Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

AndyTheMan
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Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby AndyTheMan » Wed Nov 07, 2012 4:58 pm

Just wanted to update on the incident a couple of weeks ago regarding the ute who tried to squash me.

You can read about it here:
http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 12&t=57551

For some reason the thread above ended up turning into a debate about whether the police do their job properly....I can report that on this occassion, the police DID deal with the incident to my satisfaction.

Anyway, here is the update

The day after the incident I sat down and wrote a letter and accompanying statement of my version of events and sent it directly to the police at my Local Area Command. This included a description of what happened, description of the vehicle, the details of the witness etc etc. (Based on the template in the 'safety and advocacy section of this forum - thanks to Oxford I think who put it together)

Anyway, today I received a call from one of the highway patrol guys from Local Area Command. Had a good chat with the policeman about it, went through the incident etc. Long story short the cops will pay Mr Ute man a visit and have a few words and I will get a phone call from the officer to give me an update on the outcome. The police officer did offer me the option of proceeding to court (and with a witness and clear description of the vehicle, could up the ante to a 3 point/ few hundred dollar fine).

We also had a chat about HD cameras (that I usually use - bought a new one now!!) and he indicated that at the Local Command they take these incidents seriously, and that that have had some success in the courts with a number of incidents where cyclists had cameras running.

So, in conclusion, I would recommend that you report appropriate illegal actions to the police, especially where you have vehicle rego and details, as well as witnesses and/or video evidence. DON'T inundate that police with frivolous claims and nonsense issues, but if its a genuine close call, the police will listen!

I was very impressed by the officer involved and his professionalism and understanding in dealing with the matter, setting out the options etc. I will be writing to the Commanding Officer of the station to let him know that I was pleased with the outcome and the actions of the cop involved!

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TimW
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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby TimW » Wed Nov 07, 2012 5:04 pm

Great result Andy, there you go a positive story, great to hear.Tim
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AUbicycles
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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby AUbicycles » Wed Nov 07, 2012 5:46 pm

Thanks for updating us, and a good idea to thank the police for their interest, they will appreciate it.
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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby moosterbounce » Wed Nov 07, 2012 6:10 pm

AUbicycles wrote:Thanks for updating us, and a good idea to thank the police for their interest, they will appreciate it.
I agree. I do a bit of work with coppers and their admin sections and they appreciate the thanks as they deal with a lot of unpleasantness/upsetting incidents and it takes a toll. Having someone say thank you - in any job - gives people a great boost. Humans don't say thank you enough.

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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby WestcoastPete » Wed Nov 07, 2012 6:17 pm

This reflects my interaction with the Police over an issue here in Darwin. I had video footage of the incident, which resulted in a visit to the driver by police and a significant fine. The Police kept me informed throughout, and I thanked them for their service.

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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby r2160 » Wed Nov 07, 2012 6:46 pm

Glad you got a satisfactory result from the police there. Pity it doesnt happen everywhere.

Despite having video footage of an entire incident where a driver of a ford truck decided that abuse and using his vehicle to try to nail me several times, that apparently STILL WASNT ENOUGH evidence to charge this tool with the crime. In future, I will be including the police in the charge, and if they choose not to do anything, I will be taking legal action against the police for aiding and abetting.

cheers
Glenn
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"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever" Lance Armstrong

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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby boss » Thu Nov 08, 2012 7:05 am

r2160 wrote: In future, I will be including the police in the charge, and if they choose not to do anything, I will be taking legal action against the police for aiding and abetting.
Good luck with that.

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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby find_bruce » Thu Nov 08, 2012 7:40 am

Thanks for letting us know - always good to hear a positive outcome from a bad situation

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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby AndyTheMan » Thu Nov 08, 2012 8:41 am

r2160 wrote:Glad you got a satisfactory result from the police there. Pity it doesnt happen everywhere.

Despite having video footage of an entire incident where a driver of a ford truck decided that abuse and using his vehicle to try to nail me several times, that apparently STILL WASNT ENOUGH evidence to charge this tool with the crime. In future, I will be including the police in the charge, and if they choose not to do anything, I will be taking legal action against the police for aiding and abetting.

cheers
Glenn

A couple of options for you here:

I would write to both your local area commander, and send a copy to your local state member (depending on who they are, will depend how useful they can be)

Explain the situation, the evidence you had etc and that you were unimpressed by their response.

Don't be angry, simple be calm and firm and explain the situation. After 2 weeks, no response, write again.

Copy the letter to your local BUG, cycle club etc, mayor....especially if they have an interest in cycling. Also, to the staff of the local council who look after the cycle plan/infrastructure (if such people exist).

It is my view that cyclists SHOULD report cases to the police that are serious/deliberate etc. I believe this more so after speaking to my local station.

If it was done more often, across the state/country, it would have a huge impact. In my case, if this was a repeat offender, a guy with a suspended licence or whatever, then my report might be the nail in the coffin of his drivers licence.

If he was a first time offender, at least he gets a visit from the cops. And he would also be on the radar of my local station.

Even if nothing happens, and everyone reports these incidents, it starts to flag to the police that such issues are happening all the time and that notice needs to be taken. They start to show up in stats, and it gives cycle advocacy groups evidence to push for new legislation (or simply better enforcement) etc etc.

