A POLICE force has had to remind officers to drive with their lights on at night after video showed a marked car with four cops on board – and no lights.
The vehicle was filmed for over two and a half minutes driving without lights, although the officer behind the wheel was carefully indicating every move.
The clip was filmed at 10.20pm on January 11 as the police car drove between Bedford and the neighbouring town of Kempston, Beds.
Rob Frost, 33, from Bedford, caught the police car on his dashcam and posted the footage with the caption: “My pet hate, no lights on.”
He added: “Makes it worse as there was four officers in the car too.”
The clip begins with a view of the police car, with its livery clear and reflective from other cars headlights and street lights.
The video continues to film from behind for the rest of the journey, with the headlights of the police car seen to not be on when viewed slightly from the side.
The police carefully indicates when switching lanes and approaches the first set of lights traffic lights at a relatively slow speed..
They seem to be an example of textbook careful driving, with each manoeuvre appearing to be done with considerable thought and attention.
But the lights stay off for the entirety of the journey, with only brake lights, and the vehicle registration light remaining on.
The video films the police as they go over a long and raised elevation in the road, before going back down, and entering a dark stretch with another set of traffic lights at the end.
They then enter another stretch of road without much light or sporadic street light placement, followed by the second part of the video which shows them entering into a busier area of town.
Facebook users were critical of the police but also other drivers for not alerting them to their lights being off – something nobody did.
One user wrote: “My pet hate. Seeing someone post a clip of a driver with no lights and not actually saying anything. Should have knocked on their window at the lights.”
Another user said: “Should have tapped their window while at the lights.”
Another user commented: “Once again a law unto themselves.”
One user wrote: “Why didn’t you flash them?”
Another added: “Three points and a fine.”
One other user remarked: “Cops are humans and make errors. There’s no robots in uniform and if you’ve just run from job to job dealing with people who need your assistance and help it is bloody tiring making error more likely. Cop bashing is easy and boring.”
Bedfordshire Police admitted the mistake in a statement, saying the officers suffered a “momentary lapse”.
A spokeswoman for the force said: “Police officers are humans too and on this occasion they made a mistake by forgetting to turn the lights of their car on.
“This was a momentary lapse and the officers have been reminded to put their lights on in the future.”
