Ahh, Saturday Mornings. Don't get to see many of these because I usually prioritise sleep over being awake at this lovely time of the week.
On my way to a mate's birthday breakfast I receive a new experience. Flashing police lights, for the first time in 16 years of driving, I've been pulled over.
I'd always suspected I'd bet pulled over for something but never anticipated it would take so many years for to to occur. I had thought it would have been immediately apparent to me why I was pulled over, however I couldn't think of a single reason at the time.
So the lights start flashing and my first reaction is they want to go past, but then I see they are actually after me.. while stationary... on The Parade at 9:30am on a Saturday morning.
I'm pondering...
- Did I exceed the speed limit? No..
- Was I driving erratically? No..
- Did I change lanes without indicating? No..
- Was my car being loud? No..
So, while baffled, I went round the corner, pulled over, turned off the engine and greeted the cops with a friendly smile and a "G'day, how you going?".
What happened next I wouldn't have put money on... they said "at first we thought you were on the phone while driving (I wasn't, plus I have a hands-free) but we couldn't see you through your tint". They proceeded to use some kind of light meter to measure how dark the tint is.
By this point, there was at least 20 people staring at me, my car and the cops.
So they measured the driver's side window and it showed only 13% of light was getting through. Now, at this point I felt like I should start disagreeing with the measurement for it to be that dark, I wouldn't have been able to see out it at night, and I could quite easily.
But I did not attempt to argue. The cops couldn't have seen my side windows prior to pulling me over as they were behind me the entire time, not even in a different lane. So I thought: "They were just pulling me over expecting to pin
something on me, if I object, argue, disagree it could get much worse"
So, to ensure I couldn't get in any further trouble, I asked them to test the rear window. I'd hate to get it inspected and find that I'd have to come back again after fixing another window.
The transmission level was only 10%. Now that is suspect. I know this because the rear windscreen tint is less than the sides. Again, the temptation to object, argue etc was rising but I resisted.
As you can see here, the tint on the rear window couldn't possibly be 90%, and they claim the side windows were 87%.
Then the cops told me, I had two choices:
- Remove the tint and have the car inspected at a police station within 24 hours
- Take the car off the road for up to 3 months and put it through regency for a full inspection
Despite the great anger at the unfairness welling inside me, I graciously accepted the first option, thanked them for their time, shook their hands and drove the remaining 50m into the carpark.
Why am I so angered by this situation?
- It wasn't a random check
They decided to pull me over for no valid reason and/or changed their minds after pulling me over. Claiming that my side windows were over-tinted may have been valid, but they couldn't have seen them to make that assessment before pulling me over.
Those I've talked to about it all believe the cops decided to pull me over because I drive a nice car which looks expensive. (But isn't actually an expensive car)
So, they targeted a car that looks nice instead of the huge number of genuinely un-roadworthy cars with broken lights, rust, blowing smoke, missing mirrors or other issues that will affect the car's ability to be safe on the road.
- The embarrassment
The car's tinting is exactly as I bought it, and judging by the condition of the tint when I removed it, it was probably on there when it was sold new 9 years ago. If, in fact, the tint was too much, it was unbeknown to me and they could have let me off with a quick informal warning or even a formal warning without having me being the object of amusement for hundreds of people in Norwood during a busy Saturday morning.
Not to mention being forced to endure a huge sticker partly obstructing my vision...
- The Cost (Time and Money)
5 minutes late to my mates birthday turned into 25 minutes late.
A 25 minute trip home turned into an hour once I'd gone shopping for the required equipment to remove window tint.
An afternoon which incorporated some chores and relaxation turned into 90 minutes of awkward and tiring manual labor to remove the aforementioned window tint followed by a few hours trying to recover from the stress...
- The Stress
Its stressful to be pulled over when you've unwittingly done something wrong. Its even more stressful when you suffer from low blood-sugar and hadn't eaten breakfast due to your reason for travelling incorporating said-breakfast. And its stressful knowing you're working to a clock that if you don't get it done, your car is off the road for up to 3 months.
- The Right Thing
I try and do the right thing on the road. I keep my car in good condition, my skills sharp, my concentration focused. I don't talk on my mobile without a hands-free, I don't drive if I've had any alcohol to drink at all.
And by doing the right thing, where have I ended up? A victim of overzealous cops who like to cut down people who they think are tall poppies.
Its wrong for me to paint a picture that
most cops are like this, and people will rant and embellish their bad-cop-run-ins. However, the huge number of people who have heard about my situation and chimed in with their own examples of poor behavior by police leads me to believe it is quite widespread.
There are some bloody awesome cops out there. The ones that helped my uncle and aunt when my cousin was murdered last year were unbelievably good. I've heard the ones that work in the rape unit are amazing too. However, by what I've now seen myself and been told by others, there are some bloody awful cops out there too.
In summary:
- Did the cops have justification for pulling me over? No.
- Did I break the law? Certainly not knowingly and possibly not at all if the measuring device is as inaccurate as it appears.
