Ticket Inspector Took a Photo of My Car While Driving, Can I Report Him to a Police?

LMewtwo on 17/04/2018 - 21:34
Last edited 18/04/2018 - 08:36 by 1 other user

Council sent a me $159 Infringement ticket for stopped in a loading zone

Yes, I stopped at loading zone for less than 1 minute. I know I cannot park at a loading zone but did not know I cannot even stop there temporarily. I thought it was ok stop there a short time while I was still sitting in the car. It would be nice if the inspector would come and ask me to leave rather than sending me a ticket straight away. Anyway, hard lesson learned.

Photo took by the inspector

By looking at the photos, they seems took by someone from the driver side while driving.

In the letter council keep saying they have to enforce the road safety rules for safety of community. If it is true that their inspector took the photo while driving, they are the ones cause more road safety hazard not me.

My question is:
1, Is council inspector allowed to take a photo while driving?
2, Can I report him to a police?

Automotive

Comments

  • fossilfuel on 17/04/2018 - 21:43
    +7

    1, Is council inspector allowed to take a photo while driving?

    With a phone and other electronic devices that don't assist you in driving? No. But in your case, that looks like a dashcam, which does not impede driving abilities.

    2, Can I report him to a police?

    Yes if you can prove that he was using a phone or any other unauthorised electronic device. Like I said, that looks like dashcam footage which would be fixed to a position on the vehicle or front glass and is not in the drivers hand when is he driving.

    How can you tell it's dashcam footage? the distinct vertical lines on the left and right side of the image do not change across images. Therefore it was taken by a camera that is in a fixed position, most likely a dashcam.

    • knobbs on 18/04/2018 - 07:11
      +1

      Those vertical lines look like paper creases to me. Could they be scanned or pictures taken of pictures?

      • fossilfuel on 18/04/2018 - 09:29
        -1

        I think that might be caused by the lens or light reflecting into the lens. Not too sure.

        • knobbs on 18/04/2018 - 09:37
          +3

          Just had another look and I'm pretty sure it's paper creases. You can see the cracks go beyond the photo up into the white section of the paper

        • John Kimble on 18/04/2018 - 10:59

          You're trolling, right?

        • knobbs on 18/04/2018 - 12:59
          +1

          @John Kimble: Not sure if you comment is directed at me, but no I'm not trolling. I think they are from paper, the photo is of a printed out photo on paper. Not making any comment on whether it was mobile/dashcam but just saying that is how I see it.

        • John Kimble on 18/04/2018 - 13:17
          +1

          @knobbs: No, not you

        • Euphemistic on 18/04/2018 - 15:00

          @knobbs: Makes sense. The fine would most likely have been sent by snail mail, along with the evidence photos.

        • fossilfuel on 18/04/2018 - 17:42

          @knobbs: Good catch, I couldn't see it clearly on the desktop. On the phone, I can clearly see the crease marks and it appears to be trifolded.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/04/2018 - 21:53
    +2

    pay it and move on.

    • pegaxs on 18/04/2018 - 09:14
      +1

      What?? That isn't the OzWeaselOutOfATicket spirit.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/04/2018 - 21:53
    +5

    It is definitely a dashcam footage.

  • brokenglish on 17/04/2018 - 21:53
    +1

    By looking at the photos, they seems took by someone from the driver side while driving.

    Definitely a dashcam. Why are you trying to shift the blame on them?

    2, Can I report him to a police?

    Yes you can, please tell us the outcome ;) Don't forget to pay your infringement ticket though.

  • PissLUR on 17/04/2018 - 22:21
    +1

    Wow.. That's harsh..

    • John Kimble on 18/04/2018 - 11:01

      And lazy/efficient.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/04/2018 - 22:24

    Dude, you screwed up, now pay up.

  • kahn on 17/04/2018 - 22:25
    +1

    By looking at the photos, they seems took

    They sure does took.

  • eatwell365 on 17/04/2018 - 23:37
    +3

    OP. The photos show the date but do they show the time as well? the sign says loading zone between certain time.

  • Rifraf on 18/04/2018 - 02:43
    +1

    You have rights OP.
    The right to remain silent springs to mind

  • gummibear on 18/04/2018 - 06:02
    +7

    If the inspector came and told you not to do it again, you would just leave and do it again some other day.

