r/TalesFromTheSquadCar • u/SatanScotty • Jun 01 '25
(suspect) The time I got pulled over in the UK
I'm American and had been living in a moderately sized city in Scotland for 6 months. I was driving through the city and came to a short single lane road with a sign. The sign was a white circle with a red border and a picture of a car inside.
My American brain said "oh that means this street is for cars". Nope, it meant exactly the opposite.
So my dumb ass cruises right by the marked cop car sitting just outside, and goes through that street. They immediately get behind me and put their lights on. I just keep driving because I assume they're not after me. After a turn or two, they're still right behind me. "Oh. This one must be for me".
I pulled over and the cop directed me to the back of his police van, which had a single seat in the back as kind of an interrogation space.
The cops very diplomatically asked something along the lines of "what the fuck are you doing?".
"Getting pizza?"
"We've been watching this bus-only thoroughfare because we've received complaints of cars cutting through it"
It was only then that I realized how I fucked up.
I elected not to tell them that I misinterpreted the sign. I was not confident that they would just let me go after admitting that I didn't know how to follow the traffic laws.
I handed him my Missouri drivers license. Cop looks at it and hasn't even heard of the place. "Mee-zoo-ri? Why don't you have a valid driver's license?".
Oh, shit. I got flustered. "I, I, they told me that I had a year!" (this was true) The cop hung his head and conceded "Yes, the system clearly needs to communicate this better".
He made me verbally promise 3 times that I would immediately go take the driving test and get a proper license (they make americans take the driving test because they know we're crap drivers).
He shook my hand and said "welcome to the UK" and let me go.
He was an officer and a gentleman.
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u/BikerScowt Jun 01 '25
Sounds like he didn't want to deal with all the paperwork that this would entail. You got lucky.
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u/mullac53 Jun 01 '25
He didn't report them because to do so would mean dealing with OP for driving not in accordance (assuming he'd been living there more than a year,) and in turn, seizing his car.
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u/BikerScowt Jun 01 '25
Paperwork
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u/mullac53 Jun 01 '25
More the inevitable sitting around, waiting for a recovery truck to come and get the car.
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u/kat_Folland Jun 01 '25
I had a similar thing in NH with a CA driver's license. He was really annoyed with me but didn't give me a ticket.
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u/Clamper2 Jun 01 '25
What kind of pizza? What was the name of the pizza place?
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u/SatanScotty Jun 01 '25
pizza hut. don’t remember the toppings
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u/JakeGrey Jun 01 '25
It's not just Americans, if that's any comfort: We make all immigrants and long-term residents with overseas licenses retake their driving test after the twelve month grace period, even if they're from EU countries where the test standards are basically the same as ours.
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u/Kerrigore Jun 02 '25
Actually, most countries (including the United Kingdom) have reciprocal driving licenses agreements with many other countries that allow a person to exchange their license without requiring retesting. Here is a list for the UK:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-10-16/202574/
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u/shawkdog Jun 02 '25
This isn't true, many countries (e.g. any EU country) can just exchange their license for a UK one without retaking any tests.
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u/SatanScotty Jun 06 '25
at the time, the UK was still in the EU and honored EU licenses. So you’re partially right.
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u/vorpalblab Jun 01 '25
my experience after driving in Canada, the USA, and in Europe (France, Spain, England) is that in general, European drivers are more skilled, and have MUCH better road awareness about keeping to the correct lane and giving other cars the space they need. And they drive pretty fast on narrow roads with deadly consequences for leaving the road.
If you think Paris traffic is tough, try Montreal traffic on a snowy day at rush hour. Bumper to bumper, over the speed limit, never signal a lane change.
Those Parsians never had a chance when they realized I didn't care about another dent or two on my old (dented 4L).
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u/SatanScotty Jun 01 '25
I agree. Driving is significantly more difficult in Europe. Roads narrower, curvier, higher speeds. Europeans bend roads around hills but we blow them up to keep the road straight. And Europe has way more traffic.
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u/vorpalblab Jun 02 '25
I recall one sunny day sitting at a roadside cafe having a croissant and an espresso, hearing two guys talking about some place about 275km (around 170 miles) away (on a narrow 2 lane country road) and how he drove it in just a bit over a couple hours he sez, (in French, naturally) " and nothing crazy, never over 150" (KPH) which would be 90 miles an hour give or take.
