Saturday 2 October 2010

I'd be worried if it was random

Joe Hildebrand really should know better. He's written an article in The Daily Telegraph about random breath testing - and pointed out that it isn't all that random.

Joe, I'd be worried if the cops were sitting around, wasting their time and our taxes by positioning their RBT units where there is little likelihood of them busting a drunk driver. Police resources are limited - you use them where you'll get the most bang for your buck. That means - duh - doing breath testing where there are lots of people drinking and driving.

Mention is made of Kings Cross, and how few tests are carried out in that area. Well duh, because parking and traffic in that area are an utter nightmare, if you're going there to get on the turps, you catch the train or a cab. Or you walk. There are no drunk drivers to breathalyse as the drunks are all staggering around looking for a taxi home, rather than trying to remember which backstreet they parked their car on.

Most tests are carried out in the west, where public transport and taxis are few and far between and where the distance between pub and home is too far to walk. Of course there are likely to be more pissed idiots behind the wheel out there. Why am I having to tell you this? Why couldn't you figure it out for yourself? Jeez Joe, are you drunk?

The cops are obviously using their brains, figuring out where the problem areas are and concentrating on those. If they were deciding where to place their RBT units by throwing darts at a map, I'd be really worried.

1 comment:

cav said...

I saw the stats but not the article BOAB.

The Illawarra is second highest, that really surprised me. They are always just down the road from my place, and are also on the TV show, RBT.

But here's the rub. On that TV show a guy registered .05. The law states that he must be under .05. So what happens next? Police resources taken out for this guy to have a blood test. They had to take him to a hospital where the reading was fractionally higher. Off to court and given a small fine and good behaviour bond.

Is this catching drunks?

What a waste of time and resources to Police, hospitals and courts.

Police don't have discretion anymore. They should have let the .05 guy go, he wasn't drunk, but technically he was.