Also, in regard to your idea if including the police in future action. In the UK there was a guy who reported such an incident, supported by video footage, after no success, he then involved the senior station staff, then politicians. After still no success he revealed to everyone that he was a barrister and promptly sued the police force for not performing their duty, and for failing to protect the public - and won, now the police listen a bit more to similar incidents.

Eventually this will happen here, where a police station/officer will be sued for failing to heed warnings about a driver that goes on to run a kid over at a crossing....

I would also suggest that cyclists post video footage and vehicle ID and sign writing to forums and Facebook etc. -everywhere you can plaster it - as a company CEO if I find its one of my staff, or contractors, or anyone that I have a business relationship with, then that provides me with a means of dealing with bad driver behaviour that doesn't involve the boys in blue. (Ie cancelled contracts).

A lot of guys who I deal with at the CEO, senior manager, Director level are also cyclists, and its a small world when it comes to dealing with local companies/trades etc.

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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby birdbrain » Thu Nov 08, 2012 4:42 pm

r2160 wrote:
Glad you got a satisfactory result from the police there. Pity it doesnt happen everywhere.

Despite having video footage of an entire incident where a driver of a ford truck decided that abuse and using his vehicle to try to nail me several times, that apparently STILL WASNT ENOUGH evidence to charge this tool with the crime. In future, I will be including the police in the charge, and if they choose not to do anything, I will be taking legal action against the police for aiding and abetting.

cheers
Glenn


A couple of options for you here:

I would write to both your local area commander, and send a copy to your local state member (depending on who they are, will depend how useful they can be)

Explain the situation, the evidence you had etc and that you were unimpressed by their response.

Don't be angry, simple be calm and firm and explain the situation. After 2 weeks, no response, write again.

Copy the letter to your local BUG, cycle club etc, mayor....especially if they have an interest in cycling. Also, to the staff of the local council who look after the cycle plan/infrastructure (if such people exist).
Good luck but going on my experience the cops will back each other up down the line and nothing will happen. No way will an admission that they mishandled the situation be forthcoming. Believe me we were hung out to dry because of police laziness and incompetance.
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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby AUbicycles » Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:29 pm

This is a positive post - lets not turn it around
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AndyTheMan
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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby AndyTheMan » Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:59 pm

birdbrain wrote:
r2160 wrote:
Glad you got a satisfactory result from the police there. Pity it doesnt happen everywhere.

Despite having video footage of an entire incident where a driver of a ford truck decided that abuse and using his vehicle to try to nail me several times, that apparently STILL WASNT ENOUGH evidence to charge this tool with the crime. In future, I will be including the police in the charge, and if they choose not to do anything, I will be taking legal action against the police for aiding and abetting.

cheers
Glenn


A couple of options for you here:

I would write to both your local area commander, and send a copy to your local state member (depending on who they are, will depend how useful they can be)

Explain the situation, the evidence you had etc and that you were unimpressed by their response.

Don't be angry, simple be calm and firm and explain the situation. After 2 weeks, no response, write again.

Copy the letter to your local BUG, cycle club etc, mayor....especially if they have an interest in cycling. Also, to the staff of the local council who look after the cycle plan/infrastructure (if such people exist).
Good luck but going on my experience the cops will back each other up down the line and nothing will happen. No way will an admission that they mishandled the situation be forthcoming. Believe me we were hung out to dry because of police laziness and incompetance.
Point taken, but that's why I suggested doing it in writing.

Writing creates a paper trail - nothing uncovers lazines like a stack of letters with information on it.

It wont work on all occasions, and I guess it depends somewhat on the cops and the station and the attitude of their senior staff.

I will continue to report dangerous incidents (not every little thing, but the 'serious' ones) and hope for the best.

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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby Xplora » Fri Nov 09, 2012 9:09 am

My experience with large organisations is that it is not worth risking a career to back up the poor behaviour of one of your colleagues. Closing ranks doesn't work because these people in public sector jobs always have an oversight body to stop it from happening. There is nothing undercover or secretive to protect when it comes to traffic incidents. The cops don't want to do the right thing? Good luck keeping your badge. It WILL be taken away eventually!

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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby AndyTheMan » Fri Nov 09, 2012 9:25 am

The other thing is that, with cycling becoming more and more popular, there is more chance of coming across a fellow cyclist somewhere along the line.

The policeman I spoke to said that he rides motorbikes as a hobby, and so he had sympathy for things car drivers do when they don't consider you a part of the road.

Same with big (and small) corporations. If you are a tradie, delivery driver or drive a car with a company logo (or even a car without a company logo) and your manager, director, CEO, a board member or chairman is a cyclist, then eventually you are gonna come unstuck if you don't respect other road users. And these days with with workplace health and safety legislation, it is a real work issue

I've commented before that I'm a CEO, I can also add that the Chairman or the corporation AND another long serving board member are both also keen road cyclists.....

What do you think happens if we receive a letter or phone call about one of our business associates/sub-contractors targeting cyclists?

As cycling becomes more mainstream, this will increasingly be the case.

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Re: Update on Previous Road Incident (Close Call with Car)

Postby Crowz » Fri Nov 09, 2012 12:21 pm

r2160 wrote:In future, I will be including the police in the charge, and if they choose not to do anything, I will be taking legal action against the police for aiding and abetting.

cheers
Glenn
Pull your head in mate. Coppers have a tough job and 99% of them do their job well and with pride. Without them your life would be far worse off, don't forget that.

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