Police rant..

[Hellcat]

Not so much a rant about police but the background staff and their systems.

Basically spotted a car in a field, had been rolled.

Phoned the police (Cleveland) on the non-emergency number as there was nobody there and looked abandoned. Got through only to find out that as it wasn't quite in their area I'd have to phone the other police (Durham) to report it. They can't pass info between forces?

So tried the other number - after 5 mins got told there was nobody available and got cut off. Phoned back, eventually got through, explained the issue and got told that i was being transfered (to who?)... ring ring... about 5 mins later someone eventually pics up. I explain all the details (location, numberplate) and after taking all my details she says someone will go out to look at it and will probably phone me back.

I get a call at home and they are already aware... :bang:

Are they writing these calls down on postit notes? God help me if I ever need them in an emergency..

Makes you think how hard a coppers job must be having to deal with a growing chav population who know all their rights, and have no backup back in the office. The stories I've heard from the Durham XP rollout are scary.. The left hand has no chance of knowing what the right hand is doing..

 

[Fivehundred]

I wondered recently what sort of systems they had. I had a head on crash with a guy in a Volkswagen Golf on a small country road. He was on the wrong side of the road, saw him coming, and I decided that whatever happens I wasn't going to move from my side of the road.

What happened was an emergency stop, a very big bang, a slightly mangled Volvo, mine and totally trashed VW, his.

I get out and the guy is sitting dazed in his car. Speaks poor English, I get out my phone. So he asks what Im doing, phoning the Police I say.

He lies down across his seat, kicks at his door, gets out of his car and lies in the verge kicking his legs and moaning.

OK so we'll have an ambulance as well. I get onto the 999 control room and they want to know where I am. So I explain. "Do you have the name of the road"?

"No it's a small country road. But it's near the M1 and I explain where it is".I don't know where that is Sir. So I look at the sat nav in my car and give them a longtitude and latitude. "We can't use those Sir".

I ended talking to them over the phone in the end saying "I can see a flashing blue light in the distance, it's getting nearer it's going away". If the guy had really needed a paramedic he'd have been in serious trouble.

The Copper who attended, who was very helpful, later rang me at home.

They carted the guy off to hospital, he turned out to be a Nigerian student. No driving licence, insurance, tax or MOT.

Apparently he told the copper he had to drive, "it was an emergency, he thought he had piles and had to go to hospital".

The copper said he was clutching his shoulder and moaning it hurt. He told him "well I'm no doctor mate, but you're holding the wrong place"!

They are doing him for no licence etc, as well as driving without due care and attention, and I lose my no claims cos he has no insurance. Grrrrr

Pete

 

[Hellcat]

I can't believe they can't use lat-long as that screws your Sat Nav for use in an emergency.

Can you make a civil suit for monies lost due to loss of NCB and for damage to your car/whiplash etc.

 

[Fivehundred]

I can't believe they can't use lat-long as that screws your Sat Nav for use in an emergency.

Can you make a civil suit for monies lost due to loss of NCB and for damage to your car/whiplash etc.

I couldn't believe it either, but that's what they said. Must have been on the phone near an hour giving them directions! It just annoyed me, if someone had been badly hurt it might be the difference between them living or dying. Like the car you saw, there could equally well have been an injured person in there whilst they were passing the buck.

I have legal protection on the policy, so the solicitor is on the case. Because I saw him coming and braced it sent a shock wave up my legs and into my lower back. Been to see the vet and had physio, already spent over 300 Quid on getting pain in my knees and back treated. I was glad I was driving a Volvo estate and not a Cinquecento that day!

Pete