[Allen Key]

Quite often on ‘Near Miss of The Day’ I see the obvious disappointment when some really bad driving only results in a “warning letter” being sent out.
I’m not very familiar with the various police documents and I’ve never actually seen a warning letter (and google didn’t really help).
Does it warn the driver something along the lines of “if the same thing happens again, you’ll be fined” or, maybe not? I really don’t know.
How long does this “warning” last for, is it a permanent thing or just till the next offense?
I’m just trying to understand the reason for sending them out, Oh… and when they ‘say’ they sent one out, is there any way of really knowing? 😉

Thanks

Topic

[Captain Badger]

Recoveryride wrote:

I see the point. I’d still favour the officer turning up to give a formal, verbal warning, with the discretion to escalate to 3 points if the recipient doesn’t seem to be ‘getting it’. That won’t happen, though, not least because most police forces don’t regard the issue as a priority.

I’m sure that a kiwi friend of mine told me that they get an initial letter if caught speeding (eg), followed by a punitive fine on the second offence. I suppose my cynicism on this is that  I don’t trust that the offences are adequately logged for such a system to actually happen in practice (in the UK).

[PRSboy]

Recoveryride wrote:

What they should be: an official way of saying ‘your card is marked, son – watch it. If this happens again, you’ll be in bother’

What they are: who knows?!

I am still of the opinion that a PC  turning up at the door, or (perhaps better still) the offender’s place of work, and delivering a stiffly-worded formal verbal warning, would be the ideal solution. 

To my mind, if you have had a warning letter or course, then get had up subsequently for a similar offence then not only should you get a fine/points for that offence, but also the previous one you had a warning for.

[Recoveryride]

I see the point. I’d still

I see the point. I’d still favour the officer turning up to give a formal, verbal warning, with the discretion to escalate to 3 points if the recipient doesn’t seem to be ‘getting it’. That won’t happen, though, not least because most police forces don’t regard the issue as a priority.

[bobbypuk]

My experience with TVP as

My experience with TVP as well. When I get any follow up information its usually accompanied by a list of points raised by the driver. In one case I was told the we are all trying to share the same road and we all have to make concessions. I pointed out I actually wasn’t trying to share the bus lane with the black cab brushing my elbow, I wanted that piece of road for myself.

[SaveTheWail]

‘It can take a few minutes

‘It can take a few minutes for a 300-400MB clip to be uploaded depending on your broadband speed.’  Mine takes more like 90 minutes, and that’s just for a two-minute clip.  What broadband are they on??

[ktache]

I have seen it on Police

I have seen it on Police Inrterceptors, with John “wrong uns” Thompson.  They are gutted, but as I remember it, it is not seized for long.

[Allen Key]

brooksby wrote:

brooksby wrote:

In turn, she has asked that cyclists should also be mindful of their responsibilities and I have reassured her that you are aware of these.
This incident will now be closed and no further action will be taking place.

I didn’t realise that being formally warned by the police meant that you got to negotiate with them…

Would that be classed as ‘driver priviledge’?

[wtjs]

This, received today at 13:50

This, received today at 13:50 illustrates the Lancashire Constabulary response to seriously close passes:

LC-20210821-1176

Thanks you for taking the time to submit your camera footage of the occurrence on Bowgreave Hill 05/08/2021 and to which the above log number relates.

We have forwarded educational material taken from the highway code to the registered keepers of bother vehicles involved referencing your complaint.

 xxxxxxxx PC 1583 | Tactical Operations | Roads Policing | Dash Camera   

This offence, below, occurred on the 4th August and was the subject of the online incident report with evidence file, video, etc on 5th August. It wasn’t looked at, and allocated a log reference number, until 21st August. It then received the new sniggering LC Super-Joke response, which is the rubbish educational material for the offender to laugh at and file in the bin, with no mention even of any warning letter. The PC gets the date wrong and it’s a poorly executed letter. That’s how it goes in Lancashire.

