No one outruns the law in Britain. At least, not ten percent of the speeding police in Avon and Somerset. The BBC, in a fit of governmental accountability, discovered that speeding officers set off Gatso cameras in those two counties 640 times last year. The great majority of those officers were on emergency calls, which means they're off the hook. But more than 50 officers weren't on emergency calls, and they'll be fined for their offense just the same as Joe Q. Public. Just goes to show, the limits of English propriety know no bounds. We'd like to see what would happen if our local force tried to ticket its own officers...
[Source: Autocar]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
paul34 @ May 7th 2007 7:11PM
sweet!
I do understand that there are times when police are on emergency calls or chasing down someone and decide not to flip the lights (which, as I said, is understandable in a lot of cases).
However, there are some which are just totally rude and believe they are above the law. The question is, how do you weed out the cops who are truly on silent calls from the ones just abusing their privileges ?
BKadalur @ May 7th 2007 7:17PM
the purpose of the lights is to get others to move out of your way so you can speed safely. not having them on and speeding is too open to abuse. if you're chasing someone, have your lights on. emergency calls, again lights on. if it's an emergency, get there fast and let people know to move out of the way. i'm quite sick of cruising on the highway 5-10 mph above the limit knowing i can't go faster because i will get a ticket, only to see a police officer zoom past me 10-15mph faster than me. a law is a law, they have no legitimate reason to speed, so i think they deserve to pay the same consequences as regular citizens.
Chet @ May 7th 2007 7:49PM
There can be good reasons to approach with stealth. Lights shouldn't always be on when traveling over the limit -- it should be the officer's discretion. In a light-traffic situation, they're likely to get to their destination faster and safer by NOT running the lights -- fewer oh-crap-I'm-busted freakouts from civilians.
I think every instance of an officer speeding should reach the supervisor's desk... but the action to be taken should be at the supervisor's or department's discretion.
aman @ May 7th 2007 8:09PM
I think that cops have no right to speed when they're not on call, just patrol. For example, as mentioned above, is someone is driving 10-15 mph over the speed limit and get busted by a cop doing 20-25 over, and the civilian argues, they'll just get slapped with a verbal harassment charge along with the speeding ticket. A judge will neveer believe a civilian over a cop without concrete proof, but will take a cop's word for it just 'cause. The cop will probably say he "trained" to speed on the freeway. How about Michael Schumacher? Tony Stewart? Sebastien Bourdais? If they aren't "trained" to go 200 mph, on a road with turns, no less, then who are you, cop, to say you're "trained" to go a max of 100 mph on an empty 6 lane freeway?
Gerry @ May 7th 2007 9:57PM
Leading by example.....
If a supervisor enforces a policy then he is expected to follow it as well.
Police Officers speeding for no reason and driving in a reckless fashion (we see it here all the time in Florida) then how do you expect civilians to follow the law as well?
MikeW @ May 7th 2007 10:18PM
Time for reasonable and prudent speed limits.
G-man @ May 8th 2007 5:43AM
Well finally. Cops are not above the law. They enforce it. In my college town, an officer was was given a DUI and got off the hook, because "he's a good guy" That kind of crap really angers me. If we're gonna have touch traffic laws, they better apply to everyone. Traffic fines aren't about safety anymore. It's all about $$$
Mattlach @ May 8th 2007 8:28AM
I'm glad there's justice SOMEWHERE in the world...
Cops in the U.S. are some of the most two faced in the world when it comes to traffic enforcement. If I were to drive like your average cruiser (not on emergency calls) for even a day, I'd probably have at least 5 tickets and have lost my license.
Isee them all the time, speeding, no turning signals during lane changes, Illegal U-turns, Illegally parked, driving irratically, TAILGATING DANGEROUSLY CLOSE, etc. etc. etc.
It is my humble opinion that the cops are the worst drivers on the road.
Lead by example!
Calebe @ May 8th 2007 9:34AM
Here they use their lights to go thru red traffic signals so they can whip into McDonalds and get their free cup of coffee. A girl i work with dated one of our fine men in blue once. They took the cruiser out and did donuts in it.
Gary @ May 8th 2007 10:24AM
Here in the City of Memphis, by far the worst speeding offenders on the expressways are private vechiles with Firefighter license plates. There must be some agreement that the police will not give a speeding ticket to firemen.
Steve C @ May 8th 2007 12:47PM
I saw a motorcycle cop riding the wrong way in the breakdown lane in rush hour traffic yesterday. People were freaking out, jamming on their brakes and this moron almost caused a multiple-rear-ender.
Nice to hear the cops in the UK don't get a free pass when it comes to dangerous driving.