Monday, July 11, 2011

Bullshit alert

"...The Northland teen died shortly after being hit by a police car late at night while he and his 14-year-old brother and 16-year-old cousin were walking along State Highway 1 to a party near Ohaeawai.

Earlier that night, Wilson had been seen smoking cannabis and consuming alcohol.

Travelling in foggy conditions, the officer driving the police car that struck Wilson did not have his vehicle's lights on high beam.

The IPCA said while the officer's actions were not unlawful, it stated "his failure to have his headlights on high beam were unreasonable and undesirable pursuant to the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988".

It added that driving in fog with lights on low beam were not the actions of a "reasonable and prudent driver''.

And two months after coroner Garry Evans ruled the tragedy could have been avoided had the officer been driving with his lights on high beam, the IPCA has taken issue with Wilson's actions..."

(Bold mine)

I read this and thought- 'Hang on!'- as i thought, a quick check of the NZ road code revealed:

"...Dip your headlamps in fog

If you drive with your lamps on full beam in fog, the light will just reflect back on you. Dip your lights – it will be much easier to see.

Don't just turn your park lights on. They are hard for oncoming drivers to see and do little to improve your vision.

You can use front fog lights when driving in fog. These have a wide, low beam and produce either a white or yellow light.

Rear fog lights, which produce a high-intensity red light, should only be used when visibility is very bad. (In normal conditions they can dazzle drivers following you.)

Fog lights should be switched off as driving conditions improve..."

So it appears the IPCA and the Coroner don't know the NZ road code. Nor did the repeaters that printed this story...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Its laughable really although I heard a mention of texting on the radio report but wasn't sure of the context.

NZ 2011 - its always someone else's fault.