Police and government hypocrites
caught out by their own laws - WTF file !!
Wednesday, 28 March 2007. WA Parliament.
In the WA parliament the Joondalup police were quoted as
having said "of the last 51 fatal accidents, one-third
of the fatalities were not wearing seatbelts.... the
reasons for fatalities were driver attitude, education,
no seatbelts, fatigue and alcohol." NOTE: No mention
of speed or radar detector at all.
Speeding shame: WA Mps
rack up speeding fines
Source: Perth Now
EXCLUSIVE: Joe Spagnolo
March 08, 2008 05:00pm
WA MPs racked up thousands of dollars in speeding fines
last year in their taxpayer-funded cars, a special
Freedom of Information probe revealed.
But the Government
has refused to reveal the names of the MPs, though The
Sunday Times has discovered they include
Attorney-General Jim McGinty and Liberal leader Troy
Buswell.
The Sunday Times has obtained copies of 34
traffic-infringement notices, under a Freedom of
Information application.
In some cases our lawmakers -- who talk tough about road
safety -- were driving nearly 30km over the speed limit,
reaching speeds of up to 124km/h and copping $500 fines
as a result.
The lead-foot pollies paid nearly $7000 in fines last
year for offences in 2006 and 2007.
One politician was caught speeding on Christmas Eve and
another MP was nabbed on New Year's Day -- holiday
periods when politicians urge the public need to drive
safely.
The FOI application by The Sunday Times was initially
rejected. The Department of Premier and Cabinet would
only confirm 34 politicians had copped speeding fines.
After an appeal, an internal review was conducted and
more details were released.
The department refused to release the names of the
errant MPs, citing their right to privacy. However,
several owned up after being canvassed by The Sunday
Times.
* Mr Hames admitted getting two speeding tickets for
doing 77km/h in a 70km/h zone and 87km/h in an 80km/h
zone near Mandurah.
* Mr Thomas admitted being pinged for doing 120km/h in a
110km/h stretch on the Old Coast Rd.
* Mr Logan admitted being fined $100 and losing one
demerit point for exceeding the 90km/h speed limit on
the Perth to Yanchep road by between 10km/h and 19km/h
in 2006. (This is more than a
momentary laps in concentration!)
* Ms Ravlich admitted receiving a $100 fine and losing
one demerit point for doing 70km/h in a 60km/h zone on
Stirling Highway.
* Mr Buswell admitted receiving speeding tickets in
October and December 2006. He said he lost no demerit
points for speeding in December, but lost one point for
doing 90km/h in an 80km/h zone near Mandurah.
Mr McGinty said he could not remember details of his
driving offence. (Why
are people with memory problems or dementia able to be
in parliament?? I am sure this defense would not work
for a member of the public?)
"Obviously we all have to be mindful of the road rules
but from time-to-time people do exceed the speed limit
and politicians are no different to others,'' Mr Buswell
said.
But Premier Alan Carpenter said he had not had any
speeding fines in two years, and politicians should lead
by example.
"The simple message is that speed kills and politicians
should be leading by example,' he said.
"I hope those caught learned a valuable lesson.''
Police Minister John Kobelke agreed that the state's
lawmakers needed to practice what they preached.
"Politicians as community leaders need to set an
example, even if some of us fail from time to time,'' he
said.
"Those who break the law will pay the appropriate
penalty.''
But Road Safety Council independent chair Grant
Dorrington took a more sympathetic view.
Mr Dorrington, who confessed to having lost his licence
at 18 when he reversed into a car, said politicians were
no different to anyone else and made mistakes.
"I think MPs are only human,'' he said. "They are just
ordinary people given positions in parliament. "
"At times, you can lose your concentration and be five
or 6km over. "The real issue is people who do it
(speeding) regularly.''
(no shit! this is what we have said all along!!! so why
ticket people for doing 1~3km over the limit? Speed
cameras can not tell the difference.) But of course its
ok for the politicians (who pay his organisation) but
not the general public.
The FOI findings also revealed delays in issuing
speeding tickets. It had taken police five months to
send out some notices.
Assistant Commissioner of Police John McRoberts this
week called for infringement management and speed camera
operations to be privatised.
"We don't believe they are core police functions,'' he
said.
"We also believe that another government department or
agency or a private company is better suited to this
function.''
