Driving the borderline bangers I have driven for most of my life, I have had several occasions to converse with the Law. I have had sour-faced officiousness when I've done nothing wrong (my cars may not look too tidy, but I try to keep them legal), and I've had good humour and reassurance when I have been at fault. They are all human. As a general rule, I would say the younger they are, the more pushy, and then they mellow with age, perhaps because they've seen and handled so many situations that they no longer get stressed by run-of-the-mill stuff, nor have they got something to prove. Even the guys who stopped me in my first car, a £20 Morris Minor with severe rust and dubious brakes, were good humoured as they insulted my pride and joy. They showed me the defective side light (which had been working, but had a loose connection), and then the big one leant on the back of the car. It moved forward. "Better put the handbrake on sir", says he. I leant in and tugged the handbrake up as hard as I could. This time it required both hands on the back to make it roll. My friend in the passenger seat, started pulling on the lever as hard as he could. The other officer leant in through the window, and said " Careful sir, there's not much metal holding it in place". I was lucky to get away with just a ticket for defective lights and brakes and 3 points!
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