Poor Police driving

[jeremytaylor]

Earlier this week we had news of the Met Police big wig only getting a ticking off for allowing his driver to drive at 82 in a 40 limit because he was late for a meeting.

Yesterday, I was driving up the A3 Kingston by-pass (6-lane dual carriageway with a 50 limit and quite a few scameras for those unfamilar with it). Being half-term the traffic was very light. Sat in the outside lane was a very marked police car sat at a steady 50. Nothing inside him for a good half a mile or so. Did he pull over? No chance. Me and two bikers were on the inside lane at a steady 50 holding station daring not to undertake, while Plod was displaying the kind of lane abuse to shame a 12-year old twocer.

Maybe he was on his mobile? One thing for sure, he was driving a BMW. Maybe their ECUs are programmed to drive that way?

 

[Thmsshaun]

Earlier this week we had news of the Met Police big wig only getting a ticking off for allowing his driver to drive at 82 in a 40 limit because he was late for a meeting.

Yesterday, I was driving up the A3 Kingston by-pass (6-lane dual carriageway with a 50 limit and quite a few scameras for those unfamilar with it). Being half-term the traffic was very light. Sat in the outside lane was a very marked police car sat at a steady 50. Nothing inside him for a good half a mile or so. Did he pull over? No chance. Me and two bikers were on the inside lane at a steady 50 holding station daring not to undertake, while Plod was displaying the kind of lane abuse to shame a 12-year old twocer.

Maybe he was on his mobile? One thing for sure, he was driving a BMW. Maybe their ECUs are programmed to drive that way?

I may be wrong but I didnt think there was anything wrong with undertaking if you are just going at the speed of the road.

On a motorway you are in the iside lane at 70 (cough) and middle lane osser is doing 60 you slow down to stay behind or move across to the outside lane??


Fell free to put me right.

 

[Plodd]

I'm sorry but I fail to see the problem here. You say it's a 50mph limit and the Police car was doing 50mph?

You really wanted to overtake?

I sometimes do this and fail to see the problem. If he had been travelling below the limit then yes he should have moved but from what you say he was travelling AT the limit.

You really really wanted to overtake?

 

[Thmsshaun]

Allowing for variation in callibration of the speedo its quite possibly. Same as all HGV's doing 56Mph. They still overtake


Might take a mile but its doable.

 

[jeremytaylor]

I'm sorry but I fail to see the problem here. You say it's a 50mph limit and the Police car was doing 50mph?

You really wanted to overtake?

I sometimes do this and fail to see the problem. If he had been travelling below the limit then yes he should have moved but from what you say he was travelling AT the limit.

You really really wanted to overtake?

No, I said we dared not to undertake, as in accidently creep past.

My point is that he (and it seems you, too) should do what it says in the Highway Code, namely keep left unless overtaking. He was sticking at 50 in a 50 limit. Fine, but he should do so in the left lane.

Doing what he was doing sets the worst example to all those other lane hoggers out there.

 

[Thmsshaun]

My point is that he (and it seems you, too) should do what it says in the Highway Code, namely keep left unless overtaking. He was sticking at 50 in a 50 limit. Fine, but he should do so in the left lane.

Good point well made. Pet hate of mine

 

[BTB 500]

I may be wrong but I didnt think there was anything wrong with undertaking if you are just going at the speed of the road.

Only in heavy traffic, and you can't change lanes to do it


General rules: http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/15.htm

139: Overtake only when it is safe to do so. You should:

Only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do so.

Stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left.


Dual carriageways: http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/11.htm

116: On a two-lane dual carriageway you should stay in the left-hand lane. Use the right-hand lane for overtaking or turning right. If you use it for overtaking move back to the left-hand lane when it is safe to do so.

117: On a three-lane dual carriageway, you may use the middle lane or the right-hand lane to overtake but return to the middle and then the left-hand lane when it is safe.


Motorways: http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/23.htm

Lane discipline
238: You should drive in the left-hand lane if the road ahead is clear. If you are overtaking a number of slower moving vehicles it may be safer to remain in the centre or outer lanes until the manoeuvre is completed rather than continually changing lanes. Return to the left-hand lane once you have overtaken all the vehicles or if you are delaying traffic behind you.

Overtaking
242: Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.

 

[blassberg]

I was taught in a company course run by an ex (very) senior policeman that drivers of my type should stay in the outside lane unless there was a reason not to - eg someone wanted to overtake. This I do.

But sitting at the speed limit in the outside lane in the referenced situation is very poor. If I did that on any journey I'd expect to lip-read some very choice phrases.

 

[BTB 500]

I was taught in a company course run by an ex (very) senior policeman that drivers of my type should stay in the outside lane unless there was a reason not to

Did he also teach that it was OK to do twice the limit if you were late for a meeting?

PS what does "drivers of my type" mean?!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I was taught in a company course run by an ex (very) senior policeman that drivers of my type should stay in the outside lane unless there was a reason not to - eg someone wanted to overtake. This I do.

