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Original poster

Failed to stop for police - why am I such an idiot?!

284 replies

ilovelamp2 · 21/02/2022 15:52

Having an absolute melt down over here - hope someone can talk me down and/or make me feel better by telling me silly things you have done when driving ..... Basically, I was on a narrow road, one lane each way, fairly chunky verge. Blue lights behind, panicked and drove few 100 metres to next roundabout to get out of way. Totally, totally know now I should have just stopped on side but I panicked. So embarrassed. Police pointed to wind my window down when they got alongside me. They were understandably irrate. I have a lot of respect for our police force and am mortified that I have made their job even more difficult than it already is. Literally cannot stop sobbing!

OP posts:
Feeascotime · 22/02/2022 18:45

I would probably have done the same. Suddenly slowing down to safely go on verge could have been dangerous and you had an 11 year old in the car!
I think they crossing the line to co front you. It is up to each of us to react to each situation and I would have done EXACTLY what you did.

fussyhousewife · 22/02/2022 18:46

Hope this makes you feel better - friend pulled forward on traffic lights to let emergency vehicle through. Some weeks later photograph of her "jumping lights!" her reason was apparently "no defence!". We are NOT obliged to get out of the way if we consider doing so would be dangerous. Of course we move away as quickly as possible but only if we consider it safe to do so. You should check out RAC listing on this subject which goes into detail. As far as your incident is concerned I would shrug it off - the Police need to consider you as a road user too.

Yourcatisnotsorry · 22/02/2022 18:50

You did nothing wrong. Remember there are a lot lot of problematic people in the police force. Power goes to their heads.

Jazz50 · 22/02/2022 18:52

Agreed

mummy203 · 22/02/2022 18:54

I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve done this, I indicated, drove some distance slowly and pulled into a side road. It was a busy, fast road the wanted me stop on and I couldn’t think where was safe to pull over, we would have blocked the road I just panicked and found somewhere safe. They gave me a lecture but I bet it happens all the time.

pcl09 · 22/02/2022 18:58

Whether it’s safe to pull over or not is your call - not theirs. They can ask to get past but if you don’t feel it’s safe then you have every right to continue to somewhere that you can safely get out of the way. As for berating you - give that a massive dose of ignoring. People panic - they are trained to deal with it.

Knittingchamp · 22/02/2022 19:00

OP bet they were super stressed and maybe panicking and worried about whatever crazy call out they'd just had and it wasn't about you at all. They were still out of order but sometimes it's best to look at it like that. Noone knows how they react in an exact moment of stress and they will look back and remember the respect in your voice and how much you clearly wanted to do the right thing and they'll really appreciate that.

Mandyjack · 22/02/2022 19:04

Not much you can do now and not worth getting so upset about. Just remember next time to move across to the left and others will follow leaving a gap for them to get through

Mandyjack · 22/02/2022 19:07

@mummy203

I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve done this, I indicated, drove some distance slowly and pulled into a side road. It was a busy, fast road the wanted me stop on and I couldn’t think where was safe to pull over, we would have blocked the road I just panicked and found somewhere safe. They gave me a lecture but I bet it happens all the time.
Usually drivers will all go to the left if its a single lane carriageway or dual carriageway part so they are either side creating space in the middle. You don't always have to stop but just slow down and move over as far as you safely can
Cherryberrybonbon · 22/02/2022 19:11

Don’t cry, they sound like complete idiots of officers, just because they are police doesn’t mean they can’t be arseholes. You are meant to stop safely not just pull up the nearest curb etc

allotmentgardener · 22/02/2022 19:14

Don't stress about it.

Remember you've no idea what they were on route to. They may have been incredibly stressed anticipating whatever the call was. They are human too.

NewPapaGuinea · 22/02/2022 19:19

I often see the opposite. People panicing and just stopping in the road causing a road block. In this scenario it sounds like with a narrow road and high verges it wouldn’t have been appropriate to stop. If it was clear they would overtake anyway.

Janesmom · 22/02/2022 19:34

@Yourcatisnotsorry

You did nothing wrong. Remember there are a lot lot of problematic people in the police force. Power goes to their heads.
Idiotic post of the day. However unintentionally OP broke the law by failing to pull in. So yes she did do something wrong.

