day tripper

On Good Friday at 12.30am I was driving to my friends, when approaching a roundabout in a 30 zone, I noticed a red Honda Accord Type R following me, as I turned right so did the Honda, so i pressed the pedal a bit more to distance my self, but so did the Honda, hte next thing I know this honda is chasing me agressively so i put my foot down. Usually If somone is trying to race you they would over take you but this car was right behind me doing some speed. I then stopped at a set of red lights, looked back in the wing mirror and saw 2 thugs looking at me, I remember the driver having a peaked baseball cap.

I then turned on my central locking and watched them until the lights changed, i then turned to my left and so did they. As a result I tried to speed a bit to get some space inbetween us as I very concerned at this point. But again the other car started to chase me again so i floored it, got to another set of lights, they pulled up besides me, i kept an eye on them and noticed them starring at me.

As as the lights had changed i slowly drove at staying at 30mph as they seemed as less of a threat, took a left at which they were still behind me, at this point I should have arrived at my friends house, but there was no way i was stopping so some ***** would beat the crap out of me or even kill me and take my car.

I continued to drive on for a mile taking a number of turnings, until the blue lights started to flash.

I couldnt believe it, It was undercover police that had chased me but didnt choose to stop me earlier, or believe that I was being carjacked.

When I asked them what did they expect me to do they said to drive at 30mph to the nearest police station.

I didnt know where the nearest police station was nor could i feel to drive at 30mph as i felt i was being harrassed as there driving behaviour was threatening.

I have been given a produced and the video will be sent to the traffic dept and they will decide whether ill be fined, points, or whatever.

They said before the first set of lights, i peaked at 70mph, and the second at 93mph. this was in a 30 zone at 12.30am while no one was around.

I am sorry I drove at these speeds however at the time I was only looking after myself.

Im expecting a ban shortly. Some advice would be kindly appeciated.

Is it likely i can be charged with dangerous driving, if so what may be a possible outcome?

Pittsey

That's crazy. What a bunch of ******. Not only do they make you feel intimidated but now they're gonna nick you.

JackClark

The first thing you did was to put your foot down, what do you expect!

Poor Guy

Even if blue lights started to flash i wouldnt have stopped. Theres a boyracer round here with blue tinted strobes in the grill of his saxo. and i think a clever car jacker could figure out what to do with some of these.
ARRRGGGGGGGGGGG This sort of thing really boils my blood. F**king SOB's! should have told them to be doing something useful likecatching carjackers instead of pretending to be some.
I would be tempted to write to the local press about this crap.

sti555

Write to the chief inspector of the force in question & the police complaints unit without delay.. Also look for some professional legal representation & seek their advice, try & obtain 'witness's' if possible.
Make a note of all involved PC numbers, time, car reg etc etc

Describe in detail how you felt, any intimidation, the nature of the aggressive/dangerous driving displayed by the police etc..

Good Luck

sti555

Forgot to say in above, you need to be looking/complaining about entrapment, misuse of police time & equipment, endangering the lives of ...... etc..

Make a point of your driving style prior to the incident too

GC8

Considering how serious the potential outcome of this could be I would advise you that act quickly. I would first speak to a solicitor; you will probably find that your house insurance will provide help here; find out exactly where you stand and remember to emphasise your PERCEPTION of the situation in which you found yourself, as this is of equal, or greater importance than the speed on the tape. I would also consider very carefully what happened and then decide whether to complain about the behaviour of the officers in question. Personally I would complain, but Id indicate that Id leave it as an informal complaint if a satisfactory conclusion could be reached. If you cant make any headway initially Id consider writing to the Chief Constable and also to the PCA: hopefully this wouldnt be necessary.

Ray_li

Dont forget to say you feared for you life.

Johnny sti

Yeah, i see what you mean.
He should have stopped so he could get stabbed. Logical!

If you had already broken the speed limit the first time, why let a wreakless driver (in their eyes) continue to drive at the stated speeds!? Massive error i think.

Johnny

Madjay2

dont forget about the trauma u will be goin thru for years to come everytime u get into the car thinking is that a car jacker behind you or just someone fooling around because of this incident

notsofurious

the word "entrapment" comes to mind!

I would definatley take legal advice on this one and ask to meet with whoever is in charge of the local traffic police to plead your case before they decide whether or not to prosecute.

JackClark

>Yeah, i see what you mean.
>He should have stopped so he could get stabbed. Logical!

No, he should have carried on as normal and not let paranoia take hold.

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

They egg you on and then when u speed they pull u . its happened to me..... WA*KERS

Tiggs

how does driving at 95 make being pursued better than doing 30??????

at 30mph with your doors locked whats the danger? one gonna jump on your car mad max styleeee!

they didnt try to overtake so wheres the danger?

T

edit to add:

"as I turned right so did the Honda, so i pressed the pedal a bit more to distance my self"

why? was he gonna bump into you? since when does someone drive based on the person behind?

"but so did the Honda"

no doubt.....flow of traffic was speeding up wasnt it?

"hte next thing I know this honda is chasing me agressively"

how??? snarling?? whats the difference between chasing and just closing the gap you had left?

"so i put my foot down"

why? to escape? from what?

dont mean to have a go but your original post is hardly going to be a good "exhibit A" if it gets that far!

Tiggs

"They egg you on and then when u speed they pull u . its happened to me..... WA*KERS"

its like all these flippin banks...they put signs up letting you know they are a bank, they even advertise on TV then when you rob them they arrest you!

Molds

Tiggs, the guy was scared. Maybe Mad Max styleeee is unlikely but what about a gun pointed at you through the window at the traffic lights? He didnt know they were plod did he!