ED: Do people
realise that Grant Dorrington's organisation derives
income from Speeding Fine revenue?? Of couse they want
more speed cameras, of course they want more speeding
fines issued, of course they oppose radar detectors.
Ironic, they should really just want no road fatalities.
UK Police Cheif Meredydd Hughes get
driving ban for speeding!
Britain's
former top traffic cop, Meredydd Hughes, has been banned
from driving for 42 days after admitting speeding at
90mph in a 60 zone.
The chief constable for South Yorkshire was caught by a
speed camera in North Wales during his holiday in May.
He pleaded guilty through his solicitor at Wrexham
Magistrates’ Court this morning and was fined £350. He
did not appear in person.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said
after details of the offence emerged that Hughes was to
step down from his role as head of roads policing.
He remains in the post according to ACPO’s website.
Meredydd Hughes "We are expected to abide
by the law"
Video: Med Hughes: “We are expected to abide by the law”
By Ben Purvis of Motorcycle News
05 December 2007 16:46
This video clip of shamed top traffic cop Med Hughes
shows him preaching about the benefits of speed cameras
– just a month before he was nabbed by a camera himself.
He was caught on camera in May, and banned today for 42
days for doing 90mph on an A road.
The clip was recorded in April for the DVD: "How to
avoid speeding fines and points legally"
In it he argues that speed cameras have proved to be
ineffective at best as a road safety measure and offers
considerable evidence to support the claim, as well as
offering valuable advice to all motorists.
Jon Parker, producer of the DVD, said: "Mr Hughes
actions are absolutely remarkable as he doesn't
seemingly practice what he preaches. Our research in
compiling the DVD indicates that it's far more likely
that Mr Hughes was wrong in the preaching than the
practising. Despite the speeding laws being broken
countless million of times each day only about 5% of
injury crashes involve any vehicle exceeding a speed
limit."
Meredydd Hughes was asked to appear in "How to avoid
speeding fines and points legally", to balance up a
debate which also challenges whether speed cameras are
effective in their role for safer roads. He did so with
the vigour and passion which one would expect head of
road policing policy for ACPO. For example, he says,
"You all need to remember that the British Public is not
just composed of drivers and that pedestrians, horse
riders, the elderly and the young all have a right to
use the road and not just petrol heads who want to go as
fast as they like."
Drink drive cop axed from TV commercial
A
female police officer had to be axed from a drink
driving TV safety advert after being convicted of drink
driving.
Geraldine Donnelly pleaded guilty to drink driving at
Bangor Magistrates court after being caught with 140mg
of alcohol in her blood, 60mg over the legal limit.
The court heard how she had been involved in a collision
with another car on the County Down town's Gransha Road
in January 2005.
Constable Donnelly had provided the voiceover for the
advert, which then had to be re-made, at a cost of
£9000.
She was fined £120, banned from driving for one year and
could lose her job with the Police Service of Northern
Ireland.
Nothing like a hypocrite in a high place!
The
following letter was forwarded to us by a concerned
citizen. It was received AFTER the events below.
"Thank you
for your email regarding the banning of radar detectors
in Western Australia.
You may be
aware that the previous Minister for Community safety,
the Hon Michelle Roberts MLA, announced the Government's
intention to ban the use of radar detectors and other
speed evasion devices, such as laser jammers, in this
state. The Road Safety Council supports this band and
prohibiting the use of such devices would bring WA in
line with the rest of Australia in this regard.
Inappropriate
speed contributes to around one-third of fatal crashes
in WA and reducing speeding is a key element of Arriving
Safely, the Western Australian road safety strategy for
2003-2007 The enforcement of sped limits, combined with
community education is essential in reducing speeding
and death and serious injury on our roads.
Research
suggest that the use of radar detectors increases the
probability of driver involvement in crashes. For
example, a study in Canada found that radar detector
owners had significantly more crash claims and speeding
convictions than members of the general population.
Also, in terms of radar detectors being used as a
speed-monitoring device, a study conducted in the United
Stated of America concluded that radar detectors were
primarily being used to avoid police detection rather
than warning drivers about their excess speed.
The
Government will give consideration to amending the Road
Traffic Act 1974 to introduce regulations to band the
fitment, use and possibly sale of radar detectors in WA.
The proposed band and any necessary legislative
amendments, however will require Cabinet and
Parliamentary approval.
Thank you for
taking the time to write to me regarding this issue.
Yours
sincerely,
Signed
John D'Orazio
MLA
Disgraced former WA Minister for Police,
just keep getting better.
