A Perth rider has failed in his challenge to a $550 fine for a loose helmet strap after he says he only loosened it with one hand to talk to two motorcycle police who pulled him over.
Julian Collis says the judge sided with the officers despite proving in court he could undo his helmet with one hand and despite both cops swearing he was wearing an open-face helmet.
“I was actually wearing a full-face Bell Bullitt helmet at the time, so that evidence was clouded,” he says.
“I had taken my motorcycle gloves off and put them on the console and loosened my chin strap to take off my helmet but I kept it on when I was told I wasn’t being done for speeding.”
Reasonable doubt
Julian also believes his lawyer proved there was reasonable doubt that police missed seeing him loosen his helmet strap as they were occupied issuing a speeding ticket to a driver at the time.
Unfortunately the police officers’ helmet cameras were not operating as they had parked their bikes to conduct the speed trap.
“In the end, the judge said the two officers had dovetail evidence,” he says.
“We pointed out that they had lunch together in the court recess and could have illegally collaborated on evidence.
“The judge asked if they discussed the case and they said they didn’t and the judge believed them.
“It was a case of two against one.”
Court costs
Julian copped the original $550 fine and four demerit points plus $205 court costs, although his lawyer did not charge him a fee.
However, he says he has no regrets.
“I got to say my piece and tell the truth from what I can remember on the day,” he says.
“I wouldn’t ride around with a loose helmet strap. I value my safety as I have three small children at home and I’ve been riding for 20 years.
“I could appeal to the Supreme Court, but my lawyer said we had done as much as we can.”
Strap rule
Julian’s helmet has a double-D fastener which can be loosened without being undone
Regulation 244 of the Western Australia Road Traffic Code 2000 states that a motorcycle must not be ridden unless an approved helmet is securely fitted and fastened to the head of the rider.
“It doesn’t mention anything about how tight the helmet strap should be so it’s open to police interpretation,” Julian says.
ACT police have asked for help to identify two riders who were videoed in separate incidents where a car swerved toward them while they were legally lane-filtering.
Police were made aware of this video a day later and began investigating.
Two incidents
It now appears there were two incidents involving the same driver.
This surely demonstrates that the first incident was not accidental. Instead, the driver seems intent on causing alarm and/or injury.
ACT Police have now released the images on this page (at top and below) of both incidents.
The rider in the second incident
They are seeking the identity of the two motorbike riders involved and have released this statement:
About 4:30pm, the riders were separately travelling northbound on Majura Parkway, Majura, when a green Ford Falcon swerved, almost colliding with the riders. At the time, the riders were lawfully lane filtering.
If you are one of the motorbike riders affected please contact ACT Policing on 131444. Please quote reference 6327970.
Police are also urging anyone who knows the motorbike riders or who witnessed or has dash-cam footage of this incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website.
Please quote reference 6327970. Information can be provided anonymously.
ACT Police have confirmed they will alert us on the outcome of their investigation into these incidents.
Lane filtering is now legal in all states and territories (except NT and WA which is expected to follow shortly) and has been legal in NSW more than four years.
So there is no excuse for this driver’s behaviour in the ACT which is inside the state of NSW.
Not only is lane filtering legal but it also benefits all motorists as it helps move heavy traffic more quickly.
What does it take for drivers to understand this?
You can do your bit to educate drivers by sharing this article you are reading now as well as this “Open letter to drivers“.
Perth incident
Meanwhile, in another road rage incident in Perth on Sunday, October 28, a driver swerved at a rider twice.
We posted YouTube video of the incidents, but it has since been removed.
However, it showed the driver trying to hit the rider at traffic lights, then a second time further down the road.
At the end of the video the driver gets out at traffic lights to have a go at the rider, but forgets to engage his handbrake! His car almost rolls into the car in front.
We contacted WA Police to make them aware of the video.
They said they would investigate and when we followed up yesterday they said they were still investigating.
