'Traffic' cop Vs 'Real' cop

[byke95]

My mate is a copper and a biker (ZX7R) and has a healthy disliking for traffic cops, often coming out with comments such

"They're not proper cops, proper cops get their knees dirty",

"They're like the fuckin' Borg" (my personal favourite),

or the more usual

"If you get stopped tell um to fuck off and get a proper job" (something I'm sure would make my case worse)

He then tells me that I should (in the event of a stop), pull over, get off the bike, take helmet off, keep my mouth shut and my ears open and be interested in safety initiatives, some good advice I feel.

Anyways, the point of this thread is to get some (hopefully not obvious) comments on traffic cops, bearing in mind some of the mindless twats (eg 160 mph and over the limit) we do have on the road.

Do you think traffic cops are most likely pathetic individuals that take pleasure in the 'power' they have, but haven't got the guts to sort our 'real' crimes?

AND/OR

Do we deserve the 'shit' we think we get from the cops and public?

[Bendy]

[bennyb24]

I personally have only ever had positive experiences with traffic cops. If you show them some respect and be polite you get the same treatment back every time, and they may even let you off....

My Procedure is acknowledge the pull, get your helmet off and go to meet him with a cheesy "good day officer" don't go for a hand shake though, thats pushing it a bit ! then proceed to nod, look interested and admit what you've done wrong.... say it was stupid etc. etc.

generally works for me even got me off a rather long wheelie in front of a patrol car (doh !)

On a side note, has anyone ever been stopped by a traffic cop that hasn't said "i'm a biker too mate" ? even when you can tell they aren't

[byke95]

I haven't had the "I'm a biker too mate" line yet.

If I get a chance I'll probe him/her on what they've got and ask loads of questions just to check!

[gingernuts66]

I have dealt with traffic cops extensively with my job and the general rule of thumb is that those that drive the cars passionately hate bikers, pulling us for any minor thing they can get, whereas the bike cops will give you leeway ie 90 in the wilds will get a "do me a favour dont let me see that again now on your way" but 50 in a 30 will get a prosecution,something you deserve anyhow for being mindless.

[Sparks!]

When it comes down to it, it's just a job, someone has to do it so do we hate the traffic copper him/herself or do we hate the laws that they enforce.

Personally it's the second option I think the law is stupid and in turn think that the officers that enforce it are stupid, BUT it's their job that makes them an arse, not themselves..

[Adam_P]

Funny story about a traffic cop (Well, I think it is!)

My Dad a a mate of his were driving along (a good number of years ago) in his mates pick-up. He was speeding, not excessivly, but over the limit. So, police (motorcyclist, as it happens) pulls him over.

First words out of my Dad's mates mouth as he came up to the drivers window.

"Now Bastard!"

Policeman, calm as you like said; "Now sir, there's no need to talk like that."

Dad's mate; "Well, you're going to do me for speeding, aren't you?"

Policeman; "Well, yes, as you were travelling well over the limit for this road,"

Dad;s mate; "So, like I said, now, Bastard!"

He got done, six points if I rememebr correctly.

Moral? Be nice, you've been pulled for a reason, live with it!
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[Lee_367]

Slightly off topic but i am thinking of being a policeman when i have finished 6th form, i understand that i have to complete so many years doing general then i would like to be a traffic officer. now my question, are they disliked by all? and will everybody i know disown me if i do choose that career path?

Any advice would be appreciated,

sorry for going off topic
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?It?s mercy, compassion, and forgiveness I lack?not rationality.?

[iCraig]

I am actually applying to become a Police Officer, And dare I say it my aim is to become a traffic officer, On a nice ST1300 Pan Euro though.\'

[Dusty]

[byke95]

[iCraig]

Your missing the point, Traffic Officers deal with alot more than 'petty' motoring offences, They also deal with RTA's and are very skilled drivers/riders.

When speaking to a Traffic Officer friend of mine, they say the hardest thing for them to do it deal with a fatal RTA, one said to me they don't think about it at the time there doing.
I respect them for this and I find all police officers to be polite (only cos I don't get on the wrong side of them )

[byke95]

[headlamp]

I recently did the London Bike Safe course. It is operated by current Met Police traffic cops, with considerable experience. They said the general rule of thumb for the motorbike police is someone will only get 'tugged' if what they are doing is stupid or dangerous. They all know bikes go over the speed limit, but as long as it is not too excessive for the conditions and you are riding sensibly they're not too bothered.

I don't think that means doing 70mph in a 30mph, but under 40mph - if conditions allow - would be OK. I recently overtook a traffic car at 60mph in a 50mph. He was doing 50mph & didn't bat an eyelid.

