Police Chase in Petone

[scumdog]

What's stupid about it? If someone asks me in my job why I do something, I can explain to them why. I think it's reasonable to expect that a police officer's role is public safety, and that's why we have many laws (particularly traffic) in the first place. If they were not, then it's called revenue gathering. I mean, cops are supposed to protect us. IRD collect tax.
r .

Listen cheese-dick, for a start I've been drinking, that's why I'm so nice, why is it o.k. to exceed the speed limit by 20kph yet NOBODY would let me off with letting rip with my AK47 into the horizon!!

Ain't killed nobody yet by doing that!!

But I give you a ticket for 120kph ( ya ain't killed nobody yet, right? ) and ya moan like I shot you in the arse with my aforementined AK47.

[avgas]

Listen cheese-dick, for a start I've been drinking, that's why I'm so nice, why is it o.k. to exceed the speed limit by 20kph yet NOBODY would let me off with letting rip with my AK47 into the horizon!!

Ain't killed nobody yet by doing that!!

But I give you a ticket for 120kph ( ya ain't killed nobody yet, right? ) and ya moan like I shot you in the arse with my aforementined AK47.

damn now ill have to go rip those AK's off me Kamikazi - cant affort 2 tickets.
I only use them to scare 4wd's

[madboy]

Listen cheese-dick, for a start I've been drinking, that's why I'm so nice, why is it o.k. to exceed the speed limit by 20kph yet NOBODY would let me off with letting rip with my AK47 into the horizon!!

Scumdog, don't take this the wrong way mate, but you must have been drinking with Andy Knackers-whatever from LTNZ. You make it sound like exceeding the speed limit is dangerous in itself.

If that was the case, how come a dangerous driving charge doesn't come with each speeding ticket?

I cannot see a scientific basis for saying that exceeding the speed limit is dangerous.

Sure, it might be quite dangerous doing it under certain circumstances, but then so is doing the speed limit in some circumstances.

The whole point of it was - the fella wanted to give me a ticket for exceeding the speed limit, yet somehow thought that had a link to performing a road safety act. That's a big stretch to make.

[scumdog]

Scumdog, don't take this the wrong way mate, but you must have been drinking with Andy Knackers-whatever from LTNZ. You make it sound like exceeding the speed limit is dangerous in itself.

If that was the case, how come a dangerous driving charge doesn't come with each speeding ticket?

I cannot see a scientific basis for saying that exceeding the speed limit is dangerous.

Sure, it might be quite dangerous doing it under certain circumstances, but then so is doing the speed limit in some circumstances.

The whole point of it was - the fella wanted to give me a ticket for exceeding the speed limit, yet somehow thought that had a link to performing a road safety act. That's a big stretch to make.

Fair point but I counter with: I suppose those last few 'multi-death' crashes up your end of the country were totally non-speed related???

Sure the drivers may have been drunk too - and everybody comdemns the drink-driving aspect right? but not the speed factor?

As I've said before, yeah, in places the speed limit seems somewhat tame to most of us - but the Govt' hasn't yet brought out new laws saying "if your competent and in a good vehicle and the road is clear and the road conditions are good you can travel at xxx km/h above the posted speed limit".
Face it peoples, we are all paying for the fact that there is a reasonably large sector of road users that become a danger as soon as their vehicle is in motion - let alone doing the speed limit.

[sir.pratt]

It's a bit like when cops pull you over and tell you that at 121km/h on a two lane median barriered stretch of empty motorway (excluding the laser gun toting nazi on the overbridge) driving a late model freshly warranted vehicle, they're doing a public safety role. And when you put them on the spot by asking them what contribution to road safety they are currently making? They revert back to "What's the speed limit". "100k officer, now are you going to answer my question?"

I never did get answer to that one. Of course, I went home, pulled out the bike and went back for a rematch minus numberplate - didn't hang round to ask them to share any intelligent thoughts

Maybe they shoulda reverted to the "your mumma" come backs. Woulda been more inline with their mentality.

At least the cop is making some contribution, instead of just wasting O2

[sir.pratt]

So Madboy - how many times a week do you get asked dumb-fuck questions from people you are handing out fines to? What is it you do again? Aren't you one of those insurance dudes that looks for any excuse NOT to pay out?

[madboy]

So Madboy - how many times a week do you get asked dumb-fuck questions from people you are handing out fines to? What is it you do again? Aren't you one of those insurance dudes that looks for any excuse NOT to pay out?

I get asked plenty of dumb f*** questions, but as I have voice recording on our calls at work, I don't get the opportunity to give unprofessional answers. Yes, I do work in insurance, but probably not in the role you think I do. Not all people who work in insurance spend their days combing the fine print looking for General Conditions, Clause 3, para 2 that says "The insurer can decline any claim on the basis they feel like it."

My point was that there are a few too many cops who mistake exceeding the speed limit for being a dangerous activity. And there are a few too many members of the society who have such a limited understanding of the mechanics and physics behind driving/riding who share that same view. I can't see how that officer at that time made a contribution to road safety. All that happens now is I make sure for that particular 1km stretch of mway I slow down to 110k in the car, and speed up to 210k on the bike.

Scumdog - I think we agree in principle, but let's look at the boys in Hastings - I was doing 20% over the speed limit on a 2-lane per way motorway with a median barrier, no vehicles on my side of the mway, the chase vehicle came out of a side street approx 500m down the road from the overbridge that I was clocked 200m before, dry road, clear weather, 3-up with all occupants buckled up. Hastings? 6-up (so even best case scenario 1 would have certainly been unbuckled although I believe many or all were?), late at night, driver with bugger all experience doing 170% of the speed limit, residential (I believe) area. Not quite in the same league. I won't pretend I'm lilly white here, I still up the ante in residential areas on occasion, but the circumstances of those boys? Lunacy even in my books.