43 replies to this topic

[Meadyyy]

Okay, so i know im going to cop lectures and comments for this, but I just want to hear a few valid opinions on my options here.

About a week ago i was driving on a country road, as i pulled out of a t-intersection, merging into the lane behind a car travelling below the speed limit i overtook on double white lines on a short straight. The pass took only a few seconds to make. After i had merged into my lane after overtaking the vehicle, a car came flying up behind the car i had overtaken (This car was about 300m away when i merged out of the intersection), as this happened the car i had overtaken sped up and maintained the speed i was travelling, about 90 in a 60 zone. I continued on the road for another 2km and was the leader of the line of 3 cars before turning off, as i stopped at the turnoff, the car behind me was turning the same direction, but the 3rd car slowed down and pointed at me.

Anyway.

The next day i received a phone call from a police officer asking me to attend the local station for an interview, unaware of the reason, I went down immediately to find out what was going on. He explained to me that the car that pointed at me was him, an off-duty police officer travelling in his own personal car. We discussed the incident etc etc and disagreed on some points and agreed on others. This was the first time i had ever had an encounter with the police, and honestly, i was shitting bricks. He interviewed me and i admitted to the incident without thinking that he has no proof etc etc. I was charged with 'Driving in a manner dangerous to the public' and 'Exceed speed by 30' and had to surrender my license immediately. I have a court date in a few weeks, and am deciding what i should do in terms of my plea and legal options.

Has anyone else ever had anything else like this? Driving in a manner dangerous to the public has a automatic license suspension of 3 years, but minimum of 12 months after the judges considerations.

I know what i did was stupid, I had a brain fade, it was the night of my 18th birthday, and NO alcohol was involved.

Just would like to know what you guys would do? Im in year 12 and will find school and additional study aswell as a traineeship next year very difficult. I have had my red p's for 11 and a half months.

Thanks guys, (still expecting a lecture and 'Your an idiot' comments, i know this).

[R-Y]

Atleast you admit you were an idiot.. But unless he has proof, its his word against yours. How does he know you were goin 30 over. Is his speedo in check to proove that. Why was he travelling at that speed 'off duty'?
Id play the 'its because of the 'p' plate that i am under so much scrutiny' card.

Your fighting an up hill battle mate, good luck.

[Meadyyy]

Atleast you admit you were an idiot.. But unless he has proof, its his word against yours. How does he know you were goin 30 over. Is his speedo in check to proove that. Why was he travelling at that speed 'off duty'?
Id play the 'its because of the 'p' plate that i am under so much scrutiny' card.

Your fighting an up hill battle mate, good luck.

He sped up to catch me in the 60 zone, closed a gap of 300+m in like 3 seconds, so i dont believe he was doing 60 to start with. He is a general officer with less than 3 years experience as a police officer.

[Beckers]

I would dispute the over 30 kms charge as he was not in a police car & didn't have a radar etc, his personal car may have a faulty / incorrect reading speedo. So he can only estimate how fast you where going.
Overtaking on double white lines, you will be 'ed on that one, however is that considered danger to public. I don not think so.
If it was me I would contact a lawyer, 3 years with no license is a long time. Might be worth speeding a little cash for some legal advise.

[Meadyy8]

I would dispute the over 30 kms charge as he was not in a police car & didn't have a radar etc, his personal car may have a faulty / incorrect reading speedo. So he can only estimate how fast you where going.
Overtaking on double white lines, you will be 'ed on that one, however is that considered danger to public. I don not think so.
If it was me I would contact a lawyer, 3 years with no license is a long time. Might be worth speeding a little cash for some legal advise.

The officer wrote down in the interview that we had, that after the pass was completed, a vehicle did not pass us travelling in the opposite direction for another 30 seconds. So there was no danger to any vehicle. And for that charge, the magistrate is meant to take into account the traffic expected on that road at the time. A country road at 6:30pm on a tuesday night, It was very quiet.

[R-Y]

get a lawyer, they'll know exactly how to attack a he said she said situation...

[TSG]

I wouldn't have attended the police station willingly, or admitted (or denied) to the crime. They would need a legal notice or rock up to my door with evidence to get me down there for questioning. An off duty officer needs proper evidence to convict someone as a vigilante. As above, get a lawyer and make sure he has evidence, however you have admitted to the crime already, so if anything it will only lessen the punishment. If you had not admitted to the crime, and all he had was 'his word', you would have probably got off with a warning.

However, it is nice to know you are an honest person and realised you were in the wrong I don't think what you did was that serious, but being on your P's you are kinda screwed lol.

EDIT: Also as below, were you given your rights? I wouldn't have admitted to anything without legal representation, if it meant losing my licence.

[Shiv]

Isn't it a criminal offence?

If it was, were you ever told of your rights? ie; "you have the right to legal representation" etc etc....

Whatever the case is, I'd be investing in a lawyer for sure. Good luck.

[SAV84C]

Isn't it a criminal offence?

If it was, were you ever told of your rights? ie; "you have the right to legal representation" etc etc....

Whatever the case is, I'd be investing in a lawyer for sure. Good luck.

Usually charges that involve court would be due to a criminal offence...

Under the law, If he did not read you your rights, his case goes out the window...

Also never admit to anything to an officer unless they have proof... If he does not have proof then you have a case to fight

Their radars and cameras are there not just for them, theyre also there to protect our side of the story too in case they do not abide by their own rules...

I myself have gone through court proceddings for something I did not do, fought it for 6 months and got off due to the highway patrol officer's police report not matching the actually events that happened in the video and for incorrectly following their own police prodecures. They have rules to follow also, if they do not follow these things also change for their case.

