Unmarked Police Cars (OT)

Nope, it's quite true and has been advised since I started driving way back in the 1960's [1] - and it's good advice to follow if you are a lone female driver.

[1] And we had no mobile 'phones or hazard lights in those days - and the road lights were switched off at midnight!

Falco

Ey oop! I had no heater in my first car in 1959 when I inherited Dad's 1936 Standard 10. Or was it the 1946 Austin A40 (Devon)?

[...]

With the greatest of respect, and with no wish to be accused of trying to be the Usenet police, this post seems to have very little to do with car maintenance!

Chris

Chris,

It's clearly marked as "Off Topic" and you had the choice to read it or not - and as a matter of interest, whilst it is not technically a maintenance topic, it is certainly one that if explained clearly, could well save the lives of those (of the younger driver and the uninitiated who read this group) who are not aware of this procedure.

In my younger days, the actual advice was to "proceed to the nearest local police station and to stop outside its doors" - when there *WAS* a 'local nick' in every town and village that was manned 27/7 and the police had a damned site more respect and trust from the public than they have today!

Falco

Presumably the modern guidelines are that you use a handsfree to leave a message on the answerphone, as stopping to text may be a bit too dangerous...

[...]

Yes it is, but surely OT posts should be reserved for situations where no more suitable NG exists? That's clearly not the case here, as several uk hierarchy ones would be far more appropriate.

I think "save the lives" is a bit fanciful!

Chris

I received a similar e-mail recently (also from a friend who is addicted to passing on hoax virus warnings!). His e-mail was a little more detailed and included incorrect info that 112 calls go direct to the police who are then able to use triangulation to obtain your precise location and, even more incorrectly, that you can get through on 112 even when you don't have a signal on your mobile!

I advised him that (a) 112 is a European emergency number that has been introduced to run alongside 999. (b) Calls to 112 go through to exactly the same emergency operator as if you dialled 999 and they will ask which emergency service you require. (c) Whilst 'cell-phones' operate within cells and approximate locations can be obtained, this is not something that can lead a police officer to your precise location. (d) Finally, if you have no signal on your mobile - then you have no signal - and it matters not whether you dial 999, 112, or anything else - you aint going to get through!

Kev

Boinnnng! My friend said that also, and I gently corrected him. Didn't mention that out of embarrassment for him. :-)

That's what I told him. Is his name Paul? :-)

The one I know is or was a great amateur car mechanic, and his dad owned a garage. Closer to topic?

So why pass it on here you tit!

You do NOT have to stop for a police vehicle which has nomarkings. If you continue at the speed limit they will soon call a marked car to stop you. This is not an unreasonable thing to doconsidering the amount of people who buy blue lights and sirens from companies and ebay! There are videos of people using such items on YouTUBE.

Don't pass on the rubbish from your friends, just tell him to stop sending it all to you - or teach the idiot to use his common sense.

The statement was not lightly made!

I think that if you dig into the news you will actually find a few cases over many years where cars have been 'stopped' by civilians in 'false' police cars and harm caused to the occupants!

Falco

In message , Roger writes

Sorry, didn't know it was a moderated group.

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As I'm sure you are aware, it isn't.

It does however have a charter; this includes:

"Questions and topics are expected to include the repair and maintenance of cars, as well as more general technical knowledge and experiences"

I'm not against OT posts if there is a valid reason for them. For example, if no more suitable group exists, or if asking a question that you know might be answered by that group even if off-topic.

Neither of those things apply to your original post. uk.rec.cars.misc, or uk.rec.driving would have been much more suitable groups to post this to, and the only question you post would have best been asked in uk.legal. Perhaps you were unaware of these other, more suitable groups?

Chris

Not strictly true, although in essence what you say is correct today. No signal shows that you have no coverage with your operators network ... but GSM standards allow emergency calls to be made on any network. Unfortunately the UK does not support this at the moment ... but should by the end of the year ... yeah right!

Mark

I was driving through a small local town recently when I became aware of quiet tooting from far behind, and soon the vehicle that was hustling it's way through was directly behind me. It was a plain grey saloon with a very small flashing red/blue light on the fascia just inside the windscreen, and no lights behind radiator grill or anything, or siren, and driver in Mufti. I had a good old look before deciding that it really was a cop car that was making a low-profile urgent journey, and let him past. He waved as he passed me, but as I drive an ex-Plod unmarked Volvo perhaps he thought I was one of his crew!

Sounds like a senior fire brigade officer on call.

Howard Neil wrote

Ah! Yes - thanks. That makes sense.

In message , Ret. writes

For land lines, it's been available on mobiles for quite a while now.

True, for a lanolin but 112/999 calls from a mobile may be routed to a national call centre who will route you to a local operator.

The emergency services can request an emergency trace on a cell phone and it can give better than 100 metre location data depending on how many cells can 'see' your phone (and they don't have to be cells from the same provider). In some circumstances it can be much better than

100m.

and that's a commercial service...

Umm, not strictly true, you might have no signal from your provider but it's entirely possible that you are in range of a competitor's cell which will allow you to make an emergency call. Next time you're in an area with no signal try doing a manual search for network, you might be surprised what you find.