Today I’ve been on a one day course which is part of the CPC (Certifcate of Professional Competence) as required for all holders of a PCV (Passenger Carrying Vehicle) licence. The day was spent covering defensive driving and hazard recognition and how to avoid hazzards. By chance I’d seen this video only last night. The video is taken by a forward facing camera in a Police car which is chasing a motorcycle at up to 150 mph on a section of the main road between Exeter and Newton Abbot; not even a motorway. The motorcyclist deserves every second of his 10 month jail sentance. And, to my mind, so does the driver of the Police vehicle! Do you know how far a car travels in 1 second at 150 mph? 75 yards!!! I’ve been trying to find out the stopping distance at 150 mph and it’s just not covered anywhere. The nearest I could get was the stopping distance from 100 mph which is 207 yards.

Now watch the video and see the Police car UNDERTAKE a camper van at 135 mph!! The camper vans brake lights are illuminated so the driver is obviously aware of something. How can the driver of the Police car have reasonable confidence that the camper van driver wont swerve into the inside lane where it should be?

How can it possibly be safe for the Police car to overtake, at 56 mph, on a blind right hand bend with double white lines on the road?

I can see no justification for this pursuit. If the Police driver had backed off I think it unlikely that the biker would have continued at 150 mph for long. As it is the Police driver was as reckless as the motorcyclist, I’m just glad that neither of them killed anyone.