Author Topic: Reporting a car with foreign plates  (Read 5614 times)

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #25 on: 28 October, 2020, 04:26:51 pm »
As suspected, police are going to do sod all.

'Insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction'.

So if you have foreign plates feel free to hoon it round blind bends, swearing and shouting at people for simply daring to exist and clipping them when you drive off - it's all good, no one minds.

They've sent several Notices of Intended Prosecution out to people for less (IMO) in the past few month, so I can't help but feel the foreign plates put it in the 'too difficult' pile.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #26 on: 28 October, 2020, 04:42:52 pm »
Not surprised but still  >:(
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #27 on: 28 October, 2020, 05:04:56 pm »
Boo bloody hiss. V poor show. 0/10
Rust never sleeps

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #28 on: 28 October, 2020, 05:24:49 pm »
Yes, that's not a good response.

I'll bet those foreign plates are here all the time...
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #29 on: 28 October, 2020, 05:28:50 pm »
Thanks guys.

The LCC noticed me tweeting about it and are going to look into the issue of drivers with foreign plates seemingly having immunity, given how common they are in London. I'm not expecting much to come of this but it's something.

barakta

  • Bastard lovechild of Yomiko Readman and Johnny 5
Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #30 on: 28 October, 2020, 06:06:32 pm »
Can you 'appeal' the police decision and ask for reasoning given how aggressive MR Forrin plates was? It might not get knocked back so much at 2nd level.

ian

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #31 on: 28 October, 2020, 07:59:11 pm »
It never hurts to remind them that the FoI requests are in the post and you'll be publishing the results. Even if you're lying, they're the Met, it's not like they'll be investigating.

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #32 on: 29 October, 2020, 09:22:10 am »
I've responded to say how disappointing this is and reminding them that in previous cases where they've decided it's not bad enough for a NIP they've at least written a letter warning them about 'their manor(sic) of driving', which I've always accepted because at least that might give some drivers pause for thought. I've asked why this is not an option in this case.

Cc'ed my contact at LCC in who also responded and asked whether their decision was influenced by the foreign plates making contacting them too difficult (ha, as if they'll admit to that!)

FOI is an interesting avenue which I may well do for real. I don't like doing that lightly; as a public sector employee I know how they add to workloads when you're already pushed, but I really am concerned that this guy will kill someone one day.

ian

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #33 on: 29 October, 2020, 09:36:12 am »
I understand, but sadly it's only through public pressure that they're not swanking around like they're still in a forgotten episode of the Sweeney. Some of them, anyway.

I think that when people are operating vehicles in a way that endangers others, it's never an option to do nothing. Over 100 people a year die on London's roads and ~4,000 are seriously injured. That more people than get stabbed to death and that's frequently cited as a 'epidemic of violence' and endless column inches are dedicated to 'something must be done.' But hit someone with a vehicle, they might write a letter or a have a chat, or pipe up the 'no chance of a conviction'. We need to get out of that mode.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #34 on: 29 October, 2020, 09:09:27 pm »
If, as I suspect, the driver was from "that" community, the police won't want to get involved as it will take 20 of them in riot gear just to turn up and have a word.  Normal Irish visitors don't behave like that.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #35 on: 30 October, 2020, 10:54:47 am »
They responded to say that they have no way of finding out the driver's address on their database so that's that, but in any case I've 'not got an independent witness' so even if they did they couldn't do anything.

This is balls because in the dozen or so NIPs they've sent out for close passes /people almost knocking me off on roundabouts etc, there was also no independent witness - except my two cameras.

I'm not surprised. When I was a teen I was hit by a RLJer on the wrong side of the road while on a crossing, who did not stop but 20 mins later reported his car stolen (funny that). Exactly the same shrug of the shoulders from the police 'nothing we can do'. I was pretty busted up by that as I took a ride on his bonnet and smashed his windscreen before flying off onto the road (luckily my leg and collarbone took the brunt of the impact and broke, rather than my head) but no fucks were given. I'd hoped maybe things had changed in 20-odd years.

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #36 on: 30 October, 2020, 11:04:37 am »
They responded to say that they have no way of finding out the driver's address on their database so that's that

FFS, are relations so bad with Ireland these days that they can't ask them?

Maybe send this to the Daily Mail. I guess they hate cyclists, but surely they hate foreigners more! Bloody foreigners coming over here and bullying our cyclists. etc etc...
Those wonderful norks are never far from my thoughts, oh yeah!

