Discussion
Well the story behind mine is even more unfair !!
12.30 on a sunday night in Portsmouth town centre I'd given a mate a lift back after the weekend to a contract job I was in and he wanted to use the cash point. I pulled over to the side of the deserted road and he jumped out to use bank, 2 bored coppers were walking up the road so I thought rather than wind them up by sitting on what I thought were double yellows I'd drive round the block. I did and as I returned they had collared matey and pulled me, I got the full grumpy copper bit called up a car, breathaliser the lot, for nothing really than purely out of spite. Then to cap it all after he could find nothing wrong with me or the car he hit me with the PC30 for the pulling up and dropping my mate off !!!! Bar steward I got that upset he even started murmouring about threatening behaviour. I can see the purpose of the law but really at 12.30 on a sunday night in a deserted high street and I had created no more of a hazard than I would have if I had stopped at a red light......
thanks for the information guys!
Mel - that sucks...I think I would have taken that one to the coppers station the next day...and asked him to explain it in front of his boss or similar - thats pathetic (okay, so I probably wouldnt but its easy to sound tough on a bulletin board! 
)
Night
p.s. - yep, thats a foul handbag and no mistake!
)
Night
p.s. - yep, thats a foul handbag and no mistake! Not nice Mel, I thought you couldn't be done for dropping someone off if the engine was running and a driver was still seated ie is genuinely dropping someone off. Why don't they go outside a school and knick all the mummies and daddies that think crossings are an ideal place to drop little jimmy off! Its sad when you get the occasional police person that is clearly being overzelous/irrational.
I had one that asked me to produce documents having spent 20mins answering questions in the back of his car outside my own house. My crime? "Stopping to talk to some locals at 11.30pm then loitering with intent to put my car in its garage!" I mentioned this to the person in the station and he said he would have a "word" with the officer.
Edited by smeagol on Friday 24th August 20:03
The point of not being allowed to stop in a controlled area of a crossing was simple. it is there to protect people using the crossing, ie a car stopped or parked would effectively restrict the view of approaching cars, (its like crossing between parked cars) It was brought out in response to the number of RTA's on crossings, the fact that ot is endorsable reflects the possible serious consequences. OK maybe at 1:00 in the morning on a deserted road you could argue there is little risk, but as with most laws if we allowed that type of argument the courts would be flooded with people arguing "well in my opinion I don't thing there was any risk to anyone because the road was deserted" it could be applied to anything from no insurance,speeding, dangerous driving etc
But John, the point of Police people like yourself is that you are supposed to enforce the law with sensible thought. In your previous posts you have always seem to be this kind of policeman ie warnings instead of endorsements, talking to about dangerous situations etc.
As you know, I think the Police do a wonderful job with cr*p resources and are on the wrong end of any political descision.
The vast majority of police people do use "a bit of common" when enforcing the law. Its the occasional bad apple and of course cr*p political decisions that often give police a bad rap. In Mels case it sounds like a bit of poor policing.
Oh yes I did look into putting a complaint in, but by coincidence the lad I had been giving a lift to's father was a fairly senior copper in Kent. The next day he phoned his dad to get an inside opinion and that was "bugger all you do about it" the law is stopping on the zig zag lines regardless about engine running driver in or anything. If I went to court and said yes I stopped but ..... I'd still get done so it wasn't worth it.
1-0 to plod
still I dare say I've got away with more than I've been done for !!!
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