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

[ilovelamp2]

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!

Put it behind you. In fact contact your station and tell them what happened and say you pulled over as soon as it was safe to do so.!!! And them telling you off meant they werent in that much of a hurry!
So years ago I was travelling from Scotland and saw a sign with road closed and a police car and a police officer stsnding beside it. Got so confused as I couldnt see anything blocking road that I just slowed fown and was going to continue on the main road.......officer went mental at me and waved his arms and shouted. He shouted ' had a not seen the sign ......' I said sorry but it was confusing...he just shook his head and waved me off on the correct road for the diversion. Which incidentally took me along a coastal road and thru a village which was lovely. But took an extra hour! Your post took me back to that moment....

@Littlemissmuffet720
I was feeling in a good mood so thought I'd tread lightly. 😄

Honestly I wouldn't worry about it OP.
A few years back I had to pull over for the police just before reaching a mini roundabout. The car in front of me mounted the mini roundabout and blocked the whole junction. The driver of that vehicle got into trouble that's for sure.
At least you didn't do that

Don't cry, it's horrible when you can't safely stop. Happened to me one time so please don't worry any further.

@ Yourcatisnotsorry yes your right there are, but every trade has its problematic people! But the officers on blue lights could of been going to a child in danger!

Chances are they were late for clock off

Yeah that'd be exactly what it was 🙄 Cos they're allowed to just drive with blues on for the sake of it

One morning on my way to work in bumper to bumper peak hour traffic, with 3 lanes of stopped traffic with no road shoulder, it was really cool to watch the cars move as far as possible to the sides so an emergency vehicle could get through. It was pretty quick, all things considered and looked like a big zipper opening up and then closing behind it.

It is amazing how space can be made even where there appears to be none.

I once had an ambulance call me all sorts at a crossroads because I didn’t stop. When I pointed out that not having his sirens on when approaching one of the busiest junctions in our city and me not having x-ray vision and being unable to see through the buildings to see him approaching he soon shut up! It was absolutely ridiculous, dangerous driving and I’m amazed we didn’t collide!

Don’t give it another thought! I was whizzing along over the speed limit ridiculous 20mph way before they were everywhere. I had the radio up loud having a wail of the time (rare night out when kids were little) a police car had been following me a flashing for ages apparently 😳 I was mortified… I genuinely thought the car behind had bright lights and they were flashing as they went over speed bumps 😂😂
I’m a good driver, honest, we all have bad days!

I’ve done worse @ilovelamp2

I was driving down the right hand lane of the M6 and there was a car right up my arse tailgating me. He was literally an inch from my back bumper. If I’d had to brake he’d have slammed straight into the back of me.

I was super angry that someone was driving so bloody dangerously behind me. I pulled into the middle lane and as the car passes me I flipped him the middle finger in anger.

It was at that moment he switched on his lights. It was an unmarked police car

He waved me to pull over to the hard shoulder and after I’d shit my pants, I braced myself for a massive bollocking and arrest. My DP, who was in the car with me, was figuring out how he’d get home while I was carted off to jail

Copper, told me he’d been “following me for a bit because I’d been doing 60 in a 50 zone”. Then he mentioned me giving him the finger.

I politely said “Well with all due respect, I had no idea you were police. I thought you were some impatient driver, dangerously driving up my arse. You’re in an unmarked car and you were tailgating me so closely, you were scaring me. If I’d had to brake you’d have gone straight into the back of me. So I was angry and upset. Clearly if I’d know you were police I wouldn’t have done it. But I had no idea because it didn’t occur to me because of the unmarked car, nor that the police would drive in such a dangerous manner”.

He laughed it off, reminded me to stick to the speed limit and told me he wouldn’t take any action because he was about to go off duty - which was clear from the fact he wasn’t even in his full uniform.

My DP’s response after was “YOU JAMMY COW!! I bet if that had been me I’d have been carted off to a cell!”.

I always wondered whether because I had a witness to his appalling driving (and because he was already off duty when he pulled me), that’s why he let me off. Maybe he felt a complaint wasn't worth the hassle and his “pull” could’ve been disregarded because of it.
Maybe he just couldn’t be arsed to take it further to save himself some paperwork at the end of his shift?
Who knows! I was lucky that day whichever way you look at it!

It's a pity you didn't get their numbers. Pair of socks, just like 99% of police officers. Had it happen to me. Took more time trying to bollock me than what they said I did wrong. Ignore them. They work for us

Cocks obviously 🤦

It is so hard to know how best to get out of the way sometimes. I once pulled over into a small side road to get out the way of a fire engine, but they didn’t go by and eventually i realised I’d blocked the very road they were trying to go down 🤦‍♀️ I was mortified but my intentions were good! It doesn’t sound like you were in their way for long and as others have said they can’t have been in that much of a hurry. Makes you wonder if they were justified in using the siren at all 🤔

Lots of negatives centred at the police on here. I'm not advocating arseoleish police behaviour by any means, and theyve really let themselves down recently, but imagine you had called police for a real emergency - Domestic Abuse, child in danger or whatever and they don't get to you in time because they were stuck behind miss daisy who didn't move over because of whatever reason and the unthinkable happened?

