NZ Police - why do they do it?

[boomer]

i hate coppers too.. but

Maybe the copper would have shown him discretion had his WOF been valid; this may have played on teh rozzas thought process?!

get a Perm, get a radar detector and recognise you play teh game.. u win some u lose some. Bitchin on KB afterwards is as daft as being caught by a copper in the first place.!!

[Biggles08]

And everything you just said, ASSUMES the officer didn't weigh everything up, and takes Smokeys word that he was polite and gentlemanly.

Yes I did state that I was assumeing these things...I'm not defending smoky merely using his example to make my point

The thing about the law, is it is built in a way that is meant to do away with assumption. Black and white, no room for give. To save the courts time with bollucks fuckin arguments such as this.

Then lets do away with cops altogether on the road with regards to speed related issues and put cameras and speed traps up all over the roads! Hell lets even limit all the vehicles to the speed limit of 100kph! I disagree and believe a human descresion is required with all laws as you cannot write a perfect piece of legislation

I wouldn't hope for a friggin second, to be let off a 14kph speed infringement, 200meters from the open road no matter where I am.

I would hope for it but definately not expect it

You say a discretionary buffer was built into the area in question, you saying that means you get to choose when you will adhere to the law and when not?

in a rough sort of way yeah...try and get my point DREW its not that I'm defending exceeding the speed limit as a blanket rule, I'm saying descresion is a worthwhile attribute to have in any law enforcing.

[Jizah]

The thread was started with the basic idea, that he deserved discretion.

It aint a fuckin right. You're rights on the road are clearly spelt out in the road code, with very little room for interpretation I might add.

I think someone mentioned earlier about fair policing across the board. Of course it's not a right, but if the police are going to let other people off for the same thing, an expectation does start to creep in. You constantly hear of people getting off tickets, or not, depending on the mood of the officer. I myself get highly aggrieved when some people get away with something, then I do the same thing and get pinged for it. This goes for every facet of life, not just on the road.

People all have different ideas of what is and isn't allowed, what is right and what is wrong. And most of this is from their personal experiences and not from what is written.

I'm going to take a stab and say the people who say "get over it" are the lucky people who have got off tickets through a police persons discretion and on the other side of the coin, the people who are pissed off haven't been so lucky.

[Drew]

I think someone mentioned earlier about fair policing across the board. Of course it's not a right, but if the police are going to let other people off for the same thing, an expectation does start to creep in. You constantly hear of people getting off tickets, or not, depending on the mood of the officer. I myself get highly aggrieved when some people get away with something, then I do the same thing and get pinged for it. This goes for every facet of life, not just on the road.

People all have different ideas of what is and isn't allowed, what is right and what is wrong. And most of this is from their personal experiences and not from what is written.

I'm going to take a stab and say the people who say "get over it" are the lucky people who have got off tickets through a police persons discretion and on the other side of the coin, the people who are pissed off haven't been so lucky.

I've been let off, and ticketed for similar things in the past.

Simple way to sort this out though. Expect a ticket EVERY time you see a cop when you are breaking the law, and you will never be upset by the outcome.

[scumdog]

I'm going to take a stab and say the people who say "get over it" are the lucky people who have got off tickets through a police persons discretion and on the other side of the coin, the people who are pissed off haven't been so lucky.

Bad 'stab in the dark'.

I got my share of tickets, sometimes where 'discretion' could have been used - and often when getting the ticket I got a rev-up at the same time which I thought wasn't justified.

And the nearest ever I got to discretion was being told I had better fix my bent number-plate by the end of the week or I'd get a $200 ticket.

But I got over it.

[Jizah]

Bad 'stab in the dark'.

I got my share of tickets, sometimes where 'discretion' could have been used - and often when getting the ticket I got a rev-up at the same time which I thought wasn't justified.

And the nearest ever I got to discretion was being told I had better fix my bent number-plate by the end of the week or I'd get a $200 ticket.

But I got over it.

So you're saying you're the rule and not the exception?

[scumdog]

So you're saying you're the rule and not the exception?

I would hope so.

[jubilant]

How the public are loosing respect for the uniform, when you throw you weight around like Nazi's

you are right the police here are anal about speed this i have found out the hard way, im used to the uk's speed laws 70 mph on the open road but on a motorway you are not likely to be pulled unless you hit over 100 mph, just dont drive like a numpty is the rule...i lost all respect for the police when i was stopped for speeding doing 65 in a 70...the plod didnt see the sign that i did!!! i think his tone and attitude was the thing that pissed me off so when i put him straight i offered him a chance to appologize, he didnt !!! so telling him to go take his head for a shit and learning the rules was my parting comment..

i hope he was the odd one out, the bad apple but it seems from comments around this and other sites that its not ! a shame a real nice country apart from plod

[mctshirt]

Got a ticket yesterday; that makes 9 in 20 years

I was heading home from work, down thru Huntly toward Hamilton
been past the township, past the quarry, 200 meters from the open road signs in a 70k area - see the cop on the other side of the road, check the speedo - 80ish Klm/Hr

