Rider Thrown From Scooter After Police Car Makes Sudden U-Turn

A scooterist in Adelaide, South Australia, received a nasty surprise when a police officer decided to bust a U-turn right in front of him, with no warning. Luckily, scooterist Daniel Daw had a dashcam recording the entire time, which you can see in this video.  

Daw was thrown from his scooter, and both he and the scooter sustained damage from the crash. He says that directly afterward, the police officer’s first words were “didn’t you see an indicator?” The video very clearly shows no indicator of any kind. Instead, there’s merely the sudden movement of the police car turning across double white lines, directly into Daw’s path. According to South Australia’s road rules, the move seen on camera does not appear to be legal, but keep in mind that we’re also not Australian road rules experts. 

Since the crash, Daw says that his left shoulder causes him constant pain, and that he also can’t lift anything heavy. That’s a problem, since his job is as a powder coating laborer. To add complication, he’s also what Australia terms a “casual employee,” which means he doesn’t get paid unless he works. Daw anticipates that he’ll need at least a couple more weeks of recovery time until he’s able to work again.  

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What about his scooter? It sustained some front-end damage, which Daw estimates at around AU $1,000. The scooter is currently uninsured. The state of South Australia requires compulsory third party (CTP) insurance on all vehicles, which is paid at the same time as motor vehicle registration. It’s not clear whether this also means that Daw’s scooter is also currently unregistered.  

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However, regardless of that complication, the video footage appears to show the officer pulling an illegal road maneuver that caused this crash, as well as the resulting injuries and damages. 7News gave a copy of the tape to the police department, which has started an internal investigation. It’s unclear what, if any, action will be taken. 

For his part, Daw says he wants an apology from the officer, as well as compensation for his missed wages and the damage to his scooter. How this matter is resolved remains to be seen, but it seems likely that getting the local news media involved and going public with his video footage will add pressure to the department to do the right thing. 

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