The Saga of Pam's Driving Infringement

Ok...so...wayyyy back in December, I was driving from Hamilton to New Plymouth at night. It's a 3 hour drive. So, when i got stuck behind a truck going 80 in a 100 kph zone, i decided to pass him since i didn't want my trip to take any longer than possible. So...I pull out onto the other side of the straight road and begin to speed up to pass him....up ahead there is a bend in the road, but when i started my maneuver to pass, i couldn't see any headlights around the bend and it was still far away...more than 100m away.

just when i'm about to pass the truck driver, i see headlights coming around the corner, so i sped up to get in front of the truck and not hit the oncoming traffic.

I thought everything was fine....

The next day, a police officer came to jon and jenny's house to talk to me....i was pretty much crapping my pants because i didn't know why. Apparently, there is a number you can call to complain about other drivers' driving...and the truck driver had called with a couple (very untrue) complaints about mine. He said I was speeding in a work zone (which i wasn't - and if i was speeding in the zone so was he...work zone are usually 30 kph), and that i passed him on the wrong side of the road, and drove the oncoming car off the road which would have been impossible if i was passing on the left side of the truck instead of the right side....and i totally did NOT drive any cars off the road...i think i would have noticed that/gotten a honk or something from the car i drove off the road.

so, after the police officer assaults me with all of these alleged driving infringements, he goes on to give me a ticket for $150 for attempting to pass the truck with insufficient room. and he said "ok, you're going to pay this ticket and that'll be the end of it!" I was pretty much in shock and had no idea what to do so i just kinda looked at him like "are you kidding me??" and he got in his car and drove away.

I showed this ticket to jon and jenny and they were, of course, outraged, because there is no way the cop could have given me that ticket legally. He wasn't at the site, there was no evidence, and it was based on hearsay...if he could give me a ticket based on something someone else said, then anyone could call about someone they didn't like and make stuff up about their driving. Jon also said most truck drivers were a-holes and bad drivers.

so, jon helped me write a letter to the police saying how unfair the ticket was and asking how a police officer could give me a ticket without evidence and him not even being there at the time of the alleged offence? it just sounds ridiculous and tickets based on hearsay are basically illegal.

then, we went away for christmas to coromandel and eagerly awaited a response, totally expecting them to drop the ticket.

we get back, and i get a letter saying I either have to pay the ticket or go to court...shoot. Ok, so this is complete bull! I talked to Steph's dad because he is an ex cop and asked him what to do. He advised me to write another letter to the police asking for full disclosure of the evidence and that if i had to go to court, that i would be pleading not guilty. He said that they would probably drop the ticket after that. I wrote the letter and sent it.

I then get a letter containing a copy of the phone call between the truck driver and the police, and a letter saying that any evidence will be held at the police station in New Plymouth and that they would send it to me, and that they would be sending me a court date.

Well, I never did get any evidence from the police in New Plymouth, but I did get a court date for 20 April....ok, so i really didn't want to go to court. It would have been such a pain and the ticket is totally ridiculous. So, I conversed with steph's dad again as to what to do. I had also noticed (very conveniently) that the police officer had written the wrong type of car on the ticket, so that, in and of itself, would nullify the ticket. So, with that information, Steph's dad wrote me an awesome letter to send to the police and courthouse saying how "of course i don't remember the incident because the car on the ticket is a ford, and i drive a mazda...the truck driver must have gotten the license plate wrong..." and how all this going on about court was vexatious because there was no evidence and the ticket was based on hearsay...etc. etc.

The other day I got a phone call from that police officer in New Plymouth about "remember that ticket I gave you back in Decemeber...well the truck driver can't make the court date, truck drivers are very busy you see...so we're just going to go ahead and count the ticket as a warning and i'll cancel the court dates for you." What he said was a bunch of bull...they just knew they were wrong and that I would have won in court and they did not succeed in sucking $$ out of me, the stupid tourist who didn't know anything about New Zealand laws :) steph's dad agreed with me haha.

So, I am very happy to have that out of the way and hope to have no further run ins with the new zealand police :) and thanks very much to steph's dad for helping me out!