The world is now a safer place
Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 7:35 pm
I haven't had a ticket in 2 years and 11 months, at which time I got a fine for accelerating past a car that was changing lanes on me. The copper didn't want a bar of it and wrote me up for a six pointer.
Prior to that I got a ticket about 5 years earlier, for doing 120 in a 70 zone when I wasn't even doing 100. The copper didn't want a bar of it and offered to write me up for dangerous driving as well, if I'd like (as I accelerated off a set of lights - note, no wheelspin).
Oh, and I neglect to mention the fine I received for walking across a red pedestrian light at 2am while stone cold sober with no cars around, save for the cop car parked 100m up the road.
So as you can imagine, I have a fairly low opinion of coppers who are in my personal experience absolute pricks. No offence to any forum members who are cops, but I'll reserve judgement until such a time as I meet you in your uniform.
Earlier this week, I did something pretty shithouse (wheelie) that resulted in me getting a speeding fine. First one in 10 years that I've actually deserved to get, copped it on the chin and that was the end of that.
Today, I was teaching a friend how to ride a (motor)bike in a completely empty carpark and the coppers drove past as I was turning the bike around for her. They promptly did a u-turn and parked up beside us.
They asked to see my license and asked if I realised I was required under the "Road Transport Management Act" (or something to that effect) to wear a helmet on a bike. I pointed out that I'd never ride a bike on the road without a helmet at which point they said "won't be a minute".
At this point I thought they were just checking my license for warrants etc... but true to form a minute later they resufraced with a fucking ticket for "öperate vehicle without helmet (motorcycle)".
No discussion, no nothing, just fucking *bang* here's your ticket. Once the ticket was written I objected but knew it was too late, the (lovely) female copper then gave me a lecture on how she was concerned to see that I was instructing someone on how to operate a motorcycle and being "incapable of even teaching the basics of personal safety".
Now, anyone who knows me will know that I'm a real safetycrat when it comes to gear. My girlfriend was standing there beside me in about $2000 of safety gear and was absolutely covered from head to toe. I pointed this out, and also that we'd just lay-by'd $1000 of gear for her at which point she gave me a lecture on the road toll, did her official two-line spiel on my right to pay the fine off in instalments and my right to a court hearing (which we all know is a sham unless you can afford $3k for a traffic lawyer).
I pointed out that I though the fine was unreasonable, and that a polite warning would have been more than enough. Cop didn't want a bar of it so that was when I dropped polite & friendly and pointed out that they were the type of scum and that made people hate coppers.
This fired her up a little but basically I was already rooted so I figured why not at least make her feel a litle bad by pointing out the scum that she really is. She then said she had a "three car accident" to attend (in a way that suggested I was lucky not to have been killed in such an accident while moving the bike in a carpark) and her apparently castrated male partner chipped in "hope we don't have to scrape you up off the road next".
I've been down the appeal in writing and the appeal in court routes before for earlier tickets and it doesn't work so I'm resigned to the fact that I'm rooted.
Best thing is that due to the timing, although I haven't had a ticket for 2 years and 11 months since my 6 pointer, I've had two 3-pointers in three days (one of which I'm happy to cop) so now I've lost my license!
But the world is now a safer place.
Prior to that I got a ticket about 5 years earlier, for doing 120 in a 70 zone when I wasn't even doing 100. The copper didn't want a bar of it and offered to write me up for dangerous driving as well, if I'd like (as I accelerated off a set of lights - note, no wheelspin).
Oh, and I neglect to mention the fine I received for walking across a red pedestrian light at 2am while stone cold sober with no cars around, save for the cop car parked 100m up the road.
So as you can imagine, I have a fairly low opinion of coppers who are in my personal experience absolute pricks. No offence to any forum members who are cops, but I'll reserve judgement until such a time as I meet you in your uniform.
Earlier this week, I did something pretty shithouse (wheelie) that resulted in me getting a speeding fine. First one in 10 years that I've actually deserved to get, copped it on the chin and that was the end of that.
Today, I was teaching a friend how to ride a (motor)bike in a completely empty carpark and the coppers drove past as I was turning the bike around for her. They promptly did a u-turn and parked up beside us.
They asked to see my license and asked if I realised I was required under the "Road Transport Management Act" (or something to that effect) to wear a helmet on a bike. I pointed out that I'd never ride a bike on the road without a helmet at which point they said "won't be a minute".
At this point I thought they were just checking my license for warrants etc... but true to form a minute later they resufraced with a fucking ticket for "öperate vehicle without helmet (motorcycle)".
No discussion, no nothing, just fucking *bang* here's your ticket. Once the ticket was written I objected but knew it was too late, the (lovely) female copper then gave me a lecture on how she was concerned to see that I was instructing someone on how to operate a motorcycle and being "incapable of even teaching the basics of personal safety".
Now, anyone who knows me will know that I'm a real safetycrat when it comes to gear. My girlfriend was standing there beside me in about $2000 of safety gear and was absolutely covered from head to toe. I pointed this out, and also that we'd just lay-by'd $1000 of gear for her at which point she gave me a lecture on the road toll, did her official two-line spiel on my right to pay the fine off in instalments and my right to a court hearing (which we all know is a sham unless you can afford $3k for a traffic lawyer).
I pointed out that I though the fine was unreasonable, and that a polite warning would have been more than enough. Cop didn't want a bar of it so that was when I dropped polite & friendly and pointed out that they were the type of scum and that made people hate coppers.
This fired her up a little but basically I was already rooted so I figured why not at least make her feel a litle bad by pointing out the scum that she really is. She then said she had a "three car accident" to attend (in a way that suggested I was lucky not to have been killed in such an accident while moving the bike in a carpark) and her apparently castrated male partner chipped in "hope we don't have to scrape you up off the road next".
I've been down the appeal in writing and the appeal in court routes before for earlier tickets and it doesn't work so I'm resigned to the fact that I'm rooted.
Best thing is that due to the timing, although I haven't had a ticket for 2 years and 11 months since my 6 pointer, I've had two 3-pointers in three days (one of which I'm happy to cop) so now I've lost my license!
But the world is now a safer place.