20 January 2014

Smashed Car Windscreen - asking for assistance from the lovely Bonner People.

| JusDrivingSchool
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smashed window

Hello Fellow Rioters,

Long time reader first time poster

First I would like to say have been reading this site for a good 5+ years now, very much entertaining, especially on your Cyclists vs Cars topics haha, you guys crack me up 🙂

The Reason I am writing this in for today is that I have a driving school north side of Canberra that has been today recently vandalized. Pictures tell the tale. Also I would like to add today is my birthday so a good start to that.

What I am asking is that if anyone has seen anything that may have caused this please call my school number or pm back on riotACT. There is a $1000 reward to anyone that has any info that leads to the persons guilty. Helpful Hint I Found a golf ball in the back seat and another next to the car.

Now the driving school is only a side business of mine, I have a full time job already Mon-Fri and I do the driving school only on the weekends.

There is a very good reason why I have this as an extra job and for working hard, the reason being;

1. I love to teach the kids and they tend to really enjoy the lessons and become great drivers in the end.

2. (Main Reason) I have a second small house up in QLD Hervey Bay that I bought for my mum to live in as she was about to have no where to live as an old aged pensioner (long story). So I decided along with my wife that we could afford the extra mortgage and she can be the tenant and never again worry about where she would have to live providing I keep a weekend job on top. So for the past 3yrs I have been working 6-7 days a week with last holidays past being my first in 3yrs. That is why when something like this happens it hurts me, Financially and Mentally ;(

So to the person that did this I hope you are happy, I hope you decide to own up before someone else comes forth and lets me know what they saw, and the police find the guilty party.

-Jus

P.S. Definitely wouldn’t have been any previous or current students

P.P.S Sorry I was never the best at English going through school. 🙂

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Shan12 said :

Yep but Gungers is a new suburb so not many people living there yet – still a lot of dirt and empty fields, so imagine what it will be like when it is complete? But agree Belco is the worst in Canb, then Gungahlin. Best area is inner south for sure.

That may change when Coombs and Wright stop being just a big dust bowl…

c_c™ said :

Shan12 said :

Be careful around Gungahlin. The area is a deserted ghetto, and there is always reports of vandalism etc. I feel so sorry for you :/ That sucks.

The statistics don’t agree with you. Gungahalin is right in the middle for property damage, Tuggeranong and Belco have close to triple the incidents, with Inner North not far behind.

I note that the Inner South, Woden and Weston have the lowest incidents, I wonder if there’s a demographic thing going on there?

Yep but Gungers is a new suburb so not many people living there yet – still a lot of dirt and empty fields, so imagine what it will be like when it is complete? But agree Belco is the worst in Canb, then Gungahlin. Best area is inner south for sure.

Shan12 said :

Be careful around Gungahlin. The area is a deserted ghetto, and there is always reports of vandalism etc. I feel so sorry for you :/ That sucks.

The statistics don’t agree with you. Gungahalin is right in the middle for property damage, Tuggeranong and Belco have close to triple the incidents, with Inner North not far behind.

I note that the Inner South, Woden and Weston have the lowest incidents, I wonder if there’s a demographic thing going on there?

Be careful around Gungahlin. The area is a deserted ghetto, and there is always reports of vandalism etc. I feel so sorry for you :/ That sucks.

From repeated experience, you have two chances. Even if you get a license number and witnesses it is highly unlikely the police can, or want to, help. I posted on RA a while ago about a hit and run (no injuries) and even with the license number and four witnesses, the police would not give us the details of the driver and would only give it to an insurance company. I’ve since remembered another accident years ago where I was rear ended by a Government plated vehicle and, even though my car was extensively damaged and had to be towed, it took me nearly a year and initial loss of insurance excess before I could get anyone to admit there had been an accident and that the other vehicle was at fault.

Failed anyone recently?

Wouldn’t be surprised if they targeted the rear glass because it has the electronics running through it, absolute scumbags. A while back, maybe a year, I knew someone in the inner north who had the locks on their car repeatedly ‘popped’ with presumably a screwdriver. Never had anything taken, just seemed like mindless vandalism.

JusDrivingSchool12:18 pm 21 Jan 14

– Yeah car will be back on the road Friday, Since my weekend is full for lessons.

– Cost: Kinda annoying as the cheapest i could find was $465 for aftermarket glass, $590 for Genuine, and the excess was going to be $600 if I claimed through insurance. (then add a loss of a days work from yesterday)

– $1000 reward was because at first I thought I was the only one, but still stands cause if I knew who it was now….. -_^

The reward is very generous of you, but is a broken rear windscreen worth a $1000 reward? Or is there more damage than just one window? (There’s only one photo posted that I can see).

IP

What I am asking is that if anyone has seen anything that may have caused this please call my school number or pm back on riotACT. There is a $1000 reward to anyone that has any info that leads to the persons guilty. Helpful Hint I Found a golf ball in the back seat and another next to the car.

