Infringement Notice - Bendigo

Ha!

Nothing like a ridiculous joke from a police officer to divert the attention away from the dangers of giving too much discretionary powers to the police.

Let's see if you laugh just as hard when you are the victim of the police abusing their broad powers.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/police-face-integrity-commission-over-attack-20120506-1y76l.html

You don't need audio, and you don't need to be a Sherlock Holmes to see what went on there.

Why was there a band of cops walking down the path, following a bunch of dudes in the first place?

I'd make a wild guess and say they had previously been a problem at the festival, and were being monitored and shadowed by the cops to see what they'd do..

In normal fashion, the boyos - who were probably a bit inebriated and feeling a bit brave, would have been giving the cops a good old mouthful and taunting them.

See it almost every footy game; brave tough heros who think it's cool to pick on cops for simply being there, taunt them and give them a mouthful of obsenities.

So then one of the cops gets that first guy in the addidas shirt and his mate turn and say something to the cop, and then come up to him and be in his space and the cop moves him off, after which all the mates move in. Naturally; the cops are not going to let these fools take control and so move to shut them down as soon as possible.

Cops don't go around and smash dudes or pick on blokes for the fun of it - especially when they know there are cameras at these venues.

The smart@rse dudes always start this stuff. I love it that the cops finish it. ;)

But what the cops do - and I applaud them for it - is single out the troublemaking losers and drunks and takes steps to shut them down.

You can't reason with drunks; they just never know when to shut-up and calm down.

You can argue that the process of shutting them down incites more violence and provokes a situation? Maybe so, but the alternative is to have no police presence anywhere.

It's like the police pursuit argument about whether to chase alleged offenders who flee or not; you're damned if you do; damned if you don't.
 
According to tvadera who reported the incident:


It was a lane, not a street.
Street/lane, whatever. It's still a public road/thoroughfare.
The No Entry sign was not easy to see. The cops seem to be familiar with the pb. Probably not the first time they catch somebody in that situation.
So the OP wasn't paying attention to the road. Good thing they got pinged, so they pay more attention next time!
If the cops know there is a recurring problem there, why don't they arrange for a more noticeable sign to be put there? That would be the right thing to do. To treat the poor unfamiliar people who fail to see the sign as a criminal is not the right way to behave IMHO.

I think the comments from jusnliz are quite relevant

It's not up to the cops to maintain street, sorry - lane, signs. That's the council. If the OP wants a positive outcome from this, they should report the poor sign visibility to the council and get it "fixed" so that no one else can fall for this dastardly trap the cops have set! :rolleyes:
 
That's trying really hard not to see what the real problem is. Many posters who have been to Bendigo mentioned that they didn't know either that it was a one way lane and would have done the same thing. So the core of the problem is a poorly positioned sign that most people don't notice.

So the OP wasn't paying attention to the road. Good thing they got pinged, so they pay more attention next time!

Are you serious?:confused:

So if the police can fine anybody, no matter unreasonable it is, why not? It is attitudes like that turn citizens hostile to the police. That's when people start to perceive the behavior of the police as raising revenue, not protecting people from crime.

I expect a much higher standard from a police officer who has been granted wide powers. With power comes responsibility to use those powers wisely. As Bayview righlty said, respect is dwindling for the police. That should not be surprising with the police doing more and more petty rules enforcement resulting in unfair fines.
 
Absolutely, I'm serious.

If someone goes the wrong way down a one-way street/road/lane/thoroughfare, and doesn't notice a) the 'one-way' sign on the entry, or b) all the parked cars facing them, then are they really responsible drivers on the road?
 
How about the OP, HK or one of the others that knows this lane, post the address, so we can check it out on streetview.
 
It is attitudes like that turn citizens hostile to the police. That's when people start to perceive the behavior of the police as raising revenue, not protecting people from crime.
People who turn hostile are those who don't like getting caught for doing something wrong; even if it is a minor infringement. It's still an infringement nonetheless, so the problem is with them; not the cops.

