Report It!

Update : April 13, 2009 : Please note, about two weeks ago I witnessed a terrible traffic violation. I wrote down the liscense plate and identification of vehicle at the stop sign and when I got home - I wrote out the details of the situation. I then dropped it off at my local RCMP detachment, they quickly reveiwed the report and accepted it in it's entirety. Last week I was called by a constable that wanted to persue the violation and due to the severity of the situation - charge the person. I went down again, was interviewed and within minutes was on my way. When I left, the constable thanked me for my attention and assistance, he also informed me that the next stage will be that they will be charged and I may be required to appear in court if they opt to deny. I will say - this was beyond speeding - this was a serious situation. I WILL go to court should I need to. I'll keep you all posted - but so far - GOOD NEWS - IT WORKED!!!!

Please find below a pdf of the "Citizens Traffic Complaint" form.

- Print it out
- Carry it (and copies) in your vehicle for use.
- Fill it out
- Send it in!

WARNING : ENSURE THAT YOU ARE NOT FILLING OUT THIS FORM WHILE DRIVING - IT IS AN OFFENSE!

Manitoba Driver Improvement and Control : " Hi Karen, I read over your form, 2 things: 1.       We will investigate the incident, not necessarily send a letter to the driver. 2.       We do not inform the complainant of the results of our investigation. The answer to your other question is yes they can fax it to us. Driver Improvement follows up on all complaints and will contact the complainant to validate the complaint providing we have enough information to identify the driver. However, we will not follow-up on a complaint unless it is filed by the person who observed the driving behavior or if the identifying information is incorrect. All 3^rd party information is protected by privacy legislation and will not be divulged to the driver identified in the complaint."

RCMP : Has stated that the form looks great - the RCMP cannot ENDORSE it as it the word "ENDORSE" would mean it has to go through legal channels and through Ottawa first and that would definitely take allot of time. However, if a citizen dropped it off - they would HAVE to investigate and follow up on the complaint.

UK : They already have a very similar form that is accepted by law enforcement - but they would also accept mine as mentioned above.

USA : I'm currently in contact with numerous different law enforcement individuals and they have stated the above - if they received it - they would have to follow it up as it is a legitimate complaint.

Common statement by all parties :

- All personal information is protected by law - so the "joe citizen" would not be revealed to the culprit.
- It would be accepted, and followed up - it has to.
- If the submitted form is in accurate - it will not be addressed - for example - if the license plate is WRONG and doesn't match vehicle etc...

Varying statements by all parties : