28 March 2008

WARNING: Be careful of a crazy rock throwing driver

| MCA
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When I was coming to work this morning, I had a crazy lady behind me speeding and yelling abuse, weaving in and out of traffic. I gave her the finger which I guess just made her a little bit crankier. She blew her horn all the way down the parkway and would not overtake me. She followed me off the parkway towards to Belconnen and again tailgated me so I could not see her number plate properly. When I stopped at the lights to turn off to Bindubi Street, she lent out her car window and threw a rock at my car and sped off… WHAT kind of psycho has spare rocks in their car??

Anyway.. be careful of small blue holdens that drive erratically down the parkway during peak hour and I guess don’t give them the finger!..

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Timberwolf658:14 am 01 Apr 08

It will take someone to die before something is done about this.
What a psycho!

Well I consider anyone throwing rocks, or any other solid object, at a moving vehiclke as dangerous and requiring some intervention. I would hope that plod made a record of the complaint so that if it becomes a series of incidents with a similar description they can move on the person.

Is that reasonable?

Some people really need to come back to reality and put things into perspective…..

Car theft… avoidable.

Install an immobilizer would be a good start. If you really want to get tricky install a switch that cuts the fuel off under the car somewhere. Even if the thief gets to startt he car, within some metres it will stall, and the toerag won’t know how or why. The toerag will then leave the car and search for smoething that behaves better. The chances of the toerag even stopping to try and figure out the problem is practically nil.

We even used to use a fake rotor button for long term parking. No matter how long a thief looked at the engine and ignition for clues to why it wouldn’t start, without a diagnostic tool there was no way of telling that the rotor was the problem, as it looked like a genuine working one.

Bit more difficult these days, but there are many ways to ensure an engine won’t start unless you’re in charge, from a secret switch that cuts the ignition line (a friend had one installed as a fake trip reset button, you had to push it in and turn it to lock it!).

While I don’t doubt the Police have a responsibility to investigate all burglaries and car thefts, for a moderate cost and some lateral thinking it is perfectly possible to protect yourself against casual crime, and more people should accept that they need to take greater steps to protect their own property in the first case.

Proud Local, let me comment on putting things in perspective.

Now how many fatalities have happened say in the last 12 months on the road due to risky driving behaviour? For instance, how many have died while crossing a pedestrian crossing because a driver did not stop? A casual scan of Riot Act would find that people have commented on that happening in the last twelve months.

How many have died or were very badly injured in car crashes due to risky driving? Once again, a casual scan of Riot Act (not being the vast database source that the police would have) finds that even recent posts talk about dangerous driving and people getting badly injured from what you call ‘the occasional road incident’.

Now conversely, how many deaths and severe injuries occur from some bloke nicking off with a few Tim Tams at the shopping centre (shop lifting, number 7); some bloke spraying words like ‘dawg’ on a wall (number 6)? Or another guy taking off with a playstation after breaking in?

The general message from the police is that part of enforcement is prevention, which is why you have speed cameras, red light cameras, etc. If someone were to throw rocks on the street and injure a person, that would be considered assault. If someone were throwing rocks at a car, the potential for injury is far greater. Therefore, it makes sense to put that into persepective and PREVENT something as potentially dangerous from happening.

Your job, if you are even actually part of the police force, is not to pick and choose which laws are ‘worthy’ to look up. It is to protect the community and enforce the law – all of it. Out of the list you have provided, the issues law breaking issues that seem to cause the most angst on this website is dangerous driving. I haven’t seen any group comments all agreeing that this ‘shoplifting plague’ has to be lifted. Or vandalism plague or most of what’s on your list. There is a LOT of people who are noticing increasing risky driving behaviour on the roads however. And a LOT of people noticing nothing is being done about it.

