Caught Drifting......

[Davenotouring]

If anyones reply is you shouldn't be so stupid, then please don't bother....Because I already know this, and I did it at my own risk.

Anyway, was being followed unbeknown to myself by a police car...quite a way back.

Come to a roundabout, drift round......

Further up the road a policecar is blocking the road, and I get pulled...

First thing they do is read me my rights, one policeman takes my keys and says you're going to court, when I try to explain they say 'You can argue in court...etc'

So anyway....I play the innocent, and I was pretty suprised anyway as you can imagine.

To cut a long story short.....She eventually said, after I showed her all my docs. and was apologetic, that she'd give me the benefit of the doubt, however she would report me under section 53, which is where your details are stored, and if you get caught again within a year, they can take your car away and crush it....I have been reading up on this, and will continue tomorrow!

Had I have been rude etc....she could have taken me to court for dangerous driving, which originally was her intention.....and is a 12 month minimum ban. I had my girlfriend in the car, which probably worked to my advantage, they would have thought if I had friends with me that I was showing off.

Just thought I'd put this out as a warning to those who use their RWD cars properly - Karan I will chat to you about all this at the next meet!

And another thing, keep it on the track! I'm gonna have to tread carefully around these parts until June when I leave

[6potWil6pot]

Sounds like you made the best out of a bad situation! Well done!

[johnono]

fuck me, u are lucky

[Demlotcrew]

damn man, come back upto Cambs theres not enough police to cover the miles of empty roads!

[SCOTT325SE]

dave, if you ever feel the absolute neccessity to drift, then the lanes in west wales are excellent for it, allong with the Black mountains as demonstrated to me by Simon when he had his red sport.

Take it easy mate...you dont want that car becomming a cube do you?

Keep it on the 30mpg marker mate and you wont get done.

Stay cool, fool.

[Jhonno]

thats unlucky dude!! it happen this eve?!!!

Whereabouts was it?

Its quite suprising really as i hardly see any cops round here..

Good thing you had your plates on!!

[Jhonno]

surely they cant just take your car off you for dangerous driving tho?!!

[Demlotcrew]

Thinking about it, i think some one might have grassed you up and they were waiting for you, Like an old boy in his rover 45?

[Jhonno]

also technically you were just wheelspinning in a RWD car, they gonna do everyone who wheelspins in a FWD car then?!

or was it blatent repeated drifting?

[6potWil6pot]

Depends how you drift i guess! If your really hanging the tail out then i guess u cant blame it on the rwd They probably cant do for a brief wag of the tail tho...
I only go drifting late at night when theres no other cars around, too afraid of spanking it around others cause im not good enough

[Widge]

Bloody nanny state, shouldn't they be out catching real criminals not law abiding tax paying citizens. Too much worrying about health and safety, if they let people drive like idiots then we'd soon only be left with people who can drive properly. Fcuking makes me sooooo angry

You don't see any German police chasing the guy in the M1 (below)!!!!!!!

[6potWil6pot]

Well we do drive aged, clapped out, unsafe cars in their eyes that'll be at the scrappy if they had it their way!

B' ards!

[Jhonno]

Depends how you drift i guess! If your really hanging the tail out then i guess u cant blame it on the rwd They probably cant do for a brief wag of the tail tho...
I only go drifting late at night when theres no other cars around, too afraid of spanking it around others cause im not good enough

well if the cop car was quite a way back then surely you cant tell...

I only do it when its quiet also (and wet lol)

i cant find anything bout crushing a car for bein convicted

section 53 doesnt say much either lol other than when your actually convicted, nothin about details being stored..

[Turbo-Brown]

I was thinking about this the other day:

Does anyone reckon you could get away with the following?

"I wasn't travelling unreasonably fast given the road conditions. However, the car went into a skid which I corrected with a minimum of fuss before proceeding on my journey"

It's surely a little difficult to prove that you were trying to drift!

[320Touring]

I was thinking about this the other day:

Does anyone reckon you could get away with the following?

