Absolutely Livid With Local Police

**Ben H** · 8th June 2007, 22:51

This is not the usual police bashing threads which often appear but would like some advice if poss. It's aimed at the numpties I happened to run into this evening.

I've been a field service engineer for the past 4 years doing in excess of 30k a year (often motorway) and the last 7 years of driving has gone wihout incident and I do feel to be a competent and safe driver.
To add to it I have 2 daughters, one 3 years old & one 3 months old who I wish to return home to every evening.

This evening I left a Tesco foecourt after filling my van up. As I head for a local leisure park to grab a McD's as I was on call till 21:30 I travelled up a dual carriage way with the entrance to the park on the opposite side. Immediately inside the entrance I could see a large police presence with an area coned off for a stop/check area.
I rounded the roundabout at the end and returned down the otherside to enter the park knowing I have no impending record to cause problems & driving a company van which I know is legal I have no reason to avoid the police if I was stopped & usually more than happy to be stopped as I feel these stop/checks are worth while. If I did have reason I could of simply used a different entrance to the park.
Being courtious I remove my seatbelt & open the door to get out at which point an officer appears at my door with window open & proceeds to speak to me through the window trying to ask the usuall "Do you know why we've pulled you?" Now something didn't seem right with his voice as he felt he had to ask me three times as I replied with I haven't a clue. I thought it was a routine stop check.
"You was not weaing your seatbelt" he replies with, still not sounding very confident. "You was seen driving your vehicle on the public road by spotters we have out" he says.
Now I know for a fact this is absolutely bullsheet as putting a seatbelt on comes as 2nd nature to me & am personally shocked when watching police programs at the amount of idiots they see not wearing one, I mean why, what harm does it do. Do that many people really not wear them?

Anyway so I start to insist he's been wrongly informed and where was I supposidly seen as it was not possible. He tells me it was back at the roundabout which after I returned to & they were not. There was plain clothed officers at the entrance to the park I passed on a further three occassions afterwards & not once saw them paying attention to the traffic!!!

It was 20 to 9 so begining to get dark down here as it's been overcast all day, I have my seatbelt positioned at it's lowest point as I can't stand it high up the pillar and it's a small Transit connect van so not as very well lit inside as a conventional car. I can't see how if I was on the opposite side of the carriageway bearing in mind they were not paying attention when I saw the "spotters" how they could reliably make this statement. If they'd seen mean when I'd past them 5 feet away how could they of not seen a black belt laid across a blue polo shirt. A young WPC stood infront of my bumper and waved me forward up to the car infront yet she refused to discuss anything with me and in not so many words told me to shut up whining and walked off as I was trying to speak to her. This highly wound me up! Think she may have a personal grudge with me from years back. I got her number, am I intitled to obtain her name to confirm if it's someone I have had personal dealings with?

The officer dealig with me has to go off and confer with more senior in age officers a lot during our discussion and is supervised when taking my vehicle details. I was completly upfront with everything he asked for including my driving licence and as polite as possibe at this point as I don't like people getting irrate at me, I don't find it helps one bit but he's going on what he has been told & sticking to it so basically I have no choice but to just shut up, tough luck! Wish I'd given him nothing now!

Judging by the amount of officers who were dealing with people for silly things, not having lights on etc there seemed to be much younger than the elders standing around I couldn't but help feel this was more of a training excercise & what profit they make is a bonus.
I was very hesitant in taking the ticket after watching the traffic warden program & if you accept the ticket you accept you've comited the offence and he wasn't confdent what so ever in giving it to me when I wouldn't take it from him.
The officer dealing with me signs his rank as "SC" which I'm guessing after putting 2 and 2 together he is & most of them are all specials out on an evenings trainging. This I mad my feelings known to him which he didn't quite know how to respond to.

I know I'm going on a bit but I'm just livid I've been wrongly accused for just going about my innocent life.
I also feel like he £30 fine is the sort of sum most people will be happy to pay just to brush it off and have it dealt with which I'm beginning to think for the hassle & the stress of appealing is just worth doing but I mean if we get fined for legally driving our cars going about our lives what's i gonna be next

**Caterman** · 8th June 2007, 23:00

£30 or £300, if i was in the right i would fight it all the way m8. I get very annoyed with people who try to "pull rank" just because of who they are (or think they are)

I have a lot of respect for the police (most of the time) but there are one or two that give the force a bad name by trying it on with no reason or cause.

**kns** · 8th June 2007, 23:16

I agree and i work for the police ,take it to cout M8

**Ben H** · 8th June 2007, 23:24

Originally Posted by kns

take it to cout M8

Is that what appealing will take it to?
As I said for the sake of £30, I don't want the stress, I've just finished dealing with council, working & child tax benefits this week for the year.
Was begining to look forward to relaxing with the family & enjoy summer until these muppets feel they have a right to interfere with my life

**SteveH** · 8th June 2007, 23:26

id got to the top mate , idiots

**rushy** · 8th June 2007, 23:37

Traffic stopped me once for not wearing my belt, but as in your instance I was all belted up. When I protested my innocence the officer accused me of insinuating he was a liar and asked me if I wanted to get into the back of his car. I had two choices in my mind one was to argue and defiantly get a ticket or the other was just to shut up and hope for the best. I chose the second as I could see his "co pilot" was not convinced I was in the wrong and hoped for the best. Well all was good and they left me without issuing me with a ticket, but this really wound me up as they stopped me in my work car park on boxing day and all they probably wanted to do was to see if I was over the limit. Yes they have a job to do and if they stop me then I'm happy with that, but what happens when you have a problem like yours, as simple mistake. You can argue and make it worse or bite the bullet and hope its not to bad. I wouldn't like to say take it to court cos it might make it worse, but then again why should you admit something that you haven't done.

**kns** · 8th June 2007, 23:47

ask yourself would you go to prison for something you haven't done?
I don't think so.
So why pay for something you don't deserve this might sound a bit extreme.
also yes if you don't pay it goes to court which you may incurr costs.
At the end of the day it's your call but i know what i would do.

**m8internet** · 8th June 2007, 23:57

Some basic guidelines for when you are stopped by the Police

Only stop in a safe place
If their blue lights are on and it is a dual carriageway, continue to a safe area, like an exit or parking area
if you do have to stop in an unsafe area, leave the engine on and ask if you can continue to safe area before they say anything and in most cases they should agree
If not, there is further action you can use in this matter (but that's another story)

One you have stopped in a safe place, switch the engine and lights off, but KEEP your seatbelt on, and don't make any hurried movements
Roll the drivers side window down, and wait for the Police officer to approach
Don't say anything, wait for them to commence

Keep your answer short and simple
Example :
"Do you know why we stopped you?"
No
"Is this your vehicle?"
No
"Whos vehicle is it?"
It is a hire car
"We saw that you were not wearing a seatbelt?"
Fair enough

If they issue a Fixed Penalty Notice, and you know you are in the RIGHT, then simply DO NOT take any action and let the matter proceed to court

I've been to court several times for silly reported offences, and only one was successful and even that was downgraded on agreement with the PFS

**big phil** · 9th June 2007, 00:09

my boss has phoned me a day or so ago ... and asked me if i have any points on my license ... which i reply 'no' then he said '' well you do now ''
Apparently i got flashed going through a red light in swindon .. i dont remember the junction in question so how do i proceed ?? do i ask for photo evidence ... i was fully loaded at the time and i know for a fact that alot of lights dont give a lorry enough time to stop !!