If your response, Proud Local, is typical of the police in the ACT, then its out dated and not in touch with the community. Also, if people are noticing that the police are not doing their job (that is, enforcing the law and preventing these deaths and injuries from happening), then people have to get together to change the status quo. It really is not good enough. People throwing rocks? What’s the next point of escalation?

vandam I wasn’t really blaming the cops even though I might have sounded like it. I did say it was a rant (borne of frustration). My point was that police are sadly under-resourced and because of this they have to prioritise jobs. I have family in the AFP so I was assuredley not having a go at the police as a whole and understand the issues you raise – it is the sad reality.

Proud Local – I do know that fingerprints cannot be gleaned from a jumper – where did I say that it could? I said the cretins left a jumper in the back seat and fingerprints. If I was inferring the jumper had fingerprints I would have said “the cretins left a jumper with fingerprints in the back seat”. It’s all in the syntax.

Ok, let me put it to you this way. What should AFP policing be targeting more out of the following? (heaven forbid the differing opinions on here about that)

1. Burglary?
2. Stolen vehicles?
3. Domestic violence?
4. Robberies?
5. Drug usage/dealing?
6. Vandalism?
7. Shoplifting?
8. Car break ins?
9. Drink driving?
10. The occasional road incident that happens everyday and is usually impossible to prove let alone prosecute?

Proudlocal, you forgot #11 – Sit on your arse and pretend like you give a toss.
Aditionally, I think that you would do the local constabulary a huge favour if you no longer spoke from the point of an officer of the law.

People will misconstrue your opinions as that of the General Law Enforcement services in the ACT – something we can all do without dontcha think ?

Not having a go, just expressing my opinion from my personal experiences.

Ever had your trade tools ripped off twice in a year and had a police officer laught in your face when you were describing the contents of the tool box you had stolen. Yes Officer, I said boner – you know a knife that you debone chickens and beef with ? Whats so funny officer ?

Funny though – I got a written apology via the ombudsman.

Hey why isn’t the GG or PMs car rated on that website?

In the olden days, they could just take their badges off, and give the thieves a good thumping. I had an ex-senior policeman working for me some years ago, and it was funny to see him descend into puzzled outrage when some of our delightful clients became “obstreperous” (his term). That was usually my cue to zoom out and take over while he stalked back into the back office. He just didn’t have any resources for dealing with such unruly behaviour.

Pelican:
Well stealling a car is easy, getting away with it is easier!

Sure Police can get prints and DNA, but Police can’t just rely on that:

1: They have to ensure that the prints/DNA is on the inside of the car. (mind you there are only a few spots they can get prints off. If not, they get away with it, purely by saying they didn’t get in the car.
2: The offender needs to tell Police that he stole the car. He can say he just sat in it, or was given it by a friend knowing full well that that person isn’t going to tell Police he stole it.
3: The priority to examine the fingerprints/DNA is quite low compared to other crimes such as your murders/robberies/burglaries etc.
4: It takes quite some time to process DNA, in which case if Police satisfy all of the above, the magistrate is not interested because it’s 12months after the fact!

So after examining the above, really the only way Police are going to be able to catch an offender is for them to say they were driving and stole it, or they are pursued by Police.

It’s not a resourcing issue, it’s a legal issue, so don’t blame the cops on this one. Every cop I know out there(which is only a few!) are eager to arrest people for stolen cars. Unfortuantly it’s not that easy.

Anyway back onto the topic, I have an idea…..maybe we could all contribute $1 and have a truck load of rocks dumped on this stupid females car!

Police are always grumbling about Cops’n’murderers shows giving people the idea that porous surfaces will keep collectable finger prints.

Now, why wouldn’t anyone who could, nick a car? It’s not a crime any more, no one’s going to get in trouble for it. Nicking a car used to be something that only very hardened criminals would do. Now, any idiot might as well get in on it.

Eh? Whats your point Pelican? The police called you to say they had found your car. Sounds like a a good result to me. Alright, damaged but not much they can do about that except at least they found it for you.

