that much quicker is because more and more traffic lights are changing to LED and their response time to a signal ( electricity ) is quicker , hence instead of the time the filament in the normal bulb takes to start glowing in the red and cool in the amber , you appear to get a crossover . We are only talking fractions of a second .

LEDs are pretty much instant so it just 'flicks' over.

The word mentioned above starred out is readily used on radio 1 all day long from morning till night, i would imagine if it was that offensive the BBC would be putting a stop to it pretty sharpish!! Stricter than the BBC, who would have thought......

 

[st4]

The word mentioned above starred out is readily used on radio 1 all day long from morning till night, i would imagine if it was that offensive the BBC would be putting a stop to it pretty sharpish!! Stricter than the BBC, who would have thought......

Apart from Chris Evans there is nothing I cannot abide less than Radio 1. It is a blight. It should be outlawed and I am a mere 24.