Quote:
Originally Posted by busasean
i ride up the A21 everyday and almost all the artics/vans and most police move over in the 60 limit when i'm doing over 60. traffic police tend to be hot and cold depending on their PPI's. Sussex traffic police are **** though.....
|
There are two kinds of Traffic cops.
The first joined the department because they are petrol heads, enjoy driving/riding fast cars/bikes and take pride in their roadcraft. Yes they also enjoy the perks of their jobs occasionally and use/abuse their freedom, but generally speaking they are you friend. If you are driving/riding responsibly and don't jump down their throat if they do stop you then they can have a considerable degree of discretion, especially if they think you also take some pride in how you drive/ride.
Then there are those that join the department for other reasons, and generally they are not your friend. You can call them all kinds of unpleasant things, but that will not make them go away. Fortunately they are in the minority, however if you get to meet one professionally you are going to have to accept whatever they throw at you at the roadside and then work on it later. Challenging them face to face is a complete waste of time, they will simply dig in deeper and make sure whatever they eventually write in their book is bulletproof. Best practice is to act humble, throw in the odd "I hear what you say officer" but never, ever, make any admissions.
Back to the original post if you have time to stop prior to going past the officer then as a general rule you weren't going fast enough to interest them. If they don't stop you it's because they fall into the second camp and sending "Dear John" letters is a whole lot easier then actually stopping and speaking to offenders, where god forbid you might actually get involved with a proper criminal.... so my advice is if you do see a speed check ahead (and provided you weren't going silly speeds) pull over anyhow even if they don't ask you to and engage them in entertaining conversation for a while. I generally use the excuse of asking for directions but asking them to help you calibrate your speedo is a good one, especially if you ask if they will do it in three figures.....either way any conversation other than "how fast was I going" will divert their attention and interest and puts them on the back foot. If they then later do try and send you an NIP you are in an excellent position to challenge why they didn't deal with you at the time. Besides, all the time they are busy talking to you they can't be measuring me.....or anyone else!