Unmarked Police motorcycles

True, i know ive done it, on my bike, seen a car flying up whilst im doing the speed limit and i think, f**k it, lets go some, really should think about it more though

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by Holdup

True, i know ive done it, on my bike, seen a car flying up whilst im doing the speed limit and i think, f**k it, lets go some, really should think about it more though

Yep, I've done it once or twice too

TBH I'm not a copper, but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts it's that kind of mentality they'd rather keep off the roads than any number of bikes hitting 100mph on safe stretches of roads...

[Ch00]

Unmarked vehicles do pose a issue for the public for stopping people. If the person has any doubts they should stop at the nearest police station for the matter to be dealt with.

Ch00

Which is total bull. How many people know where the nearest police station is when they're away from home?

I know where all nearest police stations are regardless of where I am... It is called a GPS, which seem to be all the rage these days.

[Ch00]

Also it would depend if the officer was wearing uniform or not as its the officer stopping you not the vehicle. You can't be done for failing to stop if their not in uniform.

Ch00

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

The thing that worries me far more is the question: what are the police trying to achieve? If it truly is road safety that's the issue then all traffic vehicles would be clearly marked, a police presence would be apparent and offences might not occur in the first place. Whether or not you subscribe to the view that the police are now only interested in profiteering, the use of some tactics that are not entirely transparent does not assist the attempts to retain and restore public confidence in the motives and practices of the police.

+1 Good post, though it should be noted that it's not the police officers on the ground who decide what they are trying to achieve, its the policy makers at fault.

We stood in Conwy Bay yesterday and watched the police chopper hovering above the A55 dual carriageway, probably nicking speeding cars, maybe not, but we know the practice does happen so for the sake of argument lets assume that's what they were up to.

These are cars on a busy dual carriageway (motorway spec, ie: slip roads, barriers, no dangerous junctions, etc). We had been on the A55 1/2 hour before and both lanes were relatively busy, so there's no traffic going any faster than the fastest car in front, probably 80-90 mph maximum, on the safest type of road we have.

First thing that annoys me is the cost of that helicopter, doing a job that could be achieved effectively using an unmarked car/motorbike.

The second thing that annoys me is this obsession with speeding. Why? Because speed kills or because it's an easy (and profitable) target?

Speed cameras (with the exception of average speed cameras which actually achieve something), camera vans, helicopters, etc, actually achieve very little in terms of road safety. They send NIP's through the post to unsuspecting motorists, to the extent that insurance companies, car rental companies, etc, don't bat an eyelid to SP30's because so many of their "ordinary motorist" customers have got one or two.

To catch people who see a police car, behave, then misbehave again as soon as it's gone, we do need unmarked vehicles, but I think unmarked vehicles should not be concentrated on speed. Speed should be enforced by high visibility police presence to slow people down in the first place. Covert tactics to catching people speeding, will only slow down the perpetrators once they have totted up 9 points, and you only catch a small proportion of the perpetrators, so your actually achieving very little towards improving road safety. The speeding is still occurring in the first place. High presence, high visibility police presence will slow down the majority, that has to be better than catching the minority.

All this effort put into speeding, largely ignores much more dangerous/serious offences that are seriously on the increase, such as mobile phone use, undertaking, tailgating, lane hogging, drunk driving, etc, because the policy makers have taken their eye off the ball and are only concentrating on catching your mother doing 60 in a 50 limit.

The bottom line for me is that we need many more police vehicles on the road, both marked and unmarked, with no targets to meet, driven by educated and motivated police officers who are trusted to enforce the law as they see fit. We need many more "old school" coppers who ignore a 90mph Ford Mondeo on an empty motorway, but ensuring that guy undertaking and tailgating whilst on the phone, after a few lunchtime beers, ends up in front of a judge.

[Ch00]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

We stood in Conwy Bay yesterday and watched the police chopper hovering above the A55 dual carriageway, probably nicking speeding cars, maybe not, but we know the practice does happen so for the sake of argument lets assume that's what they were up to.

I understand your post and where your coming from but the copter could have been up there for any number of reasons. Enforcement is only one of them.

I'm not speed trained (you be pleased to know ) My main business is going after people on mobile phones or drive with no insurance and/or no driving licence which I am sure we all agree need to be taken off our busy London roads.

Ch00

Originally Posted by MattCo

I know where all nearest police stations are regardless of where I am... It is called a GPS, which seem to be all the rage these days.

If you were alone in the car, you couldn't set the GPS to take you there without either stopping, or incurring a further penalty for using it whilst driving.

Originally Posted by G

I'm very conscious of bikes that appear on my back end I tend to let them by before deciding to have a play or not, police issue gear is fairly noticable, only the bikes are unmarked.

Originally Posted by Sean_C

If I spot a bike in my mirrors, I slow down and let them by, for two reasons: either they're going faster than me so they'll get past anyway; or they're a copper.. Once they're past and I can see what/who they are, I'll carry on as normal. Not that I'm ever going particularly fast anyway..

+1 to you both... Except maybe the last bit of Sean_C's post!