91 replies to this topic

[valve bounce]

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".
 

 

 

i had a similar thing a few weeks ago, changed the clutch on a mates 106 one night after work. coming home about midnight, police van follows me inches from my rear bumper for about 12miles. in the end i got mad, pulled over into a layby jumped straight out and went over to the copper and asked him what he though he was doing. after an argument he then searched my car, checked my tyres and lights and announced i was going equiped. i then explained and showed him the burnt out clutch in the box in the boot. i then started checking his lights and took great delight in telling him he had a side light out. i got let off

 

ive been followed a few times and pulled a few times usually for driving to quickly or been a tool

[cityspeed]

Ive only had problems then driving Rat look vehicles, 

 

When I was 21, I got pulled in my Matt black Mk 2 golf, the copper was driving the other way turned round and pulled me over, 

He questioned me pulled my keys out the ignition and gave the car a good going over, I could hear his radio crackling away and apparently he pulled me as my car looked like it had been in a accident! and he was looking for vehicle that just collided into a parked car and driven away,

I got asked why are you body panels different colors, and I should finish off my filler work,,,,,,, he then let me go as he soon realized I was not the suspect,

 

So not exactly age related just more like in the wrong place at the wrong time, I have driven around in standard VW's the last few years and not been pulled at all I think if you car looks tatty they like to think they have more chance of finding something wrong with it, but if you stick within the rules is a great game of cat + mouse 

[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.

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

 

She pointed it out and they "let her off" even though she wasn't doing anything haha

[AdamCave]

I've been driving for about 9 months now and been pulled several times, a few times in my mini one for driving a bit too fast but they were going in the opposite direction so couldn't say how quickly I was going, but still breathalysed me none the less! I've been pulled twice in one night before in the works van, one going to a friends house at about 8pm by an undercover for going at an average of 4mph over the speed limit, but they just breathalysed me and gave me a caution, then about half 11 leaving the same friends house, saw them following me for a while then eventually pulled me simply because I was driving a van late at night, they breathalysed me again and checked the van over and let me on my way! In total I've been breathalysed 4 times and came out as 0 everytime! I have no problem with the police when they treat you with respect as long as you do the same, it's when they think they are better than you that p*sses me off!

[mini-luke]

Not been pulled over in the 3 years I have been on the road and I've had a mini, mk2 golf, audi a3 and a new polo (the dealer gave me the receipt with the words ''and here's the receipt for when the police think you've stolen it!'')

[TopGearRules]

I'm a young driver and havent been stopped so far (touch wood). Although saying that I always stick exactly to the speed limits/rules to try and stay out of trouble for as long as I can! There can be some terrible police officers of whom have no idea of the laws of the land, and should really be sacked. However, the majority seem to be very respectful and polite (I had one compliment my car once lol). Many discussions (not this one by the way) turn to bashing the police, however they are just doing their job, and I can understand most of the time why they get fustrated and act like cocks considering some of the crap they go through. On the other hand, if they do stop you again, bare in mind they should be professional and should always RESPECT laws/regulations (which unfortunately a minority dont). by the way Im not biased in anyway to the police, or trying to justify some of the appalling behaviour/attitude some have

 

Also, just a little video which is relevant to this discussion lol -

 

Al. 

Edited by TopGearRules, 04 May 2013 - 09:47 PM.

[Cooperman]

I once got stopped on the M2 in a Cooper 'S' 1071 historic rally car which I was driving at about 4200 rpm and that was around 55 mph with the low gearing. It had just been restored and the driver of the police car turned out to be a Mini enthusiast and just wanted a close look at my car. He ended up riding with me to the next service area whilst his mate drove the patrol car. Then we had a cup of tea together and he wished me luck on my next rally and thanked me for the ride. Very nice guys, both of them.

 

When I was about 23 and had my first 998 Cooper I was followed by a police motorcyclist in the wet one night and he stopped me and accused me of being a 'Mini Maniac' (his words). I asked him why and he said that I had just gone through 2 corners on an A road at over 50 mph and that the corners were quite sharp. I asked him how he knew what speed I had been doing and pointed out that there was no speed limit on that road. He said he had followed me and noted my speed. I said that if he continued to follow Mini Coopers in the wet around corners like that on his Triumph motor bike he would fall off and get a nasty sick headache, pointing to my new Dunlop SP3 tyres, and that I would hate to see that happen so perhaps he should ride a bit more carefully in future!. Now at that time I had a friend who was chief driving instructor to that county force and we had a laugh about it. He then went and found out who the motor cycle cop had been and 'had a word' about trying to keep up with Mini Coopers in the wet!

[jonny95]

i got pulled over at about midnight on friday night, police pulled over and waited for me to go past and then followed me for about a mile before pulling me over. The policeman asked me if I was the registered keeper of the vehicle and what my name was. After I told him this he said that is all he needed to know. When I asked why he had pulled me over, he said it was because there have been so many minis stolen in the area recently that they were just checking it wasnt stolen.

