Police drive way too fast, way too often

[TheReluctantPhoenix]

AIBU in thinking that too many police drive dangerously and unjustifiably fast without sufficient reason to do so?

Thread prompted by, in the last 5 days, seeing two cars (in separate incidents) driving down suburban outer London streets with cars parked on both sides, at a speed of at least 50MPH (they have 20 MPH limits). There is no way they could have stopped in time for a child or a dog, or a car which came out of a high street.

Also watching the series ‘Police Interceptors’ I get really angry when they prompt a chase at ridiculous speeds (70-100 mph) in villages. Then they say how they pursued car is being ridiculously irresponsible! And who are the master criminals that they catch? 90% of the time it is kids in battered old cars which are either uninsured or they are ‘drug dealers’ (a few wraps or spliffs).

I never observe the other emergency services taking the risks the police do, although I suspect they have many more life or death call outs.

I don’t care how ‘well trained’ you are (and the reality is an ‘advanced’ driver is 2 months of training), human reaction time is around 0.2 seconds, and that is plenty to kill or maim a child or animal.

So, AIBU in thinking that the police drive way too fast, for what frequently appears to be an adrenaline buzz, and that, these days, there are far more intelligent and less risky ways to keep our streets safe?

I don’t think you can argue that the:
Police drive way too fast, way too often
When the basis of your opinion is:
in the last 5 days, seeing two cars.

You need to know how many emergency calls the police cars in your borough have responded to in those 5 days. Probably many hundreds.You need to know which roads those hundreds of drives have been down, to know the traffic conditions, weather and light conditions, time of day and the qualifications of the drivers before you can begin to assess whether the police are driving too fast each time. It would probably also be worth knowing what the police are responding to every time they drive with lights and sirens. If it’s a 999 call from a woman being beaten up by her drunk husband, or an elderly person trapped under a bus, or a fight between young men stabbing each other the victims would surely be glad to know that the police are trying their best to get there quickly.

a dog, or a car which came out of a high street
How many dogs are being allowed to run through traffic in your area? And if you can hear sirens approaching shouldn’t a driver stop at a junction to check that they are not pulling in front of an emergency vehicle?

If a member of your family needed help you wouldn't give a fuck how fast the police car was going.🚔🚔🚔

@ParkheadParadise

If a member of your family needed help you wouldn't give a fuck how fast the police car was going.🚔🚔🚔

Well until a member of your family was killed by a speeding police car

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/sep/05/number-road-deaths-involving-police-vehicles-13-year-high

Four people were killed when they were hit by police vehicles responding to an emergency call. Another death occurred when an unmarked police car responding to an emergency call collided with another vehicle.

We did have a very sad incident near us where the police went so quickly round a blind bend that they smashed into and killed a grandmother and a toddler, who had legitimately pulled out onto the road moments before the police car came into sight.

I don't think I need a grip. I just think that, on the whole, lighting up young nervous men is creating a dangerous situation more than solving it.

So it’s the police officer’s fault that the ‘young nervous men’ ie criminals drive like idiots and the police should what? Ignore the stolen car/idiot with no licence/insurance running riot round the streets or going the wrong way down the M25 as happened with my DH in pursuit last year? (He called off the pursuit as too dangerous when the (not a young lad) driver pulled that stunt.

This is yet another police bashing thread. Pray god you never need them to come quickly to your aid! They should drive sedately at 30.

@ProfessorSlocombe
Well until a member of your family was killed by a speeding police car

Agree that's sad, unfortunately, people are killed by speeding cars regularly.

Personally for me when my dd was found murdered naked outside by a passer-by it took the police 7 mins to arrive. I don't give a FUCK that they were speeding to get there.

YABU

This is yet another police bashing thread. Pray god you never need them to come quickly to your aid! They should drive sedately at 30.

If they haven't received the appropriate training then yes. And it's not just a single event. It's an ongoing process of refreshers and repeated testing.

See also: firearms.

I was a police advanced driver, traffic cop, pursuit trained and authorised and a trainer. Until you have an understanding of the training, the reasons why a pursuit is authorised, the comeback on the individual police driver if it goes wrong, and until you have done the training, done the job for a period of time, your opinion means absolutely nothing. Let the professionals do the job they are trained extremely well to do. One day they might be rushing to save you

I totally agree with you OP, it's absolute madness and I have thought it was for years. How often is it a time critical thing, somehow I doubt it is usually. In my opinion it should only be done in a life and death situation. Imagine someone knocked down and killed because Police were on their way to catch someone in a none violent crime.

@mrlevelheaded

I was a police advanced driver, traffic cop, pursuit trained and authorised and a trainer. Until you have an understanding of the training, the reasons why a pursuit is authorised, the comeback on the individual police driver if it goes wrong, and until you have done the training, done the job for a period of time, your opinion means absolutely nothing. Let the professionals do the job they are trained extremely well to do. One day they might be rushing to save you

The problem is you don't sanction officers who don't have training who break the law. So it's all a bit "Yeah, right".

