A 55-year-old driver who allegedly failed to stop after colliding with a Vespa scooter rider in Sydney has been refused bail in court today (16 August 2019).
Paul Andrew Brown faced court charged with failing to stop and render aid, negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and not exchange particulars.
Police say the matter involved an incident at 7.45pm on Wednesday (14 August 2019) when emergency services were called to the intersection of Wellbank and Spring streets at Concord, after a Vespa motor scooter and a Toyota Hilux ute collided.
Image: Google Maps
“The driver of the utility allegedly failed to stop to render assistance and continued to drive north on Spring Street,” police say.
The rider of the scooter, a 34-year-old woman, suffered serious injuries and was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where she remains in a stable condition.
Officers from the Crash Investigation Unit found the ute parked in North Strathfield about 2.30pm yesterday (Thursday 15 August 2019).
After a short foot pursuit, police arrested Brown and took him to Burwood Police Station.
He was jailed overnight and appeared in Burwood Local Court this morning where he was again refused bail until his next scheduled court appearance on August 27.
Brisbane riders who spent Wednesday’s Ekka Holiday riding the famed Mt Glorious Rd may find they have an unwelcome TruCAM speeding fine in the mail in the next couple of weeks.
This video was recorded by rider David Englebright, showing police in the bushes using the TruCAM hand-held laser digital camera to record speeding offences.
Holiday surprise
“Being a public holiday in Brisbane a lot of people were out enjoying a drive or ride over Mt Glorious,” he says.
“They will get a rude shock in a few weeks.
“Little did they know a policemen was hiding in the bushes of the far side of Mt Glorious on a downhill selection of road with a TruCAM taking pics of vehicles going down the hill.
David on his Triumph
“This is a section where a billy cart would do more than 60km/h.
“This is no deterrent to speeding, just revenue raising.”
While there is no longer any requirement for speed camera detection signs, the Queensland police website clearly states: “It is not the policy of the Queensland Police Service to deliberately conceal speed cameras.”
Covert concerns
This is yet another incident which may spark debate over the lack of speed deterrence in covert operations while others will argue “if you’re not speeding, you have nothing to worry about”.
Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers says these “sneaky” devices do not reduce the road toll nor stop motorists from speeding.
“Getting a ticket in the mail up to a month after speeding when you can barely remember even where you were back then, has no effect and is quite rightly cynically viewed as revenue raising,” he said.
RACQ technical and safety policy spokesman Steve Spalding says they also prefer a visible police presence.
“Our members have repeatedly told us that over the years, they much prefer to see a police officer use a marked vehicle, not just for speeding, but for all of the other problem behaviours that we see on the road,” he says.
Is covert detection legal?
Police using TruCAM laser speed camera in an unmarked car with tinted windows
Well, yes and no. It depends on the state and how the speed detection equipment is deployed.
We asked police in every state for their policies on covert speed detection and most replied.
Victoria Police say mobile speed cameras are “not deployed in a concealed way”, but didn’t answer questions about handheld devices and cops hiding in bushes.
South Australia Police say they make “no apologies about using covert, camouflaged cameras to detect dangerous road behaviour”.
WA Police basically told us it was none of our business: “We use various tools to assist in our traffic enforcement capabilities. We will not be providing details of specific tools or methodologies.”
NSW Police say they “use a range of enforcement strategies to assist in reducing road trauma”. But, like the WA cops, they say it’s none of our business.
“For operational reasons it would be inappropriate to discuss the guidelines surrounding these strategies. If riders and drivers observe the speed limits, then they have nothing to be concerned about,” they say.
Mobile speed cameras were originally introduced to reduce speed at black spots. NSW still has very prominently signed fixed and mobile speed cameras, Western Australia is now trialling more visible speed cameras and England is going all-out to make the cameras much more visible.
However, Queensland has removed the signs warning of mobile speed cameras and a report by Queensland’s auditor-general found they are not always deployed at the right time, in the right location, or in the “right mode” (not covert enough).