And clearly, it’s all the police’s fault in trying to get to an emergency safely and quickly… Prat!

maybloss2 · 22/02/2022 19:42

Hi op, I wear hearing aids too, so I feel yr pain. It’s very easy for one’s confidence in being out n about to get knocked. I also had a similar occurrence some years ago in a city. I was driving my then teen daughter to some do (after dark) and we were chatting away. I then noticed a police car next to me gesticulating for me to pull over. Which I did. The officer then said we have been following you with our lights on for you to pull over for some time. I got a lecture about not checking my mirror often enough and felt about 2” high. They’d stopped me cos a rear brake light wasn’t working. At the time I felt mortified and quite wobbly about my driving. Then I decided they’d been over the top. Now I think we all tend forget that the main part of their job is to enforce the law. And this is an absolute, that is, the laws are clearly defined. I just wish that the laws which should apply to everyone actually did ie boris& co.
Anyway I say live and learn! Put it behind you and practice your mirror skills every time ur in yr car!!

DiamondBright · 22/02/2022 19:48

[quote CaMePlaitPas]@FindingMeno exactly this. This is why I have very little respect for police, supposedly on their way to an emergency but still enough time to lecture a lone woman with her 11 year old child in the car.[/quote]
What's the OP being a woman got to do with her failing to stop to let an emergency vehicle past?

Janesmom · 22/02/2022 19:49

Would agree with whoever said that police probably stopped to ensure OP wasn’t drunk or on drugs. If someone fails to pull over, that’s sadly often the reason why!

SamSoSer · 22/02/2022 19:51

Power tripping drongos.....
I can’t see you did anything wrong other than pull over when it felt safe.
Obviously life and death if they had time to stop and talk to you.
Be kind to yourself

summerin69 · 22/02/2022 19:58

Thing is - what you did is completely normal. I bet they see it 100 times a month. They’ve probably forgotten about it and are at home, eating dinner, relaxing, maybe worrying about something they did wrong today - but here you are feeling so bad… they’ve forgotten about it. You forget about it too. You didn’t hurt anyone, you didn’t commit a crime.. you’re a good person.

Bunnylady · 22/02/2022 20:07

I did a stupid thing when driving years ago and I still feel a right Burke about it now. In my (slight) defence I had three kids in the car so it was noisy. The car in front of me indicated left and pulled over to the side. Me, being the total oblivious Wally I am, didn't notice a police car speeding behind me, so I just pulled out and overtook the stopped car. Before I knew what was what this police car came zooming up behind me with blues and twos beeping their horn at me and probably calling me all the names under the sun. And rightly so. Eeee man. I felt stupid that I neither saw nor heard them. 😕

Alip1965 · 22/02/2022 20:17

Ahhh don't stress. The power crazed blue meanies... as others have said if it was emergency they wouldn't of stopped. Also if it was a narrow road they would not of been able to get passed safely. Chances are they were late for clock off ... forget it... xWine

Morgysmum · 22/02/2022 20:21

Bless, my mum got pulled over for speeding, she said that she was hust keeping up with the traffic in front. She was gutted that she got stopped and the rest didn't, as she pointed out, if she was speeding, so were the others in front.
The officer had to explain, that yes the others were probably speeding too, but my mum was last in the line so they could pull her over and give her a ticket, that didn't go down too well. But she took the speeding awarness course, but moaned about it to anyone who would listen.
Then she went on about how much money they were making off the speeding courses.

LoisLane66 · 22/02/2022 20:35

Don't know why you're crying if they're not charging you with any crime. Even if they were, so what?
If they had room to pass and road ahead was visible and clear just pull to the side. The fact that you didn't isn't the end of the world and a ticking off is nothing.
No, I have never done anything daft when driving but being stopped wouldn't faze me.
I hope you've calmed down by now. What you are like in an emergency, I dread to think.

FunnyTalks · 22/02/2022 20:45

I have less and less respect for the police, sadly, although we do need them. They sound as if their authority has gone to their heads. Berating you served no purpose other than to satisfy their own power trip.

Littlemissmuffet720 · 22/02/2022 20:47

@LoisLane66

Don't know why you're crying if they're not charging you with any crime. Even if they were, so what? If they had room to pass and road ahead was visible and clear just pull to the side. The fact that you didn't isn't the end of the world and a ticking off is nothing. No, I have never done anything daft when driving but being stopped wouldn't faze me. I hope you've calmed down by now. What you are like in an emergency, I dread to think.
I think you can muster a bit more venom if you speak from your cold black heart.
VitalSpark · 22/02/2022 21:08

@cansu

FGS. It is sometimes difficult to pull over safely. Agreed that if it was a genuine emergency they would not have taken the time to pull you over and tell you off. Forget it.
It isn't an offence, that's why they just mouthed off at you!
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