If all PC Plod has is the same licence and training that Joe Public has, then they aren't equipped break the speed limit or ignore traffic directions either.

So yes, by all means, let the professionals get on with it - and punish all others.

@TheReluctantPhoenix

AIBU in thinking that too many police drive dangerously and unjustifiably fast without sufficient reason to do so?

Thread prompted by, in the last 5 days, seeing two cars (in separate incidents) driving down suburban outer London streets with cars parked on both sides, at a speed of at least 50MPH (they have 20 MPH limits). There is no way they could have stopped in time for a child or a dog, or a car which came out of a high street.

Also watching the series ‘Police Interceptors’ I get really angry when they prompt a chase at ridiculous speeds (70-100 mph) in villages. Then they say how they pursued car is being ridiculously irresponsible! And who are the master criminals that they catch? 90% of the time it is kids in battered old cars which are either uninsured or they are ‘drug dealers’ (a few wraps or spliffs).

I never observe the other emergency services taking the risks the police do, although I suspect they have many more life or death call outs.

I don’t care how ‘well trained’ you are (and the reality is an ‘advanced’ driver is 2 months of training), human reaction time is around 0.2 seconds, and that is plenty to kill or maim a child or animal.

So, AIBU in thinking that the police drive way too fast, for what frequently appears to be an adrenaline buzz, and that, these days, there are far more intelligent and less risky ways to keep our streets safe?

Police Interceptors films traffic police, so you won’t expect them to be catching the master criminals - unless of course they slip up with a motoring offence and the traffic cop strikes it lucky

I was nearly killed by a police car coming round a blind corner with pedestrian crossing in the dead of night with no sirens.

One second later and it would have been death or serious serious injury.

So yes I agree in citys its dangerous.

[quote ParkheadParadise]**@ProfessorSlocombe
Well until a member of your family was killed by a speeding police car

Agree that's sad, unfortunately, people are killed by speeding cars regularly.

Personally for me when my dd was found murdered naked outside by a passer-by it took the police 7 mins to arrive. I don't give a FUCK that they were speeding to get there.[/quote]
Im so sorry for your loss

My friends sister in law was killed by a police car. So yes to me I find it terrifying.

'i never observe the other emergency services taking the risks the police do, although i suspect they have many more life or death call outs'

really?? clearly not a clue what the police deal with on a day to day basis.

I cant stand MOP who criticise the police and spout out nonsense like this when the sole basis for their opinion comes from watching tv programmes and the odd headline in an extremely biased newspaper

why dont you sign up to become a special constable OP? at least then you could base your opinion on experience.

Yabvu.
You have no idea about the job at all.
All calls are graded and speed matches the grade.
I'm sure you would not complain if the police are racing to your assistance.

really?? clearly not a clue what the police deal with on a day to day basis.

I cant stand MOP who criticise the police and spout out nonsense like this when the sole basis for their opinion comes from watching tv programmes and the odd headline in an extremely biased newspaper

why dont you sign up to become a special constable OP? at least then you could base your opinion on experience.

Well said @lilsquish

How do you know officers arent sanctioned??

clearly you dont have a clue at all as you believe 'PC Plod' has the same licence and training as the public!

sorry my last message was in response to Professorslowcombe,

it didn't quote for some reason

@lilsquish

How do you know officers arent sanctioned??

clearly you dont have a clue at all as you believe 'PC Plod' has the same licence and training as the public!

Probably a good idea to read before you type.

what have i misread? @ProfessorSlocombe

Hey up "MrLevelHeaded" has spoken.
"Your opinion means nothing".
Sorry, I didnt realise Priti had turned us into a Police state yet (although I am aware she is trying).
Of course the opinion of the general public matters. It is a major factor in informing policy.
I hope that new technologies (drones, trackers in cars) will one day see the end to police chases. It will be much safer for all concerned.

Of course the opinion of the general public matters. It is a major factor in informing policy.

only when it agrees with what they were going to do anyway.

While deaths shouldn't happen ideally, given the amount of high speed driving they do in a year, the numbers seem quite low. Of course, any death is awful, but what amount of deaths are they preventing? They are often the first response to arrive to all sorts of things - e.g. certain types of medical emergencies. If ambulance for e.g. can't get there quickly enough, the police seem to get called. Thinking about knife crime and such. For the record, I am not a fan of the police in general as I've had some woeful encounters with them.

When they're speeding, they have lights flashing and a fucker of a siren. You should ideally hear them from about half a mile away, so enough time to adjust your driving or behaviour if you're walking, so as to protect yourself until they get past you.

In my past, due to an abusive relationship, there were times where I was literally counting down the seconds until I could hear the screeching and wailing up to protect me (and probably save my life).