The report says only 16.3% of mobile deployment hours is covert because police want to avoid perceptions of revenue-raising.
It recommends that a high percentage of covert deployment would prompt a general deterrence to speeding.
Professor Cameron agrees: “… if you’re trying to affect speeding all the time then the best idea is to make sure the cameras aren’t predictable or apparent and to operate them covertly,” the professor says. “The idea of being conspicuous is really in the wrong direction.”
Now, Chris has offered the following tips on what to do when pulled over specifically by NSW police for speeding, although the lessons are generally applicable around the world.
Chris Kalpage on his Ducati
Recorded
If you are pulled over by a NSW highway patrol vehicle, the conversation is being recorded on both audio and video.
Even if it is not a highway patrol vehicle, the officer will make notes on your responses.
Often people are nervous and say things. It is sometimes safer not to make any admissions, especially if you do not have all the facts.
Even then, be wary of making admissions as they may seriously compromise your potential defence.
For example, where exactly do they say they observed you speeding and how did they assess your speed?
It can be the case that where you were alleged to be speeding is not where you have been pulled over by police. You may not have been speeding at the point they say you were.
In one case I defended, the in-car video clearly showed the bike passed the unmarked police car travelling in the opposite direction some 15km from where the rider was eventually pulled up. The rider obviously had no idea what the officer was talking about.
Identity crisis
If a police officer comes knocking on your door accusing you of failing to stop, there are clearly issues about the potential identity of the rider, etc.
In another situation on the Wisemans Ferry, a Ducati 748R rider went past a police four-wheel-drive and they accused my client some days later.
We successfully defended the case over the accuracy of the police recording of the bike rego number and whether it was his bike at the scene.
You generally don’t know all the facts on the side of the road so why step on a potential landmine?
Assessing speed
LIDAR radar speed gun
Generally there are four methods police use to assess speed, excluding fixed and mobile speed cameras. They are listed here in descending order of accuracy:
The Lidar, which is a gun-like object which projects a laser beam and is aimed by the officer at an alleged specific target;
The in-car radar which is a radar attached to the police car and uses a Doppler beam;
Check speed which is a police officer following you and assessing your speed by using the car’s digital speedometer. It essentially shows their speed which may not be yours; and
Police officer’s estimate, which has no objective measurement of speed.
Often the police will use one of the first three methods, combined with their estimate.
Things to consider on the roadside
If you have the presence of mind, ask the officer where specifically you are alleged to have been speeding and how they assessed your speed.
It is beneficial for you to take photographs of where the incident is meant to have taken place. If you have the capacity on your GPS or phone, record the exact longitude and latitude.
On country roads it may be difficult to pinpoint the exact location weeks later when you decide you want to challenge the allegation.
If the police officer was stationary when they alleged they observed you speeding, try to observe from that vantage point.
That will provide you with the officer’s visibility of your approaching vehicle and their maximum sighting distance.
Again, take photographs from that vantage point. Take notice of anything that may have obstructed the officer’s vision in tracking your vehicle.
Try to assess the distance you travelled from when the officer first observed you to when they started their test. This distance will depend on your alleged speed. Consider the following:
What is the maximum sighting distance the officer had from where they were standing or where their vehicle was parked;
From the maximum distance, how far had you travelled when the officer finished their test? Often we roughly work that out from when they step out on to the road or when they turn their lights on if facing you or if you get shown the reading on the Lidar; and
If they are mobile, we use either when they turn their lights on as they are approaching or, at the worst, the “crossover point”. That is the point at which they go past you and are no longer getting a reading from your vehicle.
Disclaimer
Chris Kalpage
This article is for your information and interest only. It is based on New South Wales law only. It is not intended to be comprehensive, and does not constitute and must not be relied on as legal advice. Please be aware that every case is different and the matters raised may not be of specific relevance to your situation but may have a general application. Seek specific advice tailored to your circumstances.
