Pulled over by the police with blue lights flashing because I BEEPED at them!

[BeepedAtPoliceCar]

Long but I've tried to make it easy to read!

Tonight, I dropped DS at work and on the way back had just started moving off from a large roundabout to go straight across it. It was 7pm and the road is an A road, not a residential area.

I had noticed a police car coming down from the opposite side of the roundabout (no lights flashing) and assumed it was going straight across as it had no indicators but it turned right towards me so I had to stop.

As I moved onto the roundabout after it passed me. I beeped. A short tap to say where the hell are you going. I had also had to stop. I was moving when I beeped. This is important.

I assumed it was going to take the same exit as me but it It then continued round the roundabout again. Still no indication. So I did another short beep. The direction he was going in was to our local police station about 2 minutes down the road.

Yes it was in frustration as there are many idiots who don't indicate in my area and I've had many near misses. It's pretty shit the police are driving like that as well and it was also a hazard to other road users.

Maybe the driver wasn't aware his indicators weren't working?

Anyway I drive on but see in the my rear mirror a police car speeding up the road behind me, lights flashing, in the bus lane. The speed limit is 40 and I was doing that so he must have been doing 60 at least as he caught up with me in seconds.

I immediately knew he was coming after me.

The car came alongside me and the driver wound his window down, as did I, and shouted at me to pull over now, pull over now. He looked apoplectic with rage!

I pulled over in front of him in the bus lane and he drove behind me, bumper to bumper. I have never been stopped by the police before and got out of my car to go to speak to him (oops lucky it wasn't in the US!).

He's screaming get back in your car now, get back in your car now!

So I get back in and luckily had the presence of mind to start videoing on my phone as he came over. I asked for him name and badge number which he fired off so fast I couldn't catch it. He refused to repeat it. Refused to tell me which police station he was stationed at. He said I had contravened the highway code for beeping inappropriately and would be getting a penalty ticket.

I admit I was a bit argumentative (not rude) and said he only stopped me because he was pissed off I beeped at him and the police should know better.

He then said they were looking for a 'criminal' and were on police business so didn't have to indicate (no lights except when they came for me!) and they also didn't know where they were going. He also said he didn't need to indicate unless he was exiting the roundabout.

I asked him why if he was looking for a criminal, he decided to go after someone who beeped at him for not indicating.

He said I was stationery when I beeped so that is a road traffic contravention. I was moving so I asked him why he was lying. He then stated he'd need to do drug and alcohol tests.

I asked if he was joking and what basis did he have to suspect I was driving under the influence. He said because my behaviour - beeping at him - was 'bizarre' and I was driving dangerously, then asked if I was refusing? So I had to do them. They were clear obviously.

I said I would be making a complaint as I believed he was abusing his power because he was pissed off I beeped at him and 'how dare he bully members of the public'.

He then said MOVE NOW because I was in an active lane (bus lane where he forced me to stop) and if I didn't move now I'd get another ticket for failing to comply with an instruction from a police officer. I said 'who do you think you're talking to'.

I was very WTF and asked him to repeat the law I had broken and told him to give me the ticket so I could challenge it in court, so he said he did and I would get it in the post.

Two tickets - £130 and 3 points.

I then drove off. He didn't come behind me so I can only assume he went back round the next roundabout in the direction of the police station and the looking for a criminal was rubbish. In fact he said it so sarcastically, I think he meant looking for someone to book!

I have video of most of the interaction and he comes across very bullish and rude, especially when he was shouting at me to 'move now'. Literally no more than a minute until I did but he still said he had given me a ticket.

I did tell him I was putting the video on TikTok and would be making a complaint.
Quite shocked about this, and on reading about challenging the tickets in court, it seems that you can end up with a criminal conviction if you lose!

The lie about me being stationery when I beeped (which I have on video) should be easily disproven by their dashcam. Would they have to give me this if I challenge it?

Sadly I don't have my own. I ordered one ages ago, kept forgetting to set it up and it was on top of the bookcase at home!

WIBU?

If they'd already gone past you then you weren't beeping to alert them to your presence were you?

Yes. That’s their job. It’s no excuse

I’ve had a police officer apologise to me for their poor driving. I definitely didn’t beep at him though! I may have sworn….

He said he didn't know when he was exiting. If you're not sure which exit you are taking you shouldn't indicate until you know.

Not all of them do.

The ones I’ve come across are power hungry bullies.

Ironically, beeping at anyone to indicate you find fault with their driving is... breaking the Highway Code.

Well you behaved in a cheeky, impatient and entitled way. You're lucky you got away without being arrested.

You are not supposed to beep at anyone in this situation. The horn isn't for retaliation or telling off, it's to alert someone of your presence, for instance going over a humpback bridge where it isn't visible.

(I beeped once on a humpback bridge and my friend asked if I was angry. He is always encouraging me to beep in retaliation because he comes from a country that does this. And I told him that the bridge is the time when it's actually correct).

So no, you were in the wrong for any car, but usually I am understanding if someone messes up on a roundabout and I usually just let the police get on with their own business.

You said that you were approaching the roundabout and going straight ahead, and you thought that the police were going straight ahead but they ended up going off the same exit as you? So back in the direction they came from and rode the roundabout in the inside (furthest to left) lane? Even if so, if happens!

Are you on planet earth i would never beep at a police car I barely lift my hand to let them go ahead of me. You are the issue here

Exactly. The horn isn't for retaliation or a telling off, it's for alerting your presence when it isn't visible.

Don't argue. Just pay the fixed penalties. If you go to court without a cast iron defence and are convicted ( even a conditional discharged ) it is likely to increase your car.and house insurance until it is spent ( after ,5 years) . You can still complain about the 'attitude as a police conduct matter.. officers also have chest cams so he will have videos you as well.'

