Speak out before Police Stupidity costs more lives

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steve312, Sep 29, 6:54pm
Surely one of the justifications for stopping speeding drivers is in an attempt to reduce accidents!

For all we know, the doctor attending the emergency could be one of our imported specialists that maybe aren't that great at driving safely.

I can just imagine the outcry if the doctor, as a result of excess speed, "T' bones an innocent motorist at an intersection, or spins out on a corner killing a family coming the other way!

Let it go.In this case I believe you are way out of line and taking a very cheap crack at our "generally" hard working Police Force.
arandomusername, Sep 29, 8:52pm
No there wasn't. Police spoke to the Doctor for 5 minutes before letting him get to the hospital and used their discretion to choose not to issue a ticket. Pretty good policing I think.
arandomusername, Sep 29, 9:00pm
Does anyone remember when a driver tried to lie her way out a speeding ticket by saying she was pregnant and going to hospital!

http://news.msn.co.nz/article/8274975/pregnant-woman-fakes-labour-to-avoid-speeding-ticket

This is the reason police need to spend that five minutes doing a check so they can confirm who you are.
holden95, Sep 29, 9:12pm
sorry this person died because doctor was not on site not because he got pulled over for speeding.
Think you have a bee in your bonnet
holden95, Sep 29, 9:15pm
I agree a doctor (without id) has never been caught in New Zealand for drink driving.
pollymay, Sep 29, 9:34pm
How does that nullify my point at all! I pointed out what they could of done so it was a win-win situation.
steve312, Sep 29, 10:06pm
In this case there was not going to be a win/win result as you put it.The coroner stated that they didn't believe the delay contributed to the death of the patient.What contributed to the death was the lack of a doctor at the hospital to deal with the emergency as soon as it happened.

The doctor should have been stopped because he was speeding (and was).It was his fault that he didn't have the correct ID to prove he was a doctor and attending an emergency.That suggests that it was also the doctors fault that it took time for the Police Officer (who was doing his job!) to determine the identity of the offender and send him on his way.The Police must hear every excuse in the book for breaking the law and the majority of them are just blatant lies.And then you come across as outraged that it took time to make sure that he was who he claimed to be.

Just another case of blind and unreasonable Police bashing.
arandomusername, Sep 29, 10:10pm
There's nothing wrong with having and expressing an opinion, but I believe this thread goes further than a rational discussion and is unreasonably critical of the police, who have a difficult job and do their best. Sure they make mistakes but I don't think this situation is an example of one.

The saddest thing about this thread is that thejazzpianoma and others are using the tragic death of a person to further their own anti-police agenda.
pollymay, Sep 29, 11:03pm
but there is NOTHING wrong with the cop setting the pace. If they got there in time is another thing but at that exact instance they did not know that. I didn't say don't stop him, there is no way of knowing without a sign of some sort if it's a doctor. The cop has the rego and details so they aren't going to "get off". They might of heard every excuse in the book but if they are on duty to save lives or whatever leading on is a much more valid solution than just letting the doctor drive off at 100mph in traffic, why shouldn't the cop use the car as it was intended as an emergency vehicle to save people be that the people the doctor is putting at risk or the ones he is off to save
jamstew, Sep 29, 11:41pm
Its not an anti-police agenda Jazz has, its a common sense view on a police force more interested in pushing the "official line" and less concerned about aiding a doctor in an emergency. Just because some men in suits decide that 100kph is a speed limit, that does not mean 118kph is a suicidal driving maneuver. I would go ahead and say that some roads are perfectly safe to drive 120kph on, except i know it will do no good, because a nationwide speed limit is more relevant to some people than road and vehicle conditions. Jazz has the right idea, hell 118kph! i bet my bottom dollar that everybody on this board has driven at that speed at some point, much as you deny it. I think this doctor was in the right, i sure as hell would be annoyed and lippy if a copper pulled me over, breath tested me, sat in his car for 5 minutes, checked my licence etc when a patient is dying in hospital and i was a doctor on call. Go for it jazz, i think the police need a bit of a shakeup to bring them back to reality, as do many people on this board by the sounds of it.
berg, Sep 29, 11:51pm
My last post on this thread.
To those who chose to bash the police over any and every little thing that the deem to be offensive, unjust, unfair or just plan not what they would have done, get up off your couch, turn off your computer and get yourselves down to the local police recruiter. Obviously you folks will make fine upstanding police men and women and will effect the changes you deem necessary within the NZ police. All of course on the budgets supplied.
gunhand, Sep 30, 1:12am
What i wrote had nothing to do with what you just said, re read it and dont cut off the important bits.
ringo2, Sep 30, 1:15am
I have not seen anywhere proof that he was stopped for 5 minutes. Actually I understand that it was about 3 minutes. Wouldn't have been that long if the doctor hadn't screamed and raved at the cop.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 30, 1:20am
At least bother to read the article before posting.