A 50-year-old male riders has died after his motorcycle hit a roadside traffic sign in rural Nowra, on the NSW south coast.
Police say that just before 3pm yesterday (14 August 2019) “a motorcycle travelling south on Parma Road at Yerriyong was approaching a bend, when it hit a traffic sign pole”.
The rider was unable to be revived and died at the scene.
A crime scene was established by South Coast Police District officers who are “conducting inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the crash”.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.
Our condolences to the rider’s family and friends.
Traffic sign hazards
Two Austroads reports in 2014 and 2016 identified there were too many changes in speed zones and too much roadside “furniture” causing a particular hazard to riders.
Despite these reports, wire rope barriers, speed signs and other hazards have proliferated on our roadsides.
While the 2016 report said the road environment accounted for only 2% of motorcycle road deaths in single-vehicle crashes between 1999 and 2003, “certain road elements have the potential to contribute to the actual outcome and severity of the crash”.
It said the first step was to identify roads that pose the highest crash risk to motorcyclists, then perform safety audits.
The report recommended a raft of motorcycle-specific road modifications including:
install flexible but durable materials or shields underneath barriers (no mention of wire rope barriers!);
install attenuators or energy dissipaters on posts and poles;
relocate trees, poles, signs and other roadside objects;
recommended maximums for potholes, ruts and cracks before repair is vital;
rapid road repair including quick removal of oil, diesel and other spills;
A police report that claims riders of high-powered motorbikes are over-represented in the crash statistics demonises riders as “thrill seekers” and is “absolutely meaningless”.
Victorian Motorcycle Council media spokesman John Eacott says the scant Victorian Police assessment of crash statistics is “akin to claiming that more blue cars crash than white cars”.
Victoria Police compiled crash data for the Melbourne News Ltd paper, Herald Sun, which showed that 27 out of 67 deaths in 2017 and 2018 involved bikes bigger than 1000cc. About 10% of crash police reports did not detail engine capacity.
Another 28 riders died in the 500-1000cc category while riders of bikes under 500cc had fewer deaths but sustained more injuries.
The crash data did not include any information about the increase in motorcycle licences or motorcycle registrations, although bikes under 500cc are 37% of registrations and 18% of fatals in 2017/18, according to VicRoads.
Stats furphy
John also points out that there are no statistics kept in Victoria to equate accidents with the kilometres travelled by any type of bike.
“As with the mythical ‘returning rider’ (which still remains undefined and therefore without evidence based stats) this is another furphy,” he says.
The report that “cherry picked statistics” only served to demonise riders, he says.
The “Hun” sought comment on the cops’ report from Stuart Newstead of the Monash University Accident Research Centre who declared riders are “thrill seekers”.
John rejected the “emotive” comment that demonises riders as a poor reflection on MUARC with no supporting evidence-based data.
We have contacted transport departments in several states for relevant statistics to show the full picture that includes registrations, engine sizes, crashes, etc.
However, they say it will take several days or even weeks to collate the data.
We will advise when we have received the full picture.
Riders and drivers warned
Meanwhile, in the wake of a recent spate of fatal crashes in Queensland, RACQ spokesperson Lauren Ritchie has issued a warning not only to riders but also drivers.
“Riders don’t have the same level of physical protection as drivers and sadly they’ll always come off second best so it’s important they’re taking precautions like riding to conditions and wearing all their safety gear,” she says.
“It’s critical riders don’t ride beyond their capabilities because when things go wrong on the road, there’s little room for error.”
However, Ms Ritchie adds that drivers also must play a part in keeping motorcyclists safe.
“Motorists can make simple adjustments to their driving like taking the time to look specifically for motorcycles and being vigilant in checking their mirrors or over their shoulder when changing lanes. Those extra seconds looking could save a life.”
An appeal against a “light penalty” for a Canberra driver who twice swerved dangerously at legally lane-filtering motorcyclists has been rejected.
The driver, Jake Searle, 28, had been charged with two counts of driving with intent to menace.
