Red light runners

[ManDownUnder]

I'm getting an air horn fitted for just that reason...

See 'em coming, ease forward a little and hit the horn - scare the SHIT out of them.

[scumdog]

My opinion...

Put 50% of the traffic cops on the beat, walking residential areas etc. This would also give them a taste of what it is like to be a real policeman.
Then allow drivers to actually concentrate on their driving and where they are going rather than staring at the dash to make sure they don't drift over the posted limit.

or run a red light or fail to indicate or fail to give way or..... - is THAT the reason why so many do those things???? - staring at the dash all the time???


Nice troll.

"course if you DO have to constantly stare at the dash to make sure you don't go over the posted limit the rest of us are in serious trouble if we're on the same stretch of road.

[Colapop]

We watched a bike cop give out 8 tickets at the lights beside the Wellington Railway Station this morning (In the sun before it started pissing down). One of them was for one of our guys from work! Oh the shame in the car park beside the building stopped with lights and siren going!! $150 fine for running the orange....

[spudchucka]

That is why I said manned cameras. The camera for evidence (since red light running is arguable), and cop on bike to catch the perpetrator on the spot. Thoiugh a law change to put onus on registered owner would be good too. Another thing for BRONZ to take up!

The better option would be to have video recording ability in patrol cars. All that would be required then would be for the cop to deploy his / her vehicle in a manner that allowed the video camera to capture the offender running the red light. The same cop would then stop and ticket the driver knowing that he has the video evidence safely recorded.

To have a cop operating a static camera and another cop to chase and write tickets would be a waste of limited resources.

[Ixion]

Well, I don't think it would have to be a cop operating the camera, so long as it was a cop did the stopping. And problem with a patrol car is it could be hard to catch people in heavy traffic - hence bikes . But I'd go with anything that got the bastidges stopped and ticketed. Not many things I come down on, cos there's usually judgement factors involved (like speeding) , but red light running I do. It's always dangerous, and to other people, and there's very very rarely any excuse.

EDIT: Why don't cop cars have video cameras? They're cheap enough, and would presumably save some arguments both at the roadside and in court. I would have sorta assumed they'd be standard issue.

[chris]

Nice troll.

Ta, you bit.

[Lou Girardin]

Auck City traffic ran red light cameras, then they were merged and the cameras suddenly became too much trouble.
Part of the problem is the crazy phasing of traffic lights. especially on the shore.
I see a lot of drivers treating them as stop signs now - check it's clear and go.

[sAsLEX]

Part of the problem is the crazy phasing of traffic lights. especially on the shore.
I see a lot of drivers treating them as stop signs now - check it's clear and go.

I do that now, some one fuckin needs shooting over some of them aye

[c4.]

Been waiting for a red light running thread.
Tuesday, was pulling onto ponsonbsy rd from williamson, waiting opposite in hepburn was chap (ess?) on a suzuki waiting patiently, patiently, ahh green light. Obviously had been thru intersection before as he didn't jump the light, Being Ak, light goes orange, 3 cars squeeze thru, light goes red 2 more cars have once seen orange feel validated to go thru, then 3 seconds after light goes red, police car crashes light as biker pulles out, biker sees cop, takes evasive action, cop belatedly turns lights and siren on.
Aha! I think, he's got the car before him for running the red.
But no, I get my green and pull around the corner coming up to patrol car, inside 4 young uniforms laughing and chatting.
IMHO they had missed the change whilst chatting, nearly hit the bike, covered up by hitting siren, then, after the guy in front must have shat hisself, they turned it off and sat at the next red, right behind same car.
If it had been me on the bike, I would've felt within my rights to 'ask' the question.

[Lou Girardin]

They were obviously on the way to a job and were told to stand down.

[c4.]

For tui ....

[c4.]

for tui....

[scumdog]

They were obviously on the way to a job and were told to stand down.

You have no idea how true this may be and how often it happens.

[burn-out gurl]

ill admit i sometimes forget to indicate or something like that, but i always realise as soon as ive done it & feel like a real dick aye

[JohnR]

IMHO Bikey Cop (and others) have said it all.
The return on investment is not high enough, i.e. it's to hard for the Police (the organisation, not the individuals) to generate enough revenue without increased cost.

Also our instinct for self preservation works against because obviously the number of incidents at traffic lights is not significant enough to warrant a campaign, e.g. "ticking bombs" at uncontrolled intersections.

So get out there and become statistics so we can get some action!