Hi Ian,
Loved your piece - would like to see more. You didn't mention un-repaired accident damage or rust, along with a bald tyre or two. I miss the plastic dog on the back shelf complete with eyes that light up when the brakes are applied and the over-size pair of dice hanging from the rear vision mirror.

Ludwig, you have a spelling error in the last word on the second line of your post. Ir should be spelled with an 'a'.

It's all a matter of mentality. In this case a bad one. Give the silly mutts an opportunity to be better adjusted thinkers & you'll get better drivers. No good waffling on about P platers when those in charge are incapable of dreaming up a more sensible system. start with having driving schools before you allow them to drive a car. My PPL was nothing in comparison to the european driving license. I don't know about nowadays but many years ago you had to be able to work out how many metres it would take a car to stop when it was raining so many points, with that many people in the car & with 4 mm tread on the tyre etc etc. Here they get a license without having to know what brand of car they're driving. Insist on an idiotic system & idots will be behind the wheel.. Provide sensible conditions & sensible drivers will be in charge of vehicles.

Hi o sung wu. Firstly, I support the proper enforcement of our laws, which includes all road rules. I wish to support the police in their efforts to keep our roads as lawful and safe as possible.

But in my attempts to do my bit as a conscientious citizen, I have found the police to be nothing short of dismal to deal with. Not always, but often enough to be very disturbing. I now have a very bad impression of them. Make that a VERY VERY bad impression, where it concerns road safety, and other minor matters that I have had cause to deal with them over.

This is critically bad. My regard for the police has reached rock-bottom. I now would be very hard-pressed indeed to go anywhere near the police for any reason.

<< You say you've reported driving offences to police on previous occasions, and nothing was ever done about it ? And you would know that how ? >>

By the reactions I received when I went to the police station. Mostly they were of total disinterest. Sometimes they took a few details, literally written on a bit of scrap paper, which almost certainly just went straight in the bin as soon as had I walked out the door.

Twice I received good responses. The officers were interested. On those two occasions they got back to me after they had made inquiries.

So I presume that it is proper procedure to inform the complainant about the outcome, or to give them a contact name, phone number or email address so that they can inquire directly to the officer undertaking the inquiry and be informed of the outcome.

continued

Once, after a very hairy experience on the open road, I went to the Casino police station to report the offender. The police were just completely not interested.

I then went to the Lismore police station and tried again. I struck an officer who very reluctantly agreed to take a statement. I made the apparent mistake of saying that after the absolutely chronic tailgater had overtaken me I flashed my headlights at him. He virtually blew up at me for doing that and was no longer interested in taking my statement! That was an utterly rank experience.

<< You also mentioned in your thread, an idea that drivers are issued with small cameras, which are positioned in the car, in such a way they can see most everything, including the speedo ? And what precisely would that achieve ? >>

For example, it would indicate that you are sitting on or just above the speed limit when some twat is rampantly tailgating you and then dangerously overtakes. Your speedo doesn’t have to be calibrated. It doesn’t have to be deadly accurate in order to do that.

Thanks for your interest in my comments o sung wu. I would be interested in discussing this whole business with you at length. I would love to be able to outline each of the bad experiences I've had with the police in full detail.

Ludwig,

I sympathize, however "What we need is a campaign to promote the use of small cameras, positioned in a vehicle which can cover all angles, including the speedo, and which can just be all turned on with one switch, or just automatically come on when the ignition is on, so the rank antics of drivers can be captured, and people can make reports to the police with hard evidence"

A photo of your speedo merely proves that the needle on the instrument was indicating a certain speed, it does not prove that your car or the car in front is in motion and certainly not the speed of the other car.

The first police cars that I know of to have been fitted with cameras that recorded the police speedometer were so fitted in Chicago about 1937.

The police produced a photo shewing the speed of their vehicle, in Court, as proof that the vehicle of the defendant was speeding.

His lawyer immediately asked the Judge why the Utility Company that supplied electricity in that street were not also charged as it was obvious from the photo that their poles were exceeding the speed limit.

The case was thrown out of court and the local Police Department had a number of useless cameras on their hands.

Cameras could record dangerous driving but, as you say, no one is interested and one would need to have a good private income to keep attending court as a witness and if you were unlucky enough to photograph someone with money to spare then five or more appearances might be required and at inconvenient times and venues.

'evening there LUDWIG...

Thank you for supplying another comprehensive outline with the difficulties and attitudes you've experienced with police, when attempting to report traffic offences.

Obviously, I'm not aware of the precise nature of the incident(s), nor the circumstances relating to the particularly police officer, or the station concerned.

What I can do is offer some sort of apology, for the way they've treated you, and the negative response you've received, relating to their apparent vocational indolence and apathy.

Though I must again restate, unless the traffic offence is very serious, and as such, falls within the Crimes Act, more than likely no action will take place. Purely from a logistics point of view. From memory offences like culpable drive; D M D, speed dangerous; and several other offences. All that can be reasonably done, the duty desk constable can record the facts on the occurrence sheet, and if a car is available, members may conduct further enquiry's into the circumstances as alleged.

The main problem is, you claim someone tail-gated you ? The other driver repudiates it ? Or, you allege a vehicle was speeding excessively ? Or disobeyed a traffic signal ? All these offences must be proved. Rarely will a Magistrate take the word of a single person, another independent witness must corroborate the details of the offence as disclosed.

In conclusion, I'm fully appraised of the essential shortcomings of police, I was in the job for a bit over 32 years ? All that can be said, there are dedicated coppers, and not so dedicated coppers !

Many thanks LUDWIG, I certainly hope your next encounter with them, is substantially better then on previous occasions. Sorry, my eyes are tired, thus I'll need to give it away for the night.