He faced maximum penalties of more than $3000 in fines or 12 months in jail or both for each of these charges.
However, the charges were downgraded as he was a first offender.
Searle was released on a one-year good behaviour order and disqualified from driving for three months. He also avoided a fine.
Appeal rejected
ACT Shadow Attorney General and Triumph Street Twin rider Jeremy Hansen last month called for an appeal.
“As a fellow rider I am very concerned by any incident that could potentially endanger the life of a motorcyclist,” he told us last month.
He says the sentence did not meet “community expectations”, so he wrote to the ACT Director of Prosecutions to ask if they intended to appeal.
Director Shane Drumgold has now rejected the appeal saying the sentences was not “manifestly below or clearly below the sentencing range” for a first offender.
We also contacted ACT Minister for Corrections and Justice Shane Rattenbury, Police Minister Mick Gentleman and Minister for Regulatory Services Gordon Ramsay for comment on the sentence.
None has yet replied.
The Australian Motorcycle Council says it is “of concern when a driver uses their vehicle in a premeditated manner, as a weapon to harm others”.
“There appears to be little distinction between the quality of actions of this driver and those of the driver who killed pedestrians in Melbourne, although a difference in the scale or degree,” the AMC says.
ACT Police were made aware of this video a day later and began investigating.
A second video later emerged showing the same driver of the green Ford Falcon swerving at another rider just a minute later.
In his rejection of the appeal, The Director of Prosecutions confirms the riders were travelling at a legal lane-filtering speed:
Both offences involved a motorcycle lawfully lane filtering at approximately 25kph, with the offender travelling in the same direction at approximately 15kph and swerving marginally to the left to apparently scare the motor cyclist, possibly motivated by displeasure at lane filtering.
Surely it is time for some major advertising campaigns in each state to advise motorists that riders are allowed to filter and what benefits there are for ALL motorists.
So far, lane filtering education campaigns have been minimal and mainly aimed at riders, not the general motoring public.
We not only need major ad campaigns, but also roadside signage such as this photoshopped sign.
Here’s a sign we’d like to see!
We are not aware of any polls about lane filtering in Australia.
However, in California where lane splitting (filtering at higher speeds than 30km/h) is legal, polls have found it is vastly unpopular among other road users. The main objection is that it’s unfair!
That breeds hostility which results in stupid behaviour such as in the above video.
Lane splitting is unpopular in the USA
So long as lane filtering remains unpopular and/or erroneously believed to be illegal, motorists will do stupid and dangerous things to stop riders filtering.
A second NSW rider has died today (3 August 2019) in what police describe as a single-vehicle accident and later been found by passing motorists.
NSW Police say a 25-year-old man has died in a “single-vehicle motorcycle crash” in the state’s southern highlands overnight.
“About 4.50am, a motorist travelling along Golden Vale Road, Sutton Forest, contacted emergency services when they drove upon a motorcycle crashed on the side of the road,” police say.
Officers from The Hume Police District, along with NSW Ambulance paramedics, attended and found the rider, a 25-year-old man, deceased at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified.
Reports on both incidents will be prepared for the Coroner.
Anyone with information about either of these incidents is urged to contact Crime Stoppers online or phone 1800 333 000. Information is treated in confidence. Do not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.
Police reports
Police media releases and statements that claim these as single-vehicle accidents before any investigation is concluded raise the spectre that the riders were at fault.
Such assertions should not be made until investigations are completed. Other vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians or a stray animal could have caused the crashes.
Claiming that such incidents are single-vehicle crashes can confirm in the minds of the public that riders have a death wish and do not deserve their respect and consideration.
These are dangerous assertions that jeopardise the safety of all riders.
Crash stats
In fact, the statistics show that more motorcycle fatalities are in multi-vehicle crashes.
“I think there is a view that riders are more likely to be at fault in accidents involving motorcycles and that speed is the common factor,” Steve says.
