AVERAGE DRIVER of Birchleigh writes:
I must comment on the typical arrogant and refusal to accept blame reply by Chief Superintendent Wilfred Kgasago to the letter from Mr Van der Westhuizen in the edition of Kempton Express dated May 15, especially his comment that “he hopes and trusts that his explanation is not beyond any normal person’s head”.
How rude. If we normal, average motorists took down details of the offending police drivers and then spent much time in the police station in order to make a formal complaint, it would consume a considerable amount of our time.
I have experienced the following incidents in the past 18 months. I arrived at Festival Mall at about 9am and saw a police vehicle parked in a disabled parking bay. It was still there when I came out at about 10.20am.
As it happened, the driver was also in plain clothes. When I tackled him about parking in that bay, he at first ignored me and then became aggressive,
arguing that he had only parked there for five minutes, a complete lie.
Had it been only five minutes he was still in the wrong. In driving away he made his hand into the shape of a pistol and pointed it at me. How childish and immature.
Another incident occurred when I was driving along Besembos Avenue and a police car passed me, crossing a solid white line and travelling well over the speed limit. I followed the car to the satellite police station at Edleen circle.
I approached the female driver when she got out of her car and pointed out her traffic violations, to which she apologised.
I will give one last example, there are many more. At about 10.30pm one night I was in the left hand lane of two lanes which turn right into Kelvin Street from CR Swart Drive. A police car was in the right hand lane.
The traffic lights were red for us. The lights turned green and I started to turn right when the police car, without any warning, shot straight across in front of me and continued up CR Swart.
No siren, no blue light, just another inconsiderate police driver. These are events that have happened to just me. I am sure such incidents have happened to many other drivers.
Chief Superintendent, if all of us careful and considerate drivers reported such incidents, your police station would be forever full. The photograph in the paper clearly shows the police driver being in the wrong.
As Mr Van der Westhuizen pointed out, the car obviously was not proceeding to an emergency, so how can you not see that the driver is in the wrong, or perhaps you don’t have a “normal head”. Your comments, Chief Superintendent, is yet another example of closing ranks to protect your own, something we see from top Government downwards.
There is a programme on DSTV Channel 184 called Police Interceptors. I would suggest, Chief Superintendent, that you should watch it, record it and use it as a training film as to how police drivers should behave.
Teach your drivers how to drive properly, obey the traffic laws and show consideration to other road users, that is of course if it is not beyond their “normal heads”.