As everyone has mentioned... Get some legal advice... http://www.armstronglegal.com.au/

[Xon]

Technically, since he had no proof, you should have denied it. Since you already admitted to it, I would say you're pretty 'ed.
I'd also say, since you were stupid enough to do it in the first place, you should act like an adult and cop your punishment on the chin. Stop looking for ways to worm out of the situation when you know you were in the wrong and have already admitted to it. Double white lines are there for a reason.

[Alex]

I was once chased by a police helicopter down the Great Western Highway.



Nothing else happened.

[Morgan]

Can you opt for good behavior bond?

[CodeBurn3r]

You are new to driving and the car that raced up behind you made you feel uncomfortable and nervous, you sped up to make some distance (to a speed you can not be sure of as you were not paying attention to the speedo) but still they continued to follow closely behind you..

as for overtaking on doubles.. i would admit to that whole heartedly but i would push the fact you were fearful as you were unaware this driver was a officer of the law due to the fact it was not marked and the dangerous way they sped up behind you..

had you not been followed by this driver so closely you would have slowed down.

he will be screwed in that sense because as you state it, you pulled out, overtook a car at alledged speed, and he still managed to gain on you from some distance..
for him to gain on you, you were either going under the limit, or he was speeding in excess of what he estimated you were doing to catch up. in an unmarked car, at night, off duty (may be cause for you to be anxious due to you being a road rage victim)

In the end mate its going to be worth getting a lawyer.
but dont let the P plate thing work against you.. work it your way, your a in-experienced driver, you found it hard to judge your speed at night as such, and also you were fearful of this intimidating driver.

You have shot yourself about the admission but how you answered is the key...

e.g. i was pulled over by cop on my p's (after doing stupid things on an oval lol)
anyway he saw me pull out and take off on the main rd at some speed
pulled me over, accused me of doing 140 blah blah.
my answer..
"I do not know sir, i was not looking at the speedo"
i dont think i was doing that speed
-what speed where you doing then?
"i wouldnt have a clue sir, i know i was being an idiot but i dont know the speed.... i dont think i was speeding"
-letter in the mail 2 weeks later... turn left without signalling $280 and 3 points lol.. better than loss of licence

[skillionaire]

Hi,

Unless he is HWP he can't pace you as court approved evidence, but if you've admitted to it then you're pretty much going to have to lawyer up, otherwise it will be penalty by the book.

Cheers,
Nik

[WALKER]

Hi,

Unless he is HWP he can't pace you as court approved evidence, but if you've admitted to it then you're pretty much going to have to lawyer up, otherwise it will be penalty by the book.

Cheers,
Nik

+1

Mate,

Mum's partner is a lawyer.
If he had asked you for an interview, it pretty much means he has nothing and wants you to admit everything.
You actually can decline the interview and don't have to speak to them.

Since you now admitted to what he has accused you of it means your guilty of those charges and no question about it.
It's now a matter of getting a lawyer and reducing the sentencing by the magistrate.
Many of times the lawyer will get your sentencing reduced and depending of your previous history can keep you out of jail.
Many of times he has reduced the automatic sentencing to the minimum.

It's highly recommend you take the driver offenders course as magistrates love that.
It's possible to receive a "section 10" which basically means no criminal conviction.

Driving in a manner dangerous is very serious and especially being on P plates magistrates will come down on you pretty hard.
Depending on what state of Australia you live in it's possible to get a 'work' license however I don't know anything about it as its not in NSW

You plainly admitted everything which is the best of evidence.

All in all.. GET A LAWYER.


EDIT:

As mentioned above by TSG it could possibly work in your favour that you have openly admitted to the police.
I strongly recommend you contact a lawyer.. Let everyone know how it goes!

Good luck

[Meadyy8]

Thanks everyone for your advice, I will be seeking legal representation, to see what my best bet is. Tbh I dont recall being given the "you have the right to legal representation', 'Anything you say or do, can be used against you in a court' briefing thing before my interview, although I was quite intimidated at the time and could have just forgotten this. I am happy to loose my license (but for a period of a minimum of 12 months, The circumstances in which the event happened, were not dangerous, so i dont think it deserves a sentence that big) , but its the criminal conviction and record, that will hinder my travel and employment opportunities in the future. The officer twisted my arm I guess, as it wasnt a formal interview recorded by computer, but yet a notebook interview which I initialled and signed at its completion to avoid travelling half an hour to a bigger police station with better facilities. Ive never had an incident with the police or any authority before, so this would improve my chances of a section 10 dismissal correct?

[WALKER]

In my opinion and based on the cases I've been told by my lawyer mate.
Your chances of receiving a section 10 are very slim.

To be honest, your looking at it from the wrong perspective.
You've only been driving for under 12 months and you've already been charged, that's the way the magistrate will see it.
However, I guess if you had prior criminal history this would only hinder your case.
I don't think it will benefit you in anyway.

What state are you in btw?

Wish you luck.

[Meadyy8]

Im in NSW. Yeah im going to need the luck. :/

[Alex]

Posting it in a publicly viewable forum isn't a very intelligent thing, seeing that police have been known to frequent here often.

Especially if you're rockin' a subyclub sticker.

[SUBARU]

Wow.

Three errors.

1. Fronting up to the police station.
2. Admitting liability.
3. Posting about it on a public forum.

This is really a no brainer. The police officer does not have any recorded evidence, only the speed he recorded in his own vehicle, while off duty. It is also illegal for him to speed, so he should be charged with the same offence. He knows this, as will a defense lawyer.

Essentially, this guy is abusing his power. If he were a straight up copper, he would have remained within the speed limit, pulled over, called the officer on duty at his local and had them check out your rego for any outstanding offences. From there, they might send out a patrol car.
Pointing at you, threatening you and bullying you into a confession after the fact is highly unethical.

Also, his speedo cannot be used as an accurate measure as they can be up to 10% out.