http://tinyurl.com/hvenzsg

and he only got 14 day ban, six points on his licence, fined £320, ordered to pay £40 court costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

WTF???

And a flat battery leaving that light on!

Bell end. nuff said. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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Yes, bellend but I hope the Police also prosecuted the knob in the silver Peugeot (?) who was seemingly bumbling in the outside lane for no feckin reason whatsoever.

If someone can undertake you, you are in the wrong lane and are part of the problem.

Lane hoggers are my No 1 pet hate and if it was law to run them off the road and base ball bat them I would.

Wish Carlsberg did law. Range Rover quotes.....

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Don't get me started on lane hogs

I had a 14 month long episode before being found not guilty by a high court judge on appeal - the judge effectively explained to the nice police officer that he was a knob.....

Mine was a dual carriageway (70 limit) in heavy snow - police car in the outside doing 35 - having caught him up, I sat on the inside behind him for a mile or so, until we started going up hill & he slowed down - I maintained my speed & passed him on the inside - then the blue lights came on

By the time my summons came through - it ws too late for the Police to consider a charge against their driver for hogging lane 2 - funny that

Magistrates just agreed with the Police - High Court judge almost laughed at their explanation for hogging lane 1 in a Focus, overturned, awarded me full costs & ridiculed the police driver. Their reason was that they were trying to keep the lane usable by driving in it - I was in a FFRR with winter tyres.

There is no offence of undertaking - there are multiple conflicting rules in the highway code.

The crucial factor turned out to be whether you change lane in order to gain an advantage - maintaining a speed and just carrying on tipped the balance in my favour.

I'm glad you challenged the police Alastair!

I often drive around a jumbo transit at night for work, and I struggle to cope with the amount of taxi drivers sat in the middle lane, I overtake them and return to the driving line, for them to go me again, slow down and repeat!

As for in the snow, you should have put up a chase so they crashed!! 

Even though I eventually won, I wish in hindsight that I hadn't bothered.

I rejected their offer of an awareness course - then got a summons - my solicitor told me that whist I had a good case, I should have just done the course.

A day off work just to plead not guilty - then they set a date for the trial - another day off & sitting around all day - the magistrates said they couldn't understand why the Police were hogging the outside lane, their explanation didn't make any sense, but I still shouldn't have passed - 6 points + over £1k fine + solicitors bill puts the above into perspective given no loss of control or collision.....

Then it was double or quits - so barrister on board & appeal - first trial cancelled on the day due to Police unavailable - actual trial we were last case of the day and in & out fairly quickly - judge was excellent & cut through all the BS - experienced driver, already done 40 miles on similar roads in similar conditions immediately prior, barely credible account from Police driver, Police passenger admitted he was watching me throughout (so no real danger of them pulling in) - no excessive speed, no danger, not guilty & full costs back

Overall I had about £3k in legal costs + £1k fine + 6 points & the associated insurance impact of that at risk. Plus 4 days off work and all the associated stress.

Next time - I think I'd still pass, but if offered a course, I'd probably just accept it & move on....

Does sound like a right ball ache but at least you won in the end.

Does annoy me a little some police act like this, but you win some you lose some! 

your perseverance Alistair [and win] will hopefully make the police officer think twice next time.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

I had a run in with the police before, not motor related but ended up in court.

There were a few things I believed the police officer had lied about in his statement so my solicitor brought this up in court, and the police officer backed down on almost everything he said! 

I hold Police drivers in the highest regard - I've done extensive training with them through RoSPA and IAM amongst others over the years - but I guess that makes me particularly intolerant of plod in a panda giving me a lecture

If you visit Oz, you can legally overtake on the left (undertaking as you call it) - we do it all the time. If you couldn't, there'd be very long traffic queues!

But You will get booked if you park on the wrong side of the road, i.e., facing in the opposite direction to the traffic (I was really surprised by the frequency of that when i visited the UK. ) Ron B. VK2OTC
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Alastair - I respect them greatly too, I'd love to become a special but don't meet the requirements

I also have a book of police road craft, to make my driving on the wrong side of the road a night safe  

Undertaking isn't specifically illegal here - the law is a complete mess as I found out.

There's a document called the Highway Code - which contains 'rules' - but it isn't actually the law. It also contains conflicting rules.... those rules are used as evidence for the generic offence of Careless Driving aka Driving without due care & attention

My defence was based around nothing I did being careless or without attention - quite the reverse - very deliberate & with the upmost attention.

It then gets into a debate around what constitutes 'slow moving' and 'a queue' - and finally just because the other driver is being a doesn't mean you're exempt....

Rule 163 contains both these (almost contradictory) statements -
- Only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do so
- Stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left

Rule 169 (my favourite)
Do not hold up a long queue of traffic, especially if you are driving a large or slow-moving vehicle. Check your mirrors frequently, and if necessary, pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass.

Rule 268
Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.

Rule 264
You should always drive in the left-hand lane when the road ahead is clear. If you are overtaking a number of slower-moving vehicles, you should return to the left-hand lane as soon as you are safely past. Slow-moving or speed-restricted vehicles should always remain in the left-hand lane of the carriageway unless overtaking.