Poxy speed vigilante jobsworths

[DILLIGAFF]

Just off to the dentist this morning and suddenly everyone on the dual carriageway in front of me slammed on the anchors.
I pulled out to overtake and then saw some village people on the other side of the road in hi-viz.
One pointed an old fashioned radar gun at the SIDE of my car as I passed, so presumably got a reading of O miles/hour?


I'm sure they think they are useful but IMHO they are likely to cause a serious accident as drivers over react to their presence. 

[Grahamm]

I'm sure they think they are useful but IMHO they are likely to cause a serious accident as drivers over react to their presence. 

Sorry, but *WTF*?!

They are not the ones who will "cause" the accidents, but the idiots who are driving "Without due care and attention" to the speed limit or what's going on ahead of them and the prats behind them who are driving too close to be able to stop in the distance they can see clear on their side of the road!

PS it may not even have been a radar gun, but a hairdryer! It's a good way of getting people to slow down...

[dazza]

So.... I'm aloud to don a Hi Vi,  stand by my nearest duel carriageway pointing a gun shaped object at the traffic without a Traffic Cop in sight. I DON'T THINK SO.

[Exupnut]

If ur lookin ahead u shud spot em on a bike bein higher up but its much harder in a car. I always have the speed of traffic around me as a tip off to whats ahead if i'm in an area i dont know. That goes fer cameras aswell.

[mirdif64]

I hope it was the Cop who had the radar gun and not the cowboy, Indian or construction worker 

[Razgruff]

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/police-give-speed-guns-to-residents-1-3852859

Guess they must have expanded the pilot scheme 

[Grahamm]

So.... I'm aloud to don a Hi Vi,  stand by my nearest duel carriageway pointing a gun shaped object at the traffic without a Traffic Cop in sight. I DON'T THINK SO.

Is wearing Hi Viz illegal? No. Is standing by a dual carriageway illegal? No. Is holding a hairdryer illegal? No.

Now if you tried to do it in a fake Police Uniform, you probably would be doing something illegal, but apart from that, yes, I do think so.

[ghostbiker]

Whilst I agree doing this in village areas and towns is a good thing, it is more than a bit mad on a dual or main road.

We have a few groups round here that do it, it has a fairly good effect on the whole. But is short lived. Never bothers me as its rare I speed in built up areas.

[Bornagain again]

Next time it happens call the police and report it as " A person seemingly pointing a gun at traffic".
 
If its in a village with a speed limit through it or in a built up area I don't really see the problem, like has been pointed out before.  Villages around the Silverstone area used to have their own speed camera peeps, trained by the police.
But if its a group pratting about on a national limit dual carriageway then they are probably breaking the law in some way, if only by causing a distraction likely to cause and accident. (which must be a law cos its the reason we don't have billboards on motorways.)

[stevierst]

Next time it happens call the police and report it as " A person seemingly pointing a gun at traffic".

Yeah, I wouldn't do that. Not a good idea. The response will more than likely be a less than pleasant one for everyone considering the current climate.
They would shut the dual carriageway completely for about 1/2 mile in both directions just to investigate it. ARV will be blasting there at breakneck speed from possibly miles away in the county putting more lives at risk.

These groups of vigilante's have more than likely informed the police, and are in partnership with the community officers. Tbh the cops will probably promote them doing it to some degree.

[Bornagain again]

I probably would really. I would pull over and ask them what they were doing. If  I wasn't satisfied with the answer I would then phone the police.  If these guys have permission the cops will know.  If they don't, how does anyone know what they are up to.
 
 If someone was to get injured due to their actions I suppose the response would be serve them right.  But what if they were reacting to the situation rather than speeding.  Even coppers don't do it because accidents have happened before.

[simonm]

If ur lookin ahead u shud spot em on a bike bein higher up but its much harder in a car. I always have the speed of traffic around me as a tip off to whats ahead if i'm in an area i dont know. That goes fer cameras aswell.

Classic YouTube.  Thanks for sharing.

[simonm]

If you're all doing the speed limit  and leaving a safe breaking distance there shouldn't be an issue surely ?

In a built up area there really isn't any overtaking opportunity apart from low speed filtering so there is no reason no to leave a huge gap.

We live in a 30 zone and frequently have cars and bikes doing excessive speed up and down the road, I can understand and empathise with their cause.   Better that people slow down than risk hitting a child, adult, dog or whatever.

Of course I can also see your point of view and it would irritate me until I dismissed it as not worth my time.

[Exupnut]

If you're all doing the speed limit  and leaving a safe breaking distance there shouldn't be an issue surely ?

In a built up area there really isn't any overtaking opportunity apart from low speed filtering so there is no reason no to leave a huge gap.

We live in a 30 zone and frequently have cars and bikes doing excessive speed up and down the road, I can understand and empathise with their cause.   Better that people slow down than risk hitting a child, adult, dog or whatever.

Of course I can also see your point of view and it would irritate me until I dismissed it as not worth my time.

[Hedgetrimmer]

That'll be the kebab then, eh? 

[simonm]

If you're all doing the speed limit  and leaving a safe breaking distance there shouldn't be an issue surely ?

In a built up area there really isn't any overtaking opportunity apart from low speed filtering so there is no reason no to leave a huge gap.

We live in a 30 zone and frequently have cars and bikes doing excessive speed up and down the road, I can understand and empathise with their cause.   Better that people slow down than risk hitting a child, adult, dog or whatever.

Of course I can also see your point of view and it would irritate me until I dismissed it as not worth my time.

 

So there.  I'm a pita and I know it :-P