I thought I'd be ok, being so close to the open road sign and all, but no

pulled over and fined for 84 klm/hr, $80
And wouldn't ya know it - my WOF was over due by two weeks - fine of $200 (it was booked in to be done - along with a service next week)
Went to the nearest testing station before they closed and got the WOF, so hopefully won't have to pay the $200

I'd been doing around 70 all the way along that overly extended limited speed area thru Huntly (behaving myself) and was merely slowly increasing my speed toward the open road - I just think giving people tickets for that kind of speed 200 meters from an open road sign is completely antagonistic, and just breeds contempt for the police. It could've been palatable if there was a school nearby, an intersection, lots of traffic or some other potential hazard? But there's not. what an arsehole

My question is; due to the fact I have exceeded the speed limit at times and not been caught, should I just accept this kind of wanky behavior and not let it annoy me ?
What on earth does the cop think he's achieving? Policing people 200 meters away from an open road sign and a piece of road with no real dangers or hazards?

So you were exceeding the speed limit, saw a cop and continued to exceed the speed limit. You made no attempt to suck it up and slow down for 200 more metres. You accepted you were breaking the law and continued to do so in front of a policeman. Sounds like our man in blue got just the idiot they're after - you were rubbing his nose in it and he ticketed you - it's not rocket science. Discretion kicks in when he catches you speeding but you make some attempt to prove you know the difference between right and wrong like slowing down for 200 metres. You gave yourself that ticket before he even pulled you up IMHO.

[MSTRS:Me]

Just going back to the discretion-thing....
As far as failing to produce your (appropriate) plastic photo licence at the roadside is concerned - I don't think there is any discretion. Instant fine, regardless of later presentation. ???

[boomer]

I just wanted to quote you...for no real reason ...hehehe.

you are right the police here are anal about speed this i have found out the hard way, im used to the uk's speed laws 70 mph on the open road but on a motorway you are not likely to be pulled unless you hit over 100 mph, just dont drive like a numpty is the rule...i lost all respect for the police when i was stopped for speeding doing 65 in a 70...the plod didnt see the sign that i did!!! i think his tone and attitude was the thing that pissed me off so when i put him straight i offered him a chance to appologize, he didnt !!! so telling him to go take his head for a shit and learning the rules was my parting comment..

i hope he was the odd one out, the bad apple but it seems from comments around this and other sites that its not ! a shame a real nice country apart from plod

most of the plod here are $10 pohms.... as for not being pulled up until 100mph on a mway back home.. ur a fookin dreamer. Not that ya hyobag would do 100mph huh??!

you can moan all u like about the rules ( i dont agree with 'em ) but moaning on here is just pathetic.. play teh game.

[Spyke]

Just going back to the discretion-thing....
As far as failing to produce your (appropriate) plastic photo licence at the roadside is concerned - I don't think there is any discretion. Instant fine, regardless of later presentation. ???

Cops of the next decade = Robots?


Robot = Emotionless bastards.










(giant generalisation alert)

[pritch]

The Police have been rather mindlessly enforcing speed limits for a number of years now under successive governments. Many consider it a tax grab. I don't like it, many other members of the public don't like it, and there are members of the Police who don't like it. But it would be a very dim bulb who did not realise that this is now how the game is played.

As to experts, a Police Sergeant who was at the time on traffic duties, so I will consider him an "expert", pointed out on KB that it is not the law that gives you 200m to slow down inside a speed limit sign, it's just something the Police observe. He also pointed out that there is absolutely no leeway when leaving a restricted area. The limit remains in force until you reach the derestriction sign. None of which should really confuse any normal person.

It's just a wild guess, but I'd have thought a WoF legally expired on the date written on it. There may be another "convention" - or there may not. Expert advice could be useful here. Patrick? SD?

Again, I'll be interested to hear what happens about the WoF charge since the new cameras are reported to have resulted in four million in lost revenue. The Infringement Bureau were not in given to great generosity of spirit prior to "losing" that money so they may be even more reluctant to waive potential income now.

And no, I never did get many warnings...

[smoky]

Are you sure..??! Looks like you and your followers are moaning like bitchs cos you got nicked.... and ya wof was out too.. u happy u got discretion on that


suck it up and stop ya moaning...

some of you are sad, unable to actually read and comprehend!

[scumdog]

It's just a wild guess, but I'd have thought a WoF legally expired on the date written on it. There may be another "convention" - or there may not. Expert advice could be useful here. Patrick? SD?

Again, I'll be interested to hear what happens about the WoF charge since the new cameras are reported to have resulted in four million in lost revenue. The Infringement Bureau were not in given to great generosity of spirit prior to "losing" that money so they may be even more reluctant to waive potential income now.

And no, I never did get many warnings...

IIRC: If WOF is less than 30 days expired you MAY be offered 'compliance' i.e. a fixed time to get new WOF - normally 14 days.

We don't HAVE to give compliance - for instance people being staunch on front of their mates have been known to successfully talked their way out of any compliance.

And since compliance means you don't get pinged the appropriate fine if you comply within the given time it means the Gov't get no money out of you.

But it still counts as part of the cops contact rate, the 'quota'

So it seems it's not all about money grabbing all the time - a heap of my tickets are 'compliance' (tyres below the minimum, tail-light not working etc) and the bosses don't complain.