I have some kind of marker on my car. I get sooo much attention from the Police, it's unreal...

Admittedly I do drive hard on the road, but I rarely get stopped because of it, I can only think I've been reported or whatever so now they do a radio check on my car and realise something...

I'm on a section 59 so I have to be careful. It was given to me because they apparently saw me driving badly on CCTV but couldn't tell me when or where. They don't need to provide any proof so they could be full of ****...

<SNIP>

I overheard on the radio before to do me for whatever they can, I don't think I was meant to hear it. I don't know why though, all I can presume is I've been reported as I said.

Ross told me the other night my brakes glow when braking hard, even from 70mph... So on the way home at 2-3am on a dead motorway I broke hard as he got a photo. Simples!

Perhaps the two are linked.....

one thing iv learned, never look directly at the copper! say for example if he driving towards you. i did this and that resulted in him spinning round, giving his snotty astra all it had to catch up with me and run my car through the ANPR machine, obviously everything came back good but seeing a 19 year old in golf gti is going to raise eye brows. Never had the same problem in my octy yet though!

The look on his face when he saw that the car was legit was classic

last time I was stopped was in my fiat uno turbo! this was around 1991, Christmas time, because I was out and about at 2am, was breathalised, and sent on my way

about five years ago a copper pulled up next to me and said "you've got a brake light out.." thats about it!

none of my cars have ever shouted about performance though... my fiat looked like a 1.2, my 220bhp lancia looked like a knackered old sierra saphire ect

Now that brings back memories - I had three Uno Turbos & was never stopped driving any of 'em because as you say, subtle didn't even begin to cover it - that's why I loved them as they didn't scream 'nick me' (in either sense) in the same way a R5 GT Turbo or Astra GTE did..

God, I feel old.. :'(

resulted in him spinning round, giving his snotty astra all it had to catch up with me and run my car through the ANPR machine.

You'd be surprised just how much the police cars can keep up! I've seen a diesel transit can keep up and chase a 2.0 petrol mondeo. I didn't think the Astras would have anpr fitted, must be a decent police force!

hmm well he did something as he followed me for about half a mile and constantly looking at something on his dash then just turned off.

Is it true they have a legitimate reason to pull you? i.e they cant just pull you because they dont like the look of you, it has to be because of a bulb out, no seatbelt ect

hmm well he did something as he followed me for about half a mile and constantly looking at something on his dash then just turned off.

Is it true they have a legitimate reason to pull you? i.e they cant just pull you because they dont like the look of you, it has to be because of a bulb out, no seatbelt ect

nope, they don't need a reason, a constable in uniform can stop any mechincally propelled vehicle driven on a road to check the driver is insured, correctly licensed and the vehicle is road worthy. you don't need to have a bulb out or anything but it is normally the given that it is more likely to happen if you do have a defect as in a bulb, as if you commit any driving offence (ie bulb out) they can demand a breath sample.

edit: stupid auto edit keeps mispelling my words!

Edited 25 November, 201114 yr by mdon

ANoer class description in the same vein I heard was "It looks like you covered it in superglue and ramraided an accessory shop!"

Hey thats my one lol

I got pulled about 8 years ago whilst driving my 2.8 Capri. He used the line that it had no insurance, but it turned out he had been looking at them on ebay and just fancied a nosey. I wasn't bothered as I've nothing to hide, my cars are spot on and in the end I had a look round the T5 he was driving too. I stayed polite, confident that I'd done nothing wrong and we parted on good terms. The next time I saw him was on BBC1 in Traffic Cops driving the leading pursuit car in a high speed chase. Small world....

Would you rather have the police stop you on the off chance or let your car go past with some lag in the driving seat because there was no definite reason to stop it?

If you have an illegal mod to your car then grow up and stop complaing at getting stopped by a copper who 'should be out catching real criminals'.

I have no issue with getting stopped as I am fully legal.

Don't agree with the avoid eye contact, never had an issue. Have been stopped at traffic lights on my bike various times alongside a police bike and had great chats with them while the lights are red, generally as they liked my bike! The traffice police in my opinion, I've had good chats with lots, are a great bunch who take each situation as it comes. This include the copper who stopped for doing a stupid speed and sent me to court, not his fault purely mine. His report to the court though did go a long way to save me as although I was going stupidly fast (over 100) he said I was safe and I have no doubt this was a serious factor in saving me from a ban. When he stopped me I was polite, he was polite, I didn't get banned, result. (kept looking out on the various traffic police programmes to see if I featured but alas no :( )

I've read all the above and was wondering whether there is any restriction on rear window tints (i.e. after B pillar). I have some ridiculously dark ones on my car, which were there when I bought it. My car is foreign registered as I live abroad, but want to come to the UK for 2-4 weeks next summer...tour around the Highlands, etc. so could I be pulled over/fined for dark tints by the UK police? The car meets all requirements for the registration country...so would the UK police look at this or at the rules applying to UK cars?