As Bayview righlty said, respect is dwindling for the police. That should not be surprising with the police doing more and more petty rules enforcement resulting in unfair fines.
I have enormous respect for the cops - they should be paid double; having to put up with the shoit they have to deal with on a daily basis.

I have also received a decent share of parking fines and speeding fines in my lifetime (not too many in the last 20 years - one only), but I don't disrespect them for that; only myself for being a dumb @rse. The rules were there and I broke them. Are they petty rules? Maybe in the odd case, but they are rules just the same.

If it upsets you so much, go into Parliament and change a few.

You statements are the view of a victim - like so many of our race these days; all sooks who don't want to take some responsibility for what they do.

We have a speed camera down our way that sits in a spot where there are absolutely never any pedestrians. It is there every other day. There is clearly no danger of an accident of this type, and little chance of a collision as it is on a two lane divided road. It is clearly revenue raising. I know it's not a cop-related issue as we are discussing, but once upon a time it would have been them patrolling this section of road; and they still occasionally do when the camera is not there.

Now; you can speed and get fined and get upset at the ridiculousness of it, and disrespect the cop who zapped you with the radar gun when they are there, or you can slow down and stay at the speed limit.
 
I have enormous respect for the cops - they should be paid double; having to put up with the shoit they have to deal with on a daily basis.

I agree with you there. The cops are doing a very difficult job, having to deal with dangerous and dodgy characters. I am glad they are there to protect us from such characters.

You statements are the view of a victim - like so many of our race these days; all sooks who don't want to take some responsibility for what they do.
WRONG. I take responsibility for my actions. We seem to have different expectations of the behavior of the cops though. There are so many rules now that we don't even know them all & I doubt many people would be able to drive from A to B without breaking one. However, the cops would typically only focus on the most serious behavior that put others in danger. When they insist on enforcing odd rules in unreasonable circumstances (like described in this thread), they abuse their powers and tend to lose respect.

We seem to disagree on this. You seem to believe that it OK for the cops to act like pricks and enforce odd rules in unreasonable circumstances. I think they have a responsibility to apply the rules wisely, and not to treat honest citizens like criminals in such circumstances. I'm OK to disagree.

If you really believe that the cops are not responsible for losing respect from citizens, it makes me wonder about your statement about people taking responsibility for what they do.
 
There are good cops, I have met a few. Once had a breakdown in the middle of nowhere in Tassie and the constable drove me 140km to the nearest town so that it was possible for me to hitchhike back home.

But then there are cops doing bugger all all day, catching people 2km over the limit. And I am not so sure that they are themselves under the speed limit all the time. How often have you been overtaken by a cop car when you are at the limit? No they are not on a chase BTW, chatting to each other casually inside the car.

In many countries the cops do not have the respect of community. They are feared rather than respected. And no, it is never because of the citizens. I am not saying we are such a country but, if ever a profession loses the respect of the community, they should look at themselves.
 
Is that the one way lane next to the Tafe and primary school? (from memory there's two old headers in Bendigo - one on the way in from the south and one just a block outside CBD - one near CBD is next to a primary school/tafe/aquatics centre/cricket oval/velodrome)

If it is (we ran a kids tryathlon there) must say there were quite a few cops around most of the time we were there - mainly for the kids though not for traffic.

I was coming from Myrtle St and turned into Creek St North (failed to observe No Left turn sign), but there was no oncoming traffic and car speed was 20 km/ph and parked the car safely in the parking bay.

Call it karma, got a fine..

I have decided to appeal in the court, have to take time off work, I personally wouldnt like it, but I need to contest this, fine is just ridiculous.

Regards,
 
I agree with you there. The cops are doing a very difficult job, having to deal with dangerous and dodgy characters. I am glad they are there to protect us from such characters.
Those characters don't exist.

Didn't you know; the cops are always harassing us ordinary folk who only do unimportant little illegal things.

