Driver Intimidation - reported to cops

scotty72

Be on the look-out for a white Mazda Van (NSW) UAN 692. He is a dangerous luntic.

Ran me off Victoria Rd (near Cnr of Church - near Parramatta bike barn), Parramatta.

Swiped me (actually hit me twice with his steel), and ran me into the footpath. Then shook his fist in triumph.

Went to Parramatta Police to report him. Policeman was courteous but didn't seem to all that concerned.

Scotty

tzama

I stongly recommend you dont speak to the puppet behind the front desk at the police station, ask for the inspector or someone who wants to listen.

Its a joke, the police need to chase this dipstick and give him a warning.

scotty72

He eventually took the details and said he'd enter it onto the system then give the guy a call. Don't hold much hope of a result though.

whackyscientist

I hope that the police officer does not give YOUR details to the driver of the car .


Thats all we need, MORE vengence on the streets in a tin box.

scotty72

Unless the matter goes to court, that wouldn't be allowed.

Scotty

robalert

that is ridiculous...!

tell me how it goes when u follow it up

got the name of the police officer...

did he knock you over?

geoffs

Sorry that it happened to you Scotty. Ah the joys of riding in Sydney.
The police wont do a thing.
The last time that I made a report to them I even had a photo of the driver, the numberplate and I reported it to one of the bicycle police based in Newtown.
Nothing happened which is the same result as each and every other time that I have reported someone trying to run me over.
If you have the name of the drongo that you reported it to check back every day for a few days and if nothing has happened write to you local member and anyone else that you can thnk of.
Just hope that the moron in the van removes himself from the gene pool with the help of a large stationary object like a concrete pole.

Cheers

Geoff

robalert

i was on another forum... i was advised that these issues are taken seriously if you take it higher up in the police force.. just give the the person at the counter a chance first and if he has done jack about it, give him a timeframe to follow it up

scotty72

Yes Rob, he did knock me off the bike. I was right outside that Asian (Korean)grocery store between Blackman Cycles and the Bike Barn.

Bashed my elbow, hovered beside me for a second or two, then ran me off by pressing against my shoulder. It was broad daylight (4 pm) on a clear sunny day plus I bashed my fist at least once against the van, so he knew.

Once I knew I was going I jumped off and managed to land on my feet before falling and landing on my (fortunately) padded, gloved hands. No real damage to myself or the bike other than dented pride and a puncture (he ran me into broken glass).

I got back on the bike (it was a slow puncture that I didn't immediately notice), and pedalled after him (he was stopped at the Red at Church street). As I approached I waved him down. The lights went green, he gave me the fist and drove off (but my chase at least got the rego plate).

Rode over to the park to compose myself then noticed the tyre. Fixed it, waited a bit longer in case any witnesses wandered over (no one did of course). Rode to Parramatta Polce.

He said he'd call back in the next few days with an EVENT NUMBER and tell me what the other guy had to say for himself. If I don't hear by early next week I'll go back and ask.

I do realise that without witnesses it is hard for them to do anything (which the cop pointed out), but I did insist he take the report to see if this guy has any other history AND to give him a warning.

Anyway, today, I said STUFF it. So when I hit the 2 kms of Victoria Rd I use I took up the WHOLE left lane. Rode right up the centre.

I was amased that life was actually much easier. Not a single driver tried to squeeze past (one motorcyclist did but gave a polite beep and lots of space), not one word ar action of abuse. I put it down to them realizing that I'm not scared. If you ride on the left you look nervous, so they treat you so. If you look like you demand the right to be there...

Although it made me nervous at first, I felt much safer after the first K.

Scotty

EoinC

Bad experience, Scotty. there certainly are some strange people out there. As far as getting a result from the police goes, because you didn't end up in hospital, it may be that it becomes a case of a lot of work for little gain in their eyes. If you want it pursued (and a warning from the police may be enough to stop this bozo from continuing with this behaviour), you may have to be a bit of a nuisance to them ie. it's easier for them to go and give this bloke a verbal than it is to deal with you pestering them all the time over what action they've taken.
I ride in traffic in Malaysia which is not overly bike-friendly. I find that I have to make a presence in order to not get run off the road (or at least reduce the number of times that it happens). I use the theory that most people don't want their car's paintwork scratched as they run you over. I've been hit a few times since I've been over here, one of which put me in orbit across the other side of the road, but generally I can hold my own. I do try to keep an escape route open, but it doesn't always work. A little bit different, though, if you're dealing with a psychopath like your friend in Sydney.
Just remember, you putting the effort into pursuing this tosser may prevent another cyclist or pedestrian being killed by him. Good luck.
Eoin

artemidorus

Scotty, you've always got to do this on Sydney roads, or you'll get killed. Claim your lane. Particularly, don't ride in the "door zone" next to parked cars.

