I'm a grave menace to society

**marty** · 26th July 2007, 21:02

Originally Posted by Sanx

For reference, in the UK's last major study of accident causes, "speed in excess of the posted limit" was the root cause of just 3% of accidents. other causes that rated higher included tailgating, not paying attention, tiredness, alcohol, drug impairment, failing to observe, failing to give way and driving whilst in a clown suit. OK, maybe not the last one.

.

so speed may not have been the root cause in 97% of crashes, but i bet it was either mitigating (tailgating - at speed. driving tired - at speed. alcohol/drug impaired - at speed etc etc) or just really hurt a lot when they stopped quickly.

suck it up dude. if you're fool enough to get caught, too bad. if you don't like the limits, instead of bleating on here like some hard-done-by moron, either move to europe, or get andy knackers job.

**marty** · 26th July 2007, 21:09

peasea - you sound like a herald-letter-writing busybody that has his head stuck in the sand dune of idealism. unfortunately the quagmire of reality is over >>>>>>

(note how that points outside of the internet.....)

it's all a conspiriacy against people like you, you know.

and by the way - i got pinged on Renwick Rd in Blenheim at 3am this morning. 85 in a 50. could see the 100k signs about a k ahead of me. nice cop gave me a growling, and said don't do it again

oh, i ws talking on my phone, and eating a pie at the time too.....

**Storm** · 26th July 2007, 21:36

Originally Posted by scumdog

Would you be happier if the two reverted to pre-'92 situation?

Yes.
Then you could be an upstanding member of the police force, or a revenue gathering bastard. Nice and clear, black and white. Everyone knows what jobs you'd be doing.

Still wont stop the wingeing when someone gets a ticket mind you-then again nothing does!

**spudchucka** · 26th July 2007, 22:01

Originally Posted by more_fasterer

It is great to hear this from a currently serving Police officer. Strangely, it contradicts the comments from another currently serving Police officer which were (excuse the paraphrasing, I didn't have my dictaphone with me):

"I've recently moved from the beat to traffic, as there was so much paperwork involved in policing crimes such as burglaries that it became incredibly frustrating. Traffic seemed that much more enticing as it's easier to meet your performance targets with less time stuck at a desk."

That's an individuals choice to make. General Duties policing can be bloody hard work at times, people burn out very quickly and it can actually be quite beneficial to take breaks into different areas of policing that aren't generally quite so stressful.

**marty** · 26th July 2007, 22:05

Originally Posted by Sanx

"Sierra Oscar 24 to Sierra Oscar. Chasing a black bike last seen heading west on State Highway 16. Registration unknown."

And of course, they're no exits to use and nice surburban back streets to pootle through at 49kph all the way home. Hmmm - I wonder if the standard UK big city method of evading Police choppers works in Auckland too; head to the airport.

In the UK, at least, there's a snowball's chance in hell that air traffic control would let a Police chopper fly into Heathrow or Manchester airport controlled airspace unless the person they were chasing had done something particularly nasty. Air traffic control have been known to ask Police chopper crews what the accused is meant to have done, and then allow or deny them based upon that. When you've got a passenger plane taking off or landing every thirty seconds, closing the airport approach for ten minutes to allow a police chopper access can prove rather costly.

And if air traffic control ever find out the Police chopper pilot's lied; that's his pilot's licence.

fucking bullshit. police helos operate well under the circuit height for airports, and helicopter movements at heathrow would generally not infringe on the approach/departure. you'd be a brave man in todays environment to take a pursuit into a major airport in london.....i can imagine it now - 'police chopper to control - in pursuit of black bike - looks like it's going to the airport' . Seen the security at Heathrow lately?

auckland airport - the only place it 'may' become an issue is if you headed up puhinui rd, however it is easy to stay off to the side of the approach - i have a couple of times had to hold overhead the viewing carpark waiting for 74s etc to fly past, and the wake turbulence to dissapate.

on top of everything else, it would require the turning off of the transponder for someone to illegally bust a CTA -more foolish than lying about where you flew.

**swbarnett** · 27th July 2007, 00:05

Originally Posted by Mekk

I dunno about this. It's better than nothing,

Giving people a false sense of security can't be good.

Originally Posted by Mekk

I see merits to both preventative policing and aftermath policing...the trouble is striking a balance that is effective enough for this society. Not an easy thing to do.

Probably one of the more level-headed things I've read in this thread. I think the current balance is way too heavy towards arbitrary limits.

**scumdog** · 27th July 2007, 00:48