I remember driving home from work in exceptionally heavy snow and slippery conditions in an ancient small car one evening. That was a scary enough when dealing with the big hill, but I maintained exactly the same correct, decent and safe for the conditions distance between mine and the car in front of me the whole 10 or so miles to town. Unfortunately a huge police van took it upon itself to drive right up my rear the whole way there. It properly scared me, so when we finally got to the roundabout (me in the left lane to turn left, police van in the right lane to turn right) I beeped, wound down my window and yelled “Stopping distances?!!” out of it.😳

They did have the good sense to look a bit sheepish and certainly didn’t try to pull me over.

Sounds like an equally crap experience with the power-mad dickheads that make up a not-so-insignificant minority of police officers.

Excuse for what? Dealing with time wasters?

Fair enough you maybe didn’t need to beep, but beside that, I’m with you in this. They’d no blue lights not indicating and more so, why if they’re chasing a criminal do they have time to stop at someone who beeped at them?! Do they think the criminal is waiting up the road while they issue you a ticket?

I feel so sorry for people who live next to major roundabouts. Why should they have to put up with the blare of car horns every time a motorist feels aggrieved?

Honestly how can you not understand the police are not going from a to b. They are responding to changing events. Even without their lights and siren they may need to change course with limited notice, isn't that just common sense? Always give space to emergency vehicles, they may need to rush to an emergency suddenly.

On what basis are you intending to challenge this in court? You got a penalty ticket for using your horn inappropriately because that's exactly what you did. Probably worth having a wee read of the highway code before you venture out onto the roads again.

A friend of DH retired police inspector was retained by a group of solicitors purely to deal with police officers who behave like this or just don't know the law. His knowledge means that a lot of cases are thrown out but not before the judge or magistrates tear a strip off the inept officers.

No sadly, this is not made up. Would would dream up this scenario just so they could post it on Mumsnet? Seriously!

I've never been pulled over in over 30 years of driving. I assumed they pulled me over to ask why I beeped at them so I got out to go and talk to them.

It didn't occur to me that they thought I might be a threat because I beeped at them!

The policeman said on video they didn't know where they were going, not that they'd been diverted elsewhere. There were no lights or sirens. If get confused on which exit I'm taking on a roundabout, or miss it and go round again, I would indicate I'm going round again.

It's classed as driving without due care and attention not to signal to other road users the direction you're going in on a roundabout.

Cop didn't know the Highway code himself but pulled me over for it.

Thinking about it, it makes sense as the direction they were coming from (motorway) may indicate they came into town from another station and they were going towards our police station (and WERE going in the right direction if they had gone straight ahead) so that's why they didn't know where they were going. Don't police cars have sat nav though?

Is the general consensus then, that the police can pull over people and fine them for being indignant that they beep at them for driving without due care and attention, and the public should be afraid of interactions with them?

I didn't waste police time, they did. The criminal they were looking for would have been miles away with the 20 minutes they wasted on me!

TBF I've never posted anything on TikTok but I've seen a few videos come up with them acting badly just recently so I certainly didn't create the situation for content! I know people with big followings though and it will be posted. Just have to figure out how to edit out me giving my name and address!

He sounds like an arse, but trust me you won’t win. It was crazy to beep the police twice.

No. Throwing their weight around to prove a rather dubious point.

From experience, his reaction was inappropriate, but honestly the last thing people need in that very very difficult job dealing with the lowest of the low, and violence constantly is a member of the public policing them. Not sure why you found it appropriate to beep at anyone. Funnily enough you are not traffic police and should have minded your own business, it’s not for you to police the police, or others. I doubt your driving is flawless enough to award yourself a special ‘public driving assessor’ status. And getting out of the car to speak to them, wtf is wrong with you. They have pulled you over, they keep themselves safe by approaching you. It’s not a casual chat. You should follow all instructions given.

who wasted time?
only the police by pulling her over and arguing with her. Wasting their own time!!! 🤣

You behaved ridiculously by beeping twice at a police car because you were pissed off by their lack of indicators.
Their response to you appears heavy handed and nonsensical if they did abandon an actual target. But I can't comprehend why you thought it was a good idea to engage.
The best outcome here is you don't receive any tickets and no-one has to waste any more time over a trifling roundabout non-event.
If the same thing happened tomorrow, would you beep again? If not then surely you've answered your own question.

Years ago there was a police station between my home and work. I was pulled over so many times on so many spurious reasons. I reckon it was because I was a shift worker and I'd be driving at midnight or 4 am, or on Christmas Day etc. Plus I drove old classic cars.

Once because I looked flushed.
Another time they investigated my boot, weren't happy with the reason for the old books in there being "destined for the charity shop" did a full car search, found nothing, were pissed off and then said I had "under hanging wheel arches" and needed to get them sorted. The mini garage were completely bemused as my tyres, wheels and arches were all standard.
Once becasue I looked "shifty" as I went round the roundabout.
Once because my car was too unusual to be roadworthy - it was a pink Bond Equipe Covertible that was very unusual but very roadworthy. He made me late for work and threatened to give me a caution for complaining about this.
Once I was driving too carefully and was trying to prove nothing was wrong - how the fuck else do you drive when a police car is following you?

I'd usually get a "producer" and I would get about 4 "producers" a year. It was ludicrous and I'm sure half the time it was all about the very young blonde driving a weird (to them) car at unsocial hours.

Now I'm old and boring in the car department, I'm never stopped. But I have had far too many experiences of arsey, power mad traffic police so I get where you are coming from.