Finding a car and taking prints isn’t likely to get a prosecution. Chances are the prints are not on the system, or the offenders wore gloves.

What more do you expect us to do? Accuse people randomly?

For the record, a jumper does not contain prints. Flat metal/glass surfaces supply prints and thats about it. CSI has a lot to answer for.

That was a close shave. Where do these people come from? Rock throwing incidents involving cars have ended in deaths so it is not a minor issue. I will be giving blue Holdens a wide berth (although hubby would say he would give Holdens a wide berth anyway). 🙂

It is doubtful that the police would follow this up. My daughter’s car was stolen from the front of our house and we still have not heard anything from the police. We only knew it was stolen because we got a call in the wee hours of the morning to say did we know where our car was? It was down near a shopping centre with major damage after the mindless cretins took it on a joy ride. Was a write-off. The police have pretty much done nothing and appear to view it as a too common event – when did we start drawing a line on crime and why are there not enough resources. The idiots even left a jumper in the back seat and fingerprints but I assume the police ran DNA and prints and maybe they are not in the system.

Sorry could not help but have a rant.

Spot-on, Sepi. Minor scumbag crime in the ACT is now a no-brainer, the kinds of people who do it know they can get away with it.

MSG, yes, you have a car-full of Special Rocks, but not spare rocks. That’s the difference between you and the crazed woman in the blue holden.

As someone who frequently has a stash of rocks in the car, I feel I should at least defend the bit about having rocks in your car being odd. If I see interesting rocks, I pick them up for the fish tank or putting in the garden. Sometimes it takes me a while to empty them out of the car. She is probably sitting at home bitching about how she had to use this really cool bit of quartz she found as a missile.

You should count yourself lucky she wasn’t anything like my parents, in which case it would have been a dead possum she had handy to throw at you. (Fresh roadkill possum makes good dog food, before anyone asks.)

New York had huge sucwess with their ‘zero tolerance’ approach to minor crime.

Once people realise they can bascially get away with anything that doesn’t cause major injury to someone else, they see no reason at all to moderate their behaviour.

I suspect that, it’s more the police don’t want to do anything that doesn’t result in a stat of some sort for their performance stats. Preventative policing, like going around and monstering a miscreant based on a report like this is quite effective, the idiot knows they’re now on the radar, and the police have the report and the visit on the records, so if the miscreant offends again, suddenly there’s corroborating info on their sheet, it’s not lilly-white.

Cops used to use the visit/the talking-to as a way of keeping on top of wrong-doers, but I think now everything has to be stat-able, quantifiable, and if it’s not, it’s wasted time to them. I suspect this is behind a lot of the responses people get from the cops, where they have all these excuses why they can’t do anything.

I reckon it prob sounds like YCV46D. sounds like the type of thing that speeding motorist does! They hate it when they can’t do 20 Kph over the posted limit when someone is blocking their way!
Surprised the Police couldn’t do anything. If you count the last digit as a letter, which is highly likely, then there are only 26 letters in the alphabet!

It’s funny that Westin got mentioned again, It’s something she would do, except she’s most likely have a unmarked Police car following closely behind her!

On my way home from work our bus was ‘Milked’ Driving along Yarra glen. just as we went under one of the over passes..

When people don’t have rocks they just use groceries!

oh, and as a cyclist I have serious concerns with things being thrown from cars.

Its a balancing act, if people start feeling that the police aren’t interested then they stop coming forward.

All I’m picturing is the crazy cat throwing lady from The Simpsons. What a nutbag! Like seriously, how retarded is society when some wackjob wakes up and goes

“I’m soooo over these shit drivers and man, I have an abundance of spare rocks in my yard. Hmmm, maybe I’ll buy some Tupperware from Aldi and collect some rocks so that next time I see a shit driver I can like, throw like a girl and hopefully their duco will get scratched and they’ll learn their lesson.”

Like seriously WTF?