WA CABINET
RESHUFFLE – February 2006: John D’Orazio has been
elevated to take on the portfolios of Police and
Emergency Services and Community Safety; and retains
Justice.
Former police minister appears before
crime commission
ABC.NET.AU
Friday, 25 August , 2006 08:16:00
Reporter: David Weber
TONY EASTLEY: The former Police Minister in Western
Australia will appear before the Corruption and Crime
Commission today to explain how he got caught up in a
corruption investigation.
The Commission has heard secretly recorded phone
conversations between John D'Orazio and a panel beater,
who's allegedly used friends in the police service to
quash speeding fines.
John D'Orazio lost his police and justice portfolios
earlier this year after it was revealed he hadn't paid
speeding fines and was driving with a suspended license.
David Weber reports.
DAVID WEBER: The Corruption and Crime Commission has
heard half-a-dozen recorded phone calls between John
D'Orazio and the panel beater Pasquale Minniti.
The calls were made in May, in the midst of the
controversy over Mr D'Orazio's unpaid speeding fines.
It's claimed Pasquale Minniti has used contacts in the
police service to get speeding fines dropped for family
and friends.
In this phone call on May the eighth, Pasquale Minniti
is speaking to John D'Orazio, who'd just been dumped as
Police Minister.
(Sound of phone ringing)
JOHN D'ORAZIO: Hello?
PASQUALE MINNITI: Yeah, John.
JOHN D'ORAZIO: Yeah.
PASQUALE MINNITI: Pasquale, how you going?
JOHN D'ORAZIO: G'day Pasquale, how are ya?
PASQUALE MINNITI: How you going? Are we gonna catch up
or what?
JOHN D'ORAZIO: Oh, yeah mate, but you're hearing what's
all happening at the moment?
PASQUALE MINNITI: Yeah, it's all bullshit, isn't it?
JOHN D'ORAZIO: Yeah mate, so just let me get some
breathing space.
PASQUALE MINNITI: Yeah, but listen, John, listen,
listen. I believe I can help you, alright? Can we catch
up?
JOHN D'ORAZIO: How can you help me?
PASQUALE MINNITI: Just trust me, okay? When can we catch
up?
JOHN D'ORAZIO: I'm in Parliament tomorrow.
DAVID WEBER: Although Mr D'Orazio had lost his Police
and Justice portfolios he was still in Cabinet. Mr
D'Orazio was the new Minister for Seniors, Ethnic
Affairs and People with Disabilities.
The second call came a couple of minutes later.
PASQUALE MINNITI: Do you know those unpaid fines you
had, John?
JOHN D'ORAZIO: Yep.
PASQUALE MINNITI: Okay, were they multanova ones?
JOHN D'ORAZIO: No, they were policeman ones.
PASQUALE MINNITI: Yeah okay, no worries, okay, well,
listen, what time can you and I catch up? I've got
something good up my sleeve, very good.
DAVID WEBER: Mr D'Orazio eventually organized to meet Mr
Minniti some days later.
About half an hour after this phone conversation, Mr
Minniti rang a contact at Traffic Infringement
Operations.
Mr Minniti told Senior Constable Arduino Silvestri that
he wanted to fix things up for the former police
minister. But the senior constable wouldn't have it.
ARDUINO SILVESTRI: What's going on?
PASQUALE MINNITI: Hey?
ARDUINO SILVESTRI: What's going on?
PASQUALE MINNITI: We need to fix things up for John
D'Orazio.
ARDUINO SILVESTRI: (Laughs) He's unfixable, man.
PASQUALE MINNITI: What?
ARDUINO SILVESTRI: He is unfixable.
DAVID WEBER: In later calls, Mr D'Orazio said to Mr
Minniti he shouldn't get involved. Mr Minniti has told
the Commission he was not offering anything more than
advice.
The Premier Alan Carpenter once described Mr D'Orazio as
a 'rising star'. He's now said he will not tolerate
misconduct by any member of the Government.
Political analyst David Black says John D'Orazio has
lurched from disaster to disaster.
DAVID BLACK: Originally stemming from his career in
local government, where he was a Mayor, and then some of
his subsequent behaviour as an employer and then as a
Minister of the Crown, driving his car when in fact his
licence had been suspended and so on.
So, one problem after another, saw him fall from the
ministry, but it now appears as though in fact his
entire career in Parliament may be jeopardy.