Filtering rage
Drivers trying to obstruct riders has been happening ever since lane filtering was introduced.
Check out this video from last year sent to us by Newcastle rider Harry Criticos.
[embedded content]
“I was filtering legally when a driver stuck his whole body out in an attempt to block me,” the 2016 Triple Black R 1200 GS rider told us.
“I did not stop and he did make contact with the bike. I hope it hurt.”
It might be worth telling your driver mates that this particular motorist not only got hit, but also copped a $325 fine and three demerit points.
Lane filtering is legal
Surely it is time for some major advertising campaigns in each state to advise motorists that riders are allowed to filter and what benefits there are for ALL motorists.
So far, lane filtering education campaigns have been minimal and mainly aimed at riders, not the general motoring public.
We not only need major ad campaigns, but also roadside signage such as this photoshopped sign.
Here’s a sign we’d like to see!
We are not aware of any polls about lane filtering in Australia.
However, in California where lane splitting (filtering at higher speeds than 30km/h) is legal, polls have found it is vastly unpopular among other road users. The main objection is that it’s unfair!
That breeds hostility which results in stupid behaviour such as in the above video.
Lane splitting is unpopular in the USA
So long as lane filtering remains unpopular and/or erroneously believed to be illegal, motorists will do stupid and dangerous things to stop riders filtering.
Police ‘not interested’
Not only are authorities not interested in educating the motoring public about lane filtering, but police don’t seem to help, either.
Harry says police were initially not interested in following up on his complaint about this driver.
After we published the video, Harry went back to the police to find out why they did not charge this driver.
Victorian Police have withdrawn a fine against a rider for not having an external compliance sticker on his Australian-approved motorcycle helmet.
But don’t get too excited just yet that VicPol has seen the light and understands the rules which say a helmet only needs an internal label.
Rider Alasdair “Ted” Cameron challenged the $371 fine and took the issue to Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.
Senior associate Katie Minogue said she was confident her client had a “strong enough case” and was looking forward to their day in court.
However, at the last minute, VicPol have withdrawn the fine.
That means the issue has not been dealt with in court so no legal precedent has been set.
Police harassment
So police are still at liberty to use their erroneous reading of the rules to issue fines and harass riders.
Ted says he felt harassed as soon as he was pulled over in April 2018 on his 2016 Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider S about 200m from his Geelong home by one of two police officers patrolling on dirt bikes.
“I hadn’t done anything wrong, so I asked, ‘what’s up?’.
“The cop says ‘you’re riding a motorcycle in Victoria’, so I knew this guy was not up for a chat!”
The officer then told him his helmet was not compliant because it did not have a sticker on the outside.
Australian Standard sticker
“I just agreed with him and didn’t enter into much conversation or argue with him,” Ted says.
While Ted politely accepted the ticket without argument, he decided he wanted his day in court.
Fine withdrawn
However, he has now received a phone call to say the matter has been dropped because it was “trivial”.
“The copper that picked me up rang and I didn’t answer as it was a private number, so he left a message saying who it was from the Solo Unit,” Ted says.
“He said something like ‘the matter has been not authorised, it will just disappear, you do not have to do anything, it was just being trivial’.
“He was clearing his throat a couple of times so he must have been struggling to say it.
“That message just threw me.”
Ted contacted his lawyers who have contacted police to ask for the official notice of the withdrawal.
“I feel a bit better now and want to thank you (Motorbike Writer), Guy (Motorcycle Council of NSW helmet law expert Guy Stanford) and the lawyers for everything you’ve done to help me,” Ted says.
“But I wanted my day in court. It would have been good to really stick it up them.”
(Maurice Blackburn Lawyers took on Ted’s case pro bono – no charge.)
Sticker advice
Guy Stanford
While there is still no legal precedent, Guy Stanford advises that there is no need for an external sticker so long as there is an internal sticker or label.
It doesn’t matter if the label has faded with wear.
