Sloganeering and Sneaky Surveillance
I received my first speeding infringement notice in 32 years driving in January, 2012.
I was detected by a 'covert' speed camera on Old Cleveland Road at 6 am on the quietest morning of the year while I was deliberately checking my speed. It took 40 days for the speed camera office to allege I was traveling 70 kmh in a 60 kmh zone, at the bottom of a hill, 200 metres from where the speed had just changed from 70 kph.
Police refuse to confirm the 60 sign was in tact.
There is no on road legend reinforcing the reduction on an excellent road with no recent history of accidents or driver misbehaviour.
Sloganeering by Queensland Police claims "every k over is a killer."
It is curious they wait so long to correct dangerous behaviour.
If it were true they would be booking drivers who are just one km over the limit, after all, they are potential killers.
Circumstances of the event are long gone from memory for most people when Police stall for 40 days.
Parent of a teenage driver could help their children promptly if it was not all about revenue raising.
"Innocent till proved guilty" should be a strength of our justice system.
Police refuse to provide information challenging their allegation the next step is going to court. The Queensland Government does not want people interfering in the revenue stream generated by speed camera so they have a range of measures to discourage that course of action.
Intimidation that it will cost hundreds of dollars to bring 'expert witnesses' to court to champion their speed cameras ... the fine ... Police court costs ... and the sparkling new, ripped off from New Zealand, "Offender levy (but it's not a tax.)
A sneaky 6 am covert operation was at the bottom of a hill, 200 metres of a change from 70 kmh to 60 kmh and very light traffic is a winner for revenue but useless as a road safety measure.
Police love another slogan - "Anywhere, Anytime."
Sites for covert entrapment have to be approved. A local traffic committee convened, sometime in the past 10 years, reviewed traffic data for the area and deemed it to be high risk giving the revenue raiser a green light. Speeding may not be a factor in accidents in the area but it gives the right to set up and hide an officer in a secret van.
Deliberations of the local traffic committee should be easily available for interested people to read.
The RACQ and City Council cooperate to decide the zones where a speed camera can operate and should not be part of the secrecy.
They will not release their copy of the traffic committee minutes.
When challenged, Police retreat to say the deployment might be based on complaints.
After ten months requesting information from the Government and Camera Office I raised the white flag and copped a fine, police court costs and the latest LNP revenue raiser, the "court fee" that is not a tax.
(This new disgrace to the human race, money grab, up to $300, was strongly criticised by the Bar Association and legal groups but defended by the LNP as essential to their "integrity" because it is honouring election commitments. They copied if from a $50 offender tax used in New Zealand.
One convenient outcome is that it gives another reason why people will not take up their right to have their day in court. Another form of intimidation approved by 89 members of parliament.
On 29 October, the LNP announced they intend having many more sneaky speed cameras to revenue raise.
It is not about road safety.
It is gouging.
Notice the increasing emphasis on "speed camera" detections - because - they are siphoned off into a "road safety" slush fund. Fancy show off cars, plenty of overtime, silly sloganeering.
It would be better if the revenue was sent directly to hospitals and trauma units and take away any incentive for Police Gotcha ... focus on catching those very bad people who go a few km over the limit.
Queensland Police should not intimidate those who seek to challenge an allegation of dangerous driving. Telling people that information they need to prepare for a court case would have to be obtained via freedom from information applications amounts to intimidation.
Reminders that Police will be bringing in expensive witnesses to vouch for the accuracy of their speed cameras amounts to intimidation.
Police should provide information that is reasonably available.
Instead they reject questions they claim are "ridiculous", or that are, shock horror, "a fishing exercise."
Telling citizens they need to buy details through a 'freedom from information' program to defend themselves in court is wrong.
Queensland has dozens of covert cameras operating.
A capable police officer,who should be out in public, is directed to hide in the back of a vehicle to play 'gotcha' with a camera that has been calibrated during the last year in a laboratory.
Officers can't communicate with anyone while "on deployment."
They can't solve problems that become obvious out in the real world.
They can't question locations identified as trouble spots by the local traffic committee.
Police using a secret vehicle, hiding at the bottom of a hill, within 200 metres of a change in speed from 70 kph to 60 kph, claiming it is a trouble spot should be willing to provide prompt information that demonstrates it really is road safety rather than revenue raising.
Governments gloat about revenue raised on roads targeted by secret cameras and ridiculously claim that speed cameras promote road safety.
Continuing to raise large sums of money at so called trouble spots means their methods are not working.
Silly speed sloganeering is one of the problems. ... Every K over is a killer ... Anywhere Anytime ... Don't be a dummy ... If you don't break the law you don't have anything to worry about ...
Trivialising important issues such as road safety with ridiculous slogans does more harm than good.
Governments don't want people interfering with their cash cow. Challenging an infringement upsets the gouging formula.
Revenue raising is so entrenched they practice a range of tactics to intimidate citizens who dare to think they have a right to information or to have an allegation of dangerous behaviour tested in a court.
Providing easily available information in response to genuine questions is not on the government agenda.
Hundreds of motorists should be able to identify Police are actively working the roads not hiding in a secret vehicle. They meet their quota of catches but have ignored so many opportunities to promote an awareness that Police want the roads to be safer.
A highly trained Police Officer hiding for several hours in a van can't respond to dangerous vehicles, mobile phone use, no seat belts, poor driving behaviour, unlicenced driving.
A trained and authorised public servant could be doing the 'gotcha' but get Police out talking to people and being visible.
The emotional reaction of seeing a bike or Police car patrolling, a highly visible officer on the roadside watching cars can't be achieved by covert entrapment at sneaky locations.
Ordinary police cars are needed on the streets.
Not the show off brightly coloured big noting cars purchased to waste the road safety budget.
Not the fancy, secret cars they use to entrap and trick motorists, then scare the heck out nearby drivers when a flash sports car blasts a siren loud enough to be heard by a hundred innocent motorists.
As disturbing as hiding on the side of the road, within 200 metres at the bottom of a hill where the speed limit has been arbitrarily changed after kilometres of 70 kmh to 60 kmh is the length of time Police take to provide notice of dangerous behaviour.
Taking 40 days to advise a driver they were driving dangerously demonstrates that speed cameras are not about road safety. It's revenue.
It is intimidation because they can take up to a year to let you know you were over their arbitrary speed limit.
Road legends .. the painted warning sign of a speed change should be clearly indentified on streets, particularly in the 'approved" camera speed zones.
Police parking dangerously to conduct their sting should be forbidden.
How many incidents to there have to be till Police are expected to park properly to set up a speed camera?
speed-camera-van-cops-sitting-on-windfall/story-e6freoof-1226508683847
Money raised through deployment of speed cameras is supposed to be used for Road safety purposes but the gouge includes paying an officer to hide in the back of a truck, often parked dangerously at overtime rates.
Covert deployments should be not create risk. Parking behind bushes and poles, on footpaths should not be an option except in a emergency. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/newman-government-to-add-more-speed-cameras-and-may-outsource-them-to-boost-revenue/story-e6freoof-1226504919166
Directing officers to place a secret government vehicle in dangerous locations has unintended consequences and puts the safety of the officer at serious risk.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/police-officer-injured-when-motorist-drives-into-speed-camera-van-at-sheldon/story-e6freon6-1226481481311
Wynnum Road has a sneaky revenue raising section where there is a totally unnecessary reduction to 60 kph. 3 November 2012, an officer standing in a dangerous position in front of an old green commodore with his speed camera tripod was another dangerous deployment.
to be continued
(1) 28/10/2012
(2) 3/11/2012
(3) 29/11/2012
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