Do Traffic cops have nothing better to do?

All non-motorcycle related chat in here

Moderators: Aladinsaneuk, MartDude, D-Rider, Moderators

Message
Author
T.C.
SuperSport Racer
SuperSport Racer
Posts: 488
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2006 7:44 pm
Location: Reading, Berkshire

Do Traffic cops have nothing better to do?

#1 Post by T.C. » Fri Jul 04, 2014 1:03 pm

People often ask me if Traffic cops have nothing better to do than nick bikers for speed or smal number plates. Well, this may address some of those points.

In the last 12 months in my old force, traffic Police (sorry, Roads Policing officers) were intrumental in making 268 arrests across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Were involved in the recovery of stolen vehicles across the Force area worth over £230,000.

Removing 194 vehicles from the road for being driven either while uninsured or by an unlicensed driver.

Being involved in the recovery of over £3million worth of class A drugs.

In one stop-check alone recovered £2.5million worth of heroin and cocaine.

Whilst it does not tell the whole story, as they are also dealing all the fatal and serious injury crashes and enforcement, it does show some of the othr aspects of police work that my former colleagues are involved in.

And before anyone says that they should not be out nicking people for speeding or small plates or anything like that, I would add that if you chose to ignore the rules of the road or that speeding does not kill (and I accept that speed initsef is not the killer) or that it is impossible to ride or drive at 30MPH, all I can say is that whever stays that is talking total cr@p. You choose to ignore the laws, then you should be man enough to put your hands up and accept it when you get caught.
It is better to arrive 30 seconds late in this world than 30 years early in the next

User avatar
BikerGran
Gran Turismo
Posts: 3924
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2006 5:12 pm
Location: Any further south and I'd fall off!

Re: Do Traffic cops have nothing better to do?

#2 Post by BikerGran » Fri Jul 04, 2014 2:03 pm

T.C. wrote: You choose to ignore the laws, then you should be man enough to put your hands up and accept it when you get caught.
Totally agree - I got done for exceeding the speed limit, if only by a very little - it cost me £100 I could ill afford and it was all mt own stupid fault!
The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.

User avatar
Obiwan Kenobi
Track Day Addict
Track Day Addict
Posts: 103
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:52 am
Location: LEICESTERSHIRE

#3 Post by Obiwan Kenobi » Fri Jul 04, 2014 2:37 pm

I am sure they do a fine job with limited resources and manpower....

So do you think they will ever invent a "safety camera" that can record dangerous driving as well as a human can see it, or will they just record excess speed over the limit, whether safe or not and oblivious to what time of day/weather it is etc to fill the coffers?

Oh and do you think anyone is really convinced that the fat blokes driving dayglo discoveries on the M1 marked up Traffic Officers are Police?

And I speed all the time, everyone I know speeds, but my speeding is not dangerous, and if I get a fine, which I have recently, I take it on the chin as a "fair cop!" ;-)
These are not the Droids you're looking for...

User avatar
Smilinjack
Despatch Rider
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2014 4:44 pm

#4 Post by Smilinjack » Fri Jul 04, 2014 3:27 pm

Cor, sounds like a press release that does. I don't think anyone with more than a few brain cells thinks that traffic cops do anything other than a lot of good on the roads. But people do like a gripe when they're in Daily Mail mode-that's all it is. Sounds to me like you're defending something that hasn't actually been attacked. :smt001

User avatar
Dalemac
Midnight Rider
Posts: 1416
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:20 am

#5 Post by Dalemac » Fri Jul 04, 2014 4:29 pm

T.C - I dare you to go on BCF and say the same thing and see what response you get :smt005 :smt005

User avatar
D-Rider
Admin
Admin
Posts: 15560
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:09 pm
Location: Coventry

#6 Post by D-Rider » Fri Jul 04, 2014 5:26 pm

If only we knew how many doughnuts were consumed to achieve all of those successes, we might be able to determine the efficiency or something.



..... or at least contemplate in awe the number of doughnuts consumed .....


Image
“Scientists investigate that which already is. Engineers create that which has never been.”
-- Albert Einstein

User avatar
squadron Nero
SuperSport Racer
SuperSport Racer
Posts: 410
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 7:18 am
Location: Shropshire

#7 Post by squadron Nero » Fri Jul 04, 2014 5:42 pm

I'm not sure I do agree. The law is the law but it doesn't make it right. I've been done for speeding on the M54 56mph in a temp 50 zone. Did the old speed awareness course for that. Just to note that was by a camera not a copper. But I mean 6mph over the limit on a motorway....

Anyway. What deos annoy me is that when my van got broken into it took the police an age to see to me and they never caught the thieving scum either. But they are quite happy to dish out fines because someone has tried to make their bike look cosmeticly better by fitting a slightly too small number plate. Well to me it just stinks of an easy target and good stats for the constabulary.

I know the line needs to be drawn somewhere but with all the bigger problems in this world maybe some of the smaller ones could be better dealt with.

fatboy
World Champion
Posts: 3774
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:48 pm
Location: BATH

#8 Post by fatboy » Fri Jul 04, 2014 7:40 pm

In over 30 years of riding I have only had one bad experience of Traffic Cops.
You cant deny that they have to deal with some horrendous fuck ups caused by stuidity/arrogance ect., so there is no way they can be super human and be super polite every time all the time after witnessing the shit they have to deal with.
Traffic have cut me some slack when they have stopped me and worked out 'yes I may be worth aa few points but we will let it go as you're not a complete asshole.
Not fair to compare traffic cops to beat cops.
Cleverly disguised as an adult !