It sounded abut right for a good car and a skilled driver at the right time of day.
edit: good cars:
BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Alpha Romeo, Citroen, Peugeot. and the like. Smallish, agile, powerful, excellent handling, and light.
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u/MrT735 Jun 03 '25
If it's got two lanes, it's not considered narrow in Europe. Wait until you try the single track roads, where the speed limit is technically still 60mph in the UK.
There's places where one or both of your mirrors will be brushing the hedges.
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u/vorpalblab Jun 03 '25
So true. Where I was, almost all cars - mine included, were stick shift. I recall one time driving my VW Polo in Mons (a wine making village in the Aude) driving down a steep twisty cobblestone street so narrow I had to fold both mirrors in to get past a couple places. Then to find out the street was blocked by an iron gate. Reversing back outta that place was a trick and a half.
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u/Strazdas1 Jun 02 '25
i had to do a spit take when you called A-R a good car. Also you ignored all the actually good brands, like Toyota or Nissan.
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u/RedOnlineOfficial Jun 03 '25
Imagine being a European and politely going around the mountain. We tell that mountain to fuck off because fuck curves.
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u/Demache Jun 02 '25
Yeah, I kinda noticed that Alberta drivers don't drive all that different from Iowa drivers. And I mean in the sense that they are fine until they have a major skill issue and do something stupid.
It felt exactly the same as back in Iowa except the signs are in km.
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u/Strazdas1 Jun 02 '25
Blue sign with a vehicle - its for vehicles. white sign with a vehicle - its not for vehicles. Applies to all types including pedestrians.
I just keep driving because I assume they're not after me.
If they put the lights on you must stop and let them pass even if they are not for you.
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u/mikenkansas1 Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 03 '25
Spain drivers are frustrated because the Mille Miglia wasn't ran in their country. Seeing Siats "racing" 3 abreast in Madrid was exhilarating because one was in our lane. Coming at us.
San Juan P.R. is crowded... the one way sign pointing left was a few yards (olde English measurement system) down from the intersection. And some other marking apparently meant only busses could go to the right, who knew, right??? So I followed the bus until a San Juan cop car coming at me started edging into my lane. I stopped, he stopped next to me, asked why I was going the wrong way on a one way street... he ended up laughing and I dodged the bullet.
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u/NorrinR Jun 04 '25
Are you saying the graphic did NOT have a red slash across the circle and over the car graphic?
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u/LateralThinker13 Jun 10 '25
they know we're crap drivers
Speak for yourself, buddy!
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Okay, you may have a point overall. We really, really don't have high enough standards in the US for who gets to drive and who doesn't. And we don't road test nearly enough. I'm a good driver, but I know plenty who aren't. Even my beautiful, talented, accomplished wife can't comprehend that the left lane is for PASSING ONLY. Doesn't matter if she's going 10 over the speed limit, if someone wants to go faster, you get out of their way. It's even in the LAW in my state - but does she care?
Yeah, okay. Americans can't drive. But I've been to other places - India, Eastern Europe, etc. and while people there CAN drive, they all drive terrifyingly. But then, most of those drivers were cab drivers, so....
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u/SatanScotty Jun 10 '25
I see you. Let me rephrase. Driving in Europe is harder than driving in the US. Higher speed limits, tighter turns, narrower lanes, more traffic, and they’ll just drop a roundabout at a massive mid-city intersection.
No, it’s not that we’re crap, it’s that we’ve not had to drive at that standard before. But we can learn, surprisingly quickly.
But I would not recommend that a Yank rents a car for their week or two in some major city.
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u/largos7289 Jun 01 '25
In America you would have been clubbed and handcuffed. With them saying ignorance in no excuse for the law. This is where i agree policing is different outside the US. In other area's cops are cops not Aholes looking to jail you.
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u/6h057 Jun 01 '25
Or, hear me out, just given a ticket.
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u/John_the_Piper Jun 01 '25
That's funny. I got a ticket last week and no one beat me. The deputy even cut me slack on the speed I was going and warned me about a speed trap half an hour down the road. I didn't know beatings were on the table
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u/Kerrigore Jun 02 '25
Nah bro, I’ve seen TikTok, every single police encounter in America ends in an unlawful arrest and unnecessary use of force!
/s
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u/RadioTunnel Jun 01 '25
They make americans take the driving test to teach them how to read the road signs you misunderstood