And you know they’re gonna go to their job, probably in retail, and bitch to all their stupid friends about how bad Cashmere Mafia was the other night and how they gave some chick their comeuppance on the way to work today.

God I hate people!

I knew someone would comment on that.

Ok, let me put it to you this way. What should AFP policing be targeting more out of the following? (heaven forbid the differing opinions on here about that)

1. Burglary?
2. Stolen vehicles?
3. Domestic violence?
4. Robberies?
5. Drug usage/dealing?
6. Vandalism?
7. Shoplifting?
8. Car break ins?
9. Drink driving?
10. The occasional road incident that happens everyday and is usually impossible to prove let alone prosecute?

Again, perspective. We receive numerous allegations of a far more serious nature on a never ending daily basis. But the average Canberran only sees or seems to care about what happened to them on the way to work that morning.

I’m not saying what she did was acceptable, I’m just saying there is not much that can be done about it. Lots of cars/drivers on the road, some of them are loopy. We catch some of them, can’t get them all. Particularly when we DO have other things to occupy our time with.

Next.

reminds me of the dickhead I encountered a bit over a year ago who failed to give way as he pulled out of a sidestreet, and beeping him as I took evasive action to avoid the collision, he decided to follow me. he didn’t exactly tailgate me but followed me as i headed towards home.. distance of about 5kms, realising he was following me I was smart enough not to lead him to my home, took him up a loop street then drove towards tugggeranong, he finally figured out where I was taking him..as I indicated left to go into the police station 😉 I think I scared him more than he was trying to scare me in the end.

and the slow rate this thing writes at is REALLY pissing me off.

Proud Local said :

And to be honest, even though the driver sounds very nutty and very annoying, nothing too serious eventuated now did it?

Only because she’s evidently a shit shot!

People need to understand that even if you had got the whole numberplate and reported the matter to Police this is what happens.

1. Police look up car owner and find contact details.
2. Police ring or speak to owner in person at home.
3. Police ask person “Where you driving this car today? If so, did you tailgate, speed or throw rocks at other cars?”
4. Person says “No, I was not driving, maybe someone else in my family was.” Or “Yes I was driving but no, none of those things ever happened, maybe they got my numberplate confused with someone else’s?”.

Evidence people, it’s called the burden of proof to present it. One other driver saying what happened is NOT considered to be strong evidence. You need multiple witnesses to report the same thing or you need an admission from the alleged offender. You might be shocked to hear it but most “alleged offenders” lie to Police or honestly believe their own point of view.

And to be honest, even though the driver sounds very nutty and very annoying, nothing too serious eventuated now did it? We do have numerous crimes of a more serious nature to investigate most days, you can trust me on that one. It just happens that the average Canberran does not see much of the underbelly of this City which is a good thing but comes at the cost of perspective.

🙂

I don’t drive a blue car either, and none of my rocks are spare.

According to the site papadoc mentioned…

YCV46D is a speeder.
YCV46M is a litterer.

Who knew the internet was so full of useful information?

Funniest topic I’ve read yet (Except, of course, for the long discussion resulting from ‘Scurmdorgs’ failed visit to the Play School tent during the Canberra Festival).

Oh, I drive an Astra as well but it is silver OK, and I don’t carry any rocks.

I find that the level of road rage has definitely increased in Canberra, especially during peak traffic. Always been around but seems more common now. I find playing count the idiots on my commutes to and from work eases the pain. Just this afternoon I was nearly cleaned up on a roundabout by someone who was indicating to go left but actually meant they were going straight ahead. That topic has come on RA before as well.

OK… let the pig hunt begin. Number plate was YCV 46? It looked like a 2003-2004 Blue Holden Astra hatchback…. ENJOY

Even if there was non-circumstantial evidence, a member of our pretigius judiciary would have her back on the road by Tuesday. Swear to God this towns legal system is bullshit.

