PC Acquital overturned.

[Saitek]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shro ... 669594.stm

Rightly so.  ::)

[Craig.]

This is BS really.
Pleanty more these courts could be wasting their times with. No fair trial can go ahead now its been so widely publicised and I can assure you it'll end up having to be thrown out in the future.

[eno]

I'm glad this has gone back to court ....... Hopefully he'll have the book thrown at him.

In the past I had the same qualification that pursuit drivers hold ..... I had it for a few years and had refresher courses evey year. Had I been stopped for the same offence in my official car ..... without it's official passenger.... I would have lost not only my job but probably my freedom also. Doing it as a civilian, even with the rusty techniques, would certainly result in at least 6 months behind bars and a lengthy ban.

You go out and try it on the motorway and see how long you are put away for.

[Hagar]

I'm afraid this is simply another example of the police being seen as above the law. This inevitably leads to loss of respect & lack of cooperation from the law-abiding general public without which no police force can operate efficiently. The sooner the powers-that-be realise this the better. IMHO

[C]

Good. He deserves it. Complete abuse of the trust placed in him...

[Scorpiоn]

But Mr Milton's solicitor, David Twigg, said the ruling would have wide implications for the way police officers are trained.

Oh noes!  This means we're going to have to train the police force to live by everyone else's rules until this blows over. It's always been this way and always will.  159 is not a bit over the limit.  People get tickets for being 1mph over the limit.  Give him a fine for every mph.

I wish we could all use that excuse.  "Sorry Sir!  Just bought this bad boy, need to familiarize myself with it!"

Or better yet, Bill Engvall's bit about the heat index.  "You were going 70 in a 50!  -  Yeah, but it felt like 40!  Must've been that speed index Sir!"

[beaky]

So they do that over there, too, huh?

Big one here in the NYC area is off-duty drunk driving... some of these guys drink very hard indeed, and are often aggressive drivers on top of it.
It's always the same... the force circles the wagons around their stupid,careless, wanton comrade, everything is soft-pedaled, no harm done, etc., etc... but of course one tiny slip during his impromptu speed trial could've cost someone their life, and it would all be a very different story. But still...
The force might then throw him to the wolves, or maybe support his pathetic pleas for leniency (they always whine and beg when facing jail time; can't blame them, cops are not very popular "inside"); his defense will make much ado about his being a noble civil servant, hero, etc... and whatever happens to him, in a few weeks it'll be right back to business as usual.... like all branches and departments of govenment, they know they can rely on the masses' collectively short attention span.
 I know it's hard enough being a police officer, but  logic dictates that they be held to a higher standard in some areas, not given more slack because they're cops. If they don't like that, they can get a different job.

[Ecko]

Wow, that's 260 Km/h, not bad!!

[Smoke2much]

If he had sent a radio message to his control room informing them that he was planning this "speed run" to see how the car handled he would not have received a ticket.  He didn't and therefore the conclusion has to be drawn that he was playing with his new toy just like the rest of us do when we get the chance.  He has to take the same consequences that the rest of us face.

[Saitek]

Not sure how many of us would go at nearly 160mph on a road on one of the buisest roads in the UK.  :-X
He has got no excuse - most people neevr go that fast even if they do try out the car. ::) The fact is he is a cop and probably spends his life giving out fines.  >:(

[Smoke2much]

My car won't do 160Mph.  It gets very upset at about 110  If it could go at 160Mph......  I'd get caught and go to prison, which I agree is what should happen to him.  I think that there is a place for the police being able to practice driving at these speeds, it's called Brands Hatch.

[eno]

I think that there is a place for the police being able to practice driving at these speeds, it's called Brands Hatch.

The place for the Police to practice is on the road under properly supervised conditions. It would frighten "Joe Bloggs" poddling along in his Ford Focus if they knew exactly what was required to pass the Police Advanced driving test.
I don't know about the Police, but when I had the qualification it was a requirement that I went on a refresher course every 6 months and a re-test every 12.

Try this, especially you new drivers, find a nice quiet challenging stretch of road that you know well and drive along it at the maximum speed you feel comfortable with (keeping within the speed limit). Whilst driving, take note of every sign .... other road user... junction.. change of road surface ... weather conditions... condition of the road...camber...bend... visibility, not just ahead but  across bends, over hills, through trees etc.

Now think of that same run at, at least, twice the speed noting all the above and giving a commentary which not only notes all of the above but adds into the equation justification of every gear change, speed change, road position, use of brakes, etc.

Ok, managed it on a familiar road?
Now do it again on a road you are completely unfamiliar with and with an examiner who is making a note of every mistake and who is completely unbending in the standard that needs to be achieved... even 1 minor fault can fail you.

Before going out on the road you must pass tests in advanced vehicle control ... skid control etc.

You need to be familiar with your vehicle under all conditions, therefore a speed test is reasonable but, as I said before, under properly supervised conditions and not as part of what was a boring patrol.

[Smoke2much]

I don't doubt for one second that the course and tests that pursuit drivers have to take are very difficult, I also appreciate that they need to keep their skills honed and are required to know what the car is capable of.  This was not as his defense claimed "A speed test".  If it had been he would not have been issued with a ticket.  He was caught speeding and must take the consequences of that.  I work quite closely with Kent Police and the Ambulance service, they are often talking about track days at Brands Hatch where they go to get the practice that they feel they need.  The roads are too busy at any time of the day or night to make practice safe and in reality without traffic on the road to avoid it would serve little purpose anyway.

[eno]

I don't doubt for one second that the course and tests that pursuit drivers have to take are very difficult, I also appreciate that they need to keep their skills honed and are required to know what the car is capable of.  This was not as his defense claimed "A speed test".  If it had been he would not have been issued with a ticket.  He was caught speeding and must take the consequences of that.  I work quite closely with Kent Police and the Ambulance service, they are often talking about track days at Brands Hatch where they go to get the practice that they feel they need.  The roads are too busy at any time of the day or night to make practice safe and in reality without traffic on the road to avoid it would serve little purpose anyway.

I totally agree with you...... as I said in my original post on this subject, had it been you or me in this postition there wouldn't have been any need for a retrial, we would have been convicted without question and possibly been locked up.. as should he.

[Saitek]

I think the biggest thing that keeps him out of jail is 1) It looks bad on the police and is a national shame and 2) As someone said - A policeman wouldn't last ten minutes in jail!