I also think most police respect sensible bikers. They recognise that our skills are generally better than the average motorist & that we are generally more road aware.

As for car drivers, 60% are away with the fairies and don't know we are there. 20% (including most BMW & Merc drivers) hate us as we get to where we are going faster, and the other 20% are generally bike aware.
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Using a mobile phone while driving a car should be made a capital offence!

[T.C]

Having spent 18 years as a traffic cop + 2 years as a beat cop when I first joined the job. Although IO was a full time motorcyclist, I also drove a car from time to time, so I have perhaps got a slightly different perspective on things, but for what it is worth here is my opinion.

I have always had a fascination with cars and motorcycles, so when I joined the job my one aim in life was to get onto Traffic and hopefully become a motorcyclist. Although as a probationary beat bobby I did deal with various crimes, my main interest was traffic work so I would be the one who would volunteer to deal with traffic accidents, I would be the first to deal with traffic related matters whilst my colleagues would be happy to deal with the shoplifters and the like.

Crime work with a view to going on CID never appealed (especially as I am not a drinker), and most CID officers have ego's so far up their backsides it was unreal, I had no interest in dealing with that type of work on a daily basis, but that didn't stop me from nicking someone for a crime if the evidence was there.

To go on traffic you had to have an aptitude for not only dealing with traffic work but also for driving and/or riding, simply because there are so many specialist units within a specialist unit you have to have an aptitude.

Many beat bobbies didn't/don't like traffic officers because they are often jealous of the decent equipment they get, the fact that they work different shifts to their divisional counterparts, are under a different command structure and have a much bigger area to play with as opposed to the boundaries of one small town or village.

However, the incidents that traffic officers deal with are often far more gruesome than the local bobby can ever imagine or be expected to deal with. One minute you may be dealing with an offending motorist, the next you may be dealing with a multiple fatality (at one stage I attended over 350 fatal accidents in one year), this would mean dealing with dead and decapitated bodies as well as all the other stuff that has to be dealt with, or going to the Mortuary to strip down the body for ID purposes. One minute you could be arresting a major crime offender or escorting Royalty, you could have a pleasant week at Royal Ascot or Henley Regatta one week and then stuck on nights up and down the Motorway the next, the work was different and varied, and you honestly never knew from one day to another what was likely to happen.

When Michael Ryan went potty in Hungerford, Roger Brereton (my opposite number from Newbury and a good buddy) was first on scene and died because of it (22 points of entry into the car from the bullets, only about 6 exit holes) and I was one of those who helped to remove his body. The 12 who were burnt to a crisp 12 months later on the M4 at Hungerford were dealt with by traffic officers and they had to watch them burn because the fire was so intense.

But these sort of incidents never precluded us from making arrests for criminal offences whether it be for Disqualified driving, theft of/from motor vehicles, Drink Driving or other serious criminal offences, and in fact pro rata traffic officers often make more crime arrests than CID or divisional officers because they have the equipment to respond quickly to an incident and are often first on scene.

The public only ever see a fraction (if that) of what actually goes on behind the scenes, but judgements are often made because with traffic officers the public are often in a confrontation situation (usually because you have done something wrong) and that judgement is based maybe on that one experience which may be unfair but is the way the world goes round.

There are good and bad in whatever occupations you look at, the difference is that the Police service is possibly the only public service (apart from Customs and Excise) who can deprive you of your liberty or have an affect on the state of your licence, and yes there are those who are power junkies who love the authority that the uniform provides, but they are in the minority rather than the majority.

Most traffic cops do not have a downer on bikes, some are harsher than others some are less lenient, but at the end of the day they have one common aim, and that is if possible to avoid having to spend best part of a day scraping someones remains of the tarmac, and if you think it is petty being booked for a small plate or whatever, it has least perhaps made you think just that once which could be the difference between staying alive or ending up in casualty.

Sorry to have bored you!
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It is better to arrive 30 seconds late in this world, than 30 years early in the next

[iCraig]

TC, you certainly didn't bore me then!
Your post was fair and not biased, makes me want to become a traffic officer even more!

I just wish GMP would speed up and give me a final interview date!

[Lee_367]

Some good advice there, there is a lot that a traffic officer deals with that i didn't have a clue about. i think it would be a good job for me to go into.
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?It?s mercy, compassion, and forgiveness I lack?not rationality.?

[byke95]

[Inkognito]

Very interesting post there T.C.
That was a lot of useful reading and it's always nice to get some inside information. Hehe.