TONY EASTLEY: West Australian political analyst, David
Black ending David Weber's report.
D’Orazio dismisses CCC report as a
‘whitewash’
WA NEWS. 21st December 2007, 17:15 WST
Former West Australian minister John D’Orazio will refer
a corruption report accusing him of inappropriate
behaviour to the State’s parliamentary inspector,
claiming it was a “whitewash”. [sic] maybe he should
go back to selling used cars?
The Corruption and Crime Commission report, released
today, has cleared the former police minister of
misconduct but says he acted inappropriately by meeting
with Bayswater panel beater Pasquale Minniti.
Minniti offered to help Mr D’Orazio deal with
allegations he had driven his car while his driver’s
licence was suspended because he had not paid traffic
fines.
The allegations and subsequent meeting with Minniti led
to Mr D’Orazio’s sacking from the ministry in May 2006
and later forced his resignation from the ALP.
The CCC report said it was clear Mr D’Orazio discussed
in some detail his concerns about his traffic
infringements with Minniti, and these conversations were
likely to have encouraged the panel beater.
“Mr D’Orazio failed to unequivocally or actively
discourage Mr Minniti’s offer of assistance,” the report
says.
The CCC found there was no evidence that Mr D’Orazio had
acted corruptly or that he had engaged in conduct that
could constitute an offence, but his failure to
unequivocally discourage Minniti amounted to
inappropriate conduct.
But Mr D’Orazio today said he was “outraged” at the
report which he claimed was just an attempt by the CCC
to cover up its own failing when a draft of the report
was leaked to the media in June.
At the time, Mr D’Orazio referred the matter to
parliamentary inspector Malcolm McCusker who recommended
the CCC not mention Mr D’Orazio in its final report
because he had not engaged in misconduct.
“They were justifying their own incompetency in dealing
with this matter as it occurred in June when they were
embarrassed severely with what had occurred,” Mr
D’Orazio told reporters.
“I think this is a whitewash.”
The CCC report’s own transcripts clearly showed he had
told Minniti: “I don’t want you to do anything for me“,
the independent MP said.
“This report totally disregards the parliamentary
inspector’s report, it says we don’t agree with it and
we’re going to ignore it.”
Mr D’Orazio’s lawyer John Hammond said inappropriate
conduct should not be considered by the CCC because it
did not fall within its act.
“It’s not what I’m saying, this is what Mr McCusker QC’s
saying,” Mr Hammond told reporters.
“This act gives no mandate, in our view, to investigate
what is deemed to be inappropriate conduct. The activity
must fall within this act.”
Mr D’Orazio’s legal team says it will again refer the
CCC’s report to Mr McCusker to investigate these
concerns.
The CCC report has led to 50 charges against eight
people, including two police officers, who allegedly
gave Minniti access to confidential police computer
information and withdrew traffic infringements issued to
Minniti’s associates.
Minniti faces numerous charges, including five counts of
corruption and eight counts of unlawful use of a
computer.
WA Premier Alan Carpenter said the report’s findings did
not change his opinion of Mr D’Orazio.
“The CCC findings today do not change my position or
views about John D’Orazio,” the premier said in a
statement.
D'Orazio sets record straight
Just
when you thought it couldn't get any better. Why
sack somebody from your political party, just to let
them in again?
Independent Express.
Issue 81, April 17th 2008, front page. Elliot Leonard
Independent Labor member
for Ballajura John D'Orazio with copies of his
application to rejoin the Labor party and the cheque he
used to pay for the application. Mr D'Orazio has since
been allowed to rejoin the Western Australian Labor
Party and to stand for pre-selection for the seat of
Morley at the next state election.
With the next state
election due either later this year or early next year,
things are starting to heat up in the newly created seat
of Morley after Independent Labor member for Ballajura
John D'Orazio was allowed to return to the West
Australian Labor Party earlier this week.
Mr D'Orazio, who was
forced to resign as Police Minister back in 2006, now
faces the task of being nominated for the preselections
for the new seats of Morley or West Swan.
However, he faces
competition from Premier Alan Carpenter's preferred
candidate for Morley, former Channel Seven journalist
Reece Whitby and Mr Carpenter's cheif of staff Rita
Saffioti for the seat of West Swan, both of which he is
not too happy about.
