After reading the web page, Third Party Perception, within the driving advice section of the Ride Drive website, whether by coincidence or not, I found myself remembering two previous incidents I had experience, one as a pedestrian and one as a motorcyclist.
The first was in 1997, as a pedestrian, I noted a vehicle travelling at excessive speed on the streets in my local home town. Such was the manner in which it was being driven the car really did catch my eye. I only saw it for a few seconds, and soon after the vehicle disappeared around a bend, but it was the sound which this time that caught my ears! I ran the 100–metres or so to view the tangled wreckage sprawled across the road, adjacent to another that was firmly implanted into a lamp post. I called the emergency services and left my details as a witness, together with a description of what I perceived to be how the crash had happened.
Three days later the officer responsible for investigating the case visited me. I was comprehensively questioned about the evening of the crash. Questions relating to the vehicle type and description, my estimated perception of speed, distances involved and the general manner of the driving I had seen. I should add that in my previous career as a Vehicle Body Shop manager, the description of the vehicle, as far as exact colour, model, year, and even the question of the vehicle being manual/automatic, was 100% accurate. My comments on the driving manner were considered to be extremely accurate, according to the findings of the accident investigator.
Suffice to say, even though the incident happened out of my sight, the driver of the vehicle I had seen, after pleading not guilty, was indeed found guilty of Dangerous Driving and had a rather lengthy driving ban enforced upon him, mainly on the strength of my evidence. I really did feel that on this occasion justice had been done, and had I now been there, this may have resulted in the driver receiving far less in the form of disciplinary action.
On the second occasion I was at a road crash scene where the driver of a Mercedes Benz had come collided with oncoming traffic on a National Speed Limit two-way road. There were on this occasion many witnesses present. Fifteen minutes prior to impact the driver of the Mercedes vehicle had risked just a little too much in his efforts to stop me overtaking him at very opportune moments (I was on a Kawasaki ZX9R motorcycle). Yes I had wanted to make progress, not excessively so, but was forced to abandon many overtakes due to this man’s disregard for the presence of oncoming traffic, that I myself would have had no effect upon. On two occasions The Mercedes driver, after going for my overtake, forced oncoming vehicles onto the verge whilst passing as three vehicles abreast.
I remember saying to myself, "I don’t care how much performance I have under me, I’d rather be a key witness to this person’s accident than risk my own life trying to prove something to him."
My services were not needed as a witness to this one as so many other drivers were present for his finale. Anything I would have had to say would have been surplus to requirements.
Very Interesting web stuff, good sound free advice.
David Colbie–Welch
This page was last updated
Wednesday, 08-Dec-2010