91 replies to this topic

[M J W J]

I used to get stopped a lot by the police when I was driving the mini. I think half the time they just wanted to take a look at the car as I was rarely asked to produce any documentation. The general question was have I got an MOT.

 

I was once asked by a copper where I was coming from. I told him work so he proceeded to ask me where I worked. I was standing there talking to him wearing a Wilkinsons polo shirt. I was half tempted to say Tesco but thought better of it.

 

I used to always drive past the bikers night on a Thursday at the Stormy Petrel on the A41. The police were always there. I think they used to get a bit bored so always went for any easy target just so they had something to do. Its probably a lot easier to get a 998 cc mini driven by a 17 year old to stop than a Yamaha R1 driven by some nutter who may decide to take his chances.

 

My advice is to co-operate and stop. If you keep getting stopped in the same area by the same copper then I would register a complaint to his station about harassment. If they have no reason to stop you they shouldn't keep doing it. As you are in a mini it should be a fairly distinctive car so when they see it again they should know not to stop you again for no reason.

 

As soon as I bought my escort the police left me alone (apart from the time I slid across double white lines due to oil on the road).

 

40 years ago when my dad used to drive his mini van the same thing happened to him. The problem isn't new. He used to get stopped all the time and be made to explain why he was carrying tools in the back of it. He's a building engineer but the police never seamed to believe him.

[AVV IT]

Or perhaps the 'trolley boy' has seen someone come screaming into the car park and doesn't want to see a kid/ pregnant woman/ OAP run down? Just because someone does a low paid job doesn't mean their job isn't valuable and doesn't mean they can't contribute to the workplace. We get it at work sometimes, other middle management don't speak to the 'minimum wagers'. Why? Do people think they are superior? It seems strange that you complain about bullying tactics of some police (which I agree with you on) but then suggest someone does exactly this when asked not to speed in a busy car park.

 

 

That's not what I was trying to suggest and to be fair I probably didn't phrase it in the best way, thanks to my experience of working with "half wit" trolley boys.

 

My point was that any member of staff at any level, should know the scope of their role and act within it. Unfortunately though its a sad fact of life that those roles towards the lower end of the skill and pay scale often attract people of a lower intellect, who also lack basic communication skills, and the ability to act appropriately in a given situation. In my current profession, I regularly get to work along side minimum wage assistant/support staff, as well as other qualified professionals. Those assistant/support workers who perform their role as it is intended, really are fantastic people and highly valued team members. Unfortunately though, the unskilled and minimum wage nature of their role also means that it attracts more than its fair share of idiots, who are actually more of a hindrance than an assistance, or a support. I spend so much of my time having to intervene where these individuals have acted inappropriately, having to take them to one side and remind them of what it is they are actually there to do, of what is appropriate behavior and what is not, honestly it's like working with children a lot of the time.

 

So if a trolley boy does their job diligently, as they are required to do and reports any concerns they have about car park safety in the appropriate manner, then that is to be commended. If however they behave like all the trolley boys I've ever had to work with, and are permanently "lording it up" around the car park, like it's their own personal manor that they have a duty to perform some kind of vigilante patrol upon and if they tactlessly attack customers for the way they drive, park, push their trolleys etc, particularly when it is completely unwarranted, then I'm suggesting that this should be reported to their superiors so that they can be told to "wind their necks in!". It's really not all that different to the scenario with a certain type of Police officers, it's about people who are given a uniform one day and thanks to the fact that they will probably never amount to anything more, then take it upon themselves to try and bully others whilst wearing it, particularly young people, because it's probably the only power they will ever have over anyone and they think they can get away with it. The difference is that whereas those types of Police officers are just abusing their powers, those types of trolley boys are abusing powers that they don't actually have, but are too stupid to realise it!

[Cooperman]

I've had some amusing 'encounters' with the Old Bill over the years.
The best one was possibly when, in 1965, I was driving my then wife's Mini Van home in Hitchin at about 1-00 am after helping a friend in Luton to change the head gasket on his Cooper. I was stopped and the young cop asked to see in the back of the van. He then stated, in all seriousness, that it appeared I "was going equipped for housebreaking". I replied that I would certainly need a 1/2" square-drive socket set, a torque wrench, a full set of imperial ring & open-ended spanners, feeler gauges, a steel rule and other basic tools for working on cars in order to break into a house. I suggested that we go immediately to his police station and discuss it with the Duty Inspector. He replied "Goodnight, Sir".
When I was young and driving Minis I was often stopped in routine checks, so nothing really changes. Then, aged 25, I sold my 998 Cooper and bought a new Mk.1 Cortina GT. In almost 3 years of driving that I was never stopped even once.

[Carlos W]

I haven't been stopped for a while, but I've just bought a Honda MT50 moped to do my 3 mile commute to work!

We'll see how long it is until I'm stopped!

I finish work at 11pm!

[AVV IT]

I haven't been stopped for a while, but I've just bought a Honda MT50 moped to do my 3 mile commute to work!

We'll see how long it is until I'm stopped!

I finish work at 11pm!

 

 

 

Put a top box on the back with a picture of a pizza on it and they'll probably let you go about your business in peace!!  

 

EDIT: On seconds thoughts scrap that idea as it would probably result in you getting pulled over all the more, with the suggestion that if you were to leave a pizza with them, they could be persuaded to forget all about it!!   

Edited by AVV IT, 02 May 2013 - 09:24 PM.

[mini93]

Had a few small moments, nothing particually bad.

 

few sticking in my mind.

