Cyclists claim police ignoring road safety data

In spite of encouraging people to report bad driving, police have failed to keep track of the data.

Story includes comments from Atom Emet, Patrick Morgan and Kevin Hague; and video from Vexatious Litigant and Atom Emet.

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/cyclists-claim-police-ignoring-road-safe...

Tags: 
Safety
Police
Groups audience: 
Cycle Wellington
CAN Forum
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Comments

Submitted by erikab on 13 June, 2011 - 15:20

I'm glad to see cycling safety in the news. It doesn't surprise me that there's no data on the number of complaints from cyclists, as the Roadwatch online form has no field for recording the mode of transport used by the person filing the complaint. I have always specified that I was on a bike when the incident occured, but it would seem like a pretty simple modification to the form to add a pull-down menu with options like car driver/cyclist/pedestrian/mobility aid user/other.

But this piece brings up a question I've always wondered about: what *are* the police doing with Roadwatch complaints? I file them depressingly often but have never been clear on whether or how they are followed up.

Submitted by Patrick on 13 June, 2011 - 16:19

I've filed a few over the years. I sometimes get a note from Police acknowledging receipt, e.g.

Community Roadwatch Programme Report: 206998

Recently you emailed a Community Roadwatch report to the Police.

The report will be processed as soon as possible.

Thank you for providing your report and in so doing demonstrating your commitment to the ideal of improving road safety.

Yours sincerely,

Community Roadwatch Co-ordinator
for Inspector Matt Fitzsimons
Officer in Charge: Police Infringement Bureau

or like this:
Thank you for your report. It has been dealt with under Community
Roadwatch Report number: 97672

We have written to the owner of the vehicle outlining our concerns about
the way it has been driven and asking that they raise the issue with the
driver.

We hold all reports for two years, and if a vehicle receives more than
three from different people, we declare it to be a vehicle driven by unsafe
drivers. At that point, we seek the assistance of the local police to
actively seek out the vehicle and all other vehicles registered to and used
by the owner. The first person we tell of our intentions is the owner.
The whole idea is to get the owner to take responsibility for how their
vehicle is used.