Speeding shame of ex-crash detective who wrote book on road trauma. A FORMER policeman who has written of the horrors of road trauma says stupidity was to blame for his own speeding. Craig Hodge, who spent eight years in the Accident Investigation Section, said inattention had led him to exceed the speed limit. In June a magistrate found Mr Hodge, 49, guilty of driving at 120km/h on the Great Alpine Rd near Mt Hotham. His daughter was in the car. The road safety advocate uses his blunder as a lesson. “It was stupid. Not just because of my background and my experience and my opinions, but because that’s how easy it is,” Mr Hodge said. “My view is if someone like me who is actually aware of the dangers of the road can let speed creep up on them, then someone who says ‘It can never happen to me’ needs to think again. “I’m experienced, I’ve been trained, I know I’ve got a roadworthy car and it’s a wide, open stretch of road. “But that doesn’t justify it: 100km/h was the limit.” In 2011 Mr Hodge penned an explosive book, Road Kill, about his harrowing experiences investigating more than 350 fatal and serious collisions during his 20-year career in Victoria Police. It has been described as a “cautionary tale in which responsible driving messages loom large”. Mr Hodge said he was haunted by grisly scenes that confronted him in his career. “It hollows you out until there’s nothing left,” he said. Mr Hodge said that he hoped his book could be used to help combat the road toll. “If it can make one person aware of what the dangers are on the road, then I’m happy. Because people are just driving around with their heads up their bums: they haven’t got a clue,” he said. He supports raising the maximum speed limit to 130km/h, but only if it is factored into compulsory driver education and training. Mr Hodge, who is battling illness, is now considering a book about road etiquette. ANGUS THOMPSON - HERALD SUN - SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 Source: heraldsun.au/news/law-order/speeding-shame-of-ex-crash-detective-who-wrote-book-on-road-trauma/story-fni0fee2-1226725477626
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 23:12:30 +0000
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