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #37 on: 30 October, 2020, 11:07:43 am »
Law Society Gazette undated but before Brexit. EU Directive which was overidden by European Court of Justice due to privacy concerns and guess which country had an opt out anyway. Interesting article. Note high incidence of offences by visiting vehicles.

So what does the annulled directive do? It sets up a procedure for the exchange of information between member states in relation to eight road traffic offences (speeding, non-use of a seat-belt, failing to stop at a red traffic light, drink-driving, driving under the influence of drugs, failing to wear a crash helmet, use of a forbidden lane and illegally using a mobile telephone). The member states can access each other’s national data on vehicle registration in order to determine the person liable for the offence.

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-and-opinion/road-traffic-offences-in-the-eu/5041318.article
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

ian

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #38 on: 30 October, 2020, 12:01:10 pm »
So, the police are basically saying that if you don't have a UK-registered car, you can do anything with impunity? I'd file that under astounding.

The 'independent witness' is wonk anyway. I don't know what 'independent' means and witnesses are broadly pointless, more so if you have objective camera evidence.

Years ago, in my only car-related incident in London, where I had a nice slide across a bonnet when a car pulled out in front of me, I watched the driver drop a large joint down a storm drain. I pointed that out to officers at the time. Imagine later, when I asked them about their decision to take no further action that they had 'no record' of drugs and the officers had no reason to 'suspect drugs were involved.' They also seemed quite happy to accept that the driver had 'borrowed' a car that wasn't his and didn't seem to be insured to drive (apparently he'd borrowed it from a friend's garage while his car was fixed and the insurance paperwork had been mixed up, and well, we all believe that don't we?)

Gattopardo

  • Lord of the sith
  • Overseaing the building of the death star
Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #39 on: 30 October, 2020, 12:50:16 pm »
Am sorry that you had to deal with a backward road user.

Gattopardo

  • Lord of the sith
  • Overseaing the building of the death star
Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #40 on: 30 October, 2020, 12:52:38 pm »
As suspected, police are going to do sod all.

'Insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction'.

So if you have foreign plates feel free to hoon it round blind bends, swearing and shouting at people for simply daring to exist and clipping them when you drive off - it's all good, no one minds.

They've sent several Notices of Intended Prosecution out to people for less (IMO) in the past few month, so I can't help but feel the foreign plates put it in the 'too difficult' pile.

That is standard MET police practice, as you mentioned they still won't do anything even if there is damage.

But I would keep complaining, if you have the energy.  In the past I have not.

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #41 on: 30 October, 2020, 02:00:26 pm »
So, the police are basically saying that if you don't have a UK-registered car, you can do anything with impunity? I'd file that under astounding.


It is astounding and it is also terrifying given that they are not an uncommon sight in London. Presumably they can also do things like speed, park where they like and drive through congestion charge zones etc, immune to the cameras.

I'll try to summon the energy to keep complaining and apparently LCC are going to bring it up at their 'Vision Zero' meeting with them.

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #42 on: 30 October, 2020, 04:25:48 pm »
Useful to know. Next time I do a drive by shooting I'll make sure I have some foreign plates!
Those wonderful norks are never far from my thoughts, oh yeah!

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #43 on: 30 October, 2020, 04:35:32 pm »
So, the police are basically saying that if you don't have a UK-registered car, you can do anything with impunity? I'd file that under astounding.


It is astounding and it is also terrifying given that they are not an uncommon sight in London. Presumably they can also do things like speed, park where they like and drive through congestion charge zones etc, immune to the cameras.

I'll try to summon the energy to keep complaining and apparently LCC are going to bring it up at their 'Vision Zero' meeting with them.
I think this has pretty much always been the case, unfortunately. I didn't know the data sharing directive had been annulled (is that annulled throughout the EU though?) but obviously it ceases to apply from 1st January. And Flatus's post implies this vehicle is not actually registered in Ireland either.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #44 on: 30 October, 2020, 04:59:56 pm »
Not exactly, it might be that NSTN misread the plate. All I did was enter the number she cited.

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #45 on: 30 October, 2020, 05:10:38 pm »
I've definitely not misread the plate, the registration itself was clear enough on the video. It was just the smaller country code that was hard to make out.

Re: Reporting a car with foreign plates
« Reply #46 on: 30 October, 2020, 05:15:07 pm »
Ah, there we go then. Unless I misentered them, looks like something dodgy afoot.

Cue Roger.