"Why aren't you out there picking on the real criminals?" is one of their common whinges from disgruntled ordinary folk who have just broken some silly law.

I reckon that when people stop driving drunk, driving without a license or a suspended one, speeding and crashing into each other, driving through red lights, tailgaiting, road-raging others and so on; then they'll go out and catch those real bad guys.
 
I have a lit if respect for general duties cops.

Very little for highway patrol officers.

The last straw for them was one trying to impound my car for a burnout unless I paid him the five in cash. No burnout had been conducted. It was dry weather. A sealed road and an awd car.
 
I have a lit if respect for general duties cops.

Very little for highway patrol officers.

The last straw for them was one trying to impound my car for a burnout unless I paid him the five in cash. No burnout had been conducted. It was dry weather. A sealed road and an awd car.

Is that five hundred dollars? Assuming you refused to pay up, what happened?
 
I have a lit if respect for general duties cops.

Very little for highway patrol officers.

Yes. There is a difference. Although most people have no idea that most police are 'general duties' police who couldn't give a crap about revenue raising or minor traffic infringements - these are the police too busy tending to domestics, suicides, robberies and fatal car accidents (no 'revenue' from these!) to give a rats a### about whether you're driving 5km over the speed limit - in my opinion these police deserve our respect. The general duties cops certainly don't sit around all day with 'nothing to do' as a previous poster stated. It's only the Highway Patrol police who specialise in traffic matters who are seen as the 'revenue raisers'. We shouldn't tar them all with the same brush ;).

The last straw for them was one trying to impound my car for a burnout unless I paid him the five in cash. No burnout had been conducted. It was dry weather. A sealed road and an awd car.

If this is true it's incredibly dumb. Did you get this officer's name and report it?
 
When I tried to get his badge number and quoted the bit of legislation about what a burnout was he got a bit defensive and left. That should have read "fine" in cash - phone auto correct.

I reported him. He was reprimanded for not turning on his recording equipment when conducting a traffic stop, but he claimed he was stopping me for doing 84 in a 80 zone and gave me a warning (I'll admit to doing that speed, but he actually threatened me with a 120 in a 80 based on his speedo (complete lie) and couldn't tell me if his speedo had been correctly calibrated.

So yeah, reported him and nothing happened.

I have some good mates that are cops - they view HWP as a bunch of arrogant cowboys.
 
I have some good mates that are cops - they view HWP as a bunch of arrogant cowboys.
I reckon if anyone spent all day long pulling over idiots who break traffic laws, who then whine and moan, and/or be a smart @rse to the cops concerned, they'd have to become very arrogant and dislike humans eventually.

Hell; I feel like that after dealing with the public for 30 odd years, and these people I deal with are paying me money!! :eek::D
 
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I was coming from Myrtle St and turned into Creek St North (failed to observe No Left turn sign), but there was no oncoming traffic and car speed was 20 km/ph and parked the car safely in the parking bay.

Call it karma, got a fine..

I have decided to appeal in the court, have to take time off work, I personally wouldnt like it, but I need to contest this, fine is just ridiculous.

Regards,

Just wondering what you're contesting? The fine amount? Or that an offence was committed?

Out of curiosity, I just had a look at the google map street view. The no left turn sign is very clear, as is the one direction arrow on the single lane exit. The exit is also deliberately curving to the left to be an obtuse angle so that driver's have greater difficulty entering against traffic flow.

It looks clear cut to me. Not crime of the century but a fine none the less. If that's the worst you do in your life, there should be more of you.
 
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Hi All,

Thanks for all your comments. I had written a letter to VIC Compliance Officer contesting my fine and demerit points

After 10 weeks I got response back stating I have to pay the fine of 244$ and 3 demerit points would be applied.

I can pay the fine, but have asked for payment plan and have signed up for 25$ every fortnight. Let those Ba$*@*!$ wait for the money, thats least I could do
 
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