Under the circumstances you’ve laid out in your post what you probably need is to borrow a car so that you can continue with the weekend job of teaching young adults how to drive.

Also, as some have already pointed out, don’t bother with the police. The vandalists motive was just to damage property – their version of ‘fun’. They would have left very little in ways of evidence.

P.P.S Sorry I was never the best at English going through school.
Compared to some of the atrocious grammar and spelling shared by other posters on RA, yours was god-sent.

I dont normally condone vigilante justice, but the offenders deserve a few golf balls shoved up their backsides when they are caught.
I live further up the street and this is scary. Hope the offenders are caught soon.

Surprised the offered forensic services, mate recently had his car stolen when they smashed the side window in, wrecked the steering column and took it on a joyride, cops refused to even consider forensics stating it was a waste of time for small value property damage. Good luck but don’t hold your breath on the offenders ever being caught.

This sucks. I feel really bad for you and hope that this does not happen to any one else. Do you yourself have a facebook page? Post it on there as well.

People who vandalise other peoples property really get on my goat. If the shoe was on the other foot they would be pissed!

Hope it does not cost you too much, and that your insurance company does not increase your premiums.

Is the car always parked on the side of the road? I know alot of houses/apartments in that area do not have garages. Once again I am sorry that this has happened to you a hard working person does not need to have this done to them.

JusDrivingSchool10:26 pm 20 Jan 14

Hey Guys, I found a link on Facebook (MyGungahlin), apparently this happened to a few cars in Bonner and Forde and Casey last night (Monday Morning).

– Jus

Sorry this happened but you’re not going to get the justice you want. Report it to police as Danman suggested. If there’s a pattern of this behaviour in the area, they may be able to target it.

If it’s any consolation, the person that did this is a sad, low life maggot, who no doubt lives an empty, pathetic life and will never achieve anything worthwhile.

JusDrivingSchool9:53 pm 20 Jan 14

Danman said :

Last night there was a spate of criminal damage in Casey with golf balls the main M.O. Have you called the plod to report – All intel adds to their bigger picture.

Yeah I have called the Police (PoePoe, as I say to my students) They were very helpful and made a report. They did offer forensic testing but I said I don’t think that would be overly necessary.

Car will be back on the road before the weekend so no students will miss out on their lessons.

Hosinator said :

Mate I wouldn’t even bother with the reward and as for someone being found guilty. Fat chance. This happened to me and witnesses provided the police with the description of the vandals, their licence plate number and offered to go to the court to testify. You know what the police did, nothing. My car was one of 10 vandalised in a Civic car park on a Friday night in front of hundreds of shoppers.

Our police are overstretched, under funded and are hamstrung by a pathetic justice system.

I’m sorry it happened to you, but you’re just better moving on.

Ouch, that would sting knowing you have some sort of proof, Sorry to hear that.

Becmaster78 said :

I genuinely feel for you and this pointless damage. I know how hard it is living from payday to payday and any excess costs can ruin your budget for weeks. I also support my elderly father on top of being a mum and I know how hard it is to juggle two household costs on one household income as my fathers pension only covers his needs without factoring in the high cost of renting a decent place.
Back to your car damage – I can only suggest you speak to your neighbours and perhaps contact Neighbourhood Watch to include in their newsletter? I’ve reported teens in my area taking potshots with golf balls at cars. Did any of your surrounding neighbours report similar damage? I cant really offer much more than my empathy and hope you get a good outcome to your situation. Best of.

Yeah My Neighbors were the ones that alerted me to this morning, then I did a round through the Bonner Shops and asked staff etc, will have to check the neighborhood watch bit ( good tip )

Thanks for the help people 🙂

– Jus

Last night there was a spate of criminal damage in Casey with golf balls the main M.O. Have you called the plod to report – All intel adds to their bigger picture.

Mate I wouldn’t even bother with the reward and as for someone being found guilty. Fat chance. This happened to me and witnesses provided the police with the description of the vandals, their licence plate number and offered to go to the court to testify. You know what the police did, nothing. My car was one of 10 vandalised in a Civic car park on a Friday night in front of hundreds of shoppers.

Our police are overstretched, under funded and are hamstrung by a pathetic justice system. I’m sorry it happened to you, but you’re just better moving on.

I genuinely feel for you and this pointless damage. I know how hard it is living from payday to payday and any excess costs can ruin your budget for weeks. I also support my elderly father on top of being a mum and I know how hard it is to juggle two household costs on one household income as my fathers pension only covers his needs without factoring in the high cost of renting a decent place.
Back to your car damage – I can only suggest you speak to your neighbours and perhaps contact Neighbourhood Watch to include in their newsletter? I’ve reported teens in my area taking potshots with golf balls at cars. Did any of your surrounding neighbours report similar damage? I cant really offer much more than my empathy and hope you get a good outcome to your situation. Best of.

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