geoffs

Couldn't agree more. If a cyclist rides at the far left of the lane (a gutter bunny) then car drivers WILL try to squeeze past.
A cyclist has the same rights to the road a motor vehicle. Take your lane and be decisive about where you are going. You will still get the odd moron who trys something but at least if you are in the middle of the lane you still have some space left to swerve into to avoid them. If you are already at the far left you have nowhere to go.
Think big, pretend you are are car and need the same amount of room.

Cheers

Geoff

robalert

so anything happened?

stumbled across this article

wondering if this policeman would be anymore sympathetic

Feature - Police on Bikes

In this issue of CAMWEST News, we interview Senior Constable Dave Flood, a keen cyclist and an officer in the Parramatta police unit. He tells us how it all started, describes a typical day in the bike unit, and shares his thoughts on cycling in Western Sydney.



Dave, describe your typical working day.

The basis of our job is Beat police on bicycles. We use the bicycles as a more mobile resource in order to cover a larger area during the course of a 8 hour shift. The initial focus behind our duties is targeting car theft in the Parramatta Patrol. As it has turned out we are now dealing in with people on many fronts. Police have arrested people for assaults, drug possession and distribution, warrants, possession of firearms, brawls etc... On the bikes we have easy access to all areas of Parramatta and can chase a car down in todays traffic with relative ease or ride alongside a person who is running for as long as they wish to run. The bike police also contribute significantly to the intelligence processed through the station thus allowing us to identify active criminals and deal with them appropiately.

A shift usually starts with kitting up. Get on your appointments, getting your radio. That is followed by checking the computer system and personal pidgeon holes for any outstanding work from the previous shift.

We generally are allocated an hour at the start of the shift to attend to correspondence and other issues which may have been raised in the last 24 hours. In that hour we are assigned our duties for the day (e.g. targeting break, enter and steal offences in the Harris Park area).

We then go and retrieve there bikes and perform the basic checks before riding away. We follow the ABC theory. A = air for tyres, B = brakes (check for wear and adjustment), C = Cables (check for worn or fraid cables). A slow ride testing everything whilst leaving the station is then performed. Generally all members have been assigned their own bikes so, just like with your own personal bikes you know the set up and the characteristics of that bike.

We then leave the station and perform proactive duties on the bikes. On most occasions we will swept through all the carparks in the Parramatta Patrol. Those carparks are David Freter 3 levels, Erby 5 levels, Horwood Pl 5 levels, Civic place and Westfields carparks. A full patrol of westfields carpark is equivalent to 7klms. Attention is also paid to other areas of high population such as the church street mall and Parramatta Railway station.

Once these areas are patrolled and we know who is about we are then able to decide whether or not to remain in the CBD. If its quite we will head over to Harris Park, Westmead, North Parramatta and Northmead areas.

The only problem we have on bikes is when an arrest is made it is often some time before a police vehicle can attend and assist us by transporting that prisoner to the station. This may not seem much. However, if you have to wrestle and fight with an angry person for a few minutes you soon release just how long a minute can be. In many cases we have to consider that the arrest of a person is not a game and some of these people are extremely hard and will take whatever measures they can to avoid apprehension.

Once a person is arrested and they are conveyed to the police station for us the unfortunate but necessary part of the job takes place: paperwork. It will take about 2-4 hours to process a person and issue them with the charge. When I initially joined the service a person could be arrested and charged within the hour. Now with the changing trend police are made more accountable for people they have in custody. There are Standard Operating Procedures to follow and these are what takes time. The actual investigation time isn't any longer - it's getting to the interview.

If time permits after the completion of the charge process police will head back onto the road to assist in the reduction of anti-social behaviour. To date this year the bike/beats (14 constables) have made 246 arrests and laid more that 300 charges. The police I work with are highly motivated and a pleasure to work with simply because they enjoy what they do.

