I have seen these "U" turns the police do.
Some are totally oblivious to other traffic, and think just because they flipped their lights on its suddenly okay to slam on the brakes and make a dangerous turn on a busy, and fast HWY.

But others will delay the U-TURN a few seconds till they are sure traffic can avoid hitting them.
I applaud the second group of cops, and shake my head in disgust at the first group.
I will bet since he caused an acident, this cop was a group 1 type of driver.

I await the day that police lead by example, instead of saying " Do as I say, not as I do"
They are generally poor drivers and break so many laws its just crazy.
If we all conducted ourselves like many cops act, it would be total chaos out there.
I have talked a few times to RCMP member Terry Fehr, and he is a great ambassodor for the force, and a genuinely nice person......i wish all officers had to ride with him for about 3 days each , and then were forced to follow his lead, and conduct themselves like he does.
Not like someone on a power trip, as so many do.

As for the clueless person who ran the light on Winnipeg St causing the crash here in town.
I really wish the penalty was harsher.
Maybe since they ran the red light say their own vehicles repairs are not covered by insurance as they broke the law to cause the damage, and also a mandatory and lengthy driver safety adn education course , at their own expense.
And on top of that a years suspension from driving.

Too many people run the red....i see it nearly every single day myself, as i drive a lot.

My 1.5 cents

The RCMP car in question no doubt had his lights flashing for about half a second before making his uturn. I have seen them do this in the past, they hit the switch to the lights at the same time they start their uturn. A shoulder check is out of the question for these cops. WHY!!!!

We seem to have a lot of young hotheaded officers in town lately and they seem to think they are the only important people around, and we should all be able to read their minds and respect them. They have not learned you need to respect others to get respect. All other people are not criminals, and the innocent until proven guilty theory does not apply to anyone.

I held the door for a couple of cops at the Mr.Gs today and they didn't even say thanks.As a matter of fact they gave me the look you would get from young punks in front of a bar.

I re-collect this happened a time or two before. Anyone remember?

Police do not always give a good example to regular drivers while not in pursuit (no flashing lights/no sirens).

Bad examples consist of running amber lights that turn red while the vehicle is in the intersection and speeding, i.e exceeding the posted speed limits, on the Hart especially.

Well, they don't have to worry about being pulled over, so I guess it is "full steam ahead."

Hmmh....

People drive like they are on auto-pilot and don't pay attention to their surroundings, this is quite evident by the number of times I'm cut off by drivers with cell phones to their ear. I watch them roar up to slow moving vehicles like they didn't see this up coming hazard. I see them ignore yeild signs and stop in merge lanes not 1 minute later. My favorite is watching people turn left over a painted maridian (the Mowhawk across from the scales on the Hart is a prime example). Being a defensive driver means watching for emergancy vehicles and giving yourself enough time to brake. You should not be travelling so fast that you cannot react to a police cruiser making an emergancy u-turn. Think about what he may be rushing to - it could be your loved one in trouble and needing a quick response. Pay attention to these vehicles, slow it down a bit and give yourself enough time to react. Would you excuse a driver who hit a person because that person just didn't give that driver enough warning that they were in the intersection? Flashing lights and sirens are your warning to give way - not give way when you decide to pay attention!

Probably on a "power" trip and decided he was going the wrong way!
I have certainly seen them speed needlessly and go through amber lights.
Some do have a tendency to have the attitude they are "above the law."
It was the officers duty to make certain he was not attempting the U turn and, by doing so, endangering the public in any manner. He has a responsibility also, and with all his training, even more so than the oncoming traffic.
Let's at least lay blame where it belongs, as the oncoming traffic, no matter how alert, does not expect a vehicle to make a U turn in the middle of the highway. The cop erred!

anniemartin,

please tell me you are not serious.

I do not care if you are the best driver in the world.
If someone suddenly swerves in front of you to do a U-turn, you cannot avoid them.
And flipping a little light on a millisecond before swerving into oncoming traffic does NOT make you any easier to avoid !

This happens all over the province a similar case east of Kamloops last year. Cop thows his lights on slams on the brakes and does the U-turn on a very busy hiway, an elderly couple following behind T boned the cop. Unfortunatley it was the elderly couple that came out with serious injuries while the cop walked away. Never did hear who was charged, probably the elderly couple for following too close. Cops have no regard for traffic ahead or behind in these cases. Hell they don't even drive with their headlights on in inclimate weather. But remember they must get their speeder regardless of the consequeces.

This also happened on the Sea to Sky highway last year or so. He copped a nut right in front of a bus. They were talking about charging the bus driver, but didn't as the cop did not make his intentions clear. He pulled over on the side of the road and turned on his lights and stopped (right thing to do) but the bus driver thought he was stopped on the side of the road and had put his lights on to warn people that he was stopped, thus he continued on past the cop. Just as the bus came upon him, the officer (scared to death that someone was going to get away with speeding if he lost sight of the vehicle) sped around right in front of the bus (wrong thing to do), giving the driver no time to react, putting many more lives than his in danger all for the sake of an offence that is occurring 250 times a second somewhere in the province, and already most are going unpunished. It is nothing more than a cop who gets so wrapped up in chasing down other vehicles that he or she puts common sense on the back burner. Most do this for the love of a high speed pursuit, also called cat and mouse, or simply "the chase".