    Now you have a fine, I doubt you will do it again.

  • indium on 18/04/2018 - 08:22

    I know I cannot park at a loading zone but did not know I cannot even stop there temporarily.

    /facepalm

  • EightImmortals on 18/04/2018 - 08:46

    Loading zones usually have 5 minute allowances?

    • bobbified on 18/04/2018 - 08:57

      Loading zones allow certain types of vehicles (not OP's type) to stop and load/unload for a set period of time.

      Other vehicles may stop to pick up or drop off passengers only, but the rules don't specify a time period.

    • pegaxs on 18/04/2018 - 09:08

      Just in case you were wondering… This is the regulations regarding loading zones.

      Discussion on loading zones was hashed over pretty well in this forum when an entitled SUV driver thought they were entitled to park in a loading zone based purely on the shape and size of their vehicle.

  • pegaxs on 18/04/2018 - 08:58
    +2

    As a part time courier driver, can you send me the details of this council so I can send them a thank you card and some flowers?

    What you are asking just sounds like you want some petty revenge. You got a ticket and now you want to dish out some of your own justice. (I’ll teach them not to give me a ticket…) The footage looks like it is from a dash cam, so good luck with getting the police to give two rats ringbits.

    And it doesn’t matter what they were doing, what matters is they caught you doing the wrong thing, and no amount of trying to get the police to give them a ticket is going to get your ticket revoked.

    If you are that disgruntled about the ticket, take it to court and plead your case.

    • adammetalman on 21/04/2018 - 23:22
      -1

      IT DOES matter what the OP was DOING.

      Maybe op was dropping off or picking up a passenger?
      A photo from a moving car even at a low speed of 40km or less is only a few seconds timeframe, not much time to determine the activity.
      So maybe the parking inspector made an assumption in order to raise some REVENUE?
      Maybe the parking inspector just drives around with the DASHCAM spotting infringers irrespective of circumstances? More REVENUE

      So maybe the OP could get out of it by pretending they were dropping some passengers off or picking some passengers up? Unless they actually were, and then they would not have to pretend.

      VERY IMPORTANT: Read the OPS question! Properly!

      BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY. MAYBE, JUST MAYBE> The Op seemed concerned about everyone's safety when OP discovered that the ticket inspector appeared to be using a camera from the driver's side. OP didn't ask how to avoid the FINE. OP asked if the inspector should be reported to the police.

      Do you rage at every questionable situation you see on the road?

      • pegaxs on 22/04/2018 - 10:11

        IT DOES matter what the OP was DOING.
        Maybe op was dropping off or picking up a passenger?

        As stated by OP…

        I got this ticket because of bloody pokemon go. I stopped there less than 20 seconds to spun 2 gyms on 27/12/2017.

        This is not picking up or setting down of passengers. It certainly isn't in a vehicle displaying a courier vehicle sign. It's not a commercial passenger vehicle. OP was not delivering or picking up goods. (well, technically, OP was picking up some sweet poke balls!)

        A photo from a moving car even at a low speed of 40km or less is only a few seconds timeframe, not much time to determine the activity.

        Were you there? Do you know the speed of the camera vehicle? Do you work for Wyndham City Council? Do you know what their SOP's are for using a dash-cam or any other devices to monitor parking activities? What if they drove around the block 3 times? Maybe the camera car was parked before hand and the enforcement officer noted OP's car parked and how many occupants there were or for how long it was actually stopped. That loading zone can be seen from quite a way back. Enough to ascertain it's time frame. The enforcement officer may have determined the offence was committed after observing the car only had one occupant. I am not the enforcement officer, neither are you and neither of us know Wyndham City Councils operating procedures for issuing tickets.

        Some light reading:
        Victorian Road Safety Road Rules 2017. Reg 179. Stopping in a Loading Zone

        (1) A driver must not stop in a loading zone unless the driver is driving—

        (a) a bus, or a commercial passenger vehicle within the meaning of section 86 of the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983 and licensed under Division 5 of Part VI of that Act, that is dropping off, or picking up, passengers…

        And a nice colourful VicRoads Loading Zone brochure for you. With pictures…

        Drivers of a public passenger vehicle, taxi or other commercial
        passenger vehicle licensed under the Transport Act 1983,
        must only use loading zones whilst actually engaged in picking
        up or dropping-off passengers         or goods.