 

[Bungle_52]

I’m beginning to suspect that

I’m beginning to suspect that the response I get depends very much on who deals with it. The 2 above were different officers and another PC informed me that the driving wasn’t bad enough for a prosecution and sending out a warning letter was not possible as it would take too much time to identify the driver. At least I got feedback on that one, most of my early ones got no response at all.

I try to convince myself that things will get better in time, the system they use was only launched last year.

[wtjs]

 

 

One of the best articles on this I’ve seen is here. Very recent as well.

https://bristolcycling.org.uk/cycling-with-video-cameras-a-cyclists-pers…

Maybe it applies to Bristol, but it bears no relation to what happens (in other words, doesn’t happen) in Lancashire.

the majority of drivers do not apparently contest compelling video evidence

This case is coming up in a month or so. Lancashire Constabulary hasn’t replied to a request of over 2 weeks ago for the details of his court appearance. He is pleading ‘Not Guilty’ to the charge “Motor vehicle fail to comply with solid white line road markings”. He did it twice at the same location in 2 days

 

[brooksby]

Quote:

In turn, she has asked that cyclists should also be mindful of their responsibilities and I have reassured her that you are aware of these.
This incident will now be closed and no further action will be taking place.

I didn’t realise that being formally warned by the police meant that you got to negotiate with them…

[Bungle_52]

Not letters but words of

Not letters but words of advice in Gloucestershire.

Here is one which may have had some effect :

Good morning Richard,
Thank you for taking the time to write back to me with your thoughts it is much appreciated.
The driver of the vehicle is not really known to the police, is previously of a good character and not known for any sort of driving offences as such I have given him the benefit of the doubt on this occasion and chosen to deal with this incident by means of education and words of advice.
I have attended the drivers home address and spoken to him at length he stated he knew immediately after the incident that he had got to close to you and was very apologetic asking for me to pass his apologies onto you. I have given him stern words of advice about keeping his distance from other road users especially cyclists due to their vulnerabilities on the roads and educated him in detail about the recommended passing distances for cyclists etc.
He continued to apologise and assured me it will not happen again and that he will be a lot more considerate for cyclists in the future.
A record is kept of what you reported to us and the outcome of me issuing words of advice to the driver and it is all kept and logged on incident reference 141 11/03/2021.
I hope you are happy with this outcome and that I have dealt with the incident to your satisfaction. If you ever have any further issues please don’t hesitate to contact us. In the meantime take care and stay safe.
Kind regards,

and here is one which may not :

Good Evening Richard,
In relation to this incident I would like to advise that the driver of the VW was spoken to and given strong words advice today in relation to her manner of driving.
In turn, she has asked that cyclists should also be mindful of their responsibilities and I have reassured her that you are aware of these.
This incident will now be closed and no further action will be taking place.
Many Thanks

[Stef Marazzi]

One of the best articles on
One of the best articles on this I’ve seen is here. Very recent as well.

Cycling with video cameras – a cyclist’s perspective: Part 2 How to report and what happens next

[Captain Badger]

Recoveryride wrote:

What they should be: an official way of saying ‘your card is marked, son – watch it. If this happens again, you’ll be in bother’

What they are: who knows?!

I am still of the opinion that a PC  turning up at the door, or (perhaps better still) the offender’s place of work, and delivering a stiffly-worded formal verbal warning, would be the ideal solution. 

I kind of get it, but isn’t 3 points supposed to be the start of that process?

Do we need a pre-warning letter. ” Watch it, your card is premarked. If it happens a gains we will send you a letter to tell you ‘your card is marked, son – watch it. If this happens again, you’ll be in bother’

[Steve K]

I suspect the impact of a

I suspect the impact of a warning letter is really dependent on who receives it.  I’m sure some people would take one seriously and it would make them think about how they drive in future; but some people will just ignore it (as demonstrated by the number of people who are repeatedly penalised for speeding, etc).  Sadly, it is the latter category who are more likely to be the more dangerous driving.

[Author]

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