"Neither of these
candidates have got any connections with the area and I
think it's a disgrace because I have been the local
representative for 28 years in Morley and you drag
somebody from Cottesloe to run for Morley and in the
case of Ballajura, I've been the local member for eight
years and all of a sudden the Premier's chief of staff,
who is from Cannington, is going to run for the seat of
West Swan," Mr D'Orazio said.
Mr D'Orasio's main
priority was to b e allowed to rejoin the Labor party
after Labor party State Secretary Bill Johnston
initially refused his membership application on the
basis that it was paid in cash instead of a cheque which
proved to be incorrect.
However, the matter was
resolved earlier this week when Mr D'Orazio's membership
application to the Labor Party was accepted.
Now that he is back in the
Labor Party, Mr D'Orazio has made it clear that he will
continue to strongly represent his area.
"They couldn't stop me
getting back into the Labor Party. They could possibly
stop me getting preselected but they couldn't stop me
getting back into the Labor Party." Mr D'Orazio said.
He also added that
"anybody can join the Labor Party as long as you haven't
been in jail and as long as you pay your membership, go
through the proper process and the branch accepts you
but that's not the issue here. The issue is that there
is a proper process under the Labor party rules that you
have to go through and Mr Carpenter has just gone out
and said that Mr Whitby is the new labor party candidate
for the seat of Morley without going through the proper
process and he isn't even a member of the party."
Can Grant Dorrington be a
bigger idiot?
From ABC News: The Motorcycle Riders Association of
Western Australia has urged the State Government to look
at ways to improve road safety for motorcyclists.
The group spoke out in the wake of the death of a
24-year-old man on the Goldfields on Saturday, taking to
33 the number of fatal accidents involving motorcyclists
this year.
Police say the man's motorcycle and a semi-trailer
collided on the Goldfields Highway.
The Association's President David Wright says the
increase in the number of fatalities is a worrying
trend.
"The year isn't over yet so hopefully we don't get any
more, but obviously there's a lot more motorcyclist's on
the road and there's a lot of people who come back to
motorcycling that have sort of retired and have been out
of it for a few years, " he said.
"We think there should be a bit more training for novice
motorcyclists.
"A lot of the other state governments, Victoria,
Queensland do an awful lot of education for
motorcyclists and training and also for other road users
for keeping an eye out for motorcyclists basically.
"Over here the State Government doesn't seem to do
anything at all in the way of advertising."
The WA Motorcycle Riding Association is trying to be
proactive in the area of road safety because
motorcyclists make up an disproportionate amount of
deaths on WA rads (33 out of 205 so far this year).
There have been more than a few where it is the fault of
the car that has killed the motorcycle rider by pulling
out in front of them either because they didn't see
them, thought they could beat them or just didn't look
for them.
Grant Dorrington's response:
He says motorcyclists should be responsible for their
own safety.
"It's just very obvious, you get on a motorbike, they're
very powerful, you drive the thing quicker than you
should, you're just very vulnerable and unfortunately
the road deaths with motorcyclists is an alarming
statistic," he said.
So if we use that reasoning, why is Grant supporting
even more restrictions of car drivers, and in
particular, P-platers. Why can't we all 'be responsible
for our own safety'?
And why does the Road Safety Councils recommendations
almost always consist of lowering speed limits and more
speed cameras when speed is only a factor in 17% of all
fatal accidents?
How can we get rid of the current Road Safety Council
and put some people there with a real clue in helping
save lives on the roads through better training and
improved roads, not just by setting arbitrary speed
limits with cameras around every corner?
4th January 2007, 14:30 WST. The West Australian News
Paper.
I’ve known Grant Dorrington for a fair while through his
football and road safety activities. He was a regular
guest on my former radio program, talking about road
safety, and I think it’s fair to say he often drew a
negative response from talkback callers. I generally
defended him.
So it probably won’t please Dorro to read that it’s time
he moved on from the job of chairman of the Road Safety
Council.
Mr Dorrington’s response to our shocking 2006 road toll
gives every indication that we need fresh eyes on the
problem.
He offers us more of the same — and worse. More speed
cameras on freeways and highways and a red light camera
on every major intersection.
That ignores the fact that the 2006 toll comprised 118
deaths on regional roads and 86 in the metropolitan
area, yet the vast majority of our speed cameras are in
the city. That has never made sense.
There was not one new idea in Mr Dorrington’s response —
not even the concession that most of the old ideas were
stale. Just the big stick.
