The Police Shutdown my event
So i threw a little get together; had about 20 people throwing some slides on my hill.
My hill is in a suburban area with no dividing line.
We put witches hats up the top of the street.
Police came and told us that we weren't legally allowed to skate on a road in Australia. "Wheeled toys" aren't allowed.
They then took my name. Then when we attempted to correct them with current up to date legislation they stated that they needed to go back and check at the station.
Pity i didn't have a printed copy of Robbo's FAQ's or a road rules book.
Anyway; maybe they saw the thing on Channel 7 last night and felt like being heroe's.
Im northside brisbane by the way.
My advice: If you're gonna skate then carry a printed copy of the road rules related to it.
Guess we got unlucky.
Anyway we were quite polite and courteus about it all but it still sucked.
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Replies to This Discussion
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ASRA AdminPermalink Reply by Bugs on -
The police are always going to get snarky if you put witches hats on the road and if they think you're having an "event". Other than that it sounds like it would be legal to skate on that road, assuming the speed limit was 50km/h or less.
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Jack on -
Yeah i think the witches hats were our key mistake.
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Permalink Reply by Davin Gemmell on
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Jack, you unfortunately timed your event with the festival of sails which is predominately on the redcliffe penninsula but overflows down to shorncliffe. Due to that, there was more police presence in the area to cover the couple of thousand people who invaded your suburb. As your street comes out onto the coastline and parking was at a premium along that road this arvo, the witches hats stuck out like dogs balls to the general public and cops. cops might not have seen that article last night but i guarantee public might have and then to see skaters blocking the street where they might want to park, of course they're going to call the cops.
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Jack on -
Yeah; the brisbane to gladstone celebrations finished in the morning though; so i thought by leaving my event till 3pm i would have had it sorted.
Anyway the police called back and apologized and said they were in the wrong.
They remarked on how polite and good we were so atleast they aren't going to be out to get us now.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Campbell on
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i already have a printed set of the road rules... so from now on its gonna be in my bag at all times, just for this reason..
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Permalink Reply by longboardism on
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http://www.longboardism.com/2011/04/police-crack-down-in-australia....
video of last night 7news report if you haven't seen it
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Permalink Reply by matty leadfoot on
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that's a win.
Jack Nolan said:
Anyway the police called back and apologized and said they were in the wrong.
They remarked on how polite and good we were so atleast they aren't going to be out to get us now.
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Permalink Reply by Luan Berisha on
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I think one of the reasons is because you are simply safer off on a bike with actual breaks as opposed to kids bombing hills at speeds which they arent comfortable at coming to a stop to.
Dermott Pascoe said:
jacko brings up a decent point, we have no where legal to skate and why aren't cyclists getting penalized the same way? they ride close to the speeds of alot of skaters and they are on the roads
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ASRA AdminPermalink Reply by Bugs on -
Cyclists predate cars on the road, and were responsible for the first paved roads. They've been classed as vehicles for more than 100 years.
Dermott Pascoe said:jacko brings up a decent point, we have no where legal to skate and why aren't cyclists getting penalized the same way? they ride close to the speeds of alot of skaters and they are on the roads
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Dermott, in Qld where you're from, if cyclists get caught speeding then not only can they receive the same fine as a motorist but if they hold a current driver's license, they can incur the same demerrit points off their license. It's also required by law that the minimum weight for a non-motorized vehicle allowed on Qld roads (if they wish to be treated as motorvehicles and be legally allowed to ride on roads) be 6.9kg and must have a bell and reflective panels attached. Would you really want to lugging a board that heavy and with that shit attached to it?
Dermott Pascoe said:jacko brings up a decent point, we have no where legal to skate and why aren't cyclists getting penalized the same way? they ride close to the speeds of alot of skaters and they are on the roads
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ASRA AdminPermalink Reply by bernie on -
Well done Jack.
Your being polite has done a great service to skaters.
If you have the name of that cop, you could contact him and ask if he is able to help you out with organising a "blue-light" slide session, in order to promote safe skating and road safety in your area.
For the cops to be able to work with skaters promoting road safety, will be seen by them as a big positive.
Having the cops help you shut down roads will be gold.
Sieze the Day!
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Premium MemberPermalink Reply by Jack on -
Yeah i was pretty pleased :)
To be honest i don't think i really need to organise anything; that incurs liabilities on my part. I can just invite a bunch of friends over for a skate (20+? ;) and make sure we don't annoy drivers.
I have a senior piece of legal assessment coming up which is an independent study in which we propose changes to a certain section of the law and i think i might do it on this.
If i get a half decent mark i'll send it too my local federal representative. It might not cause any change but it can't hurt either :)
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