User avatar
Firestarter
Twisted Firestarter
Posts: 1419
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:28 am
Location: Northwich, Cheshire

#9 Post by Firestarter » Fri Jul 04, 2014 8:18 pm

D-Rider wrote:If only we knew how many doughnuts were consumed to achieve all of those successes, we might be able to determine the efficiency or something.



..... or at least contemplate in awe the number of doughnuts consumed .....


Image
We're you stalking the doughnut shop or the police for that pic Andy?
Aprilia SL1000 Falco '04 in Black & Red

User avatar
TwinkietheKid
Despatch Rider
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu May 29, 2014 1:04 am
Location: South of Atlanta But North Of Orlando

#10 Post by TwinkietheKid » Fri Jul 04, 2014 10:03 pm

Turn about is fair play?

Image
'03 Falco, in the fast colors
'15 Caponord, look upon my toy, ye Mighty, and despair!  :smt001

Frenzies bewilder, reveries perturb the mind.


User avatar
Aladinsaneuk
Aprilia Admin
Posts: 9503
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:37 pm
Location: Webfoot territory

#11 Post by Aladinsaneuk » Sat Jul 05, 2014 5:54 am

the law is the law - break it, you get what you deserve

I have a lot of time for our police - actually all our emergency services

BUT

i have no time for target driven policing

once a senior officer tells his staff (or her staff tbh) that each officer has an arrest / conviction / fines target - then good policing has gone out of the window

to joe public, that then becomes a major issue as the public loses confidence in the police


way back in the mists of time, when i was young and stupid, we had local bobbies - and they knew their beat - i can remember getting a friendly tap on the shoulder advising me that if i carried on being a prat, i would be nicked.... reckon that was more effective than an on the spot fine...

I can understand TC's pride - but i think i can understand other people's cynicism as well


Let's face it, you wouldn't go to a nurse to get good advice on a problem with a Falco - you'd choose an Engineer or a mechanic...


lazarus
SuperSport Racer
SuperSport Racer
Posts: 608
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2006 5:22 pm

#12 Post by lazarus » Sat Jul 05, 2014 8:44 pm

Aladinsaneuk wrote:the law is the law - break it, you get what you deserve

I have a lot of time for our police - actually all our emergency services

BUT

i have no time for target driven policing
You assume that if there were no targets to meet , people would still work just as hard. You are wrong. Many people are lazy and in jobs where the workforce cannot be seen doing their job, a proportion would do sod all without any incentives otherwise.

Never been down to your local supermarket and seen plod in there doing their shopping, patrol car outside.

User avatar
Aladinsaneuk
Aprilia Admin
Posts: 9503
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:37 pm
Location: Webfoot territory

#13 Post by Aladinsaneuk » Sat Jul 05, 2014 10:31 pm

Actually, no - never seen norfolk plod doing that

And yes, targets are necessary in work - they are in my job

Doesn't mean I will compromise care though - and that is, after all my job
(Guess that's called being professional)

And too be specific, police targets that are income led are bollocks

Soft targets to meet targets - arrests for littering for example are again bollocks

If we accept that police targets are necessary, then let those targets be police led, and not income / politician led


Let's face it, you wouldn't go to a nurse to get good advice on a problem with a Falco - you'd choose an Engineer or a mechanic...


User avatar
flatlander
Eprom Test Pilot (Stig)
Posts: 3097
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 9:06 pm
Location: cheshire

#14 Post by flatlander » Sun Jul 06, 2014 9:01 am

I have a somewhat more emotive view and whilst in essence I agree with Alad and understand TC"s pride I just don't rate them... But a lot of the time I would prefer them to cameras.

I doubt for example that a major drug trafficker is caught that often due to a lucky on the spot check... And if they are then surely that would justify more police so that everyone can be followed just in case they do something wrong?

I have recently had a good experience with a traffic cop so appreciate his common sense and avoid speeding etc more carefully on his patch ... Sabes us both the embarrassment :)

That said it is my only I one in 50 years pus !

I preferred like Alad the local bobby giving me a thick ear than an on the spot fine and think it had more success in instilling the fear of getting caught. Nowadays the police seem to hibernate as soon as the weather gets bad and then swarm all over the place when its not.

In my experience they are too target driven but in a way where mi or offences can count the same as more serious ones and inefficient

So having said I don't rate them why well because they stick together like flies on sh1t and are about as useful. If I knew my neighbour was robbing other neighbours should I report them? If so why doesn't the same apply to the police?

One simple thing I would change is the name from a force to a service... And by the way other real emergency services don't seem to consider them on an equal footing maybe that's why they are not an emergency service and a force who knows?
For the avoidance of doubt and for the benefit of my wife, not everything I may say here will be absolutely true I may on ocassion embellish a little for effect.
That said when it comes to motorbikes, I like to ride side saddle with a nice frock

User avatar
BikerGran
Gran Turismo
Posts: 3924
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2006 5:12 pm
Location: Any further south and I'd fall off!

#15 Post by BikerGran » Sun Jul 06, 2014 5:19 pm

They ARE now called the Police Service - a retrograde step in my opinion.
The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.

Post Reply