I'm with your Blassberg.

At risk of stretching the topic a little...

IMHO lane hogging is quite different to staying in a lane because traffic conditions dictate it. The former is uneccessarily holding up faster moving traffic, with a clear(ish) road ahead. The latter is simply going with the ebb and flow of the traffic.

The critical word in the Highway Code is SAFELY.

If I overtake and it's appropriate and safe for me to pull back in, then I will do so. What I won't do is pull back to gap that will mean that I need to overtake again within a few seconds, just to let the guy behind creep forward slightly to where I was getting, and hence staring at the back of the same car that I had moments earlier!!

Some of the most dangerous manouveres I have seen are where an individual sees fit to educate fellow motorists with the classic 3rd-1st-3rd lane manouvere. A great public service they're doing. Unfortunately this is may be prompted by some lane hogging, which catches someone in a bad mood, and starts a vicious circle.

My dad taught me that overtaking is the most dangerous manouvere on the motorway, and I reckon he might be right!!

Edit: Fixed quote tags

 

[Shude]

Some of the most dangerous manouveres I have seen are where an individual sees fit to educate fellow motorists with the classic 3rd-1st-3rd lane manouvere.

I used to do this but now I just pass them on the inside

 

[Thmsshaun]

I used to do this but now I just pass them on the inside

That why I said what I did at the start if I am moving fast three lanes are clear then I will stay sat where I am. Edging caution that they dont suddenly wake up and decide to pull in

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I used to do this but now I just pass them on the inside

No offence intended!!

 

[Shude]

No offence intended!!

None taken.

If we're not supposed to do 1-3-1 OR pass on the inside then what *are* we supposed to do to pass these volvos with tartan blankets etc in the middle lane?

 

[Thmsshaun]

None taken.

If we're not supposed to do 1-3-1 OR pass on the inside then what *are* we supposed to do to pass these volvos with tartan blankets etc in the middle lane?

I suppose we should flash them. Flashing head light should be used to warn of your presence. They are in the way you are travelling at a higher speed. Yes / No

 

[DITTRICH]

If the car was travelling at exactly (or just over) 50mph in the outside lane, then I think he was just waiting for someone to try to undertake him at just over 50mph. And therefore the remark about being scared to pass is valid. Generally, in my experience, police vehicles travel a little less than the limit and it is possible to 'crawl' past them without getting them 'interested'. On this occasion, I think Plodd wants to have his cake and eat it. Yes he is right that there is a 50mph limit on the road, but the police driver should never have been sitting in the outside lane when there was room in the other 'slow' lane. There are too many references (see above) in the highway code to support this view.
The police driver IMHO was deliberately doing this to try to catch someone out.
Les

 

[Shude]

I suppose we should flash them. Flashing head light should be used to warn of your presence. They are in the way you are travelling at a higher speed. Yes / No

Someone suggested we should pull out behind them and then flash headlamps while alternately beeping the car horn. For a second they will think it's plod and cr*p themselves until they realise what's going on. Could be funny or they could slam on the brakes and take the front end of your car off.

 

[jeremytaylor]

The worst road for lane discipline has got to be the newly widened 10-lane M25.

'Outside (5th) lane' - bumper to bumper at 75-80.
'Next (4th) lane' - slightly less traffic at 75-80.
'Next (3rd) lane' - HGVs and those who refuse to drive at more than 60.
'Next (2nd) lane' - almost empty.
Inside (1st) lane' - completely empty.

Like, adding that extra lane for £millions was really useful!!

But its little wonder people switch off and drive like that when those highly qualified police drivers at the start of the thread do the same.

 

[Shude]

The M60 has a vacant inside lane because for half of the junctions that lane becomes a "spur" or whatever and peels off the motorway. The other half are normal junctions with a sliproad. I'm sure it's too much trouble to find out which is which so most people just stay in the middle.

This is what you get when you stitch several already rubbish motorways into one big one.

 

[Thmsshaun]

The worst road for lane discipline has got to be the newly widened 10-lane M25.

'Outside (5th) lane' - bumper to bumper at 75-80.
'Next (4th) lane' - slightly less traffic at 75-80.
'Next (3rd) lane' - HGVs and those who refuse to drive at more than 60.
'Next (2nd) lane' - almost empty.
Inside (1st) lane' - completely empty.

Like, adding that extra lane for £millions was really useful!!

But its little wonder people switch off and drive like that when those highly qualified police drivers at the start of the thread do the same.

HGV's shouldn't even be allowed in the third lane what is the point of that. They are retriced by law to 56Mph and on occasion crawl past one another or fly past (Irish) Point is Wagon overtaking requires another lane so what is the point of them being in the third?


But I do little motorway driving and how often do I see empty inside lines Bumper to bumper middle and outside. Ahh yet to get past that wagon a mile up the road