"I wasn't travelling unreasonably fast given the road conditions. However, the car went into a skid which I corrected with a minimum of fuss before proceeding on my journey"

It's surely a little difficult to prove that you were trying to drift!

If you tried that line up in my neck of the woods you'd be very lucky not to spend a night in the cells best just to keep answers to "yes officer, no officer"

think dave had the right plan-no point being witty or clever, cos if they cant retort at the same level they just throw the book at you

pity you didnt start an american styleee car chase tho dave-would be cool to see you drifting from the air

[rare]

That is lucky mate!! Sounds like she treated you pretty fair considering the situation.

[astondg]

I was thinking about this the other day:

Does anyone reckon you could get away with the following?

"I wasn't travelling unreasonably fast given the road conditions. However, the car went into a skid which I corrected with a minimum of fuss before proceeding on my journey"

It's surely a little difficult to prove that you were trying to drift!

I don't know, if this happened to me and I actually did provoke the slide (and it was an actual slide not just a tiny wiggle) then I would be willing to accept that what I did was wrong and I think davetouring had the right idea (and it got him out of court too ).

BUT if the slide was accidental (and of any size) then I would definately be saying something like what Turbo-Brown suggested, even if it meant a ticket. I wouldn't be smart about, just let them know that it was completely accidental and if necessary fight the ticket as far as I could.

Aston

[Toby_Unna]

they do like to try to scare you, i got caught when i was 18 going pretty fast in a 30 (it should have been a 40 and i wasn't thrashing it, just driving back from work fast, and at 3am)

anyway i saw the car miles back and slowed down even though i didn't know if it was a pig, but it was and they pulled me and did their best to make me think it was going to be a definate ban... then eventually admitted they had no evidence and let me go!

however i was in an astra estate! NOT mine i hasten to add!

dave you go drifting with your missus in the car?! if i did that i wouldn't have a missus for much longer, she doesn't like it much even when it's just sitting outside my house!

[SwirlyE30]

Dave mate, thats pretty f**king lucky.Although as much fun as it is,it is quite a big old risk to take on public roads. Anything ive ever done is only with literally no one around,and even then i feel a bit cautious lol.

Might be best to just keep the drifting to the Marina car park


Unlucky mate, but at least you didnt get a ban/points etc

[Davenotouring]

Hi chaps,

Yeah, this was late last night, about eleven ish.

Had I have got out the car and started arguing it, it would have been going to court for sure, the only reason it didn't was because I said it was accidental.

The police car wasn't right behind me, but the arse was proper out, more so than I first planned and it was only because I reacted quickly that I didn't spin.

The policewoman said 'I've not pulled anyone over for about 6 years due to their driving' She was a dog handler, in a Vx Zafira Dog Unit car. She said her passenger sh1t it (or words to that effect) when she saw what happened.

All the police were loving it though, taking my keys and that, even started an argument with my girlfriend, seriously, which annoyed me but I somehow just said to her, quietly, don't rise to it, he's a cock, which he was.

So...I'm considering writing a letter, explaining the circumstances and being apologetic, but saying that I'd like my details removed from this section 59 database etc. But I don't know how far that'll get me, but it's worth a try.

Oh well.

Oh yeah...It was the roundabout at the bottom of Lewes Road, the Palace Pier roundabout.....just down from the police station.

[Splondike]

Phew - that was lucky dude, take it easy big fella - the last thing you need is a ban, time to get the track car plan on the road I think mate....

[Davenotouring]

time to get the track car plan on the road I think mate....

Too True Mark......

[320Touring]

Hi Dave,

sorry to hear of the troubles!I was sideways last night too

TBH mate, i'd just let it slide, you know you meant to drift it, and they can probably guess that.

If you write a letter then there's a good chance it can escalate into a 'tit for tat' exchange-hell they may have cctv footage?!

I'd personally just keep my head down and my mouth shut for the required year.The cops can make you're life hell if they want.

Neil

[Adammcf]

Nice one, it goes to show that if you dont act a prick when stopped you will usually get off with it. Ive been let of lots of silly things in the past by passing the "attitude test".

