Oh dear, the Car behind me was a Copper...
 

.....as i drove home rather briskly at 1am last night. Had a Car stuck right up my boot until i hit the twisties and left it for dead. Only problem was it was a Police traffic patrol car....who eventually caught up with me when i drove through a local village (at legal speed i may add)
Anyway, i will take my ban and fine with grace.
I have a clean license at the moment....and the copper suggested i wouldn't neccessarily loose my license as i'm a driver by occupation and it might be taken into consideration. However, i'm wondering whether it's better to get a ban and start off again with a clean license...is this what happens?

What did he charge you with ,

.....One of the first things he asked me was..."are you a driver by profession?"....when i said yes he complimented me on my driving ability and then said he would have to charge me with dangerous driving....no help that.

Said he clocked me at 110 mph on the straights...i was in fact doing more and i believe he knew it. I think the fact it was 1.15am on an empty B road perhaps made a difference.

Pappa, you have PM.

Marc

Thanks Marc,
You have mail.

Take the points and fine, the ban will cost you more on your insurance :(
I think you were probably a little unlucky there :(

Tony:(

Don't accept the dangerous driving charge. Accept the speeding, but ask, what is considered dangerous. yes you were speeding, but unless you were all over the road, up other cars backsides, etc etc. can driving to exess speed always be considered dangerous at 1:15am on a empty road???
I know a bloke that was caught doing 120mph on the motorway, he was charged with speeding and dangerous driving. He went to court to accept the speeding, but disputed the dangerous driving charge, as he made no sudden movements, wasn't up anyones arse. The court accepted his argument, so he was only charged with speeding. Think of future insurance quotes. Speeding is bad enough, but having a dangerous driving charge on your licence, will allow them to charge you the earth.

unlucky man. My mates dad was pulled by an off duty traffic car in his scooby doing 110 on a B road but was just warned because he could tell that he was driving sensibly just qickly. eg no cars about and slowed in the twisties.

I wouldn't take the ban. I would argue the fact in court that the police car was hounding you and you was worried that it may be car jackers. Hence you made a safe but fairly quick exit.
Tell them that it was infact the police driver who was driving dangerous as he was too close to your car and you couldn't even see its head lights.

I think the above point is a good one. Unmarked car up your backside, no blues and twos, a carjacking would cross my mind. Definitely worth getting a good brief to argue your case in court, one who has experience with these cases. It will obviously cost you some dosh, but a good lawyer will know the technicalities and get the best outcome. You need to try and avoid a ban as has been said for future insurance.

Try "Nick Freeman", if you can afford him. He seems to be able to get most people "off" for most offences.

I hope that at no point did you admit to dangerous diving.

Dangerous is very, very hard for them to prove in court and this is why the CPS rarely take dangerous to court. Who, exactly, were you dangerous to? I take it there wasn't a trail of dead bodies in your wake?

If they try dangerous then fight it but don't discuss it or admit to it now and you really should get a good motoring solicitor before you say a single word to them. Bear in mind that with dangerous you could end up in jail so it is far from a trivial thing.

So you weren't dangerous then?

I hate it when they do that - I wonder how many people they catch thinking the car behind is egging them on for a race?
IMO, as above don't get palmed off with the dangerous driving - unless they have enough evidence to proove you driving was dangerous.

Guilty for speeding though - you won't get away with that, unless you manage to get the whole case thrown out of court (if your very lucky).

if the police wer up your ass then they cant do u!



as they wer in the wrong !!!!!!!



send me your e-mail and i will send you some useful info i have (which was written by a policeman



also i would recommend you get a solicitor of your own as he will help you get off the charge.

i know ive been there too i hit 120 but because the policeman couldnt get anywhere near me (until i slowed for the speed camera) he couldnt prove it

i the end i got away with 3 points because from the video tape it could be seen that i was well over the speed limit but it couldnt be proved how much.

I can't understand after telling me my driving was good that he charged me with dangerous driving.
Quite frankly, i was just very fast at 1 am in the morning with absolutely nobody about. Maybe he was miffed he could'nt catch me?

Thanks for all your advice. I will speak to my solicitor.

they new what they were doing driving that close most people would pull away just cos it is dangerous. same thing happend to me unmarked police car right up on my ass waiting for me to pull away. which 9 out of ten times i would. but had my new born son in the back. so stoped the car to have a word with them, got a bit of a shock when i saw them still gave them what for tho. they even said that is what they do to see if people speed. in the end i got the ticking of for no baby on board sign on.

pappa---- i have sent you that e-mail let me know if you can open the attachment because i had a little trouble sending it with a silly popup blocker which i cant switch off.

Sorry to hear of this. It does make me angry when I hear of unmarked police cars tailgating high performance cars esp at times when they know full well a responsible person might want to take advantage of deserted roads etc...

I would dispute the dangerous driving charge and admit to speeding. I don't see how a police man can compliment you on your driving and then issue a charge which is a damning indictment of your driving. Unless, of course, there is a speed criteria for dangerous driving. i.e. Exceed the limit by a certain margin and you're automatically charged regrdless of how well you may have handled the speeds.

Good luck.

NS04

fao richee are you serious? is that a legal requirment now? at what age can you take the sign off your car, I have a 9 and 10 yo, do I have to have a child onboard sticker? would I get done for displaying it when they're not in the car?
pappasmurf, sorry to hear of your situation, fight it m8, don't let them win. They were baiting you for sure.
Always very aware of who is behind me, and won't speed if I'm not sure. Even pulled in before now to let cars pass, then given them a good once over, once clear, I'll pass again safely :)
chris.

A police officer cant "charge" you with anything, that has to come from the CPS. Admit to the speeding but dispute the dangerous and then its up to them to make a case for dangerous driving and to charge you accordingly.

That is taking the utter pi$$ - where oh where in the highway code or any statute book does it mention that?

hope you have a good result from this, my suggestion get legal advice.

We should all set up video cameras (like them) and record what they are up to!

This kind of anecdote makes me so mad, I really do feel for you.

some interesting reading on the subject ...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_obje...name_page.html

Do not, under any circumstances, admit to anything or speak to them about the matter until you have taken legal advice. In order for you to be guilty of a crime you must be shown to be guilty, in some circumstances this may not be possible for them to achieve. Admit to it and you are dead in the water. Admit to speeding and it may even be easier for them to make dangerous stick. So, take advice and then decide what route you will take.

B@stards

Whats an 'off duty traffic car' look like?

Did he immediately caution you? Did you sign his pocket note book?

And how did he clock your speed? Vascar?

Great advice straight from the horse's mouth! (pardon the expression officer)! :)

NS04