Road incidents

[Tink]

This blame should be solely on driver that did not stop on Police request.

Yep I agree

 

[DocK]

Definitely not blaming the police. They have a very tough job to do and need to make split second judgements that can have strong consequences. In this instance, the officers involved were simply following their protocols. Thus it is more a case for the legislators.

My argument would be that this case had some visible combustible elements in it (youth, stolen car etc) where it could reasonably be assumed that engaging in a police pursuit would lead to further recklessness on the part of this young guy that would put the public at an unreasonable level of risk. While he was speeding beforehand, he was not running red lights. Add the stress of the police pursuit and all of a sudden he is gunning red lights; hence the fatality.

The trade-off between maintaining law and order and preserving public safety needs to be looked at. I would say that if pulling out of 100 police chases would save even one life (especially that of the kids) then it is worth it. We should not value property/law and order above saving innocent lives.

But what if preserving public safety is best achieved by getting a speeding driver off the road? Who's to say how many people may have been plowed down had he not been pursued? Police are in a no-win situation quite often in this sort of scenario, and generally a pursuit will be abandoned if public safety becomes an issue. Unfortunately, abandoning a pursuit can simply lead to the speeder/thief speeding off to eventually injure or kill a motorist/pedestrian later on (especially if drunk/drugged) - then the cops are taken to task for not having got him off the road earlier. It'd be great if more "stingers"? (the spiked strips they can flick across the path of speeding car to spike tyres) could be quickly employed - but not always possible I guess. I'm with the cops on this one - damned if they do and damned if they don't, poor sods.

 

[Bolle]

I favour pursuit... Plus, you never know what else might be going on in the car - sometimes a driver takes off, turns out they have 20kg of heroin in the car, or two teenage girls tweaked out on GHB, or some terrified little kid, or unlicensed firearms... i hate when people drive like maniacs, i really wish there were much larger penalties for it. It's so dangerous, and almost always an example of willful, wanton destruction and disregard for the lives and property of others.

But then, i'm also in favour of the death penalty. I really do think some people just abuse the life that has been given them.

Mind you, i don't mind cyclists on the roads. Yeah it's a hassle and it slows me down sometimes (very rarely), but i do wish there were more bikes than cars - the air would be so much nicer to breathe. I've seen what happens when a cyclist gets hit by a car (not pretty), but motorbike accidents are far worse. I like bicycles, but i'm not a fan of the moronic motorcyclists that weave in and out of traffic, invisible to most drivers, dipping in and out of the line of vision, undertaking in the parking lanes... so stupid. It's like natural selection waiting to happen...

 

[dutchie]

Know it would never happen but I would like to see drivers who run away from police and are chased by them charged:
1. If driver kills someone -premeditated murder
2. If driver does not kill anyone - potential premeditated murder (half the sentence of a premeditated murder conviction)

 

[awg]

IMO, Police would not give serious consideration to abandoning chases, for the simple reason that it would send a completely untenable message to criminals.

That is, do your crime, and speed off in a stolen car.

Do any other countries have a "no pursuit" strategy?

 

[Boyou]

IMO, Police would not give serious consideration to abandoning chases, for the simple reason that it would send a completely untenable message to criminals.

That is, do your crime, and speed off in a stolen car.

Do any other countries have a "no pursuit" strategy?

Entirely agree with this sentiment.If police had a policy of non pursuit the consequences would be far worse than they have been up to now.

A free for all would most probably ensue...not just for criminals leaving the scene of a crime ,but for all the car hoons out there who take malicious pleasure in disrupting traffic on our streets

Time to ask ourselves this simple question..if my loved ones were in the carnage caused by this most recent example.What would I want the legislators to do about it?

Time to bring back the death penalty...a speeding car is potentially more lethal than a speeding bullet.If there is a live body to be hanged ..hang them high

Cant beleive how this issue has stirred my emotions! ..must be a reaction to grief..

 

[WaveSurfer]

Entirely agree with this sentiment.If police had a policy of non pursuit the consequences would be far worse than they have been up to now.

A free for all would most probably ensue...not just for criminals leaving the scene of a crime ,but for all the car hoons out there who take malicious pleasure in disrupting traffic on our streets

Time to ask ourselves this simple question..if my loved ones were in the carnage caused by this most recent example.What would I want the legislators to do about it?

Time to bring back the death penalty...a speeding car is potentially more lethal than a speeding bullet.If there is a live body to be hanged ..hang them high

Cant beleive how this issue has stirred my emotions! ..must be a reaction to grief..

Agreed, agreed and agreed.