Don't agree with the avoid eye contact, never had an issue. Have been stopped at traffic lights on my bike various times alongside a police bike and had great chats with them while the lights are red, generally as they liked my bike! The traffice police in my opinion, I've had good chats with lots, are a great bunch who take each situation as it comes. This include the copper who stopped for doing a stupid speed and sent me to court, not his fault purely mine. His report to the court though did go a long way to save me as although I was going stupidly fast (over 100) he said I was safe and I have no doubt this was a serious factor in saving me from a ban. When he stopped me I was polite, he was polite, I didn't get banned, result. (kept looking out on the various traffic police programmes to see if I featured but alas no :( )

theres a few alright coppers who live around whitby, one living my street (i make sure we get along!)

but you get some who see a young person in a fast car and go out of their way to make life difficult. Once upon a time while parked up with friends, copper happened to be snooping around, obviously had nothing better to do and started commenting on the fact my Golf had 18 inch alloys, roof spoiler, front valance and tinted lights...i kindly pointed out that it was the 25th anniversary edition and it all OE...he was not buying it so i went onto google and typed in 25th anniversary Golf, what a surprise, it is standard

I've read all the above and was wondering whether there is any restriction on rear window tints (i.e. after B pillar). I have some ridiculously dark ones on my car, which were there when I bought it. My car is foreign registered as I live abroad, but want to come to the UK for 2-4 weeks next summer...tour around the Highlands, etc. so could I be pulled over/fined for dark tints by the UK police? The car meets all requirements for the registration country...so would the UK police look at this or at the rules applying to UK cars?

Should be fine. Things like Corsa vans etc get away with it, and they have 0% transparency behind the B pillar.

I got stopped about 2 days after buying my car. The policeman claimed i was speeding yet the car infront of me (A jag) was going faster then i was and i was doing 60 on a 60 limit. To top that off he was travelling in the opposite direction and spun round and caught me up claiming the "Camera never lies" He was talking utter sh**e the real reason he stopped me was because the details of the car had not been changed at the DVLA end and so it wasn't registered to anyone.

I've read all the above and was wondering whether there is any restriction on rear window tints (i.e. after B pillar). I have some ridiculously dark ones on my car, which were there when I bought it. My car is foreign registered as I live abroad, but want to come to the UK for 2-4 weeks next summer...tour around the Highlands, etc. so could I be pulled over/fined for dark tints by the UK police? The car meets all requirements for the registration country...so would the UK police look at this or at the rules applying to UK cars?

The relevant laws on light transmission only apply to glass forward of the B-pillar, so windscreen and front door windows for an Octy (also side glasses forward of front doors on some MPVs).

He was talking utter sh**e the real reason he stopped me was because the details of the car had not been changed at the DVLA end and so it wasn't registered to anyone.

Yeah right.

i bet it would be interesting what a copper would do with a full vinyl wrap..a cooper got funny with one of my mates for his car been mucky even though the plate and lights had been wiped clean

My first car was an orange mark 2 Escort 1.3 (RWD)

the log book said it was red. Lost count how many times

I got stopped by the fuzz and asked to open the boot and bonnet

to show it hadn't been resprayed. Those were the days.

At least the Police were actually stopping cars then instead

of relying on revenue cameras like they do now.

Not a case of being stopped but years ago in my Estelle during the Edinburgh festival the police had half the city cordoned off for a parade. One officer saw I was a bit off course and moved the cones aside so I could do a u turn and get back to where I was trying to go. What a helpful guy. Unfortunately I managed to clip one of the plastic bollards on the traffic island when doing the turn right in front of him. not to worry he says no real harm but I can't make it obvious I'm letting you off as the inspector is over there watching. so show me your licence, and I will pretend to note your details and then he will be happy and it will all be forgotten. So I did as he said and we're chatting and he says so what do you do for a living?

Stupidly I said "oh I'm a trainee solicitor ".

"In that case I must formally caution you that you're being charged under section 3 of the road traffic Scotland act 1988. You are not obliged to say anything but anything you do say may be taken down and used in evidence against you. do you understand? "

Didn't help when I said I didn't do criminal law just family law, his mind was made up. Last time I made that mistake!!

Thought I had to add to this thread. I was pulled over today for good reason. Have had very bad jaw/tooth ache for four weeks now and two trips to hospital, three times to doctors and twice to less than good dentist (claiming root canal work is required) so this was the first trip to another NHS dentist for second opinion.