Bottom line is he wouldnt have been driving like that if the plod hadnt decided there was nothing better to do at 12.30am. He was pushed into taking panic action and then further egged on until he had really dropped himself in it.

OK, 93 in a 30 is silly but different ppl reacte more or less to extremes when frightened.

This is all very unfortunate but I dont think there is going to be anyone siding with the plod for this kind of behaviour. In fact I have been followed for close on 20 minutes in the early hours before now and was eventually flashed over for a spot check. As it happened it turned out that I knew one of the plods that stopped me and he actually said in his own words he had nothing better to do!

Leslie

I think it was very bad that they should follow you in such a way that you were alarmed for your safety. I think that as others have said that you should write a letter of complaint to the Chief Constable decribing the whole affair and ask him if he considers that the behaviour of his officers is an example of good policing!

Les

rapiddescent

this is a bizarre story - and I imagine a lot of us who have read all the scoobynet stories of carjackings would have done the same. certainly, I've given the missus a bit of a lecture on keeping the doors locked and to look out for cars following her.

given the heightened state of terrorist alert (in london) can you imagine what would happen if you roared up to the front door of a police station honking the horn. you'd get your bloody head blown off with a heckler and koch.

I'd be interested in a consensus of what one should do if they are being agressively followed in another jap sporty car. (given that car jacking crooks tend to use their last theft to get the next one). driving at 30 to the nearest police station is one idea. but likely to get your car nicked and get beaten up or shot in the process.

the original poster should keep us up to date with what happens.
rd

BigGuy

Entrapment!!!! Put in a formal complaint through your attorney.

hades

I know someone who was chased by a road rager, who did drive at the speed limit to the nearest police station, which twice involved taking evasive action when the chaser overtook and tried to block him off. When he walked into the police station, and rang the bell, the woman in the station told him she'd be back in five minutes, she was on the phone. The bloke chasing then walked into the police station and started threatening, and only quick talking saved violence, with no one in the station seemingly giving a stuff (no-one reappeared at all). Knowing these events, my faith in the idea of "drive to a police station and they'll help" is somewhat reduced.

Whilst I'm no legal expert, I would expect that a sharp brief would be looking at throwing out the case based on entrapment in this case, anyway.

Autocar

Prat

day tripper

Ive just been down to the station to hand my documents for the producer and requested to make a formal complaint against the officer who was on duty that night. Why didnt he turn on the blue lights and stop me once I exceeded 30mph. If he would have taken this action at the time it would have given me calmed me down and naturally would have stopped. Apparently the reason why the police do this is to check the car's details, owner's history, eg criminal records, associates etc.

Nonetheless they should have stopped me straight away. On the producer the officer had ticked verbal advice, and not court summons? The duty sgt. will check with the officer what action was supposed to have been taken.

Tigg's if you have some **** following you at speed not knowing who they are or what they want, whether there just bad drivers, car jackers, thieves etc, at 12.30am in Longsight which is a known criminal area would you really drive at 30mph or would you **** yourself and try to getaway?

They could have rammed be from behind. they could have got out at the lights and held me at gun point, all sorts of **** might have happened, i was scared and wanted just wanted for them to go away. my increased speed would have not allowed them to overtake if the treat was real, if I continued to do 30mph, i think quite easily they could have overtook me.

You dont understand what it feels like to be under serious pressure when your life is threatened.

Tiggs

did they ever get as close as it looked like they may ram you? did they ever open their car door? did they try and overtake?

maybe you could learn from this that the best defense is to drive safley and allow yourself to concentrate on your "attackers" instead of blasting through town at 100mph!

again- not trying to have a go but i dont see why you reacted the way you did....i have had cars follow me and i just lock the doors and see what they do, it has never struck me as a "plan" to speed on the basis they wont be able to get in front of me!

powerman

Sorry to hear your story ,but i dont think you got a chance, i think this excuse will have been used a few times before and lets face it if it works then every man and is dog will try it.only point i could see you maybe having a case is why they didnt put there lights on earlier to stop you and why were they following you in the first place?
good luck powerman

mart360

now if you had a towbar fitted... a quick emergency stop.....

if it was the OB they woulda stopped sharpish... if not busted rad....

cars dont go far with busted rads......


mind you it helps if yor drive a volvo....


just go for stress / intimidation//

Mart

day tripper

Im expecting a ban to say the least, the event has passed and there is nothing I can do about it. Without having a look at the police footage I dont know. Will be seeing a solicitor tomorrow.

What I am concerned about is whether I can be sent to prison for this?

billythekid

Where was this?

PM me if you like.

day tripper

You have PM.

GC8

I disagree Day Tripper; your actions are mitigated by the threat that you felt that you were under. Your perception of the situation is extremely important. Its a shame that youve asked for and been given good advice here but have chosen to ignore it. You need to take immediate legal advice. You are at a crossroads.

day tripper

Hello I have not choosen to ignore any advice. I am seeking a solicitor on Tuesday as nowhere will be open tomorrow. I have been to the police station today for the producer and requested to make a formal complaint. I explained what had happened and he looked at the producer and noticed the officer who was harrassing me ticked the box for verbal warning (no further action) which is incorrect with what I said as I recall. The duty sgt. tried to contact the officer for clarification but he was not on duty. The sgt. will get back to me later in the week. Meanwhile all i can do at the moment is wait till the solcitors are open on tues so they can order a copy of the video and wait till the letter comes through the post.

All in all I have listened carefully to the advice people have given me. It is warmly appeciated.