        Then onto…

        OP didn't ask how to avoid the FINE. OP asked if the inspector should be reported to the police.

        And if you actually read my reply, you will have found this little gem… "The footage looks like it is from a dash cam, so good luck with getting the police to give two rats ringbits." So, it appears I did read OP's comments.

        Maybe you should heed your own advice and spend some time reading the whole thread (or even basic traffic road rules).

        As for "rage", I'll take that valuable feedback on-board from someone who posted most of their reply in CAPSLOCK… ;)

        Edit: Oh, you're the "Megabuy/Dell Monitor" guy. Just re-read that thread, and man, I'm the "rage" one?? You sure do have an axe to grind against logistics workers…

        • adammetalman on 24/04/2018 - 18:15

          Yeah yeah.

          The caps were not rage related. I didn't use capslock, just shift bro. Also, it was a tiny percentage of the comment. Whoa. There are other purposes of capitalized words, such as when one can't be bothered with bold formatting to highlight an important part of a text for tl/dr situations. Rage is not just angry yelling. An over the top negative response is a type of rage. As to the thread you referenced, have a look at your negativity in every comment. Get a grasp, your delusional if you think I was raging. Anyway, I apologize for asking in an unclear manner about you raging.

          The main reason to respond to you was because of your belief that it didn't matter what the parked car was doing. It does, there are reasonable allowances to use a loading zone temporarily. Also notice how little traffic in the area, and just a bullsh%t comment; At least the op was at the far end taking up as little space as possible, a courier could have pulled in no worries.

          I did not read the part where the op admitted to playing a game. If the OP was playing games while driving in a manner that is distracting then they are scum and should get off the road entirely. Same for anyone not paying attention to the road for whatever reasons. But there is a possibility that hotspots show up and the OP was following a navigation map to that place. Everyone is right that the lazy OP should have parked in a proper space and got out and walked the short distance to the location.

          Dashcam Parking Inspector was the issue that caught my attention.
          * Roads have a minimum safe speed most of the time, so unless parking inspectors are crawling around very slow so as to give 1-2mins of observation time there is too much uncertainty. It could take a few minutes for a passenger to get in or out. (Elderly?)
          * Maybe the inspector had been around the block to make sure the car was there for too long.
          * Or maybe the Op was not in the car.

          There is no doubt more evidence that the inspector collected. However being a bit of cynic I was raising a bigger issue that if parking inspectors can simply provide a few stills from a moving dashcam then there is a bit opportunity for exploitation. Both the offender and the inspector are in a more dubious situation. The offender can argue they were momentarily pulled over or stopped in an unusual situation for safety reasons; car breaking down, emergency health issue etc. A photograph from a stationary position showing no occupant is better evidence.

          So this cost cutting by councils to raise revenue opens up the opportunity for more people to dispute parking violations. Costing ratepayers more money for court proceedings and loss of revenue for disputes resolved in favor of the offender due to inadequate evidence. Not good for anyone.
          Don't generalize you end up being turd most of the time.

          Re: your edit
          I have no issue with logistics workers, programmers, engineers etc. I have issues with dodgy products and service. Wow. Am I unique?

        • pegaxs on 24/04/2018 - 18:33

          @adammetalman:

          The caps were not rage related.

          Lol. Ok. If you say so… :D

          Didn’t read past that. No point. Thanks for typing it though. I guess…

          Said what I needed to say above, so any further engagement in conversation on the topic is moot. So, for that reason. I’m out.

  • dasher86 on 18/04/2018 - 09:03
    +1

    Get a courier vinyl sticker made. Put it on the side of your car no visible to the dashcam footage.
    Send photo of car marked as courier… On the 'bonut' and LH side.

    • Euphemistic on 18/04/2018 - 09:08

      Better still, get those stickers on magnets so you can whip them off on the weekends.

    • dasher86 on 18/04/2018 - 09:09

      also need to be on the rh side too oops.

  • bobbified on 18/04/2018 - 09:04

    Vehicles that are not the type specified as those that can park in a loading zone are allowed to stop to pick up and drop off passengers (at least in NSW anyway).

    Depending on how long OP was actually parked there, it's possible that he was dropping off a passenger. There's nothing that says that the passenger being dropped off has to get out of the vehicle within a second or two of pulling up. They could be collecting their belongings from within the car etc before opening the door and getting out of the vehicle.

