MILES KEMP
December 03, 2008 12:30am
MORE than 30,000 drivers have been reported to police by people fed up with hoon driving.
Since police first appealed for public help in March, 2006, public tip-offs had resulted in the detection of 638 offences leading to 13 arrests, 240 fines and court cases and 385 formal cautions.
Traffic support branch Inspector Stuart McLean said yesterday the figures showed how successful the scheme had been.
There had been 11,866 warning letters sent to drivers and 3453 investigations by police as a result of the 31,375 complaints to the Traffic Watch campaign.
"We are confident this is an excellent opportunity to reinforce our road safety message," he said.
Police Commissioner Mal Hyde this week appealed to South Australian motorists to back police and The Advertiser's Countdown 100 campaign to keep the road toll below this figure.
In the majority of complaints, 15,963, police had insufficient information – such as no or partial number plates – or decided the complaint did not warrant follow-up.
Inspector McLean said eyewitness accounts could be hard to prove.
"If someone says `this wasn't me' when they get the letter, please contact us," he said. "This is not an accusation and we are not taking formal police action. The system by nature is subjective because we are relying on the community."
He said people who see hoon driving such as tailgating, running red lights, speeding or burnouts, should report it to police immediately by calling 131 444 or at any police station to make a traffic complaint.
Inspector McLean said witnesses should note:
LOCATION of the dangerous driving.
VEHICLE details such as registration number and description of the vehicle.
NATURE of the driving behaviour that was dangerous or reckless.
TIME of the incident.
YOUR CONTACT numbers and details.
Police admit there is room for error
POLICE acknowledge some alleged hoon drivers are the victims of mistaken identity or false reports.
Traffic support branch Inspector Stuart McLean said police did not know if drivers had done anything wrong when they sent out the warning letters.
One of the recipients, Stewart McFetridge, of Hillbank, has criticised the scheme as inaccurate and "mischief making" by some informants.
His letter instructed him to "modify your driving behaviour", but Mr McFetridge can prove his car was garaged at the time of the alleged incident.
"Any Joe Public can ring and make a complaint and then you have a letter against your name," he said.
Inspector McLean said Mr McFetridge and any other driver who wanted to dispute the letters should contact police.
Wait, so from 30,000+ dob-ins, 16,000 had insufficient evidence, 12,000 had written warnings (I thought if hoon behaviour was proven, you'd cop a bit more than a warning...), 3,400 investigations, and about 1,200 actual cases of punishment?
I'm guessing the 12,000 written warnings figure is linked to the 16,000 "insufficient evidence" figure, but in the 12,000's case complete number plate details were forwarded on.
So if I were to call up while at work, and complain that I've spotted a maroon EF wagon (my daily) ripping skids and drag racing in Dandenong (I work in Sale...), and give them my rego, would I be added to the 12,000 who have received warnings? (I wonder if they'd link my contact number & details with that of the EF's rego...
)The figures seem to show that only 4% of all tip-offs received gave results. And of the tip-offs that were investigated, only 1/3 resulted in some form of punishment. That seems like a pretty low figure to me, considering how easy it is to be defected for some part of your car being unroadworthy.