Forty-two more deaths on the roads since the low of 162
in 2005 should have everyone questioning whether we’re
on the right course.
I’m reliably informed that the private rationalisation
within government is that last year’s increase is put
down to a spike in motorcycle deaths and a series of
disastrous crashes involving Aboriginals in the north of
the State.
Acting Community Safety Minister John Bowler is also
adamant that WA’s road safety strategy is on the right
track:
“The Government is constantly looking for new solutions
but you cannot solve the problems overnight,” he says.
“It took more than 25 years to convince the community
about the dangers of drinking and driving. We are now
trying to get the same message across about speeding.”
So we can expect the focus on speed to continue, when
it’s obvious to anyone who wants to look at the
statistics that other factors are almost certainly more
important, many of them attributed to speed.
After a recent column on the road toll, I was contacted
by a retired police officer who had spent 16 years as a
traffic patrolman, the final six as a crash
investigator.
“As a crash investigator it became apparent to me that
inattention was a factor in at least 99 per cent of all
crashes I dealt with,” he wrote.
“If you ask for statistics from the police to back this
up they won’t be there simply because of how the Road
Traffic Code is written. What I mean by this can be seen
in
the simple rear-end crash: why did the rear car hit the
car in front?
“Because he wasn’t paying attention to what was going
on.
“The infringement that is issued to him is for the
offence of ‘following too close’ and not for ‘careless
driving’ unless the offending driver makes the admission
of inattention.
“It is the same for any of the ‘failing to give way’
offences.
“Inattention caused the crash (not bothering to look
properly) but as there are specific offences for
‘failing to give way’ this is what the ticket is issued
for and not ‘careless driving’.
“Even in the mysterious single-vehicle crash that
results in death, why did it happen? Quite often the
police will report that excessive speed was a factor.
“Most of the time we were not referring to exceeding the
speed limit but excessive speed for the conditions (a
bend, rain or night time), but why was the speed
excessive?
“Because the driver wasn’t paying enough attention to
the changing road or weather conditions. You are
probably asking did I ever bring this up with Roadwise.
Certainly did but I’ll let you guess what they did with
it.”
If my correspondent is right it makes a mockery of the
road safety statistics and the strategies that respond
to them. He makes another telling point:
“Finally, there are not enough traffic cops on the road
to catch these miscreants in the first place, so again
they even have less to fear.
“For example when I first started there were 12 traffic
cops at my station to look after the patrol area, two
sergeants to look after the admin side of things, two
patrol officers for the crashes and eight dedicated
staff for patrols.
“When I resigned that had been reduced to one sergeant,
one crash investigator and four staff for patrol duties
(unless they were needed for station duties).”
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau community
attitudes survey released last month asked drivers in
all States about their perceptions of changes in speed
enforcement over the past two years.
“There was a degree of variation across the States and
Territories in the extent to which speed limit
enforcement was viewed as having increased,” the report
said.
“This ranged from 49 per cent in the Northern Territory
to 70 per cent in South Australia. The only
State/Territory for which a significant decline was
evident is WA (down from 64 per cent in 2005 to 54 per
cent for the current period).”
A reliance on speed cameras just doesn’t wash with
motorists.
Unless someone in government is prepared to take a fresh
look at what is really happening on our roads we’re
likely to be wringing our hands over the road toll at
this time next year.
Louisiana: Speed Camera
Manager Caught with Speed Detector
Lafayette,
Louisiana speed camera manager is caught using a radar
detector. 4/4/08.
The city official in charge of Lafayette, Louisiana's
program that uses cameras to mail tickets to accused
speeders has himself been photographed using a device
designed to help drivers detect radar traps. Tony Tramel,
the Director of Transportation for Lafayette
Consolidated Government, had a radar detector installed
on the windshield of his personal silver Toyota sedan as
he attended a recent city council meeting to provide an
update on transportation projects.
Tramel did not respond to a request for a comment about
why he uses a detector. It is unlikely, however, that he
would actually find a speed camera ticket waiting for
him in his mailbox. The transportation director's duties
include the review of speed camera photographs submitted
by Redflex, the private Australian vendor that operates
the ticketing vans. Tramel has the authority not only to
cancel tickets, but also to give final approval to the
locations chosen for camera van deployment.
A spokesman for the Whistler Group was pleased that
Tramel chose the company's entry-level model 1732
detector but suggested he consider taking advantage of
the company's trade-in program to upgrade to higher
performance units like the XTR690 or PRO78.