I managed to get appointment today (the same day I asked for it) so very keen to get there. Anyway queue of us cars behind very slow truck and thought I would never get there on time. Truck turned down road and I nearly went the same way thinking I could get passed it and still be in town quicker than the main road.

Anyway done this road a gazillion times and know passing places like the back of my hand. Bad news is I saw an Octavia police car race ahead and thought, that’s the ticket I must get going too so I started to overtake slower cars on this local Trunk Road. Well came to Gray Audi A6 V6 tdi 3.0 litre etc and came to a bit of road where I have passed traffic many times before and like a jerk thought if I pass this car (there is always the final car to overtake isn't there?) and might get there on time. Well to tell you the truth the car was going fast enough but I had the bit between my teeth and took him. Well had a shock when blue lights came on and I rapidly stopped, got out of the car and believe me I grovelled. Well this guy was very good and let me off – told me off though in no certain manner. Lesson learned. I have to put up with tooth/jaw ache rather than rush and get booked.

BTW the dentist was brilliant, filed down some teeth which were hammering each other a bit and I have a compacted wisdom tooth which might have to come out. Interesting the Octavia Police car made a point of passing me as fast as he could when I was pottering along. Note to self I must drive more slowly. Driving quicker doesn’t necessarily get you there much quicker.

I've been pulled over many times in the past. All for good reason! Funilly enough my current toy was made very attention seeking by it's previous owner, but all that happens when I do speak to the police is 'car looks great' 'car sounds great' 'that's a vRS isn't it? We used to train in them? Enjoy your night'! Etc!

I do have a lot of friends in the force & like all of us, people can be in varying moods etc. Also, what you 'get away with' depends on what the officers priorities are. If they are just going on a break or finishing shift they might not want to deal with/process another job. Two very recent instances: I was following a slow moving van in a country lane when a kNob in an Audi started tailgating me. When we all took the first exit on the roundabout, the Audi driver undertook us both in a cycle lane & hatched off area, narrowly missing ajoining traffic where the lane stopped etc etc. The police Octy that was already on the roundabout at the time joined our carriageway only a few feet away when this guy threw up a massive cloud of dust by tearing up the cycle lane. I thought ''Fantastic! Got him bang to rights!' But the officers did nothing about it & went into Sainsburys to collect their lunch. When I went & found them in the car park & complained, the driver denied he'd seen anything & the passenger said he'd seen it & asked me, 'did I get a registration or see where he went???'

Last week I thought I saw a police car coming towards me in the distance, turned out to a pickup truck with a massive great blue light stuck under each door mirror that looked identical to emergency services blue lights. It was dark, in a residential area with an Octy police travelling the same way as me 3 cars ahead. Yet again, I thought excellent! Got him! What happened? Nothing! Just let the pick up driver sail on past!

I've been pulled over many times in the past. All for good reason! Funilly enough my current toy was made very attention seeking by it's previous owner, but all that happens when I do speak to the police is 'car looks great' 'car sounds great' 'that's a vRS isn't it? We used to train in them? Enjoy your night'! Etc!

I do have a lot of friends in the force & like all of us, people can be in varying moods etc. Also, what you 'get away with' depends on what the officers priorities are. If they are just going on a break or finishing shift they might not want to deal with/process another job. Two very recent instances: I was following a slow moving van in a country lane when a kNob in an Audi started tailgating me. When we all took the first exit on the roundabout, the Audi driver undertook us both in a cycle lane & hatched off area, narrowly missing ajoining traffic where the lane stopped etc etc. The police Octy that was already on the roundabout at the time joined our carriageway only a few feet away when this guy threw up a massive cloud of dust by tearing up the cycle lane. I thought ''Fantastic! Got him bang to rights!' But the officers did nothing about it & went into Sainsburys to collect their lunch. When I went & found them in the car park & complained, the driver denied he'd seen anything & the passenger said he'd seen it & asked me, 'did I get a registration or see where he went???'

Last week I thought I saw a police car coming towards me in the distance, turned out to a pickup truck with a massive great blue light stuck under each door mirror that looked identical to emergency services blue lights. It was dark, in a residential area with an Octy police travelling the same way as me 3 cars ahead. Yet again, I thought excellent! Got him! What happened? Nothing! Just let the pick up driver sail on past!

Yeah there was a whole bunch of these guys in two cars. I think they were in transit (as opposed to in a Transit van) as it were. Further on their lights went on again and they sailed past other traffic.

You won't have any problems withe the rear tints, it's no different to driving a van or commercial vehicle with no windows in the back. There are plenty of well tinted/blacked out rear windows here, usually the Mafia or Yakuzza cars which will get stopped by our glorious Boys In Blue, Whoops!

