Charged with Dangerous Driving - You got to be kiddin me?

[Funkyfly]

Monday had a great ride, riding between 120-130. Going thru the awakino gorge a cop came around the bend, didnt really have time to hit the brakes, looked in the mirrors to see if he was turning around, no brake lights etc (cool) so i carried on at the same speed, a lot of traffic on the road. Slowing down coming into Mokau i hear this almighty siren and look in my mirrors to see a cop right on my tail, like 1cm off! i hit the brakes and pull over and the cop car comes out beside me and runs me off the road, no joke, my knee and elbow were pressed hard against his car. It took all i had to keep the car upright.

He went nuts, i think he thought i had done a runner, going on about how i was passing cars, I can say with hand on heart i never saw him, anyone whos been on this road knows there is only one place that you see see more than 500 meters ahead or behind, and i never saw him following me, anyway if i had done a runner theres no way he would have caught the GSXR!

I tried to stay cool until i knew he had written out the tickets, once he was done and i saw the charges i let rip, he accused me of doing 180kph!, took my license, also charged me with failing to stop and dangerous driving! there was no way i was travelling anywhere near that speed, i know 150s the cut off speed for loose of license so always keep under it on these roads! i asked to see the speed and all he could show me was 121kph on his radar, He was a shocker, telling me "look everyone is laughin at you now" and "I think i might arrest you" there wasnt anything i could say or do, he was hell bent on kicking me.

i was dumb struck. Has anyone else been thru this crap! I plan to go to court, I dont intend on getting done for this rubbish!

To make matter worse my dad was hit by a car while all this was going on!

Big props to Sensei for your help on the day!

[TLDV8]

all he could show me was 121kph on his radar

You would think without proof of speed there would be little to go on..unfortunately it seems like a case of Guilty until proven Innocent..Good Luck.
>
I would try and find a witness who saw the car run up against you and have the guys job... like most things,just because you do a job it doesn't mean you should,this person should be removed for the publics safety.

[skelstar]

Dude that sucks. This kinda stuff encourages retaliation by means that are unlawful.

[Funkyfly]

I just hate the thought of paying for something im not guilty of! its not like a 100 dollar fine either, 6 months loss of license and up to $4,500.

Once my wife came and picked me and the bike up we went back up the road twice, i talked to a guy who lives 4km out of Mokau who was watching the traffice, he remembers seeing a bike following a car and then a pause then seeing the cop car flying past with lights etc on. he said "i thought there must have been an accident because i didnt hear or see any speeders"

i know i wasnt doing over 150, and his radar only said 121, surely if he was really following me and 180 then he would have clocked me on radar at that speed as well for proof, the fact he didnt surely adds weight to my side?

What did the radar say when you got done?

Whats with these dirty cops!!!!!!!!

[Deano]

That's rank mate.

I don't hold out much hope for you but best of luck fighting it.

[Sniper]

Bugger mate. Sounds like he got you by the short and curlies. As SM says, he got done cause the cop lied. If you take this to court you might just make it more difficult for yourself. See if you can get yourself a witness and get them to say that while you were stopped, the policeman attempted to ram you off the bike.

[bugjuice]

He didnt get me on radar.. so your fucked. he just told the court that he was driving his police car and his digital speedo was reading 208 km/h and the Suzuki was accelerating away from him at some pace. I would estimate in the vicinity of 240 to 250 km per hour.


If only it was a kawasaki, no one woulda believed him.

that hook of yours is baited well lately, huh? oh well, I'll just have to ride mine then
still passed you a couple of times. I had to stop to let you pass again..

Sucks about the ticket too, Funk.. But like the others have said, unless you had anyone with you at the time to witness it, then it'll be your word against his. And he's a cop, which means that in the courts, he is doing this for a living so is used to it. As far as the court is concerned, unless you have some unique angle, you're just another 'dangerous driver' trying to get off a ticket..
Hardly seems fair, I'm sure, but the odds are not in your favour I'm afraid

[crashe]

May I suggest, that you PM the cops that we have on site and discuss this with them... They maybe able to suggest what you can do... or should do in this situation.