The simplest thing is to indicate to show youve seen them, slow, stop (not on a pinch point mind) if feasible or possible and they will then get past. Let them do the driving, thats what they are trained for and they are taught to anticipate driver reaction. Dont just ignore them.

Perhaps this incident will stick in OPs mind, they can reflect objectively (not get upset, its not worth it) and improve their driving and reactions for next time?

@ComDummings

They sound like dicks, if it wasn’t safe to stop you don’t stop. You waited until you thought it was safe which is correct.

100% dicks. I've always had a lot of respect for the police. But I remember crossing the road once when I was heavily pregnant. I was a bit slower than usual, and the police tooted at me really aggressively. I wasn't being extra slow or doing anything weird. I felt quite upset after that

Why did they pull you over in the first place?

Hey I got stopped for having no tax recently. I purchased a new car several months ago. Sorn-ed it whilst i sold my existing car, then I taxed it on line setting up a direct debit. I had posted the Sorn. I did the tax online 2 weeks later. So PC donut stopped me I was shocked. He allowed me to tax my car there and then but i couldn't understand why it was not already taxed. Turned out the sorn had been processed much much later and DVLA idiots hadnt looked at the date of the sorn and thought oh shes taxed it at a later date so she must be driving it now. No, they let me set up a direct debit etc and then the money seems not to have been collected and i didnt notice as i have other vehicles taxed by direct debit going out the account...Like you i was a blubbering wreck but thats more down to perimenopause!!! My husband keeps singing 'Rebel yell' taking the pi** x

I was stuck behind a cyclist with oncoming traffic and there was no way enough room to give 1.5m to the cyclist, so I was crawling up a hill with a trail of cars behind me. Car behind is almost touching my bumper he's so close, and gesturing to me to go around, so I give the finger and ignore. All of a sudden blue flashing lights come on behind me, it was an unmarked police car! So I pull over and he shoots off around me right next to the cyclist.

I submitted the dash cam footage to the police and they never got back to me. I played heavily on the fact I was 7 months pregnant and didn't want to risk a head on collision. Next time they posted about bike awareness on Facebook I posted the footage and strangely enough my comment was deleted

It really annoys me when folk have a pop at the police….. we aren’t all B* just the select few that ruin it for the rest of us.

As an emergency driver myself this is the advice I would give anyone if blue lights come flying up behind you.

We want to get past you obviously, if you can find somewhere safe to move over a bit so we can get past you, great! But only if it’s safe for you to do so!

If you’re on a wide road, even slowing down a little gives us the time to overtake you on the opposite lane, the issue isn’t always you, but the vehicles coming towards us in the opposite carriageway who keep driving the same speed towards us while we are trying to overtake you!

Don’t go through a red light! Police/ambulance and fire are trained to switch their lights a sirens off and wait for the light to go green, if they aren’t doing that then they aren’t using the training properly.

We don’t want you to damage or injure yourself trying to get out of the way either so just pull over if you can, slow down a bit so we can safely overtake you, or if you can move out of the way like into a bus stop or a lay-by etc please do!

Blue light driving is very dangerous and stressful I’m sorry they shouted at you, they shouldn’t have done that. It’s different when folk deliberately don’t get out of the way, but it sounds like you did ok, I certainly wouldn’t have shouted at you

Sounds like you were making them late for lunch if they took the time to stop and berate you. It could also be that the emergency was canceled... nah... I think it was lunch.

If you or hubby wanted to do so I would even think of writing to point out that although they may be used to the siren and being authority figures and assume everyone can react safely immediately, they should realise it's possibly rather shocking for a sizable minority of the public and picking on women is misogyny - not saying it definitely was or anything (I do think so) - and they also need to consider those with disabilities - finally maybe less haste more speed!

I wouldn't let it bug you. Although I disagree with the replies saying they were obviously not in a hurry to spare a few seconds to talk to you as if I was in their position I'd think it would be time well spent if it prevents a future repeat. I have made a completely mad decision for what I felt were perfectly good logical reasons (only did it once though)... I have to admit (I was younger) it did bug me for a while afterwards though I think that might have been due to irl comments when I told someone 👀🙄🙄

Have a look at auditing videos if you want to see top quality policing. Some are just on a power trip. Like everyone has said, if they were actually in an emergency they wouldn't have had time to tell you off.

@Imnotmartin

Cocks obviously 🤦

I preferred ‘socks’. Stinky teenage boy ones left on the bedroom floor. 😂

You did NOTHING wrong or stupid at all. I used to think it was only me who got anxious about decisions I made like this but I think society is causing many of us to feel on unsteady ground about our capabilities especially if anyone makes a rude comment. Any time you feel like this challenge why you feel what you did was stupid as it stems from the past not present...and if it even matters anyway - otherwise it's like living with your very own Karen in your head berating you for doing f all wrong all day long!