Got pulled over by the police yesterday, first time for well over 40 years, ANPR camera showing no insurance. I thought they were a bit snotty given that I'm an old fart with 45 years clean license. Turns out the useless insurance broker had failed to get the DB updated correctly. This is the third time this has happened in the family.
But it's very quick and easy to check on-line if you are on the database. I think I shall be doing this in future when changing cars. Can also check MOT status via DVLA, but you need a number off the V5C or MOT certificate for that.
No, more that the widespread roll out of high tech surveillance technologies to "detect" crime is usually non practical due to the false positive rate.
In spite of the apologists spouting the typical (and easily debunked) mantra of "if you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear", any such measures can only have a chance of working if based on reliable and accurate data. Alas has been shown many times, the error rate in public databases is frighteningly high.
They gave me the lecture about the new rules; it's my wife's car, I think they thought I might have been driving a taxed but uninsured car on my own "drive anything" insurance.
I know of one case when they seized what turned out to be an uninsured car out of office hours. I'd be interested to know what the actual legal position is if they did sieze a "legal" car. Am now carrying the certificate in the car for the moment.
uk.legal is the better place, but I suspect that the legal position is "bad luck" ... with the phrase "good faith" following behind.
There's no point in keeping the certificate in the car. There was a case reported a while back where a motorist was stopped because the MID didn't show their car. They showed the police the cert, but the police didn't believe it, with the (correct) answer that the *policy* could have been cancelled. Since they were unable to contact the insurer (Sunday afternoon IIRC) they impounded the car.
Which leads to the question, what *is* sufficient proof you are insured. ISTM the MID has supplanted the notion of holding a certificate (especially since you can now get e-certificates). Which is fine, but
a) nobody seems to have been consulted over this and b) some brokers seem a little lackadaisical about updating the MID.
so you are left with having to self-check.
Having worked in the motor trade, I wonder how many people who *are* insured on an insure-any-car policy get stopped because the car they are driving isn't in the MID ? And how do you prove to the police then you're insured, if they say "we think the policy could be cancelled" ?
The users were consulted, it is of no concern to drivers.
Its the insurance companies job, isn't it?
There is a big difference between the policies that say insured to drive any car like mine does and real insured for any car. Although I won't get into trouble driving any car, the owner of the car might as my insurance won't get it out of being impounded. There is a requirement for the vehicle to be insured, not the driver.
Yes, indeed. My worries exactly. But at least it's easy to self-check, which is why I posted. Better to waste a couple of minutes a year than face the considerable grief of getting a car seized.
If they challenge the certificate, what do you say? "If you don't believe me, you obviously think I am driving uninsured, so you had better arrest me. Then I can sue you for wrongful arrest when you turn out to be wrong".
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Newshound saying something like:
There seems to be a crop of robotic idiots been recruited to the cop forces in recent years. Used to be a copper (even a traffic cop) could exercise a bit of discretion and let you on your way if he was satisfied it looked kosher. To turn round and say, "Well, the policy could have been cancelled", is nothing short of sheer idiocy. The Moon could be made of blue cheese, in that case.
I think I would leave the second sentence off. No need to wind the officer up.
There speaks an honest man, trouble is many people are far less honest and will try it on. The failing of course is in the reliance on the database and no means of checking outside of office hours that a policy is valid should some evidence contrary to what the database is says comes to light.
Idiocy seems to be a requirement these days to join the police.
1am in the morning and I am awoken by two police officers. The reason, someone was trying door handles two streets away and the police dog has "indicated" my house.
Now the first question the officers asked me was "Has anyone entered or left your house in the last 45 minutes". To prove that no one had I showed them my CCTV footage.
The CCTV showed the police dog chasing my cat down my path. That was the "indicator" that required the police to wake me up.
About 5 minutes into the footage after the cat was chased one of the officers said " two blokes have just gone into your house through the front door, where are they?"
Golly. round here you don't SEE a copper from one year to the next.
Its all done with neighbourhood watch, who tell me what's been nicked and where, and the number plate to look out for..
We are, it seems, the local police force.
Here's a sample:-
"Rather more crime this week than recently, but not without a moment of humour:
An arrest was made for being drunk and disorderly in Clare, a wing mirror was damaged overnight in Kedington and garden ornaments were stolen overnight from a front garden in another village.
A white 21-gear Claude Butler mountain bike with black saddle was stolen from outside Lloyds Bank in Clare in the middle of the day. This might have been a self-drive, get-u-home ?borrowing? of the bike, so please keep a look out for it abandoned in the area before it gets stolen ?for keeps?. Since then I have started noticing unlocked bikes left outside premises. Sounds daft in this modern day, so if you see an unlocked bike outside a shop or office please do pop your head round the door and warn the receptionist/shopkeeper that visitors are risking the theft of their bikes. This could be quite a good way of reaching cyclists, who will quickly realise that if you had been someone else their bike would have gone.
Whepstead saw 2 overnight burglaries last week, involving the theft of office equipment and cash ? one of them was through an unlocked door. Burglaries of houses are rare (both overall and when compared with outbuildings). But this shows that there are at least some people around at night (maybe very few) and that an unlocked door can be found by them.
A scrap collector helped himself overnight to some scrap copper from a house in Cavendish. I?ll not bang on again about discouraging the ?scrap tourists? we get ? well not right now, anyway.
The surreal moment of the week was when one of our number told me of some meerkats stolen from someone?s garden. Trying to deduce some insightful comment on this before circulating it to you, I had a happy
15 minutes learning all about keeping these fashionable ferret-like pets which should definitely not be kept indoors or let near strangers, etc. Just before pressing ?send?, my lovely assistant, who had not participated in the research, observed that my helpful and informative musings might seem a little odd in the context of meerkat statuettes. Checking with the original informant confirmed that the said meerkats were indeed of the inanimate variety. You were, dear reader, spared the confusion and I, the embarrassment.
I had a good session with the SNTeam yesterday. More of that later. They repeated how useful they are finding all the reports and they?d like us to keep them coming and keep on reminding people about the importance of reporting to 01473 613500 (control room). I think they are motivated by our contributions just as we, I hope, feel better for the feedback."
Blimey what a crime ridden area you are in. That weeks list would be almost 6 months worth round here. Similar stuff though alchol related distubance, minor criminal damage, theft normally done by "outsiders" again metals, oils (red and yellow) and tools/machinery left in sheds.
And I had a customer last lear who is in the armed response team.
I prepared all the cables as I was waiting for the sockets to be delivered. He asked "how do you know which cables to cover in brown or blue plastic?".
We still have a manned police station in the village. And the sergeant likes to walk around the village so you do see a lot of him. To cap it all he is not stupid. He refused to prosecute a 12 year old lad for criminal damage when he smashed a window playing football. He said thats what 12 year old lads do.
Of course any police after 8pm are from the town centre wearing body armour and with their fingers ready on the pepper spray can.
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