Everybody makes mistakes....even the police. It's not a job ending error, nor is it an error that would get them suspended.
I see you are posting from the US, do remember this clip is from the UK. Things may be done differently here and it is as I said earlier, this might not be the first time this driver has done something like this. The drivers superiors may indeed want to take further action but that would be for them to decide.
Its simply a mistake, it happens. When you are driving the company car, whether it's a police car or a pizza delivery car, you should take care to remember that you represent the organization in the manner that you operate and take heed, but the simple fact is that it's still operated by human beings...and people do make mistakes.
Agreed, however, it is the magnitude of the mistake that is important.
Somehow though, when we get a dash cam and post these videos coupled with the anonymity of the Internet, we become so much better than the average joe...we criticize, armchair quarterback and become a moral superiority of self righteous bull**** about how perfect someone should be
It's hardly anonymous considering I've sent the link to Cumbria Police along with my name, address, etc. I'm just waiting for a response. Of course nobody is perfect, I don't think anyone on DCT would ever claim to be (unless they were a troll).
if they make this little mistake than they can't be trusted with anything...look at me, how perfect I am and how bad the other guy is....we should do this with the video or do that...lets stir the pot and make a huge production out of someone making a minor traffic error. We should all just admit that we could all do a little better behind the wheel...
It's not a "little mistake". Again, this could be where our cultures have differences. Perhaps you are used to seeing this kind of driving from your local police officers? Perhaps you don't care and are quite happy to tolerate this standard of driving? Most people in the UK (and who have posted in this thread so far) would probably agree that it is not an acceptable standard. Had it been me that pulled out on the police van doing 60MPH, I'd have probably been pulled over and prosecuted for either careless or dangerous driving, both very serious offences in the UK.
Had someone been tailgating me when I hit the brakes (very common practice here), it could have been quite the smash up. One mistake is a problem, two mistakes by two different drivers and you can easily have a crash on your hands. Again, nobody is claiming to be a perfect driver, I'm not sure where you have got this idea from? You could argue that I saw the van approaching the junction and because of my gut feeling that it might not stop, I should have backed off the throttle and have been more prepared. The UK Highway Code itself does state that drivers should anticipate the mistakes of others and react to them before these things happen in the first place. Then again, me slowing down might have caused an impatient driver behind me to overtake, thus creating an even more dangerous situation.
Given the speeds and distances, I was confident my car would stop in time if the van pulled out on me. As you can see in the video, I had plenty of time and I wasn't even fully on the brakes, I could have braked even harder if i needed to. That car has fairly new brakes all round and four very good premium tyres fitted. Since it was a police van though, I expected a competent driver behind the wheel who, given all the visibility in the world, should have given way. Our police drivers are trained above and beyond our already very stringent driving test, even the regular ones who drive slow diesel vans. Had this just been some random member of the public I wouldn't have posted it up on its own, it would've just become fodder for a compilation video (which at the rate I'm going at will never happen anyway).
...as well as behind the keyboard. Save the videos for significant events...posting a video of someone pulling out in front of you? If I saved those and red light runners, I'd have thousands of hours. Hitting a Cow in the road...post it. Plane crashes into your hood....post it. Plane crashing into a cow and caught on dash cam? Post it.
It sounds like half the stuff in this section would be classed as insignificant events by you, people still like to watch them. What on Earth gives you the right to say what other people should and shouldn't post to the internet? If it interests you, watch it and be merry. If not, move along, watch something else.
Can any of us say we have never ran a light or a sign, cut someone off or pulled out without checking up or screwed up behind the wheel? Time for us to get over it and off of our moral high horses.
Again, not sure where you are getting this idea from. Nobody on here is claiming to be perfect... Things happen in front of dashcams and they get posted online, it is as simple as that.