"It's nice that he chose us to improve his driving
awareness," Project Manager John Nolan told TheNewspaper.
Tramel is considered an expert on issues of
transportation and ethics. He will hold a seminar on the
topic for attendees at a Dallas, Texas gathering of the
American Society of Civil Engineers on May 5. In
January, Tramel was caught on tape laughing behind
closed doors with an independent hearing officer at
motorists who had just mounted a legal challenge to
their speed camera citations. Tramel was stopped before
he could fully erase the tape containing the
conversation.
Driving ban for 'look, no hands'
policeman who raced past speed camera at 73mph with
thumbs up
As most police officers will testify, answering a 999
call at high speeds requires skill, quick-thinking and
above all else concentration.
Yet, despite driving at almost double the speed
limit, this smiling constable managed to remove both his
hands from the steering wheel to give a 'thumbs up' to a
speed camera as he whizzed past.
If that wasn't bad enough a little over an hour later
David Mayes, 34, repeated his high-jinks as he sped
towards another emergency call - this time doing 73mph
in a built-up 40mph area.
Reckless: Mayes takes his hands off the
wheel at 73mph as he passes a speed camera
Yesterday, as he was banned from driving for six
months and removed from frontline duties, road safety
campaigners roundly condemned the married father of
two's 'appalling' behaviour.
Pc Mayes, who admitted two charges of careless
driving during a short hearing at Halifax Magistrates
Court, now faces an internal inquiry and could
eventually lose his job.
He was first captured by a speed camera pulling the
stunt as he responded to a 999 call on July 26 last year
at 4:53am.
Sat behind the wheel of a panda car and doing 68mph
in a 40mph zone he and his female colleague can be seen
with their thumbs in the air, smiling at the camera as
it takes their photograph. (story continues below)
'Remorseful': David Mayes leaves court,
where he was fined £400 and banned from driving
A little over an hour later, at 6:08am he did the
same again as he past the very same camera - this time
sat next to a male colleague.
Malcolm Christy, prosecuting, told the hearing that
the officer had been prosecuted, not for driving at high
speeds, but because of his careless behaviour whilst
behind the wheel.
"He was legitimately driving at these speeds," said
Mr Christy. "It's the lack of care, not the speed."
He said Mayes, a serving police officer for eight
years, was driving with two different colleagues when he
answered the emergency calls in Sheffield, South
Yorkshire, and said !there was no detrimental effect due
to these actions". But he added: "On both occasions his
hands are off the wheel."
Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes,
banned fordoing 90mph in a 60mph zone, has his
licence back and is taking an advanced driving
course
The hearing was told that Mayes, who was given three
points on his driving license last year for speeding
whilst off-duty, first responded to a call about an
abandoned car and later the theft of some lead.
Tom Nutter, mitigating, said his client regretted his
actions and was full of "remorse". He added: "It was an
episode of complete stupidity and his behaviour was
wholly uncharacteristic.
"His actions not only impact on his standing but on
the South Yorkshire Constabulary and the wider police
service as a whole.
"He has not been suspended from work. However, he has
been removed from frontline policing and placed on
restricted duties.
"He has also been prevented from driving any police
vehicle since August 4th. He will also have to face
internal disciplinary procedures. He would like to
express his shame and remorse for having to come before
the courts.
"He fully recognises that in acting as he did, not
only did his driving fall below the standard expected
but his conduct fell below what was expected of a
serving police officer."
Magistrate Andrew Entwistle ordered Mayes, a former
housing officer for Barnsley Council who passed his
driving test in 1990, his police driving test in 2000
and a standard motorcycle test in 2006, to pay a fine of
£400, in addition to £40 costs and a £15 victims
surcharge.
He told him: "You exhibited a blatant disregard for
the safety of other road users and failed to take into
account the risk of the passengers."
Last night, Lorna Jackson, of charity Brake, said:
"This just goes to show us that the culture of excessive
speed combined with a reckless disregard for the safety
and lives of others, worryingly extends to some police
officers.
"Many police officers regularly see and work with the
tragic consequences of such behaviour.
"Police officers as people and professionals should
know better, and sadly this individual's actions have
undermined the good work that the vast majority of
police do."
Claire Armstrong of Safe Speed : "How fortunate for
this officer that with his eyes off the road ahead, and
hands off the wheel, that no ongoing incidents occurred.