[tractor]

Fair play to them at least they're doing something

I wouldn't mind being pulled every once I a while if it ment I stood a chance of getting my mini back if it ever got stolen and the culprits caught

Trac

[Brad_Raybould]

I'm 19 and never been pulled over yet since I started driving at 17. I'm still waiting for the day it happens and I fully expect them to stop - check me as I'm still pretty young. 

[Mini Mad Drakeley]

police seem to get bored in the mainland, only had 3 proper chats with police and 1 slightly odd one, and ive found that just being honest with them works perfectly fine and always smile and be helpful.

 

1st time i had a chat with the police, one of my friends had had a tad too much to drink and i had took him to a quiet business park to clear up before he went home, i had noted the car parked at the end of the street but i thought it was empty otherwise i wouldnt have gone there as my friend proceeded to run up the street taking a piss so when he got back in and the car started and drove down, realised it was a police car and thought aww s**t, thankfully they were understanding and didnt even note that everyone in the car was under 18.

 

the 2nd time was at about 11.30 at night after dropping a friend off home and coming back i got stopped at a random police check, they were stopping every car and checking mot, tax etc. real reason was that a guy had been shot for selling cocaine in the wrong area and the police were trying to find the killer.

 

3rd time was because i had crashed my dads toyota yaris and wrote it off, just got the general routine checks such as breathaliser etc, they were more surprised to find both me and my friend alive never mind unhurt when they saw the car so they took us home and made sure we were alright

 

the slightly odd time was about 9 on a friday, my friend was getting some smoke and i was waiting in the mini and 3 officers come over and start having a chat with me about minis and complimenting mine, i didnt mind but was hoping my friend didnt come back at the wrong time and get lifted but it was all good

[l_jonez]

I've been in tesco petrol station filling up with petrol (around 1am, was working nights) when police car screamed into the forecourt and across the front of the mini, the PO jumped out and aske "what are you doing?" Stood there with pump in hand and bemused I told him I was "filling up" he then proceed to go over the mini with a fine tooth comb. When he could not find anything he gave up and wheel spun off.

Also when I was younger I had a cop follow me around town for a good 20 min. They finally pulled me over for disturbing the peace with my "loud music" they had a shock to find I had no cd player or speakers! They give me a warning anyway. At the time I was a bit cocky (not when speaking to them) but once they pulled off I followed them around for 10-15min. They really didn't like it, constantly looking back at me. In the end the blue lights went on and they sped off.

[Steely]

I've never been stopped by the police for anything. I'm a good boy lol

[Terry1987]

Couple of corrections there buddy,

The shelf stackers generally work nights and are paid more than any other general assistant. Trolley boys are paid the same as till staff as they're general assistant too, and finally health and safety us the job of everyone in the store, but as a union health and safety rep it's my job to report it to the local authority if they don't follow the rules.

I work very closely with the Police in my proffesion and have a huge amount of respect for them. In my experience most officers are far too busy dealing with societies undesirables to have the time to harrass teenagers in this way, but sadly there are a few who are essentialy just bullies and wouldnt dare try it on with more mature members of the public in this way. It's not a new thing though, these types of officers existed when I was a teenage driver and a new generation of them will no doubt be doing exactly the same thing when your kids are teenagers too.

So just be polite, smile, nod and agree with everything they say. Tempting as it is to get smart with them, that's exactly what they want you to do. They're looking to exert their authority on someone, so if you "act up" you're giving them an excuse to do just that.

If however you just go along with everything they say, they soon get bored and frustrated as they're not getting the reaction they want, in short don't play into their hands.

As for the trolley bloke, just remember that he is the lowest level of staff employed in the supermarket business. He earns less than the people who stack the shelves and much less than those who work on the tills. Basically you are unlikely to find anyone more likely to want to exert their complete lack of authority than someone who scrapes a living as an ageing trolley boy.

Whilst the health and safety of customers in supermarket car parks is the responsibility of supermarket management, it generally isn't the responsibility of trolley boys to enforce this, if it was they have to be paid much more than the basic minimum wage that they generally get. So I would ignore such jumped up trolley boys, as their role generally doesn't even extend to engaging with customers, let alone patrolling the car park and enforcing alleged speed limits. If they persist, I would ask them to accompany you into the supermarket to discuss the matter further with the Supermarket manager, as you don't believe that a trolley boys role extends as far as harrasing customers about their driving skills and you feel that the manager should be made aware of this behaviour, so that it can be addressed at his next appraisal/performance review!....... Then watch said trolley boy back down!

[robminibcy]

not actually been stopped yet. Thought i would when i first got the car as it had gapiing rust holes in the front panel and for about a month it had no interiour apart fron a drivers seat! also been driving registered as uninsured since september and i cant belive ive not been through an anpr camera in that time.

 

Should clarify that the mini was fully and correctly insured. Had a letter from dvla to say if we did not insure or sorn the car we would be fined. Had a look on askmid and sure enough the car was showing as uninsured! quick email and phone call to insurance company later and "please accept our apologies, we can confirm that the austin morris mini 1000 registration ******* is insured and we will update the insurance data base accordingly!"