From the Article:
" the police officer who stopped him for five minutes just south of the Petone exit"
thejazzpianoma, Sep 30, 1:22am
Joining the Police won't change a thing.
What WILL change a thing is if people who have not had an inside look at whats going on do a little investigation for themselves before blindly defending the Police regardless of what they do.

These people don't realize the damage they are doing, they are "enabling" the situation and preventing things from being improved for the benefit and safety of us all.

Once people are informed first hand for themselves if they then email their MP, media organisations and spread the word (as I am) we can then get something done.

Please don't be like me and find out too late that our Police force is broken and needlessly lose your property or worse a family member or your own life as a result.

What I have experienced is far from a one off incident. Through my business dealings etc I have witnessed Police responses and had a look at the inner workings many times and been flabbergasted at the complete lack of prioritization of the lives and well-being of people.

There definitely are some good Police still who do a great job, sadly though they have too many colleagues who are not up to snuff who keep dropping the ball and undoing their good work. Likewise they struggle with Policy that focus's on the wrong things. Our speaking out and getting things reviewed will help our good Police to enjoy their jobs more and be more effective.

All I want is an effective Police force that is focused on saving lives and protecting people and property. Is that really too much to ask!
thejazzpianoma, Sep 30, 1:31am
Thanks jamstew, I was getting worried there were no reasonable people who could think for themselves left.
michael.benn, Sep 30, 1:55am
Bare in mind that this was at 1am in the morning ; not many cars to hit.

I can rattle off a list of 30 or more cars doing over 120kmph on any trip I take on the motorway between Glen Eden and Pukekohe. It's not like 118kmph is an uncommon occurrence.

But nevertheless, I agree. They need some form of light that identifies them as emergency doctors.
pollymay, Sep 30, 3:19am
^ That, doesn't hit home till you are deep in the poo poo. Or simply you want your stuff back and the police seem more interested you bonked the scum in the nose on his way out with your stereo.
evotime, Sep 30, 4:30am
We all should know by now that it is very dangerous to go more than 50km/h until you get to the magic sign that says 100 at that stage it is now safe to reach 100km/h but 105 is very dangerous.
This rule applies regardless of what vehicle you drive or your skills.
The only exceptions are if you are in a big red fire truck or a white overloaded Chev or Mercedes ambulance.
Now perhaps you are a volunteer fire fighter- don't think you can speed to the station regardless of the model of vehicle you drive- it is only safe to speed once you get into the big old truck with tons of water sloshing around in the back.
Now if you are driving a police car-- well I'm not sure what the rules are here but they are never broken.
evotime, Sep 30, 4:35am
oh and the officer had no way of knowing it was a doctor and did have to stop him, I feel for the cop he probably felt awful when it turned out the doc was legit.
weaver2010, Sep 30, 4:36am
And when has the media reporting of the facts ever been accurate!Did some one have a stop watch going to say it was exactly 5 minutes!
next-to-normal, Sep 30, 7:08am
plod has gone to fob
weaver2010, Sep 30, 1:40pm
Having driven one those big red tucks speeding is not really an option and the baffle plates in the water tank stop that sloshing.
There are still rules to follow for Emergency Services Drivers and you either obey or disobey those rules and face the consequences for your actions.One the things I disagree with the most on any emergency driver response is driving solo!You need to have a passenger in that vehicle who can tell the driver to calm down. However the more experianced the Response Driver the more relaxed they are to an emergency response but the adrenelin rush does kick in to anyone.

I dont feel sorry for the Doc or in fact for the two volunteer firefighters that got nailed in their rush to the fire station on the east coast not so long ago.The adrenalin kicked in and they reacted without thought of the consequences!

Heres the maths for you the Doctor was doing 118kph how much time did he save driving at 118kph !It is a point missed by those that justify speeding is how dense is the traffic flow and what risk are they placing to other drivers who without that lights and sirens will not know jack shit who you are and will see you as just another idiot on the road.

The Doctor was not saving a life he was putting others at risk to save a life something that the ERDs have the training not to do!He had no ERD training he was focusedon what he does.In fact in a road accident situation Doctors who work in a sterile enviroment are the worst in a Trauma situation.
thejazzpianoma, Sep 30, 1:58pm
The thing is though weaver, they Officer could have still given the Doctor a ticket or a telling off AFTER he had gone and done his best to save a life.

The Police Officer was in no position to assess exactly how urgent the Doctors business was and to deliberately hinder his progress to the hospital for any reason was reckless and disgusting.

I would like to see the Officer charged with reckless endangerment.
lovemore_mbigi, Sep 30, 2:07pm
I thought the police were there to help in emergencies: such as assisting a doctor to get to a medical emergency and thus help save a life.

I guess I got that all wrong.

My bad.