Police Commissioner’s plea to speeding drivers
NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney released this open letter after attending the funeral of Senior Constable David John McCormack, 42, from Tweed/Byron Local Area Command, who was killed while off-duty, in a motor vehicle crash …
On the issue of speeding and negligent drivers, one wonders more what one can do.
Clearly, the prospect of arrest, charge, the distinct possibility of having bail refused, conviction, jail, loss of licence and the confiscation of their prized asset, their vehicle, is not having the deterrent effect that I and the community believe that it should. And whilst politicians, police, academics, media commentators and many others (including the motoring public) search for an answer that is akin to searching for the Holy Grail, I continue to wonder what more I can do.
Perhaps one more plea not simply from a punitive perspective needs to be made.
Perhaps for some the confrontation of what this is really all about is the message that they have to receive.
This then is my open letter to those who have no regard, no thought for their own safety and that of others who use our roads.
Yours is an act of sheer bastardry. You drive as though there is no tomorrow. Let me assure them that there is a tomorrow and for so many of those who fall foul of your moronic acts, there is a human face to all that you do.
On Friday I buried one of my police officers. Sadly, he lost his life as a result of a needless act on our roads and only pending legal proceedings inhibit me from saying more at this time.
Equally as sad is the fact that I was not alone. There was a grieving family, including my colleague’s wife, children, parents and grandmother. There were also his police colleagues, family, friends and associates. He was buried, but the tragedy and the pain of it all does not stop. This is a life burden for so many and the great irony is that it is all so preventable, so unnecessary.
Doubtless, through out this year and what remains of 2007, many other families have gone and will go through this same tortuous path.
To those of you who choose to speed on our roads, or who drive in a negligent manner, know then that the consequences can be severe.
I am not only talking about the consequences of penalty, I am talking about the consequences of your death, or the death or injury of innocent people.
So to the speeder, and to the negligent and reckless driver, I issue an invitation.
I want you to come with me and stand beside my police officers, ambulance officers, doctors and nurses as they valiantly apply all of their skill and knowledge to save you and those whose lives you have for ever changed.
I want you to stand beside those same ambulance officers, doctors and nurses and witness the carnage of your actions. I want you to hear the screaming and see at first hand the trauma that comes from your negligent actions.
I want you to witness the hapless and almost hopeless circumstances that you have created.
I want you to stand beside my police officers as they deliver messages to loved ones that you have killed or injured, or equally, that your actions have resulted in the death or injury of an innocent person.
I want you to sit beside my officers as they patrol and witness the reckless, the negligent and bloody-mindedness of those who drive on our roads.
I want you to stand in the prison yard and think about the fact that as you enter that cell and hear the clang of the bolt through the door knowing that this is your home for some time yet to come, that this is no real future.
Finally, whilst debates go on about the state of roads and who is responsible for better roads, whilst the debate goes on about the kilowatt power of vehicles and whether or not the young should have access to them, whilst the debate goes on about licence restrictions, disqualifications and penalties, I want you to remember one thing — the car does not speed on its own, the car does not go through red lights or stop signs on its own, the car does not cross double unbroken separation lines, and … I think you get my message.
Whilst these are not new pleas, I am left to wonder — what more can I, no, we, do to stop this idiocy. Maybe it begins with the acceptance of personal responsibility and personal accountability, and the reinforcement of these qualities by parents, family and friends.
I wonder what more I can do.
