Another unnecessary rant; just venting...!

[hotfuzzrj]

Tonight I nearly died.
And that's not me just being an overdramatic woman!

I was cycling around Dartmouth Circus in Birmingham, a normally busy city ring road RAB with part time traffic lights. (At 10pm they're off.)
I got to my junction with the RAB and it was all clear to my right, I was going about 16mph, kept on going and approached the entrance to my left for the next set of road users. Being a copper I approach most road situations thinking that everyone will display a sub-normal standard of driving, because that way I'm careful and at the same time sometimes pleasantly surprised.
I saw one car run out ahead of me, where really he should have waited but got away with it because he had an engine powering him instead of two slightly flabby legs.

I had my hands covering the brakes and I was thinking 'I bet someone else comes out'; then a stupid DynoRod van approaches his line, and just keeps on going, and has the audacity to gesticulate at me for being on his precious RAB. I simultaneously swerved away from his driver's door, and braked, and waved back at him as though to say "What are you doing?" (we all know *that wave*) and someone (I hope not him) *tooted.*
Rude.

Anyway I got his VRM and intend to put the fear of God into him (read: write a strongly worded letter to the registered owner of the van whom I will never be able to prove was the driver at the time)

Anyway, in other - somewhat better - news, someone tried to head butt me today, and because he was a short little angry man, and I'm a 6' tall woman, he only managed to graze the front of my stab vest. Brilliant!

 

[Keith Oates]

Glad nothing serious happened to you, both when on the bike and in dealing with 'shorty' but hope that tomorrow will be a more pleasant day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Leodis]

Dynorod are owned by Gritish Bas, I hope you pull the plug on them

 

[400bhp]

Anyway I got his VRM and intend to put the fear of God into him (read: write a strongly worded letter to the registered owner of the van whom I will never be able to prove was the driver at the time)

Are you allowed to use your position as a police officer to do that? Shouldn't you pass on his details to one of your colleagues and let them deal with it?

 

[BSRU]

I have to negotiate a RAB with part time lights, it seems to confuse drivers especially the ones approaching from the 70mph and 50mph approach roads.

 

[Sara_H]

Anyway, in other - somewhat better - news, someone tried to head butt me today, and because he was a short little angry man, and I'm a 6' tall woman, he only managed to graze the front of my stab vest. Brilliant!

Fab! Is there CCTV footage available? I would LOVE to see that!!

 

[hotfuzzrj]

Fab! Is there CCTV footage available? I would LOVE to see that!!

I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do that even if there was CCTV, some pesky rule about data protection! But if some oik films me they can put it on YouTube!

Are you allowed to use your position as a police officer to do that? Shouldn't you pass on his details to one of your colleagues and let them deal with it?

No, I wouldn't have to do that, I'm not abusing my position am I? (I know you said "use", I'm just trying to distinguish between use and abuse.) I'm using my role as a police officer to be able to offer words of advice. What I wouldn't do is get his details and write a personal letter from me at my home address. My intended letter would be an official letter on headed paper etc.
In any other situation, if I was assaulted for example, I would be able to arrest the person responsible, I wouldn't have to ask someone else to do it. (Someone else would have to interview, however.)

 

[fossyant]

Had you not been a police officer, I doubt anything would be done for us mere mortals - this sort of thing happens loads, bad pull outs, near miss but you did anticipate it.

Drivers like this are bad for every road user, and they frankly don't give a damn. Met a few that have 'nearly' hit me.

 

[BentMikey]

Fossy, that's sort of true, but for a few police areas such as the Met, Sussex and Surrey, there are online reporting facilities that let officers decide on whether to write such a letter. Here's where having a camera is extremely useful - it gives them a much more objective view of any particular incident, and lets the driver see what they did wrong from the cyclists point of view.

 

[400bhp]

I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do that even if there was CCTV, some pesky rule about data protection! But if some oik films me they can put it on YouTube!



No, I wouldn't have to do that, I'm not abusing my position am I? (I know you said "use", I'm just trying to distinguish between use and abuse.) I'm using my role as a police officer to be able to offer words of advice. What I wouldn't do is get his details and write a personal letter from me at my home address. My intended letter would be an official letter on headed paper etc.
In any other situation, if I was assaulted for example, I would be able to arrest the person responsible, I wouldn't have to ask someone else to do it. (Someone else would have to interview, however.)

OK-just got to be careful in these situations. I think one other forum member (was it Vikeonabike) got one of his police colleagues to do the follow up - conflict of interest is then largely removed.

 

[BentMikey]

What a shower of cheerful positiveness you are this morning, 400!!

 

[CopperCyclist]

I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do that even if there was CCTV, some pesky rule about data protection! But if some oik films me they can put it on YouTube!



No, I wouldn't have to do that, I'm not abusing my position am I? (I know you said "use", I'm just trying to distinguish between use and abuse.) I'm using my role as a police officer to be able to offer words of advice. What I wouldn't do is get his details and write a personal letter from me at my home address. My intended letter would be an official letter on headed paper etc.
In any other situation, if I was assaulted for example, I would be able to arrest the person responsible, I wouldn't have to ask someone else to do it. (Someone else would have to interview, however.)

I've done similar. In VikeonaBike's post, I commented that I felt that the position is this: if I'm only going to offer words of advice no matter what, then I'm happy to do it myself. If I'm intending to prosecute, I'd hand it over to someone else. I agree with hot fuzz - its using the data appropriately to our job - only conflict of interest would be if we prosecuted as we can't then be seen to be impartial!

PS I haven't had an incident where I felt it appropriate to prosecute btw, and only one where I decided to give words of advice (near miss left hook).