The Local > Three Towns Policing Issues

Speed limits --- safety?

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Michael:
   Not often you find me on the Police section of the TTF. However, what's the view of any readers.
   The Old Colwyn junction on to the A55 facing west. In the dark, around 6 p.m.   I drive up past a marked police car waiting on the hard shoulder. They are often there.  At a guess watching for speeding motorists driving west. You dont have to be clever in guessing that. They have got a camera in their hands.
   I am now on the A55, a fair amount of traffic heading west all in the nearside lane, all doing 50 m.p.h.
   Before I left the A55 at the first Colwyn Bay junction, only around 200 yards away, this police car passed in the fast lane. AND HE WAS MOVING.   In excess of 70 m.p.h.  No blue lights.
  I don't suppose it was particularly dangerous, there was nothing in the outside lane. But, it was dark and it was wet.
  So --- it is assumed that it is dangerous to drive at over 50 m.p.h.       Is is right that to catch a fast driver, its O.K. for them to go however fast they feel like?   Mike

Yorkie:
Mike, he was probably chasing to catch up a speeding driver and would not switch on his two's and blue's until he was quite close to the car, and after he had followed it at a regular distance in order to prove the offence.   If he had put his warnings on too early the offending driver would have possibly slowed down and proof of the speeding would not be possible.

Alternatively if they had a "gun" it nay have been a ANPR device which had signalled a licence or insurance offence etc.

Michael:
   Yes, Yorkie, that is  what he was doing, there is no doubt about that. But, my last sentence. What are your feelings about them doing that i.e. driving at excess of 70 mph, dark and wet road, to catch a car doing I don't know, I didnt see it, but probably around 55 to 60?

Yorkie:
All are specially trained for such duties and would not drive at high speed if it were dangerous to do so.

I thought you had an Advanced Driver's qualification Mike?

 ^*^0

Michael:
  Yes I have. But that does not mean that I have studied Police practice in training for special duties.  This is the whole point of my question.
  Are they driving at high speed when it MAY BE dangerous to do so?  And in this case they were driving in excess of 70 mph, at my guess, in a 50 mph area and, seeing as there were no blue lights, presumably after a comparatively minor offence of someone speeding in front of him.
  And I only asked for forum readers opinions.   Well, I've got yours. Silence from everyone else.
  Oh, and in passing I'll give you my opinion in general. Virtually every driver in police uniform thinks that they possess special skills in driving. And the vast majority hav'ent. Twice over the years I have been stopped by police in a car, given a lecture about my driving, when I've stood up for myself they finished with "I'll let you off this time" --- and I had done nothing wrong' on the second occasion the police were in the wrong. It should have been me letting HIM off.

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