Fun evening at the police station for me....

[2011G6E]

Pro tip: get a log book...an official one, not just a notepad...and keep the fricking thing up to date with places and TIMES you filled up.

Last night I was visited by the local Plod, looking into a "road incident" (wouldn't say what exactly) from back at the end of July. Wanted me to come in to ask a few questions, nothing to worry about. It happened in Capalaba, Brisbane, and I knew damn well I wasn't even there on the bike at that time.

Sat for officially recorded interview...charges could be assault, which shocked me.
What happened was this: at 10am on the 29th July on some road in Capalaba, a car driver said a bike was pulled up beside him at the lights, light went green, he drove off and "felt a bump". Bike then pulled him over...no idea how...and parked in front of him. The rider then abused the guy and gave him a shove with an open hand, then "punched off the rear view mirror", and rode off.

Guess whose rego number the guy in the car gave....?

Muggins me, that's who. The cops asked me to describe my bike...black GSX1400...what I wore when riding...black jeans usually, boots, black with some grey trim Dryrider mesh and fabric jacket, dark grey helmet. Then asked me to describe my hair colour and height.
Apparently this all matched the description.
Now, putting aside the fact that a huge percentage of bikes are black, and that most riders wear black gear and have dark coloured helmets, this was in Brisbane.
I luckily had a logbook I kept for my old Celica, and could prove (to my satisfaction at least) that at that time of the morning I was driving down the highway somewhere near Miriam Vale on my way to the Sunshine Coast, where I go every year for the Nambour Swap Meet. I also luckily had a photo in my phone lookng through the windscreen of my Celica (bright red bonnet visible) that showed a truck that was causing the highway to be blocked somewhere between Miriam Vale and Gin Gin, where it had lost a load of logs. The time on the picture said 29 July, 11:42. The younger of the two cops said "But it doesn't show the year does it?" (put the picture on a computer and look at properties and it says the entire date and time of course). I even told them they could call the friend I stayed with and ask her if I had my bike or not.

I think I made as good a case as I could that there was no possible way I was on my bike in Brisbane at that time...but who knows? Now I have to sit here and wait to see what happens. It was almost like I was guilty and had to somehow prove my innocence. If they call again, I'm not going in there without legal representation.

From now on, I'm keeping a proper log book and using one of those apps to photograph each and every bloody fuel receipt I get, as well as taking pictures of everywhere I stop (with exif data turned on for the pictures to show the GPS location as well as the usual "date and time").

I also kind of wonder...and forgot to ask...why it's taken them nearly five months to come and ask me about it, when they can look up a rego plate in five seconds and see who owns it and where they live...

Amazing how one moron quoting the wrong rego number can fugg up your entire day and make you start worrying...