The thing I'm most afraid of as I'm about to start riding a bike, is that cars aren't as aware of bikes as they should be.
I remember that from riding a moped about 10 years ago (Yamaha 4-Gear. Fogot the real name) and I can't count the times when some idiot nearly ran me over, or took a right turn into me.
That was in Denmark, where we drive on the opposite side of the road so the right turn was a killer.

I don't know if cars are more aware of bikes over here in UK, but I suppose I will find out shortly though.

As for the topic, the traffic cops never bothered me really. They're here to keep the roads safe for all of us and if they catch 1 offender then it's one less I will have to worry about when I'm on the road. :up:

[headlamp]

Great post TC
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Using a mobile phone while driving a car should be made a capital offence!

[tgabber]

Yeah very interesting post, TC.

My only contact with the traffic police so far is when I was in a wing-to-wing head on crash as a car driver a few years back. It was my fault as I was driving too fast for a country road and was slightly too far over on a bend.

Anyway one of the cops who attended the scene breathalised me in the back of the ambulance (myself and the people from the other car were all walking wounded). I had had a couple of pints and the breathalyser was positive, so was taken down the station.

After much form filling I was tested on the station machine and came in just under. They also got a police doctor to take a look at my accident injuries. The doc then ticked the officers off as he said I should have been taken straight to hospital. (I had a great big seat belt bruise and, as it turned out, a broken ankle).

The long term outcome was threefold:

a) I always wear my seatbelt when in a car, I have no doubt the belt in that accident saved me from serious injury.

b) I never drink and drive/ride.

c) I got a conviction for careless driving and three points on my licence...
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"It's all about dislocating expectation"
Kawasaki KMX125 -> Aprilia RS125 -> Kawasaki ZZR600

[ZZ-Rse]

/applaud TC, good post.
It disturbs me just how many bikers assume a policeman (particularly traffic) is automatically 'on the other side'. They are human, same as the rest of us. Treat them with a modicum of respect, don't be an arselicker and be polite, it's always worked for me. For pities sakes, even some scooter riders are alright, eh Slavo

[Kickstart]

Hi

Worth pointing out that many areas no longer have traffic divisions, and by the time you get to the point where you would be able to transfer any force you join might no longer have any traffic police.

Just as in the general population (which they are a cross section of), there are right idiots in the police. They are likely to be a tiny minority, but then they are also likely to stand out like a sore thumb as they will be the ones who pull you up for a "routine check" and then act agressively / abusively. Tends to make you remember those ones, rather than the friendly one who took the time to give you directions when you were lost.

All the best

Keith
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[MarJay]

I /like/ traffic cops.

They have the discretion to let me off for doing 69mph in a national speed limit (cameras don't do that).

They have the ability to make sure I'm ok after a pedestrian stupidly blundered into the road when I was riding along below the speed limit. (despite the fact that they gave me a producer and made some rather crude comments about the girl that I hit - it didn't help!)

Most of all, they have the ability to stop drivers from driving whilst on their mobile, jumping red lights, drink driving, drug driving and general bad driving. All we need to do is to get the government to accept that speed isn't the be all and end all of traffic enforcement (Because it is quantitative rather than qualitative) and then we can uproot all the dumb gatsos and get more of the gesta.. I mean traffic police back on the streets!

my
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[crm250]

Bikers can be thier own worst enemy at times with cans that make your ears bleed just by looking at them, and riding in groups like twats.
I live in cheshire and a couple of times a week head over to northwales to see family and girlfreind, and northwales feds seem to have quite a reputation but i can see why.
Most weekends powerranger clad riders from merseyside / manchester head off to wales in large groups and wonder why they get pulled (esp in the recent layby spot checks) and coupled with the type of roads and perhaps lack of experience or just not expecting northwales to be filled with doddering yokels in tractors and cow shit strewn roads end up getting unjured or killed which northwales police have to pick up the peices and its yet another statistic to be bettered the year after.
I have not been pulled for over 8 years and i aint no angel, but there are times and places to go fast. My favourite is friday / saturday evenings when the towns are starting to get busy and the police head off for the evenings entertainment dealing with the local pissheads. Gives us plenty of time to head out into the open and have some fun. Also riding in groups is just a target for the police as they know its a safe bet that a couple of cans and cutdown plates will be in the bag as it were so we are an easy target in groups.
Oh and the bikes i ride are either a TZR250R V Twin which is just made for northwales twistys, or a CRM250AR for the green lanes (the ones left anyway) And a Ducati 916 with 50mm termi's just incase you thought i was duffer on a C90 with a yellow bib