Flashing Lights, Drink Drivers, Unlicenced Drivers, Outstanding Warrants

I am writing this post in relation to this article in the Herald Sun today Victorian Woman blows 0.363 following car crash It’s been all over the news and the comments are scathing to say the least.

I saw the accident, not occurring, but after when the police were in attendance and turned on their flashing lights. In fact you could see those lights from 2km away on this stretch of road.

The accident occurred northbound, right at the Main Street intersection with High Street, in Thomastown. It occurred in the inside lane, this was probably due to the fact that vehicles were still parked outside the strip shopping centre.

I saw the flashing lights from Mahoneys Road, as I headed north. I had approx 6 cars travelling with me, one veered off and positioned themselves in the turning lane onto Keon Parade. I say veered because he went from the outside lane across 2 lanes of traffic to get to this location.

Another took the Settlement Road turn-off, could have possibly been a planned maneuver as nothing was done suddenly.

Two more took the Spring Street turnoff, again could have been planned, but one did appear to hesitate before making the turn.

One pulled in right near the Primary School opposite Heyington Avenue. Seemed a strange place to pull over, given the time of night.

I slowed to approx 20kph, the lighting in that area is not brilliant and I wasn’t sure what I was approaching other than a police vehicle in the middle of the road. I passed on the left-hand side. I saw people on the kerb and people in the middle of road, and 3 cars, nose to tail. One a BMW (the stolen vehicle) the second, a sign-written work van, possibly a Hyundai and the third vehicle was a sedan of some sort. I didn’t look too closely as I was trying to drive.

But what I am getting at, is that it would appear that more than 1 vehicle/driver in the group that passed over Mahoneys Road with me may have had issues that saw them actively evading police.

More and more people are losing their licenses due to drink driving, speeding excess accumulation demerit points.

More often we are hearing of more and more people being pulled from the roads for being all of the above, plus outstanding warrants, unregistered vehicles.

Is the leniency of the sentencing system such that it encourages this type of behavior?

I would love your thoughts – sometimes I feel like I am the only one with a clean driving record, with a registered roadworthy vehicle, with insurance and without alcohol or drugs in my system.