[SCOTT325SE]

Nice one, it goes to show that if you dont act a prick when stopped you will usually get off with it. Ive been let of lots of silly things in the past by passing the "attitude test".

Ive also passed the attitude test on a few occassions. The 1 time i got stopped coz i was bombing thru town in my old clio (i'd just bought it) and i was late. It also helped that she looked at my licence and it was squeeky clean and i also had my V5 to prove it was my car.

Coppers round my way like pulling you for driving with fog lights on. E30 Headlights are crap so sometimes the fogs are needed, especially in the lanes where i live. The guy made me produce all my documents etc etc etc at the nearest cop station, which is a shade over 13miles away! He didnt believe it was my car (this time driving my grey 325) They had their torches out checking the window tints, had me turn the tyres out to make sure they werent worn on the inside edges...cocks the pair of them! I was just cruising too... no arse out action,just my fogs. Explained why they were on and even invited him to sit in the car and check them out himself, but "nooooooooooo" the prik wasnt having it.

Some of them can be proper arses!

[E30WEZ]

I got stopped for my fog's(also do a lot of country roads)i explained to the copper why i had them on as it was that nasty drizzly rain but he came back with it is not fog and if the headlights are not that good by another car .If only we all were on coppers money we could buy new cars but then i would still have a E30.

[Kedge]

I've also learnt how to be pollite to the police to my benefit, like when i got stoped one night at about 1am doing 50 in a 30 , he wanted to do me for spending and dangerous driving, althoug i think they can only do you for one thing, not sure? Let me of though as he had no evidence but then said how he liked my car and used to have one.

Can remeber one time when i was given a lift to school by my Dad and he got pulled for having his foglights on(bearing in mind there was patchy fog about), after a bit of an argument over this my Dad then decided to say "well why have you got your foglights on?", needless to say they apoligised on quickly went away!

[Davenotouring]

The only reason I haven't been banned in the past after being pulled over for sillyness is for being apologetic and polite, it's hard sometimes when you just wanna shout and tell them they are stupid, but it would not help doing that.
Also, not being a chav, speaking well and politely come in handy. Also showing them that the car was in my name, showing valid insurance (in my own name) and MoT and nice new tyres helped.

My new smoked plates didn't get noticed!! Happy about that!

She wrote my car down as a 318i after seeing my 316i badge

[6potWil6pot]

U carry V5, MOT and insurance with you? Or did it go down to the "station"?

[Davenotouring]

I carry it all with me!

If the car gets nicked, it goes, fairy nuff, but if you get tugged, it can do you good to display your docs. in my experience.

Plus it saves the hassle of a HORT1 (producer!)

Does no-one else carry all their docs.?!!

[6potWil6pot]

No! I didnt think id ever have to!
I better make it a part of my "Driving Survival Kit"
Youd be buggered if ur car gets nicked with the V5 in it tho!

[Davenotouring]

Yeah, true, they could say that you sold it to them, it'd be hassle etc, but you could sort it out.

You don't need to produce the V5 anyway, so it's not worth carrying that.

Just MoT, and Insurance, and your licence.

[320Touring]

All me docs are ensconsed safely away in a locked box! I can find em if i need em, but they wont get lost if car gets stolen. Think thats the reasoning behind the HORT1 (gives you the time to get them together)

I only ever carried the docs in the car once and that was for a driving holiday-very scary-almost paranoid about them going missing!

each to their own though!

I would also advise making sure you store the reciepts from purchasing your tax safely too-the DVLA records can sometimes be a bit off!

[Davenotouring]

Hmmmm.

If it were a new car, it would be a different story I think.

keeping all the receipts and that, but since I do most of the stuff to my car myself, I'm not so bothered!

I can understand your locking them away, but I dunno, I just leave it there just in case.

[320Touring]

like i say, each to their own!i just keep em outta harms way

I'm just talking about the Reciept for the tax disc, cos my wee bro's car is taxed til april, but we got a letter through saying it wasnt taxed!

He got the tax done at Glasgow DVLA office as had to change the tax class (from disabled to PLG)

we had to send off photocopies of the tax disc and reciept-so just watch them for that