My brother, his wife and young child live in Canberra. You can imagine how quickly I jumped on the phone when I heard the news brief "Young couple and infant killed 200m from home by stolen car in Canberra". The actual suburb was mentioned and it is where they live.

The passenger is as much to blame as the driver. She had the choice not to get in the car in the first place.... Just as responsible IMO.

Hang 'em' and hang 'em' high. Good one.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/canberra-crash-death-mother-blames-police-20100322-qpo2.html

"I can see he's done wrong but (stealing a car is) a petty little crime," she told Radio 3AW.

a speeding car is potentially more lethal than a speeding bullet

It's safe to say that a car doing 200km/hr is waaaaaaay more lethal.

"Yes, Justin may have a little bit to do with it but ... you know."

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. :swear:

 

[newbie trader]

Did anyone watch the 7pm report tonight and see them interview the civil libertarian lawyer? Anyone agree or disagree with his views?

N.T

 

[Boyou]

What report was that?

7PM? ..could have been the ABC news or SBS.

Details ,please

 

[newbie trader]

What report was that?

7PM? ..could have been the ABC news or SBS.

Details ,please

Its a less newsworthy show on channel 10, but the interview was quite good.

N.T

 

[GumbyLearner]

Its a less newsworthy show on channel 10, but the interview was quite good.

N.T

What was the general jist of what the bloke was talking about N.T. ?

 

[Boyou]

Thanks N T

I avoid the commercial news ..

 

[moXJO]

Did anyone watch the 7pm report tonight and see them interview the civil libertarian lawyer? Anyone agree or disagree with his views?

N.T

Yes I wanted to vomit.
I think a lot of aussies are over the kid gloves used on offenders. We have hundreds of police pursuits around the country and this one unfortunately did not end well. But to call an end to police pursuits . IMO it's time to start putting the blame back on offenders and their family. If you break the law and it all goes to hell you are not a victim.

 

[Boyou]

Well put moXJO

"If you break the law and it all goes to hell you are not a victim"

You are ,of course,a perpetrator .I did not see the 10 news report ,but ,judging from your comments ..I get the gist of it ..

This issue will not be dealt with by the likes of Civil libertarian lawyers..they have a vested interest in maintaining their stance vis a vis "victims".There are no gray areas here...

Speeders must be stopped! They Kill good people...........

 

[newbie trader]

What was the general jist of what the bloke was talking about N.T. ?

I think he was generally contending that high speed Police chases should only occur when "it is a matter of life and death" and that Police know at the time whether it is a hostage situation etc etc...Although when asked what the Police can do instead he tried to dodge the question by again saying "only if it is a matter of life and death"...the panel (for what its worth) seemed to think that a mixture of education and technology was needed in respect to drivers, so it did not really answer the question of what the police can do instead of engauging in high speed pursuits. I would not say that it is the polices' fault by any means they are just doing their job and working within rather limited constraints...I think moXJO's remarks are spot on.

N.T

 

[Boyou]

Thanks for the expo on the actual report,N T

IMO ..the issue is one of clarity.We all NEED TO KNOW..

The police need to know the black and white of the issue.(So they can make the split second decisions required when there is no time for indecision)
.AND... the speeders need to know the outcomes of their actions.I have expressed my opinion on that already..
The community ,as a whole need to know they have some safety on the road...that's you and me ,mate .and your mum ,dad ,sister brother ,lover ,wife..

 

[newbie trader]

Thanks for the expo on the actual report,N T

IMO ..the issue is one of clarity.We all NEED TO KNOW..

The police need to know the black and white of the issue.(So they can make the split second decisions required when there is no time for indecision)
.AND... the speeders need to know the outcomes of their actions.I have expressed my opinion on that already..
The community ,as a whole need to know they have some safety on the road...that's you and me ,mate .and your mum ,dad ,sister brother ,lover ,wife..

I wonder if the system the Americans use in high speed chases is somewhat the same as ours, if not then how efficient it is...

N.T

 

[drsmith]

What's the penalty for refusing to blow in the bag ?

Perhaps it should be the same in relation to refusing police request to stop.

 

[Tink]

What's the penalty for refusing to blow in the bag ?

Perhaps it should be the same in relation to refusing police request to stop.

Yep, what is the penalty?

I am glad I didnt watch the show as just reading the news reports is enough to get annoyed with that mother

Stealing cars is a minor crime?

How about stealing for a second time and driving at 200ks

When is enough?

I am all for the police as I have said before - they have my vote

 

[moXJO]

What's the penalty for refusing to blow in the bag ?

Perhaps it should be the same in relation to refusing police request to stop.

Heard someone on the radio say it was $200 if you drive off on police, not sure how accurate that is though. If that is the figure, then it's not much off a deterrent.