A couple of days ago, I was driving home from the gym along Leach Highway when I was overtaken by a police car. As many Perth readers will know, Leach Highway has a speed limit of 70km/hour. I was doing 70. In no time at all, the cops were way ahead of me and must have been doing about 90.
The thing is they didn't have their lights flashing and didn't appear to be in a hurry other than the fact they were obviously speeding. I caught up with them later at a red light. Then when it went green again, they were off, rocketing along at some extravagent speed. I know cops need to exceed the speed limit when they are chasing someone or need to get somewhere urgently. But does that give them a right to break the law they claim to uphold at any old time?
I have the uttermost respect for the police (except the crooked ones, obviously) but it did look like blatant hypocrisy. Do cops have a right to drive at any speed they wish all of the time? I know if I'd been doing 90 in a 70 zone, I'd be a goner.
3 comments:
Well, they do the same here - but they don´t expect others go the pace stated either, mostly... (that´s Germany... the correct as german people may be, when it comes to driving they don´t like limits... sadly).
On the other hand, when your cars´ speedometer says 70, you are driving at some 60-something. If you have car-navigation with GPS you can see how fast you really are. So the bad cops where just a little bad?
Seriously, I get what you say, they use their power with no reason... mostly...
Or can they be breaking laws to uphold the law >>> without having their lights flashing? Does anyone know, as regards Western Australian police, do they have to have their lights flashing?
One night a police car made an illegal turn and started following me (a turn I'm sometimes tempted to make myself, on the basis that it's convenient and the police did it), without their lights flashing. I'm not aware of having done anything illegal.
I felt quite nervous. I wonder if people ever make mistakes while driving because they're nervous because they're being followed by a police car.
Anyway, I was on my way home and was only a couple of blocks away from my house, so I indicated, dashed up my driveway and switched off. They flashed searchlights rapidly around my house for 2 seconds and then sped off.
I haven't had much contact with the police, but from my cousin's experiences I have rather less respect for them.
Recently she saw a man being assaulted outside her home in Northbridge. A group of men had knocked this fellow to the ground, and he seemed to be unconscious. They got in their car, drove around the block and started kicking him some more.
She rang 000 while the assault was in progress (and having noted the rego of the car the men were driving) but was told that if she wanted to she could come in to a police station tomorrow and make a statement. It would take quite some time, and there was a general tone of "do you really want to?"
I found this even more surprising because if there's anywhere in Perth where there's a ready supply of Police, it will be in Northbridge.
Her neighbours also rang 000 while the assault was happening and got the same response.
On an earlier occasion while she was on P plates she was stopped for a breathalyser test, which she passed, but the 3 male police wouldn't let her leave and basically were trying to chat her up, ogling her and asking her about her tastes in music, etc. She felt very uncomfortable.
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