Personally i thought the copper handled both crashes well…most of us would still be traumatised…
I agree…i can’t see his lights flashing against anything…although just as he hits the lorry…the lorries side rallings look kind of bright…not sure though…
What was the lorry doing that far across the third lane…a little drift…yeah…but come on…
A little drift…cars can easily squeeze by…but the lorry was about 1/2 way across…even the driver admitted he was moving into that lane…ready for the roundabout…he had basically just gone way too early…he should have waited till he had got down to the 300 yard or less markers where there would have also been road markings to direct traffic into the appropriate lane…then moved…although in this case lane 3 was going to close anyhow…
And yes he indicated…but be honest…any of us driving our cars at 70mph…(or so)…going past…would have thought he was just going into lane 2…
Sorry Coffee but coppers r human also…he told the guy to move the hat…in maybe not as friendly terms as u would like…but i think the fact that he was nearly removed from the living…probably making his wife a little upset…i think excuses his manner
Typical pompous know-all I`m better than you police driver. Never, ever, argue with something bigger than you. The police driver could see the lorries right indicator flashing, what in heavens name did he think the lorry was going top do do? The police driver had a choice of slowing down, or going on the near-side to pass. What did he do? He just plowed on regardless. What a pratt.
The truck driver will get the blame but although he moved over early and without proper checks the Prat had a lot of time to avoid him and go up the inside.
I had to watch the video without sound so dont know the outcome or what the copper or driver said
The lorry was signaling right even when in lane 2. Whether or not he is allowed in lane 3 is irrelevant - he was going there and the police driver should have anticipated that possibility. Using “the system” from Roadcraft (the police driving manual) the information he has is a right hand signal from a truck in lane 2. He should consider giving more information (sirens?)since he understands that trucks are large, noisy and have poor rearwards vision when on a bend. The lorry driver should not have been in lane 3 and should have checked more carefully before moving (unless as someone suggested it was deliberate) but he was. There was a roundabout coming up; I don’t know the road, and maybe the lorry driver didn’t, and was positioning ready for it, albeit a little too early.
I can see no evidence of the police car’s flashing headlights until he starts pulling the lorry over. They are very obvious at that point but not at all noticable before. Were they really on?
The police stopped refering to RTAs a while ago - they are now RTCs (road traffic collision/crash). Funny that he should refer to his own as an accident.
I can see wrong on both sides, but the policeman is fast enough to point out that the lorry driver is a professional despite the fact that he is also professional, and has had far more training than the average lorry driver. I would expect a far better standard of high speed driving from a Police Class 1 (yes it is a class 1 this time!) driver, although in fairness, the perfect driver has yet to be born.
Slightly off the main topic here, in the second incident he refers to getting to the job quickly - Roadcraft spends a lot of time discussing “red mist” and the need to control ones driving to ensure safe arrival at an incident and not taking chances. Perhaps PC Langley should read up on this after the comments he makes (as well as the commentator).
SuperSmiley:
Sorry Coffee but coppers r human also…he told the guy to move the hat…in maybe not as friendly terms as u would like…
Well it would have been the hat or him and in my experience the hat would bring slightly less hassle. His whole attitude seemed designed to make it appear to be all the truck drivers fault in front of the cameras. Given the cameras are there I would have taken the opportunity for a bit of fun in escalating the incident.
SuperSmiley:
but i think the fact that he was nearly removed from the living…probably making his wife a little upset…i think excuses his manner
He was hardly nearly removed from the living, it was a little ding the same as happens hundreds of times a day. If he can’t deal with that maybe he needs a different career.
If the truck had been eastern European, then the driver would have been slaughtered and hung out to dry on here
Because he is in a UK hire truck with presumably a smattering of English a type of accident that happens a dozen times a day on the Kent coastal routes and the M25 makes news in the sleepy hamlet of Thorne
It was the trucks fault, you can’t excuse what he did on any level although maybe the copper could have been a bit more careful. Bet the guy in the Silver Beemer he was chasing is counting his lucky stars! He’d of been banned big time.
Silver_Surfer:
Bet the guy in the Silver Beemer he was chasing is counting his lucky stars! He’d of been banned big time.
You could be onto something here. Conspiracy theory, I love it.
The BMW driver, knowing she was in the crap, telephoned her truck driving friend, using hands free of course - don’t want to be doing anything dangerous, and sought his assistance. Her friend gallantly threw his vehicle in front of the pursing copper, risking life and limb in the process and thus allowed her to escape the wrath of the law. It turned out everyone was a winner, apart from the copper who came across as a bit of a prat, because as noted at the end of the programme no action was taken against the truck driver. The beautiful, mysterious BMW driver later ‘rewarded’ her truck driving hero in time honoured fashion.
I knew this would be a good debate, the video is about 3 years old now so they might have used the terms RTA still back then, and given the speed the car was going it could have been a lot nastier than a torn wing.
Apparently Richard Brunstrom the then road policing top guy said it was the worst case of police driving he had seen, but then again he was loopy anyway
I agree with those who think the Truck driver moved over to block a speeding car from coming past him at the last moment. Which also makes me think that the Police car was not running with flashing lights or matey boy would have worked it out.
However the copper could see the truck indicating and knew the lane was running out, also lane 1 and the hard shoulder are clear and it gives a better line through the roundabout, so in that situation he could have moved over.
But I think the truck driver is banged to rights as he had no reason to go into lane 3.
If this stretch of road is where the M180 joins the M18 then the 3 lanes become 2 but the nearside lane is for joining the M18 southbound and the righthand lane for going right at roundabout and joining northbound M18. In my opinion the lorry driver was in fact correct in his manouver as chevrons separate lanes 1 & 2 closer to the roundabout. As the lorry driver wasn’t prosecuted for this only gives me the feeling that he wasn’t doing anything wrong.