I was driving around in my 1st mini when i was 17, had 2 passengers in the car, 1 of which was in the back along with my new dellorto carburettor which was sittin gon the bench. after going over a bump a bit too enthusiasticly it decided to jump off the seat into my friends head, splitting his forhead open. profuse bleeding everywhere we go to the hospital eventually leaving circa 2.30am

On the way home Mr P.O coming in the opposite direction turns off at a round about and spins after the road fork and hurrys up behind me, luckily driving carefully i did clock that it was possibly an undercover car. of course i got pulled over, given the 20 questions and a producer, upon telling the story of my battered buddy they let us go on our way.

 

 

Another time,  I was due new tyres on my old Volvo, so i get to the garage and they werent able to fit me in for another 3/4 hour so I plod off to get some grub... as you do when your tyres are about to be savaged from the rim and be scrapped I was driving a little more enthusiasicly than usual. tear round a round about with a hint of screech, completly missing the under cover focus ST sitting in wait in an entrance. So of course a short way up this road Mr plod lights up, I pull over. give the explaination... He says i was also tailgating over the speedbumps, fortunatly on this occasion (rarely) I knew then wasnt the time to argue. so... another producer for the tyres which were verging legal and away i went.

 

When I bought my newest car, Audi A3, all my friends kept saying ill be getting pulled over weekly... touch wood, nothing yet!

[jmmini]

I've never been pulled in my mini, but on my 125cc Aprilia, I was recently pulled over at a stop check. The first words the inspector said was "do you expect me to believe that's a 50?" meaning cc's obviously, probably wrongly I sarcastically said "I'd expect you to notice its a 125" after he snooped round, jotting away I was handed a piece of paper as he told me "oil has collected on the chain due to poor maintainence" which left me baffled, and that my rear brake was "inefficient" as soon as he said this I questioned how he knew, so he looked right at me and told me he'd "been doing this longer than you've been alive, kidder."

After a short 'heated' discussion, he ridiculously concluded that THE FAULT OF AN OILY CHAIN DISPERSING OIL IS CAUSING REAR BRAKE FAILURE (?! Not directly quoted)... And a £50 fine was issued to me and 10 days to repair it which left me baffled, how can you not oil a chain?

I've lodged a complaint but no further action is possible as I didn't get the man's name, and was 'strongly advised' to pay my fine in full.

It does make me wonder if the horrific stories of orders and fines been issued to 'make up numbers' are real and feel that there is a lot of corruption within the legal system of the UK.

[Ryang556]

I got pulled over in my truck not so long ago...

 

no idea why 

 

 

 

You sold that thing ages ago! 

[TehMarchant]

I haven't been pulled in my first 6 months of driving, I have Illegal black and silver plates, I oftern like to take corners fast for some G fun, power off the line and I have driven to college 30 mins on 60 roads without a bonnet passing 3 rozzers.

 

Love the police in west wales, they're soo chill!

[retroracer1275]

 

I got pulled over in my truck not so long ago...

 

no idea why 

 

 

 

You sold that thing ages ago! 

 

 

was about 6 months ago

 

the locals loved it  

[ibrooks]

My personal and somewhat unforgetable favourite moment, was when "Brian" (our chief trolley numptie) took it upon himself to rugby tackle a customer to the floor in the car park, fracturing said customers jaw in the process! Apparently Brian had seen the customer running from the store with a product in his hand and therefore assumed he must be a shop lifter. Unfortunately for Brian, the customer had actually paid for the goods and was merely running to catch the bus that was waiting at the stop on the other side of the car park! Brian's employment was subsequently terminated following that episode and the ensuing legal

case, but he was soon replaced by another trolley boy half wit, who was equally as "special". Fortunately for me, I was transferred to another position inside the store, which meant not only did I not have to freeze my ass off in the car park all winter, but more importantly that I didn't have to be associated with the trolley pond life anymore!

 

 

That's even better than mine!

 

I wrote off a customer's Metro. Now until you start getting the timescales straight in your head this doesn't sound like much of a feat since a decent scratch would probably write off most Metros nowadays. What we need to get straight is that the Metro I wrote off had 8 miles on the clock. Yes eight. He had just collected it from the Rover dealer across the road and was coming to give it it's very first full tank of fuel. It was ever-so-slightly raining so the muppet thought it would be a good idea to drive between the bollards so that he was parked under the canopy whilst he got out and went to the cash machine. Unfortunately I was heading past with 30-odd trolleys to chain them up for the night.

 

He was dead impressed when the duty manager explained that it was his own damned silly fault and that we would be requiring his insurance details to claim for the damage to the trolleys.

 

Shortly after that incident an extra set of bollards were installed between the existing set to prevent a repeat occurence - I still smile to myself when I walk past them to go to the cash machine.

 

Iain

[Cheri]

Considering I haven't passed my test yet, I get lifts with mates and they seem to get pulled a lot.

 

A friend of mine even got pulled over in Leicester a couple of weeks ago by a police car with a headlight out. Ironic.

[Cooperman]

Considering I haven't passed my test yet, I get lifts with mates and they seem to get pulled a lot.

 

A friend of mine even got pulled over in Leicester a couple of weeks ago by a police car with a headlight out. Ironic.

I hope he asked the officer if he was going to report himself for a breach of 'Construction & Use regulations'.

[1984mini25]

near enough 8 years driving the mini and never been stopped and that's including all the customers cars I used to drive on the public roads while uninsured without knowing originally.

Edited by 1984mini25, 03 May 2013 - 06:57 PM.

[megamini_jb]

Never been stopped. I'm sure I was followed by them though, even into the small housing estate, then I took a right into the cul de sac where I lived and they stopped at the top.