29 August 2014

Police put dangerous drivers on notice

| Canfan
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ACT Policing is warning Canberra drivers it will not tolerate dangerous driving, after a week of appalling driver behaviour in the capital.

Last weekend; Saturday and Sunday (August 23 and 24), ACT Policing caught 23 drink drivers – which is almost one drink driver caught every two hours. Seven of those drivers were identified as being repeat offenders and two were arrested for drink driving twice on the same day. Ten drivers were issued with an Immediate Suspension Notice, suspending their right to drive for 90 days.

Acting Officer In Charge Traffic Operations Sergeant Craig McPherson said police were disappointed by a week of poor driving behaviour.

“By removing impaired drivers from our roads, community safety is improved and the potential for serious or fatal crashes is greatly reduced. The message should now be clear to everyone: don’t drink and drive, you will be caught, anywhere and at any time,” Sergeant McPherson said.

Drink driving wasn’t the only risk-taking driving behaviour seen on ACT roads this week, with a 45-year-old Banks woman caught driving dangerously in Drakeford Drive on Tuesday (August 26).

About 1:15pm, Police travelling on Drakeford Drive, Monash noticed a red coloured van being driving dangerously; travelling closely behind other vehicles, swerving, changing lanes without indicating and travelling 50km/h over the sign-posted 80km/h speed limit. Police intercepted the vehicle and discovered the woman was driving unlicensed having never held driver’s licence – she was also a repeat unlicensed driving offender. Of concern, a young child was on board the vehicle at the time of the incident. The woman was summonsed to face the ACT Magistrates Court at a later date.

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility – drivers who speed are gambling with their lives and the lives of others,” Sergeant McPherson said.

“We’re continuing to target speeding throughout these last few days of August and you can do your part by watching for speed signs and slowing down.”

The ‘Stop pushing the limits’ campaign forms part of the ACT’s multi-agency road safety strategy and aims to encourage attitudinal and behavioural change towards speeding. The campaign launched on 1 July and will continue throughout August 2014.

(ACT Policing Media Release)

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what will the police do now that August is over and this campaign has ended?

Mike Crowther5:50 pm 31 Aug 14

I don’t think the police ever tolerate sh%t drivers. The judiciary, well that’s a whole other story and really blunts the ‘zero-tolerance’ line.

HardBallGets12:54 pm 31 Aug 14

“The message should now be clear to everyone: don’t drink and drive, you will be caught, anywhere and at any time,” Sergeant McPherson said.”

The problem is, Sergeant McPherson, that people believe the exact opposite. People drink drive with impunity and are dead set unlucky if they get caught. The deterrence effect of roadside breath testing is minimal because Canberrans are very rarely tested.

We see you on TV more than we see you on our roads, and you do your message credibility a disservice more often than not when you’re on TV.

magiccar9 said :

I believe that the police need to have more power to punish this behaviour more effectively. Perhaps instead of telling her she can’t drive again and fining her a small penny, they impact her life some other way. Maybe a small stint in our prison, or taking away family benefits (if she’s on them). Something that will really impact her life instead of the usual rubbish.

I’d much prefer electronic tagging device coupled with home detention. If that fails shackle them to their bed and see how they like that….

HenryBG said :

Reminds me of John Hargreaves’ justification for the speed cameras on the Tuggeranong Parkway – he pointed to the fact that one of them had snapped a guy doing 160km/h – a car-thief in a stolen vehicle. Fantastic work, we’re all so much safer from car thieves doing 160km/h now the camera’s there.

Please please don’t tell me the speed cameras on the Parkway were a Hargreaves initiative.

I believe that the police need to have more power to punish this behaviour more effectively. Perhaps instead of telling her she can’t drive again and fining her a small penny, they impact her life some other way. Maybe a small stint in our prison, or taking away family benefits (if she’s on them). Something that will really impact her life instead of the usual rubbish.

“Police intercepted the vehicle and discovered the woman was driving unlicensed having never held driver’s licence – she was also a repeat unlicensed driving offender.”

So stopping her is a regular occurrence that achieves nothing. Good work.

Reminds me of John Hargreaves’ justification for the speed cameras on the Tuggeranong Parkway – he pointed to the fact that one of them had snapped a guy doing 160km/h – a car-thief in a stolen vehicle. Fantastic work, we’re all so much safer from car thieves doing 160km/h now the camera’s there.

Meanwhile, they’re still not fining idiots who thumb their noses at the law by driving around with their fog lights on.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd7:03 am 31 Aug 14

Madam Cholet said :

Go out on any day in Canberra and you will see dangerous drivers. I hope that the police have not only just cottoned on to this. As someone said last week on RA, the police moaning about the state of driving in Canberra is not going to change attitudes on the actual road.

A few weeks ago on a Saturday the police sat on the Monaro just around the gaol. If they were really switched on they would also sit there during the week and catch those going to work who seem to believe that this stretch of road is still (even after about 5 years),100kph.

I think the idea that someone added last week about notifying the police where they believe drivers regularly speed is a good idea. A few weeks of seeing police camped at these areas and perhaps it will change attitudes. Perhaps.

Great idea.

Same complaint about the chapman end of namatjira drive. Idiots always speeding.

Madam Cholet4:17 pm 30 Aug 14

Go out on any day in Canberra and you will see dangerous drivers. I hope that the police have not only just cottoned on to this. As someone said last week on RA, the police moaning about the state of driving in Canberra is not going to change attitudes on the actual road.

A few weeks ago on a Saturday the police sat on the Monaro just around the gaol. If they were really switched on they would also sit there during the week and catch those going to work who seem to believe that this stretch of road is still (even after about 5 years),100kph.

I think the idea that someone added last week about notifying the police where they believe drivers regularly speed is a good idea. A few weeks of seeing police camped at these areas and perhaps it will change attitudes. Perhaps.

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