Copper was in the wrong. In this instance, the lorry shouldn’t have moved into lane 3 - but the copper at the time didn’t know that he wasn’t moving into lane 2, then saw something stationary in lane 2, and carried on moving to avoid it.
The copper had his escape route, lane 1, and if necessary there was the hard shoulder. He’s assumed the lorry’s going to do as the copper wants. but he should have hung back to see exactly what the lorry was doing.
Bit of red mist, led to human error - bet he won’t drive into a closing gap in a hurry. No one was hurt, the metal can be replaced, both drivers will hopefully have learnt from it.
Absolute rubbish Coffee…he just had a go at that driver…cos he did something blatently stupid…
You often enough see on these ‘Camera Action’ police programs… from footage and sound from the car camera…where someone does something…totally daft infront of them…and the police get out of the car…swearing or being blatently rude to whom ever…Most of us accept this…and obviously their bosses…(otherwise such footage won’t be shown)…because we appreciate a copper is shocked and affect by such sillyness as the rest of us…
It was luck that it was a “little ding”…in the end…but how the hell was he suppose to know that…when the incident was happening…it could have been a lot worse…
How many times have we all nearly had a “little ding”…when some else has done something stupid…and our temperature has shoot up…with fear of what may have been…or the boss that comes ranting and raving over an incident in the yard that could have been serious…
SuperSmiley:
…
It was luck that it was a “little ding”…in the end…but how the hell was he suppose to know that…when the incident was happening…it could have been a lot worse…
How many times have we all nearly had a “little ding”…when some else has done something stupid…and our temperature has shoot up…with fear of what may have been…or the boss that comes ranting and raving over an incident in the yard that could have been serious…
I expect better from u Coffee…
As a trained police advanced driver he should have anticipated the possible outcomes - that it was a little ding was down to luck, and luck has no place in driving at those speeds or at that level. When he made the decision to overtake he should have considered that the lorry may keep pulling over to the right - he was still signaling. The police driver should plan for every possible eventuality, not just those which are wrong or ilegal.
I believe that the policeman made an error of judgement; whether the lorry driver was right or wrong to be there it should have been considered as a (distinct under the circumstances) possibility.
As to his attitude, I can appreciate that after what happened and what might have happened he was a bit ratty. Maybe he shouldn’t have been, but as has been said, coppers are human really
And todays prize for the most “Pompous, condiscending and uninformed post” goes to…(insert name) dot dot dot
End of the day it was a 50/50 IMHO in that the truck driver shouldn’t of been there BUT the officer showed complete lack of judgement and road sense. Regaerdless of legalities on the drivers part it is common bloody sense not to go past a truck until you are sure he has completed his manouver, even my missus knows that. A point that is exagerated by the potential blind spot issue as the truck was not running on a straight piece of road ( again poor judgement on the officers behalf ). Surely given the amount of training these traffic officers go through his choice should have been to take the safest and clearest route which would have been the inside of the truck At that speed differential they are taught above all things to leave a defensible space i.e. the widest safest route allowing for an “escape route” or “safety buffer”. I suspect that he was being MR “I am very important so move out of my way” and his ego over-rode his training and common sense. This being evidenced further on by his attitude and manner of talking to the driver Surely regardless of traffic conditions running at that speed he should have had his “blues” on at the very least
At the end of the day his attitude, anger and contempt towards the driver were a result of the fact he knew he had [zb]ed up and it had cost him this time
Oh and had he stopped and spoken to me like that (as has happened) I wouldn’t have thrown his hat (tempting as it may be) but I would have given him a very sharp,reasoned and legaly correct “discussion” proving his errors thus making him look the idiot on camera [/b]
the copper actua;lly said i was running with my headlights on . no ■■■■ sherlock its a ■■■■■■ volvo they all run with there headlights on. they wernt flashing or you would of seen them on the back doors like when he went to pull him over. no escuse for the truck driving muppet though
This is an old video. As far as i remember after investigation, the t/o admitted there was no speeding car to catch, & he was just giving a jolly to the camera crew.
I would have to say the truck driver was in the wrong, why he needed to join lane 3 that early approaching the roundabout i have know idea. silly mistake
SuperSmiley:
Absolute rubbish Coffee…he just had a go at that driver…cos he did something blatently stupid…
You often enough see on these ‘Camera Action’ police programs… from footage and sound from the car camera…where someone does something…totally daft infront of them…and the police get out of the car…swearing or being blatently rude to whom ever…
I assure you if he got out and started swearing at, or being blatantly rude to, me me he would be on his arse before the third word was out his mouth.
SuperSmiley:
It was luck that it was a “little ding”…in the end…but how the hell was he suppose to know that…when the incident was happening…it could have been a lot worse…
But by the time he started onto the driver he knew exactly how bad it had been, i.e it wasn’t bad at all.
SuperSmiley:
How many times have we all nearly had a “little ding”…when some else has done something stupid…and our temperature has shoot up…
Well I for one don’t worry about stuff like that. A couple of weeks ago a car ran into the back of my car as I was on the way home. I just looked in the mirror, shook my head in a sort of what a dipstick manner and drove on, didn’t even bother getting out the car. Dings happen, no point getting wound up about it, unless it is for a bit of fun.
SuperSmiley:
I expect better from u Coffee…
Never expect anything from anyone, that way you aren’t disappointed. Being as how you don’t even know me I fail to see how you can expect anything from me.
A point that is exagerated by the potential blind spot issue as the truck was not running on a straight piece of road ( again poor judgement on the officers behalf ).