Anxious about getting stopped on motorway.

[Trolleydash2020]

Scenario is this: a mercy dash a two hour drive away to help out an elderly family member who we are worried about. I'm anxious that I'll get stopped even though the destination is a grotty city not a coastal resort. I'm worried it won't seem like a good enough reason and hate getting in trouble! Are the police actually pulling many people on normal stretches of the motorway as opposed to holiday destinations? Fairly sure my reasons would be acceptable but Im petrified of getting pulled over! No idea if the loosening restrictions in any way help or hinder.

And for clarity I'll be in a mucky hatchback not a caravan towing a boat

I've had to go into work a few times by motorway and haven't even seen any police, much less be stopped.

When are you going? As of tomorrow you’re allowed to drive any distance, they said.

Definitely not today so that's interesting.

Which country?

UK

Again, which county?

If you’re in England and it’s tomorrow or after you’re fine as travelling any distance is allowed

The rules are different in England, Wales, Scotland and N Ireland.
If you're in England it's fine to travel any distance from tomorrow as long as you don't stay overnight so you'll be fine.

I've had to travel to (socially distantly) see a shielded vulnerable elderly family member and have never been stopped on the M4 or M3. It's within the gov-uk rules to provide care to people in that situation so don't be worried if you're in or going into England.

I do a 2 hour motorway run weekly and I’ve not seen anyone stopped.
But you’re allowed to do caring duties, which sounds like what you’ve described. So if you were stopped you’d just have to tell them that.

Midlands mainly so M6. Not getting as far as Cumbria or anywhere like that.

You're allowed to travel as far as you like from tomorrow without an essential reason, such as driving a few hours to the beach. So I doubt you'll have a problem.

I’m in the midlands and have been on the M6 for work without ever seeing a police car.

Thanks I feel a lot better about it now. Thinking about it the M6 has so few hard shoulders since they made it "smarter" they'll struggle to pull anyone over anywhere on it!

It's quite dangerous to pull cars over onto the hard shoulder anyway, so I doubt they would do it just to check where you're going. More likely to encounter police just off the motorway at junctions and service stations, I would have thought.

I wouldn't be. I've been going to work twice a week on the motorway and it's fine.

Biggest problem is that with less traffic it's all a bit Formula One out there.

Also it's not entirely clear which speed cameras are on, and which are not and it's very hard to do 50 when every around you is doing 75 - have already had my letter from the police

Bad luck AnnaMagnani I've noticed the boy racers (and possibly girl racers also) are putting the pedal to the metal now the roads are emptier. I've lost my confidence a bit having not driven for weeks - hope the bloody car starts! Thanks for the reassurance x

I take my cars up & down the motorway every other week alternatively, so I’m on the motorway once a week. I be honest, I live right by the motorway & I’m usually trying to get my baby to sleep 🙈 I vary the direction I go in & go up one or two junctions and back. Never seen a police car. I don’t think it’d be considered safe to stop people on a motorway. It’s risky for the motorist & police man due to the high speeds. They are stopping people on local roads leading to the seaside or country beauty spots etc! Although, as of tomorrow, you can drive where you like anyway! 😊

Oh abs I agree. The driving on the motorways has been abysmal. Why on earth are people sat tootling along in the middle lane, not overtaking anyone when the motorway is half empty! 😤

You won’t get stopped

Why would they stop you? You can travel where you please in England . . .

U should be fine.

Just want to add how I have seen police pull a driver over on a motorway. They wouldn't exactly stop anyone ON the motorway w/o the hard shoulder unless emergency.

What they do is pull up in front of a suspect driver, slow down in front of them to slow them down and flash the message on the back windscreen "follow me" and pull them over off the next exit.

Have seen it done to a driver in front of me.

The one thing I did notice on the M4 was the police doing speed controls. Sitting in front of a couple of lanes and keeping traffic at around 70-75. There'd obviously been some boy racers.

My speedometer crept over 80 at one stage when I was overtaking someone hogging the middle lane and we had an unmarked police car in front of us suddenly whizz on blue lights and drive in front of the pair of us flashing at us. He obviously felt he had to tick us off but wasn't going to take it any further.

Needn't have worried it was typically busy with more than one caravan .

Anyway mission accomplished. Thanks for reassuring me, I'd just lost my nerve a bit after not going anywhere for weeks and first long drive since March!