Letter from the police

[Konrod]

Hi all

I've just had a letter from the police. It states that they have video evidence received from another driver of me "overtaking and and crossing a hatched area to carry out a manoeuvre" and that I have committed the offence of driving without due care and attention. It goes on to state they do not intend to prosecute, but the incident will be held on their database.

I know exactly which event they are referring to. It was 6am, on an open stretch of single carriageway road, dry and light. I had been following a driver doing 45 - 50 in a 60 limit, At a roundabout a lorry came from the right and got in front of both of us. As we cleared the roundabout I had a good view of the road ahead (I had also checked on the left side as we went around the roundabout) and indicated and pulled out overtaking both vehicles. I cleared both, returned to my side of the road without impeding them and went on my way. Nothing was coming in the other direction. I should point out here I was in my TVR and had the capability to overtake both vehicles safely.

There were hatched lines in the middle of the road, but they were bordered by broken lines, not solid lines, and my understanding is that I can cross these to overtake but have to be very careful in doing so. I was very conscious of that before I committed to overtake.

I admit to being annoyed at being stuck behind someone who could have been driving at the limit but wasn't, but the overtake was safe (I refused more risky opportunities earlier on),

So my question is was I interpreting the markings correctly, and should I challenge the letter, or will they just get awkward and decide to take it further?

TIA.

[EdMX5]

I always thought you can enter a hatched area with broken lines, as long as you do not endanger other road users. What concerns me are ‘holier than thou’ drivers sneaking on others by sending in dash cam footage to the police for what are often minor transgressions. As the biblical saying goes: ”Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” I served in Berlin during the Cold War and was aghast at the cultural of the East Germans, who were encouraged to spy on neighbours and even their own families. After our own Covid lockdowns, with ‘curtain twitchers’ ratting on their neighbours, and now this, I really worry for the future of our country.

[p4cks]

Of the two options, neither. File it in the bin and move on

[vonhosen]

Did you exceed the 60 limit?

[papa3]

Konrod said:

Hi all

I've just had a letter from the police. It states that they have video evidence received from another driver of me "overtaking and and crossing a hatched area to carry out a manoeuvre" and that I have committed the offence of driving without due care and attention. It goes on to state they do not intend to prosecute, but the incident will be held on their database.

I know exactly which event they are referring to. It was 6am, on an open stretch of single carriageway road, dry and light. I had been following a driver doing 45 - 50 in a 60 limit, At a roundabout a lorry came from the right and got in front of both of us. As we cleared the roundabout I had a good view of the road ahead (I had also checked on the left side as we went around the roundabout) and indicated and pulled out overtaking both vehicles. I cleared both, returned to my side of the road without impeding them and went on my way. Nothing was coming in the other direction. I should point out here I was in my TVR and had the capability to overtake both vehicles safely.

There were hatched lines in the middle of the road, but they were bordered by broken lines, not solid lines, and my understanding is that I can cross these to overtake but have to be very careful in doing so. I was very conscious of that before I committed to overtake.

I admit to being annoyed at being stuck behind someone who could have been driving at the limit but wasn't, but the overtake was safe (I refused more risky opportunities earlier on),

So my question is was I interpreting the markings correctly, and should I challenge the letter, or will they just get awkward and decide to take it further?

TIA.

Rule 130

The Highway Code said:

Rule 130
Areas of white diagonal stripes or chevrons painted on the road. These are to separate traffic lanes or to protect traffic turning right.

If the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to do so.
If the area is marked with chevrons and bordered by solid white lines you MUST NOT enter it except in an emergency.

I guess it depends on the definition of necessary, assuming the only part of your driving in question is your crossing the hatched area.

[rev-erend]

Bin the letter. Some people have nothing better to do.

[TikTak]

papa3 said:

The Highway Code said:

Rule 130
Areas of white diagonal stripes or chevrons painted on the road. These are to separate traffic lanes or to protect traffic turning right.

If the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to do so.
If the area is marked with chevrons and bordered by solid white lines you MUST NOT enter it except in an emergency.

I guess it depends on the definition of necessary, assuming the only part of your driving in question is your crossing the hatched area.

An overtake is not going to be deemed as necessary at all unless in avoidance of something so this will be the reason for the letter.

Although I agree, file in bin. Unless you get a bunch of these in short succession, or get caught doing other things and pulled over it's not likely to affect anything.

[Super Sonic]

You can either accept it and move on, or challenge it, in which case you may end up in court.

[cuprabob]

Frame it, put it up on the wall as a badge of honour, move on and don't give it another thought.

[Voldemort]

Ask them for a copy of the footage using the Data Protection Act and also what information 'they will be retaining on file'

[qwerty360]

In addition to comments that challenging it could = going to court;

AFAIK the police intelligence database that they have recorded it in should also record allegations that resulted in nothing, so sending you a warning isn't particularly relevent in whether it will affect potential future cases - they should be recording it regardless. So a complaint won't change much in the polices records.



The vast majority of drivers will never be formally accused of careless driving; So given we don't have the resources to prosecute every allegation of bad driving, the best option is to focus investigations on those getting multiple allegations... Issuing relatively standard templates is also a cheap way to hopefully get people to think and improve without needing expensive court time...

[TUS373]

I'm going to say the opposite. There is no challenge as such as they are not prosecuting, but I would write back asking what you have allegedly done wrong, and what is the purpose of keeping this on file?

[Petrus1983]

100% bin it. More taxpayers money wasted because of someone with more time on their hands than they should.

[Rusty Old-Banger]

Broken line, you are free to enter as long as safe to do so. Ignore the letter.

Citation:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c4...

Page 30. Sec 2.11

and

Page 63 Sec 6.2

[TriumphStag3.0V8]

p4cks said:

Of the two options, neither. File it in the bin and move on

This, frustrating, but not worth the hassle of replying.

[Donbot]

rev-erend said:

Bin the letter. Some people have nothing better to do.

Yep. fk it off and ignore.

[The Gauge]

If the police aren’t taking any action then anything here is irrelevant but if d say your overtake manoeuvre wouldn’t fit the ‘necessary’ requirement.

However it seems to me that the other motorist has reported you and so that it looks like they haven’t ignored them they have written to you alerting you to the situation. This now allows them put the motorists report into their shredder, as you now can.

[ziggy328]

I can understand the frustration. Just a shame you can't use the FOIA to request the details of the individual who wasted police time over this nonsense.

As others have said, bin it. You'll have forgotten all about it in 48 hours!

Edit - to change can to can't lol

[WrekinCrew]

How do the police know who was driving? Has the Registered Keeper received and returned an S.172 notice?

[Mandat]

TikTak said:

An overtake is not going to be deemed as necessary at all unless in avoidance of something so this will be the reason for the letter.

There is nothing saying that the overtake itself needs to be necessary.

The correct question to ask is whether it was necessary to enter the hatched area. In the OP's case, the simple answer is yes, it was necessary to enter the hatchings in order to carry out a safe overtake.