What kind of bikes does the Police Force use?

I am currently in the process of educating management level police to the importance of using better quality equipement. We are currently using Apollo bicycles with have done a fantastic job for us. some of those bikes have done over 5,000 k's over the past 4 1/2 years. We are also in possession of a Norco Bigfoot which was generously donated by the Harris Park safety committee. We have 11 bikes in total.

I am currently encouraging management into purchasing Avanti Barracuda's. They are well built with good running gear and are well priced. They are a sturdy bike which will serve us well.

How did the Police go back to bikes?

Parramatta was the first patrol to return to the use of bikes for active policing duties. It came about when Senior Constable Crowe who is now at Penrith found two Apollo bikes in the basement. He put the idea to his boss at the time that he could do a better job riding around on a pushbike than he could in a car. The boss put himself and an offsider on trail for 3 months. After 3 months they were made a permanent unit. After 12 months the unit was added to and we then had a total of 5 permant members. The impact of bike policing has been significant, Parramatta went from the 3rd worst area for crime in the state (the worst in the metropolitian area) to a ranking of 21st. It was the lowerest ranking this station has had the pleasure of for a long time.

So to simply answer the question, it came about through one man's idea which worked and the others just followed. We are still receiving phone calls from police at other stations wanting information in order to get their crews up and running. We have been considered the benchmark for bicycle policing.

What are some advantages of using bikes for policing?

The advantages are numerous. Every man and his dog can hear a Police Rodeo coming and most other people can pick the unmarked cars. Bikes however are silent (apart from me struggling for breath). They are quick, agile and can access areas cars can't. The advantage over foot patrols I guess can come down to a PR perspective. Police are more noticable on bikes and this offers some reassurance to members of the public. The other advantage is that on foot you are limited to how far you can walk away from the crime hot spots. On a bike you can be in North Parramatta when a job comes over and on most occasions can beat the car crews to the job (NB. might not be much good once we get there but we can beat them!).

How are you treated by other road users?

Car, truck, and bus drivers don't seem to care too much whether you are in uniform or not until they get pulled up. Most other road users find police on bicycles amusing, but the criminals of our area don't see the same humour.

Other cyclists will often welcome us because of the common ground we share, very little road. We often spend time in Parramatta Park and the riders in the park are a wonderful source of information. Most cyclists have been pretty good. Some still refuse to wear helmets.

What do you think cyclists can do to improve their lot?

Obey the road rules, they were put in place to save lives and avoid heartache for loved ones.

How could cycling facilities be improved in Western Sydney?

I personally have written letters away to the State Rail Authority. I put to them 2 suggestions. To this date I have still not received a reply. The first suggestion I put to them was to utilise the waste land which runs alongside the train lines in between stations. This would help get cyclists off the main roads and onto pathways accessible by cyclists only. If they were to undertake such a project I for one would start to ride to work but at this stage I refuse to ride along Windsor Road. It is too damm dangerous. [There are some RailTrail projects going on, such as the Parramatta to Liverpool link. See Bicycle NSW for more details - ed]

The 2nd notion I put to them was to convert some of the older single storey train carriages into bikes or disable only carriages. If any of you have tried to catch a mountains train from Penrith or Emu Plains on a weekend you will understand where I am coming from. On anyone of those early trains you could have up to 50 cyclists going up the mountain for a morning ride in the bush. I suggested that these carriages could have a useful purpose around the time of the Olmypics. Once again I am sure that if bikes on public transport were better accommodated more people would ride and we would not have the pollution problems we have now.

What are the plans for the bicycle unit?

More officers? Yes, hopefully. There aren't any spare police at the moment so we have to be patient.

Senior Constable Dave Flood's thoughts and opinions are just that: his own personal opinions. He does not speak for the NSW Police service. CAMWEST greatly appreciates his time.

CAMWEST editorial and related links.

Your Thoughts

So what do you think? Do you ride to work? Would you try it if you had better facilities? Do you have any tips to share? Let us know, and we'll publish your toughts. See our letters page.

scotty72

Well guys, after a week of zero response from the police I went back in this evening.

Original cop not there.

I re-stated my complaint to a more senior officer. She said he'd tell the original guy to get on with it.

gggrrrr

Scotty