"For this appalling driver behaviour to be from a
policeman, to whom we should be able to look up to and
respect, only increases the already floundering respect
with which the public perceive the police.
"Safe Speed has been highlighting dangerous side
effects from speed cameras and "speed kills" road safety
policy for years."
A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said: "His
conduct fell well below what we and the public expect of
our officers and he now faces misconduct proceedings.
This type of behaviour will not be tolerated."
Speeding fine error "Disgusting"
By Paul Fielding 9th January 2008
London - Blackpool
A SPEED camera campaigner has condemned the
controversial devices after it was revealed
hundreds of motorists had received tickets by
mistake.
Police are handing back 300 fines to drivers
after it was found their speed guns were set up
wrong.
In 2004, Coun Mary Smith of Bloomfield ward
chaired a scrutiny committee which was highly
critical of cameras in the resort, and today
said she was not surprised by the blunder.
But she told The Gazette it was not only a
cash issue and mistaken tickets could end up
costing motorists a lot more.
She added: "This is a disgusting mistake. I'm
glad to hear people are getting their money back
but mistakes like this can have a knock on
effect.
Some people drive for a living and if they lose
their licence they lose their livelihood.
"Employers may trust these cameras and not
listen to the pleas of workers that they weren't
speeding and just let them go.
"Do they then get their jobs back if the
police admit they have made a mistake? It could
have a massive effect on the life of someone who
has been wrongly accused.
"It just goes to show that these cameras
aren't infallible."
Driver Stephen Hunter, of Devonshire Road,
Blackpool, was one Fylde coast resident who has
got his money back.
He received a cheque for £185 and had four
points removed from his licence after being
caught by a speed gun on Clifton Drive, South
Shore, on July 18 last year.
He said: "Luckily for me, the points I got
did not mean I lost my licence."
The Independent Police Complaints Commission
(IPCC) is currently investigating the mistake.
MORE than a third of the Transport Accident
Commission car fleet has incurred speeding or traffic
fines in the past two years.
Fiona Hudson Heral Sun - Victoria, Australia
January 13, 2008
Despite the latest TAC advertising campaign - "Take a
Damn Good Look At Yourself" - documents show the road
safety body's drivers have incurred 37 fines.
Offences by TAC staff included excessive speeding,
running red lights and throwing away a lit cigarette
butt.
Four drivers were booked for speeding 10-15km/h over
the limit, data obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun
under Freedom Of Information laws show.
The worst breach recorded in a TAC car was a staffer
caught doing 74km/h in a 60km/h zone, which attracted a
$750 fine.
Four TAC cars were booked for running red lights.
Read the Full Story...
The revelations come after the TAC axed a $500,000
sponsorship of Collingwood football club over rookie
Sharrod Wellingham's drink-driving ticket last week.
Three TAC staff were repeat offenders and 26 drivers
were nabbed for speeding at less than 10km/h over the
limit - despite the State-Government-owned TAC spending
millions of taxpayer dollars encouraging Victorian
drivers to "Wipe Off 5".
And the road safety body said yesterday it could not
be sure other staff weren't personally fined for failing
to wear seat belts, drink-driving or using mobile
phones, because telling management about those offences
was voluntary.
About 700 employees share the TAC's fleet of 88 cars.
Drivers incur the penalties and demerit points
attached to breaches, not the TAC.
Senior managers were among the offenders.
"A range of employees from all levels incurred
infringements," TAC spokeswoman Lauren Treacy said.
Though all those involved in the offences could have
faced dismissal, they had been given only mandatory
counselling.
News articles from 2007 about police speeding fines, radar
detectors and speed cameras.
Britain's
former top traffic cop, Meredydd Hughes, has been banned
from driving for 42 days after admitting speeding at
90mph in a 60 zone. 
ABC.NET.AU
Friday, 25 August , 2006 08:16:00
WA NEWS. 21st December 2007, 17:15 WST
Lafayette,
Louisiana speed camera manager is caught using a radar
detector. 4/4/08.
As most police officers will testify, answering a 999
call at high speeds requires skill, quick-thinking and
above all else concentration.
'Remorseful': David Mayes leaves court,
where he was fined £400 and banned from driving
Chief Constable Meredydd Hughes,
banned fordoing 90mph in a 60mph zone, has his
licence back and is taking an advanced driving
course