I know, I know, going off topic, it’s Friday, I’m going home…

This topic is classic! So many hilarious mental images being generated. And yeah, even if you got teh full number plate, make, model, colour of car, photo of driver, video footage of erratic driving, abuse, rocks, mass murder, they’d still say it was “circumstantial evidence” and get back to making toast.

And they CAN get up records on incomplete rego plates. Years ago I saw a van pulled up and 2 men jumping a neighbour’s fence, told my mother, she told neighbour, whose kid was a cop, and he used the bits of the plaet I could remember and teh van description to find them and ask what the hell they’d been up to.

Bludger – LOL!

LG – The site ur reffering to is http://www.ratetheplate.com.au

This reminds me of a piece of advice I heard at Fire Warden training (can’t remember why it came up)- if you’re being followed by a loony, always turn right. That way it’s a lot harder for them to pull up alongside your driver side window if you get stuck in traffic or whatever.

LG – “I find it a bit strange that the police couldn’t do anything”

Been living in Canberra long…?

MCA, what are those five digits?

Isn’t there a website for posting shite driver’s number plates? It was covered on here ages ago.

I find it a bit strange that the police couldn’t do anything since getting the first five didgits out of six leaves, at most, 26 possible cars in the ACT. How likely is it that they’re all small blue holdens??

Absent Diane4:17 pm 28 Mar 08

there certainly are some crazy muddafugga’s out there!!

I remember a few years ago driving along the parkway in peakhour and there was a lady driving a yellow old Ford wagon doing the exact same thing MCA mentioned, but instead of rocks she had this A4 sized sign on the rear window saying something about “if you are not overtaking don’t cruise in the right hand lane d*ckheads”.

People didn’t even have a chance to overtake or anything, she was right up your a*se if you were going 90, 100 or 120.

She was crazy, maybe it’s the same person who’s now upgraded to rocks…?

Hell, if the police aren’t going to do anything about it, you may as well post up those five digits here. There’s a lot of people who drive around and use this forum as well. What model Holden was it? Are we talking a Barina, Astra? Early, late model?

And, odds are, she’s going to be taking the opposite route home as well…

Who’s up for a pig hunt?

I remember a few years ago driving along the parkway in peakhour and there was a lady driving a yellow old Ford wagon doing the exact same thing MCA mentioned, but instead of rocks she had this A4 sized sign on the rear window saying something about “if you are not overtaking don’t cruise in the right hand lane dickheads”.

People didn’t even have a chance to overtake or anything, she was right up your arse if you were going 90, 100 or 120.

She was cray, maybe it’s the same person who’s now upgraded to rocks…?

love the meth joke barking toad, made me laugh out loud!

seriously though, what a stupid 6itch. this is why i never give people the finger on the road, never know where it could end.

montana said :

how did you not manage to get the number plate?

what car were you driving? a WRX by any chance? =P

hahah. I got 5 digits of the number plate, just didn’t get the last number so the police said they couldn’t really do anything. Because she was driving so close to me I couldn’t see the plate on her car most the journey.. and then when I saw her next to me I didn’t expect the rock! haha shocked me a little, and she drove off too quickly… I’ll be keeping an eye out for her though!

I drive a blue holden as well so don’t pick on me!! :o)

You flipped a finger to a “crazy lady speeding and yelling abuse, weaving in and out of traffic”?

Way to go, Chuck Norris!

neanderthalsis3:45 pm 28 Mar 08

maybe Amber Weston has a new car and hobby

how did you not manage to get the number plate?

what car were you driving? a WRX by any chance? =P

barking toad3:42 pm 28 Mar 08

Meth brings out the best in lasses driving

V twin venom3:37 pm 28 Mar 08

Classic indeed. This type of entertainment is why I love Canberra, you can keep your morning bike rides around the lake. I’m going out looking for small, blue Holdens with lady drivers.

stereo henry3:34 pm 28 Mar 08

classic

“WHAT kind of psycho has spare rocks in their car??”

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Maybe you pissed of The Thing?

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