None of us are qualified to tell you what to do unless someone on here is a lawyer. But I would think either way it is gonna cost you money.
Maybe this is the time that we all carry digi camera with the 'time and date' etc on them and then you could have taken a pic of the 121km on the radar as proof you were not doing 180km.

Yep it does sux, but chat to either scumdog, bykeycop or the other cops on this site. You do have the cops number on the ticket he issued to you....

[T.W.R]

a mate of mine got done in very similar circumstances a few years ago, it went to court etc the whole 9 yards. when it comes to alledged speeds if they've got it registered on the radar there is a permanent record of it, thus an estimated speed has no weight. check the ticket thoroughly and lodge a complaint ASAP over the heavy handed tactics & the cops dangerous method of stopping you ! it will go to court for sure but all the valid facts you can muster in your defense will help you keep your licence! anyhow the system doesn't always work i rode for nearly a year with 105 demerit points, never got any letters or requested to hand my licence in etc. go and spend $700 for a Blackwidow detector ( picks everything up & identifies what it is)

[T.W.R]

consult a lawyer about the legal situation, the first 20min of any consultation with any lawyer is free!

[ManDownUnder]

the first 20min of any consultation with any lawyer is free!

errrr WOT?

Free only if it mean $400/hour divided into 6 mins time chunks an a minimum 1/2 hour fee...

Re the incident. Defend it AND escalate it. Take it to the Police Complaints Authority (PCA). Tell them what you told us. Get all the evidence together (like the fact you couldn't stand the bike up, the guy waited till he was 1/2 an inch off your butt before hitting the siren etc.)

If you looked in your mirror - try and recall how much (or little) of the cop car you saw. That'll give a reasonable indication of how far the cop was when you first heard him.

Sounds like unsafe practice to me. Don't know how it would be justified but if there IS a justification for it - find out what it is. If it's wrong take THAT to the PCA as well.

I'm a fan of people being accountable for their actions - and if you were in the wrong - you get to pay... y'know - for what you actually did. Get the cop to confirm the speed reading, how it was done and the records etc.

ANYTHING you disagree with - goes to the PCA. This cop may have a history... and this little incident gets added to the file.

Good luck chap.
MDU

[HenryDorsetCase]

consult a lawyer about the legal situation, the first 20min of any consultation with any lawyer is free!

like hell it is......

I dont know any more about this area of law than anyone else,my recommendation is to find out who your local expert traffic law person is, pay some money, and get their opinion. then take their advice....

good luck

[**R1**]

ring these guys

Police complaints 0800 503 728, I rang them once from the side of the road, I had some dipshit copper try doing me for an unclocked speed, so I rang these guys and was telling them what was going on while he was writing out the ticket, I got a warning insted of a ticket...the story is a lot longer but I cant be arsed typing it....

try it, these guys are indepenant of the coppers...

[Unit:Me]

These situations always brings up debate, which is great, but sorry its at your expense. I guess from some of the cops points of view they see some bikers that are genuinely dangerous, and its their job to keep the fatality toll down in their area. For those of us who ride with care, but still over the speed limit, being tarred with the same brush as the dangerous riders sucks. I firmly believe bikes (like trucks, but they are restricted to slower speeds) should have a different speed limit to adhere to, that is, one slightly faster, say 120kms on open highway. Lets face it, all of us with grunt bikes can, and generally do cruise around the 120km mark quite happily. We become de-sensitised to our speed just as much as the cops do to speeding bikers. Im not condoning the cops actions by any means, if he had been the cause for your bike to get damaged in the process of pulling over, well, I hate to think how some of us would have reacted had the same happened given how passionate we are about our precious bikes. There are cops who genuinely hate bikers and are out to get us, there are bikers who give us a bad reputation and reinforce cops point of view. I hope you are able to at least have some of your charges dismissed, and may I suggest how much danger did the cop create trying to catch up with you? We all know how easy it is to slide past cars on our travels, and place quite a number of them between us and the pursuing cop, even when we're not trying!!! Keep us posted with the outcome

[DMNTD:Me]

...there are bikers who give us a bad reputation and reinforce cops point of view.

Hope ya weren't referring to me