    As for the report to police, don't even bother.

    On another note, I would expect that any dashcams that the council uses for the purposes issuing fines would, at a minimum, have a date and time stamp on the video for evidentiary purposes if a case goes to court. This one only has a date so I'm wondering if it's possible someone actually sent the footage in. (The vertical lines in the images just look like they're the fold lines in the printed pictures that have been mailed to OP).

    • JIMB0 on 18/04/2018 - 09:26

      Ozbargain members seem to have an affinity for loading zones. Must be dumpster diving.

  • pegaxs on 18/04/2018 - 10:00
    +5

    UPDATE: Seems my thanks has to go out to Wyndham City Council. The photo was taken on Watton Street in Werribee… Ironically, when I looked up the exact location on Google maps, I found this photo… See OP?? This is what a loading zone is for. And this is potentially stopping delivery drivers from doing their job. Glad you got the ticket…

    Times on the loading zone sign appear to be 9am till 5:30pm Mon-Fri, 9am till 5pm Saturday. OP appears to be been photographed on the 27/12. In 2017, that was a Wednesday. in 2016, that was a Tuesday. I am guessing by the distance thrown by the shadows of the trees and buildings, being that of nearly vertical in line with the trees, that the sun was almost directly overhead. I estimate that OP was parked there at some time between 11am and 1pm. Well within the "loading zone only" parking signs.

    • ronnknee on 18/04/2018 - 10:16

      Direct link for those who wanted to zoom in.

      • Froogle on 18/04/2018 - 23:10
        +1

        Love the truck in the makeshift loading zone across the road

    • godofpizza on 18/04/2018 - 12:17

      great work mate.
      OP just pay the fine. last time i was in Werribee it's wasn't really busy enough to park in a loading zone.

      • pegaxs on 18/04/2018 - 23:56
        +1

        It was 2 days after Christmas and in one of OP’s photo, there is ample parking on the opposite side of the road and it would have been quiet, so I’m guessing ample parking everywhere else in the area. I lived in Hoppers Crossing and know the street here very well, and there would have been parking everywhere there 2 days after Christmas…

        Just becuse OP wasn’t at work, doesn’t mean that couriers were not at work.

        OP came here looking for ideas for revenge and sympathy and will receive neither.

        • godofpizza on 19/04/2018 - 14:07

          exactly, even in the photo show there are empty spots.

  • h4zey on 19/04/2018 - 15:59

    make sure you turn on your hazard light next time

  • Mewtwo on 19/04/2018 - 23:43

    Thanks for all the replies.

    Yes, looks like photos are from dash camera. I believe many people here like me don't know that you can NOT even stop at loading zone. NOT even one minute, not even drop off passengers.

    I got this ticket because of bloody pokemon go. I stopped there less than 20 seconds to spun 2 gyms on 27/12/2017. I think it was close to the end of year, and inspector must have number to reach…

    I believe even inspectors in Melbourne CBD are not harsh as the ones work for Whyndam city council. As I work in city, everyday, I see people driving private car and stop at loading zone. Most cases just waiting in the car or drop off passengers.

    • John Kimble on 20/04/2018 - 06:25
      +1

      And that is one reason why you shouldn't play Pokemon Go.

      • godofpizza on 20/04/2018 - 09:29
        +1

        or use your phone while driving.

    • phocus on 20/04/2018 - 15:06
      +1

      Pretty sure most people understand loading zone. Just like people understand speeding signs. People may go over, even slightly, but they do it under their own risk knowing full well they maybe fined if caught.

    • Slippery Fish on 20/04/2018 - 15:33

      got this ticket because of bloody pokemon go. I stopped there less than 20 seconds to spun 2 gyms on 27/12/2017. I think it was close to the end of year, and inspector must have number to reach

      If your playing games while driving I hope a junky gutter stomps your phone… It's selfentitled people like you op that cause accidents killing our loved ones then meekly saying "it was an accident".

      NO, if you chose to use your phone you deserve to go to jail for attempted murder. You can live for 10-20mins without your phone.

    • stewartg on 20/04/2018 - 15:49

      OP you have just demonstrated the play stupid games, get stupid prizes philosophy.

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