Police camera van....what was he doing!?

So there I was commuting to work this morning along the A30 headed towards London. Just before the American Golf Discount shop roundabout near Bagshot I am filtering past stationary traffic towards the lights, doing about 5-10mph. I am not even over the white line but it's a broken white line and there is no on coming traffic. Then I see a Police camera van coming toward me in the other direction. As he gets nearer he starts flashing his high beams at me and pointing at the road. At this point I am just slightly over the white line but it's broken and there is more than enough room to get a bus though. As he gets right in front of me he aggresively pulls across me, so much so that the car next to me (to my left) has to swerve to avoid being hit. I slam on the anchors and manouvre around the Police van while giving a friendly wave . I go past him but slowly to see wtf he wants. He looks at me and points and then decides to stop the next bike that is filtering behind me, a sort of Purple speed triple with a pillion. An't be stolen as they have matching gear (purple helmets and gloves) Has filtering all of a sudden become illegal and are we now in the USA where you can be rammed into another car for doing so. What a jockey.

[Viney]

Most of these vans are not run by the ploice, but partnerships etc. Id find the local one and report him for dangerous driving

Originally Posted by Viney

Most of these vans are not run by the ploice, but partnerships etc. Id find the local one and report him for dangerous driving

'Tis what I thought but this one had POLICE slapped on the front bonnet (which I got a very good view of) but also had those funny blacked out windows at the rear. I think he was trying to tell me that I should not be filtering, but when I decided not to listen he decided to try and force me to stop. Had he put the blues and two's on I would have stopped, just flashing your high beams is not a legal requirement for me to pull over and stop.

[Viney]

Then it wasnt a camera van. They are either survellence vans or command centres type things, or maybe an anpr van. Call the local station and make a complaint. In things like that always get the reg number. If you where doing nothing worng, then he/she had no right to do what they done. I would have stopped, make them stop and ask what thier problem is.

Originally Posted by sv_dan

'Tis what I thought but this one had POLICE slapped on the front bonnet (which I got a very good view of) but also had those funny blacked out windows at the rear.

The speed camera vans in this area (Lincolnshire) are all marked up with POLICE on them and the force logo, but without blue lights. They are driven and operated by civilians in the road safety partnership though, not by Police Officers. If it's the same in your area then it could still be a speed camera van and not a be a police officer driving, in which case you should definately report his driving.

You really have to wonder sometimes where the hell the training budget goes. Filtering is such an every day occurence, mandated by the highway code; hell in your case it was basically plain and simple overtaking, and that's certainly allowed. Funnily enough utilising a vehicle as a weapon isn't allowed under the highway code. Or under criminal law for that matter.

It's bonkers - lunge at somebody with a knife and you'll be spending the next few years in a cell, yet somehow lunging at someone with a two ton van is not only perfectly legal it's practiced by the supposed upholders of law and order.

Sounds like a jobsworth plod to me. Fresh meat out of Hendon. No experience and no brains. Poeple pulling stunts like that don't last very long in any career.

Though I'd define jobsworth as enforcing laws to the letter (even the ones people tend to bend on), rather than making up brand new laws and breaking existing ones. That's just the kind of people you don't want on the road, and certainly not in a police van

And given that he stopped the bike behind you I suspect he was police rather than civilian - think only the "proper" police have the power to stop people?

He did have what looked like a police officers uniform on, i.e white shirt black lapels. I got a really good look at him as well but didn't get the plate number...darn!

Hi.

You say you were heading towards some lights. Was this a pedestrian crossing? If so were there any zig zag lines? Over taking/filtering is a big no no when in the zig zag area.

A mate of mine got fined £400 in the 80's for parking on them.