Bill Plant driving school

[Matthew_T]

My Gran lives just around the corner from there (Stretford, Wellington Street). That section of road is quite poor and the cycle lane is narrow. Good to see you are relatively local.

 

[Schneil]

No he wasn't, in fact I asked him that question and he said he didn't need to be. I got the feeling that he had no understanding whatsoever about road safety, and that he believes that:

a) cyclists should stay in "their" cycle lane
b) cyclists shouldn't complain about poor driving
c) cyclists shouldn't upload examples of poor driving to YouTube
d) cyclists don't pay road tax
e) cyclists can't do speeds like 21mph, that's just silly
e) cyclists can be charged with speeding
f) cyclists aren't allowed to filter
g) what's an ASL?
h) what's rule 163?

I can see why some people develop such poor opinions of the police, based on the mostly limited interaction they have with them. A police officer once asked me why I didn't simply "get out of the way" when one motorist was up my arse leaning on his horn.

I'm beginning to think there's a rather serious institutional problem at GMP when it comes to cyclists. Maybe I'll start uploading footage of police drivers doing stupid things, because I've seen that on more than one occasion.

Gosh. I'm surprised that's happened to you. When I had to see the police regarding an incident that occured to me whilst cycling, I was very impressed with the way the case was handled. The officer dealing with the case (and many members of his team) were keen cyclists. The officer was a regular commuter from ?Nantwich?

If I was reporting it in, I'd take the footage off youtube until the complaint was resolved. I have done this for a video where I've had a collision (minor) with a lady and she's failed to stop.

 

[Matthew_T]

Obviously there are 0 crimes or offences in uploading footage to the internet. It is after all a recording taken in an open and public place and all information that is included is publicly available information which does not disclose the identity of those involved.

Here we go again.

 

[Peowpeowpeowlasers]

I'll contrast the above officer's behaviour with that of these Traffic officers, who I think are Cheshire. Those officers were incredibly understanding, told the driver he should always be able to stop in time, and laid absolutely no blame on me whatsoever - even after I told them I'd been on the pavement (for reasons I hope are understandable).


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrEcwfPhS-U

 

[Schneil]

Find out how to report traffic offences and never talk to someone behind the desk about it again, they are useless. In London serious issues can be reported on a form which is then sent to a traffic unit, see if you have something similar.

Obviously there are 0 crimes or offences in uploading footage to the internet. It is after all a recording taken in an open and public place and all information that is included is publicly available information which does not disclose the identity of those involved.

Would posting the registration number of the car involved count as disclosing identity?

 

[Brandane]

As a retired Cop (Strathclyde though, not GMP) I cannot believe that those words came out of a Cops mouth. Are you sure it wasn't some statistic collecting clerk you spoke to? You shouldn't need to speak to Traffic Officers about this, a general purpose PC with any sort of basic knowledge of Road Traffic Law (which they are trained to have) should be able to competently deal with this matter.

If I was you, I would go to the Police station where this "PC" is based, and demand to see his supervisor. Tell the supervisor exactly what you have told us on here with regards to the conversation you had with PC Imposter. His reaction is incompetent, verging on neglect of duty. It has been 10 years since I wore the uniform, but I thought the Police were even MORE accountable these days than back then. Seems that might not be the case.

Hopefully CopperCyclist will be along shortly with a modern day take on what you have been told.

 

[BSRU]

Would posting the registration number of the car involved count as disclosing identity?

A registration number is public information and does not identify the driver just the vehicle.
Also the incident occurred in a public place, so no privacy laws apply.

 

[gaz]

Here we go again.

.....

 

[Mushroomgodmat]

Would posting the registration number of the car involved count as disclosing identity?

Nope, im a part time photographer and fairly well versed in the legalitys of recording information in the public space.. Basicaly, anything that happens in the public domain is just that....public domain.

So basicaly when they display thier details so visibly (via a number plate) then that info is in the public domain also. But, if somone decides to take that information to say harass them then thats a different thing altogether!

 

[Matthew_T]

A registration number is public information and does not identify the driver just the vehicle.

It also identifies whether or not the vehicle is insured, therefore you could easily report the vehicle for having no insurance and get it taken away from the driver (an evil thing to do I know).

 

[gaz]

It also identifies whether or not the vehicle is insured, therefore you could easily report the vehicle for having no insurance and get it taken away from the driver (an evil thing to do I know).

Only if you abuse the askMID system. Even then that data is not up to date. It can take a week or two for insurance on a vehicle to appear on the MID.

 

[CopperCyclist]

Hopefully CopperCyclist will be along shortly with a modern day take on what you have been told.

Yep, after closing my mouth, which was hanging open after your post - bloody hell, I think he hit every single bit of misinformation there is about cyclists! If he'd have simply added a comment about helmets, I'd have been perfectly happy to state without doubt he wasn't a cop, but a real life troll.

I hate to admit it, but it's possible he was a cop. These sort of incidents get allocated to bog standard (no offence intended, I'm one of them!) officers to investigate, that don't necessarily have any specialist training, be that regarding cyclists or just traffic. However, the fact you said 'it wasn't a proper complaint' gives me hope this wasn't a police officer, but simply a civilian staff member with a chip on their shoulder about cyclists desperate to close the log.

Much as I'd like to think it was someone from the driving school, how could they have it your number!

If it was me, I'd be attending the station and making a complaint about the 'Quality of Service' you received. This gets it looked at in house by a supervisor, who if (when!) they decide it was dealt with poorly, gets it allocated to someone else to deal with properly, and gets some much needed retraining for the original officer.

Still gobsmacked though. Can't believe it was possible to get that much ignorance, combined with that bad an attitude!

 

[Peowpeowpeowlasers]

As a retired Cop (Strathclyde though, not GMP) I cannot believe that those words came out of a Cops mouth. Are you sure it wasn't some statistic collecting clerk you spoke to? You shouldn't need to speak to Traffic Officers about this, a general purpose PC with any sort of basic knowledge of Road Traffic Law (which they are trained to have) should be able to competently deal with this matter.

If I was you, I would go to the Police station where this "PC" is based, and demand to see his supervisor. Tell the supervisor exactly what you have told us on here with regards to the conversation you had with PC Imposter. His reaction is incompetent, verging on neglect of duty. It has been 10 years since I wore the uniform, but I thought the Police were even MORE accountable these days than back then. Seems that might not be the case.

Hopefully CopperCyclist will be along shortly with a modern day take on what you have been told.

I promise you, hand on heart, that the words above are a very accurate paraphrase of the words from the mouth of the person I spoke to. I have his name and badge number although I'm not going to post that.

 

[growingvegetables]

Slander - a matter for the police? Since when? It's a civil matter surely, and up to "Bill Plant" to take you to court?

 

[ufkacbln]

Slander, "you aren't allowed to video in public" and you have breached my human rights" are all classic claims to avoid the issue and get a video removed

Personally I would welcome slander in a case such as this...... simply show the video and the case is out of the door!