I've only ever been pulled over once. It was Christmas eve, well... technically Christmas day as it was 1am and I was driving back from a night out. I was behind a shed of a car with one almost flat tyre, weaving all over the road and randomly braking hard. I didn't take to this too kindly and decided a swift overtake was the order of the day.

Blasted round the guy (was a clear road but was worried he might weave into the side of me), 5-0 spotted this and followed me for 2 miles before pulling me.

Just asked where I had been, what I had been up to etc. breathalised me and sent me on my way.

Of the two cops the woman must have been a bit hormonal I think as she was a right cow! I just remained polite and after checking I had insurance etc. the guy who was with her took over and was much more polite.

I could have quite easily taken offence to Ms. Charmless but what would have been the point?

Edited 6 December, 201114 yr by lordrobs

I have been pulled a few times (never in my Octy, yet!)

1st time when I was 18 in my Astra, Fog lights on, could not argue, just being a boy racer d*%k. Although the copper was a knobber. I said yes sorry, then he went of on one about my dipped beam not being on, I had turned them of as he pulled me over. "its ok in a 30 zone but you are approaching a 40 and need them on!" I told him i had tuned them off as he stopped me but he said that he had seen me as I drove past and they were not on! No Ticket or producer.

2nd - Some one shopped me in for suspected D & D, a CID officer (Closest at the time) followed me down the prom in Morecambe, no lights or siren so had to follow me until I stopped. Uniformed police officer had to come out (he was not in uniform so could not do it) Not touched a drop. It turned out some one rang from McDonalds, we had gone for a bite to eat and thought we looked 'Drunk' in side the shop, did not see us driving. To Be fair, if it had been someone drunk and they had killed someone, they would have not forgiven themselves. He wanted to give me a producer, I was going on holiday the that day leaving at 4am, it was just gone midnight and I was away for 18days. My folks car at the time and I explained I would have to go home, wake them up, get documents, go back to the station, get checked, go home, get in taxi for airport. Let me of that as well (Pug 307)

3rd - Driving like a d*$k - Let off that (Pug 307)

4th - Getting angry with someone who cut me up, over took them in a not as safe as I should have done fashion, Police behind me, Got shouted at, said sorry, checked tyres, one bald. 3 point! (Nice officer though, could not argue, my fault) (Audi s3)

5th - Random stop (??) on M6. quick check, said a number of Audi's had been stolen form the Lakes recently. Sent me on my way with a friendly wave. (S3 again)

All the traffic officers I have dealt with (other then the first guy who was a fat, donut eating, transit van driving plod, who was ready for a hart attack, have been very nice, and I agree, if you are friendly and polite, agree that you were not necessary on the right side of the law and apologize, A LOT, you can get away with a lot more.

Speed cameras how ever, blow the f-ing lot up!!! 6 points from them damm things, you can not plead with a yellow box!

I've been pulled 3 times

First a few years ago whilst in a Coy. car. Took a while to sort out, as mine was in for service, and I'd borrowed one of the Managers' cars (we had a company rule that any car not in use that day was fair game for anyone who needed one for business usage) After explaining the position, giving over my documents - another coy. rule, carry at all times - and a few phone calls it was amicably sorted. The fact it was an Insurance company car and I was in a suit & tie, briefcase etc. probably helped.

When I asked why they had stopped me, they said they were on the look out for the same make, model and colour that had been involved in a robbery.

Nice guys, persistent but polite.

Second time was on M5 at about 3 a.m. having picked in-laws up from airport. I was clocked at over 100 (no excuse, it was simply a case of the upward speed creep on a completely empty M'way) After a little chat in the back of their Volvo, they said that as the road was clear, dry and not a hazard to other road users, they would record it as 90 mph and issue fixed penalty 3 points / £60, as over 100 would have to go to Magistrates and I'd prolly lose my license.

(Shortly afterwards the same thing happened to a colleague, but in his case it was the middle of the day and he was still doing 90+ up the slip road - lost his for 28 days & a hefty fine)

Again polite, reasonable and eminently generous. And they also gave me a couple of tips how to avoid being pulled in the future - basically, don't speed

The latest was on a Monday night a couple of weeks ago, 11'ish driving home from the pub with 3 passengers, for a random breath check. Explained I was the designated driver that night (we have a rota system) and had been drinking Henry's all night. Presumably I didn't smell of alchohol, they didn't bother with breath test, thanked me and proceeded to the car behind.

As above, be polite, admit where necessary and get treated courteously and fairly. Go off on one and expect to be dropped on from a great height.

Strangely all of these occurred whilst driving fairly "mundane" cars. In the 5 years of driving the Mk1 vRS I was never stopped.

Edited 14 December, 201114 yr by BJM