“We see this in single-vehicle accidents involving a motorcycle, where the rider is automatically deemed to be at fault.
“This ignores factors such as road condition, line markings, recent roadworks, lack of signage.”
A 22-year-old male rider has died after a collision with a truck on an M4 highway off-ramp in Sydney’s west this morning.
Police say the rider was travelling east on the M4 highway when his motorcycle collided with a truck at the Church Street off ramp about 8.20am (Tuesday 30 July 2019).
“Paramedics arrived at the location and treated the motorcyclist before he was taken by ambulance to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition,” police say.
The rider died soon after.
Our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Driver tested
The truck was towed for examination and the driver was taken for mandatory blood and urine testing.
There are no details yet on the tests.
However, the Cumberland Police Area Command has established a crime scene and an investigation into the crash has begun.
Police urged the public to exercise extreme care when using the Church Street off-ramp exit due to “heavy traffic conditions”.
After the incident, eastbound traffic on the highway was static for up to 11km.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.
Safety message
It is still not yet known what caused the crash and we do not assume any blame.
Riders should always exercise extreme caution when riding around trucks, especially in heavy traffic.
Trucks have a lot of blind spots and motorcycles can easily disappear from their view.
A motorcyclist out for a Sunday ride on his favourite local mountain road has died in a crash.
The 34-year-old male rider from Middle Park was enjoying a Sunday ride on Mt Glorious (pictured above) Brisbane’s favourite motorcycling road, at 8.27am today when he “lost control and struck a tree”, police say.
The incident happened on Mt Glorious Road, about one kilometre west of the township.
Emergency services responded to the incident and pronounced the man dead at the scene.
“Passing motorists stopped and rendered assistance and first aid until the arrival of police and emergency services,” police say.
Emergency treatment was provided, however the man was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Police delayed releasing information until the rider’s family had been contacted.
Our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form 24hrs per day.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a registered charity and community volunteer organisation, by calling 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersqld.com.au 24hrs per day.
An education campaign which has been running for several years will take a step up in August with a two-day “community engagement” of riders on road safety.
Nerang Police Station and Coomera Road Policing Unit are planning the event at the Numinbah Valley Hall onSaturdayandSunday 24-25 August 2019leading intoRoad Safety Week.
Sgt Graeme Reeves says the weekend is “all about information and education”.
It continues the Operation North Upright program Nerang Police Station has been running for the past few years with regular one-day events.
Sgt Reeves says the previous events have been well supported by Gold Coast district motorcycle clubs.
“We will be advertising for community members, especially those who are keen motorcycle enthusiasts, to drop in during their ride where attending emergency personnel can offer information around safe riding practices and legislation when riding on Queensland roads,” he says.
There will also be a free raffle for all who attend with prizes of motorcycle safety gear such as boots and gloves.
Sgt Reeves has invited motorcycle clubs to attend and “assist in promoting Road Safety Week over this weekend to your club members”.
Police talk to riders at a previous Operation North Upright event
Riders are invited to attend the education campaign and ask questions of the police, ambulance, fireys and Department of Transport and Main Roads officials.
Questions can include bike the legality of bike modifications, helmet rules or various road rules.
While riders may be reticent to approach the police for fear of being fined, police have assured riders the event is for community engagement only, not for enforcement.
Police say Operation North Upright is designed to “talk with any bike riders, give advice and listen to their concerns”.
Riders have claimed previous similar events have been accompanied by a high presence of police in the area, enforcing road rules and vehicle compliance.
Road Safety messages from Operation North Upright
The faster you go, the harder you hit. And on a bike, you’ll always come off second‐best. The only thing speeding gets you closer to is a crash.
Riding tired affects reaction times and impairs judgement. Take a break or don’t get on the bike if you’re tired.
Ride to be seen and don’t assume you’re visible to everyone.
Lane filtering is legal, remember to be safe and follow the road rules.
Look after yourself and your bike. The right gear and regular maintenance can save your life.
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