NSW Police car blocks cycle lane to catch speeding cars over double demerit weekend
NSW Police have been accused of “straight up revenue raising” over a controversial act over the double demerit weekend.
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NSW Police have been accused of “straight up revenue raising” after a patrol car was seen blocking a busy cycle path to catch out speeding motorists over the double demerit Anzac Day weekend.
Motoring journalist David McCowen — who works for News Corp, publisher of this website — shared a video of the unmarked police BMW parked sideways in a “hidden” spot on the Alfords Point Bridge in Sydney’s southwest on Sunday.
“This is bulls**t,” McCowen said in the clip which has been viewed more than 500,000 times.
“This is a highway patrol dude that is blocking a cycleway and running path here at Alfords Point Bridge between St George and Sutherland Shire, trying to book people hidden behind a concrete wall in an unmarked car on a double demerits weekend on a long downhill descent on a bridge.
“That’s just crap. That is not serving the community. That is straight up revenue raising and I’m not about it. You can’t see him.”
He added that “what you can see though” was dozens of people had marked the location of “this bloke that’s trying to rip you off” on navigation app Waze.
“That is a cool thing,” he said.
The video has generated nearly 1400 comments.
“Isn’t that a parking violation?” one person asked.
Another woman said, “My husband got a $300 fine recently for ‘park on footpath/verge’. Old mate should issue himself the same fine.”
Under regulation 307 of the NSW Road Rules, however, police and emergency vehicles are exempted from stopping and parking restrictions.
“It’s why people have lost respect for police,” one person wrote.
Another person asked, “What if a cyclist crashes into the car?”
Someone suggested, “Then the cyclist gets a fine.”
But many locals supported the police.
“If you live in the area you already know not to speed there,” one said.
“He’s hidden for a reason, the amount of people that slow down then speed up again,” another added.
A NSW Police spokeswoman said, “Police are aware of the social media video.”
In an opinion piece on Monday, McCowen argued the move was not in line with community expectations.
“All road users — motorists, cyclists and pedestrians — deserve better than this,” he wrote.
“Many [commenters] agreed the police car should not have blocked a path reserved for pedestrians and pushbikes to get a better view of speeding drivers … The NSW government’s decision to apply a lengthy double demerits period for a midweek public holiday was also questioned.”
McCowen added that “I reckon the unmarked car parked in a dangerous manner on a busy cycleway might fall short” of a number of sections of the NSW Police Force standards of professional conduct.
“I’m not anti-cop,” he said.
“I donate to Police Legacy and support the highway patrol’s brilliant ‘Beat the Blue’ charity event with no small amount of publicity and personal time.
“I also believe high-visibility policing serves the community better than unmarked black BMWs hidden from view.”
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Originally published as NSW Police car blocks cycle lane to catch speeding cars over double demerit weekend
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