I have to laugh at this one.
I respect police. I have a number of friends who are either traffic cops, S.O.G. or Police Search and Rescue.
What gets my goat is the fact that the police are here to serve us, but it's the system that lets us and them down.
The police might help to save your life, but it's the magistrates that need a foot in their proverbial. If a bloke launders 2 million because his wife has separated and taken the kids, and he needs the money for child support and to pay off some debts as he lost the house etc. etc. etc. he gets some STUPID sentence because a large sum of money was involved. Joe blow down at the pub saw someone talking to his missus so he glasses this guy in the face nearly killing him, and he gets 18 months suspended sentence and 100hrs community service because it was his second offence and he's been a good boy since then.
What a joke.
I don't even have to kill ANYONE, and I can get jail time for SPEEDING FFS! That's even funnier.
PLUS these new hoon laws give you no rights. You can be minding your own business, and the police can pull you over, and SEARCH YOUR CAR and YOU, because of these new rules that were brought in. We don't have any rights anymore, and i'm sick of it.
The police are just doing their job, and it's the system and the leaders that need to be given a foot up the ar$e. We the voter shouldn't have to put up with this. It's a democracy. You can't even protest on PUBLIC LAND without getting taken to jail.
I was just driving down Eastlink this morning.
Is this safe?:
Everyone was doing 100km/h.
(except for the left lane where morons can't seem to find the 'go' pedal to speed upto 100km/h to merge with everyone else doing 100km/h)
Now I like to travel just a little faster than everyone else, similar to the motor bike principle. You go faster (or slower) than everyone else, and everyone can see you because the speed differential. Proven to be safer by studies performed in the US and Europe (in fact Germany's roads are setup like this)
Instead of this, we are all watching our speedo, looking in the mirror, looking on the side of the road for cameras, driving 'carefully' (read: slowly) because it was raining, looking at the car next to us because they are on the phone, QUICK, look at your speedo, you're doing 103, which means it could be 104, which means there might be a cop, quick have a look around, nope, it's all good., look at the speedo again. Look in the rear view mirror, look on the side of the road for parked cars/police radars etc.. Why is everyone driving so slow? OH NO speeding again, slow down, touch the brakes, guy behind slows down, everyone slows down.
Overtake the car in front because they have slowed down, but can't do over 100, because the cameras/ police, so takes AGES to pass someone doing 99 on their cruise control, the guy behind you cracks it because you are in the 'fast lane' and not moving fast enough.
ITS BULL$HIT. ALL BULL$HIT.
We are becoming WORSE drivers because of these STUPID laws which target the minority. I reckon I spend MORE time looking at the speedo, than actually looking on the road. Not to mention being paranoid about parked cars.
They say in the defensive driving courses you steering in the direction you are looking. Well, god help us all if we're all looking at our speedo, or parked cars. I have not had an accident since I have been driving. But this makes me feel unsafe on the roads. For the first time in 8 years FFS. The minority is winning.
HOON LAWS? BAHAHAhahahahhahahhahahha.... The joke that the government is enforcing is affecting all of us. The accident rate is going up, pedestrian deaths have increased.
40km/h zones on MAJOR roads? Instead of spending $20K on a SINGLE digital speed sign, PUT UP FENCES, and put the speed back up.
40km/h? Yeah I could probably run in front of that car and make it across in time. BANG.
80km/h. Geez these guys are quick. Might use the crossing instead.
SR20Datsun, I can totally understand and respect exactly where you are coming from with these comments. The speedo on my Datsun is a bit out, and because of this 3km/h over bullsh*t and the revenue-raising speed cameras on EastLink, I sit with my Datsun's speedo on 85km/h. I have to constalty check how fast I am going, then look around to make sure I'm not about to hit anyone, then check my speedo again...exactly what you were saying. And I would rather do this and piss everybody off than get whacked with a 3km/h over speeding ticket, lose another point on my licence and then only have three to last me for the next two years, not to mention also having to pull $150 from somewhere. That's exactly how I got my only speeding ticket so far, I was in my old Ford on the Western Ring Road, and I didn't check my speedo frequently enough, and got done doing 107km/h.
MS1600, in my time I have met and dealt with some very reasonable police officers. More often, unfortunately, I have dealt with some absolute w*nkers who abuse their power in an effort to screw me over. Yes, I am a young male, and yes I'm a P-plater. But I am not going to learn to respect the police (something I would like to do) if they keep behaving like this. After one incident when I thought I had been unfairly treated, I asked another police officer about making a complaint, and was told I should go to the station of the officer I wished to complain about, make my complaint and the officer's supervisor would have a talk to him. Which would achieve what?
Maybe I should do what other people in my area have done with this officer and give him death threats, since I don't have the right to do it properly.