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Originally Posted by me
Friday 9th June.
I Left my house in my wife’s classic falcon, on my way to pick up my friend’s daughter and her friends to take them to their school formal in the city. (Convention centre).
I went to the BP service station on the corner of Bolivar and Port Wakefield Roads where I filled the car’s LPG tank. I exited the BP directly onto Pt Wakefield Rd, and stopped at the traffic lights for a red light. I was in the lane nearest the middle of the road.
In the lane next to me (nearest the side of the road) was an early white Subaru station wagon. There was also a cyclist next to the Subaru. When the lights turned green, I accelerated away from the lights at a normal speed. The Subaru in the other lane accelerated somewhat slower because of the cyclist beside him.
I travelled along Pt Wakefield Rd at the posted speed limit of 90kmph, still in the same lane. The traffic in the other lane was travelling at approximately 80kmph, as there was traffic merging from Bolivar road.
I continued to travel along Pt Wakefield Rd, stopping for a red light at the Pt Wakefield rd / South Rd extension on ramp intersection. Once the lights turned green I continued along Pt Wakefield towards the city. I was now in an 80kmph zone.
Whilst travelling along this section of road, I was in a group of approximately 8 cars, spread over the three lanes. I changed lanes several times as a few of the cars were travelling at different speeds, all were below the posted limit. Even though I was passing cars, I still stayed within the speed limit.
I stopped at the lights at the corner of Pt Wakefield and Montague Roads. While I was waiting, an unmarked Police car came to a stop beside me, the lights on his parcel shelf flashing. The driver leant over and aggressively told me to pull over once across the intersection.
Unsure of what I had done, I asked the officer why he wanted me to pull over. He replied “you were speeding”. I replied “no I wasn’t”, to which he said “you were driving like an idiot”, and “you’re going to get a big fine for this”
I asked how fast I was supposed to be going. He wouldn’t reply, so I asked if he was going to ignore me. He then said, again rather aggressively, that he’d tell me how fast I was going after I had pulled over.
Once the lights had changed, I drove across the intersection at a very slow pace, as I had to change lanes, and there was a lot of traffic. I decided the safest place to park my car was in the carpark behind the Cross-Keys Hotel. I parked there as it was away from the busy intersection, and there was a lot of people there. I was genuinely concerned by the aggressiveness coming from the officer whilst he was in his car, and I wanted to be around other people.
After exiting my vehicle and handing the officer – who wasn’t wearing his safety vest, even though we were within 50 metres of a major intersection- my licence, he told me I was driving like an idiot and I was doing 100 in an 80kmph zone, and again that he was going to give me a big fine.
I asked him when and where I was travelling at the alleged 100kmph. He stated it was between the Pt Wakefield rd/south rd extension intersection, and the pt Wakefield/ Montague rd intersection.
I asked to see some kind of proof of my alleged speeding, such as radar or something similar. He told me he didn’t need radar, that he’d timed me with his car. I asked how he had done this. He wouldn’t reply. I asked if he’d timed me over a set distance or something similar.
He then told me that he’d followed me for a certain distance (but would not say the distance) and travelled at the same speed as I was doing. This confused me, as I had seen his car on port Wakefield rd, but he hadn’t been in the same lane as me. He was always in another lane, even when we stopped at the lights.
The reason this confused me, was the fact that there were other cars on the road all around us. If he was travelling at 100kmph as he had claimed, surely he would have collided with one of the other cars?
When I asked him to explain this, he went very quiet.
After regaining his aggressiveness, he told me that I had taken off from the lights at the intersection of Bolivar and Port Wakefield roads like a maniac. I asked him why he didn’t stop me then?
He claimed he was stuck behind another car. Surely if an officer sees someone they think is driving like an idiot they can turn on their lights (and sirens if required) to get through traffic to catch the offender?
He then told me he couldn’t keep up with me, to which I had to laugh. I was travelling at the posted speed limit, in a thirty-year-old car, that is my wife’s daily car, and he was driving a current model VZ commodore.
Having recently been employed at the GM Holden factory in Elizabeth, I am well aware of these cars’ performance.
I can understand why it would have appeared that I accelerated quickly from the lights, due to the Subaru leaving so slowly as he was beside a cyclist.
Also because of me driving past the cars merging from Bolivar road.
But why, if I was driving so recklessly, didn’t the officer pull me over in the 10 or so kilometres of straight two-lane (in each direction) road between the Bolivar rd intersection and the Montague road intersection?
While he was writing my ticket, he asked what my occupation was. I told him I was unemployed, to which he replied “why doesn’t that surprise me?”
Due to my appearance, and the fact I drive older, modified cars, I have dealt with a reasonably large number of police officers.
Up until having dealt with this officer, I have been very happy with the way I have been treated, even occasionally receiving compliments on my cars.
I found this officer to be unnecessarily rude and arrogant, and was genuinely concerned with his aggressiveness.
I am an active member of three car clubs, one being a nation-wide club for whom I am the South Australian Representative. I am not a hoon, I do not drive recklessly. I take great pride in my cars displaying them regularly at local cars shows.
I was in no way speeding, and in this case I think I was treated very unfairly.
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11-06-2006, 02:50 AM
oh and sorry for the long post..
pulled over, time for court.
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