Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

Just wandering whats the correct jesture to fellow bikers if there's a speed trap upa head?

Cars generaly flashing lights seems to do the trick, but with every bike being so friendly waving, nodding heads and flashing lights etc (not all at the same time mind), how does someone tell you whats up ahead?

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

Opening and closing your fist above your helmet like a flashing light seems to work!

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Yup - the Jim Davidson "Nick Nick" approach has a lot to commend it :)

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The old thumbs down for me :D

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Yup thumbs down for me too :)

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Thumbs down.

Can you be 'done' if you are seen warning others?

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how do you even see or gesture a thumbs down at 100 mph on an A road, not that I've done that of course, a friend of a friend's cousin kind a thing.

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

never seen the thumbsdown but I usually put my hand out flat and lower it (and repeat) as in 'keep it down!'. I usually get a thumbsup in return so I think this portrays the message pretty well.

The best one I've seen was when I was on a bikesafe day (with a police bike) and a poweranger coming the otherway going crazy trying his best to gesticulate 'He's behind you!' as we blazed through the country side at break-neck.

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

tbh I thought this was the correct speed trap etiquette...
bit more challenging on a bike :)

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Thumbs down from me.

I do believe you can be done for warning other motorists, they can do you for obstruction of a constable in the course of his duty.

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I've heard this before. Defeats the object doesn't it, you could counter claim you were spreading the 'speed camera intention' (or what they claim it to be :money:) by letting as mnay motorists know as possible thus reducing speed on the stretch. The desired effect eh? ;)
Guess not. Suppose this stops you from parking your van infront of their hidey hole or putting up a sign 500 yeards down the road.:|

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

I tend to flash my lights like buggery and make the slow down gesture.

I really don't understand why you can get into trouble for warning people, there are plenty of places you can find out local hotspots for mobile cameras and often lots of sensors like road angel that can tell you...They should be illegal if you can get into trouble for warning others...

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education...rap-alert.html

Old but probably still relevant.

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That does read as extremely unfair!

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.

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

That poor old guy in the Telegraph article......I guess age doesn't always bring wisdom, but I think they were a little harsh!

Anyway, I tend to, as a pillion just put my hand out flat, palm down and move it up and down slowly as I was taught that this is the signal to slow down when doing my riding and road safety (horse) as a child and it always gets a thank you, so is clearly acknowledged.

As for getting in trouble for warning other motorists, waving to slow people down could never stand up in court, " I just thought it was a friend who has the same bike so waved to say hello"......nothing they can or will do and that's from the mouth of a traffic officer I know.

As for obstructing a speed trap.....well....depends where it is. Now....if the police set up a trap or park their camera van on private land or a lay by for that specific use, you can and will be done for obstruction. However.......most often, you will see police set themselves up in laybys alongside the road. If you see this, you can literally go and park your car/van/lorry/bike right in front of the camera and totally ignore any pleas for you to move. You are parking in a legal place and the police have no powers to move you on unless they have to for emergency or safety purposes. Moving you for the sake of moving an obstruction is not sufficient. That again from the mouth of a traffic officer. My brother in law used to do this.....park his Land Rover right behind them cop vans in lay bys, open his paper and sit there to read it until they moved on. Of course they always tried to move him, but his response was, "I felt tired, so it was unsafe for me to carry on, it's a legal parking area and a layby so I'm not doing anything wrong". He was absolutely right....nothing they could do. If you ever try this, they may try to bully you or threaten to charge you with something, but they can't!

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

Yeah...lol. Not, thrown in the bin or disposed of, but DESTROYED. What was it going to do........hop out of court and warn even more motorists????

Damn that sign!!!!

:smt046

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

It's an accessory !!

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

:smt043

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I wonder if this thread counts as 'conspiring to pervert the course of justice'?? (Shh...don't tell the mods)

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a fantastic demonstration of blunded **** witted police officers...


Sir.. were you trying to slow traffic down...

yes...

well asking them to drive safer is against the law...

wtf...!

ur nicked

i dont understandf how they can ban him for driving when it wasnt a motoring offence?

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

we normally have the gesture that looks like a rotating flashing light. the thumbs down up here normally means rider down.
road angel and the like are illegal in scotland - i think. doesn't stop anybody tho

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hes not wrong of course, getting a ban for a non motoring offence is just not on. And as for raising revenue...
And look who was one of the team of camera operators..
You couldn't make this stuff up could you.

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

I wonder how they would enforce this when its a van operated by a 'Safety Camera Partnership'. They're civilians, are they not?

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Thumbs down for me

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Hand gesture over tank or open and close fist ontop of lid for me.

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Most vans are crewed by police officers as far as I'm aware, to provide 'expert' witness of a number plate etc. I think the van and maybe the officer's time is paid for by the 'safety' partnership.

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

For me:
Thumbs down = Poor Road/Not Good take it easy
Flat palm up and down (like bouncing a basket ball) = KILL YOUR SPEED ASAP
any movement of hand up by helmet = That was nuts!

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

+1

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+1
I always use the up down flat hand it seems to work

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

Flat "basket ball bouncing" hand for me too. Had to use it the other day on a few bikers and they all seemed to get it as they slowed and gave me a thumbs up.
I was suprised at the number of cars who were flashing me to let me know of the hidden camera van up ahead. Nice to know some cagers care, eh?

Sneaky police fund raising...the thing that unites all road users :lol:

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I always give bikes in the car a flash if they're heading towards a Scamera Van, I hate the things, utterly utterly despise them in fact.:smt098

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I get on parking up less than 30 feet from my front door from time to time. Joke of it is that there are plenty of accidents right where he parks, not cos of speed cos of peeps pulling out of a side road without looking both ways first :roll: But the local cops obviously use this to justify the van being there.

All it needs is a speed bump at the end of that road and problem solved really but oh no, that would mean spending money and not having an excuse to send the van out to rob passing motorists.
I'm no fan of speed bumps but i like "revenue generation" even less.

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This is the rreason I ask, I go to work up on the M80 / M876 stirlingshire area and there there even at 05.45 yes that's in the morning,

So in the past two weeks they have been on various bridges at least three times and I might have been caught slightly excessive speed nothing to write home about, so I'm not sure if they got me or they were facing the worng way / didn't get my plates.

So I might be disqualified by next week as I've already got 3points.

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So when going down the road, I'm not really traveling that much above the speed limit fellow bikers flash lights etc and wave etc, I slow down, obviously not sure if anything is there or not but better to be on the safe side, 98% of the time it's just to say "hi".

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LOL Some of the cagers are bikers too you know!

Just get a few strange looks when I nod at bikes whilst sitting in my car :smt104

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

Well then you might just find this amusing...

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...icle949837.ece

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

lol, i know that. I was just suprised by the sheer numbers that were flashing at me that day as i was approaching the van they just passed. Funny thing was that i was under the speed limit on that road that day anyway, very unusual for me on that road.

As for the twonk asleep in his van and blocking traffic... i'd have let his tyres down :lol:

Re: Police Speed trap Etiquette
 

I would always do thumbs down as that's just a general 'things aren't good' gesture and if things aren't good, wouldn't you slow down?