what does the law say

[jamie]

anyone know anything about the law. I got pulled yesterday, i wouldnt mind but id been flashed and knew they were around or there was a mobile camera. kept bang to the speed limit (60), which was a bit annoying considering i was on a fav bit of road. came up to my fav corner and without speeding up chucked it around. pulled!!
Do you know why ive stopped you, ermmm NO i wasnt speeding. Apparently he wasnt happy with my riding and said it was reckless, my knee didnt go down even though that bit of road is like a track!!!! straight up people im not bull shitting or toning it down, it was not reckless. even pointed out that id got new sliders on and there wasnt a mark on them. he was a real arse with me and suggested that he would see me prosecuted in court and id be getting a letter!!! he was alone with no evidence even if i had been riding recklessly. Can he do that without a second officer to back him up??? if he can, seems to me he could say anything about any crime, may as well have claimed id tried to nick a farm barn FFS!!

 

[Godzilla]

I was talking to a traffic cop a few weeks ago, he was adamant that knee down is not specifically an offence. I thought it was.

From what you have said I would be surprised if you get prosecuted, but I am no lawyer. However I would fight it and get a motorcycle law specialist advice. There is a bike magazine that has a column written by one. Maybe write to them as a start.

 

[green_machine]

Wouldn't lose any sleep over it, not a thing he can do here, probably just in a ****** mood, no evidence because you didn't do anything wrong, one persons word against another means nothing. Supposed to have a reason for pulling you, but that could be anything from, looked like your tyre was low to thought you had a bulb out.

Whenever I get hassled I just think of all the times I haven't been caught, usually brings a grin back to my face

 

[jamie]

work closely with cid and ppu so will ask some questions, trouble is they really dont like traffic so trying to get an unbiased answer, without them turning the air blue, can be difficult. will fight it if anything comes of it though,

 

[rhanmore]

Im pretty sure your safe. He cannot try and take you to court for something he cannot prove. He was on his own so your word against his. You may get a letter saying that you were stopped and on this occasion no further action will be taking and a don't do it again speal but just use it to light the barbecue as it's all it's good for. If there was 2 of them then if could of been a different story, that's why they almost always come in pairs!!

Just my opinion from my own experiences and I'm not a lawyer

 

[fatbob]

If the letter comes , go see a brief .
You dont want reckless driving on your license

Would be surprised if it came to that though , you normally need to forms of proof with the pc's statement counting as one of them i believe

I am also not a lawyer and the above could be total bollocks

 

[phil]

Did he caution you Jamie?

 

[Shft_Ctrl]

As others have said, don't worry about it - the Police are only there to 'collect evidence', it is up to the CPS to decide whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute you with: it doesn't sound like he has any evidence, just a bad attitude and an unqualified opinion.

If a letter does come through, seek legal advice - but I still wouldn't worry.

 

[ekdg]

things you need to know,
Any police officer can stop any vehicle on a road under section 163 of the road traffic act.
hence plain cars stopping you?
things that will tell you how far its going?

1 was it a traffic car with video evidence?

2 Did he caution you?

3 Did he report you for the offence correct wording is "Im reporting you for the consideration of the question of prosecuting you for the offence of ----------" then he would have to caution you again and give you the change to reply and record this reply.
This is equivalent of a notice of intended prosecution that you get through the post when caught on a camera.

4 Did he conduct any kind of pocket book or contemporaneous interview with you and ask you to sign it?

He can give evidence alone as the only traffic offence that need corroboration is speeding, this is usually done with the calibrated speedo in a police car a speed camera or video or vascar system.

if he has reported you and has submitted a file then you will either get offered a driver improvement scheme usually about £80 no points or the option to go not guilty and have the matter heard at court. They have 6 months to complete the summons from the date of the offence.

any more you need to know ? ket me know.

 

[jamie]

many thanks all, the more i read on here and what ive been told at work the less worried i am, NO CAUTION, NO video evidence etc. It was a traffic cop on a bike which surprised me because i have found them to be reasonable unless youve been a complete ***, or they are under orders to chase plates, cans or whatever it may be. but he just checked details of bike over and went on one. I am considering complaining but that comes back to his word against mine and should i kick a sleeping dog. wont have to wait long anyway because, without getting anyone in the *****, someone is looking into it for me.

cheers again

 

[Boardsofnorfolk]

No caution no video,it won't even make it to court.
You'll get letter warning you at the most. It's happend to me.

 

[Bettybeamer]

CPS won't even bother

 

[jamie]

you were all right, i should have known, but let the miserable sod get under my skin, apparently hasnt even been logged. annoyed but relieved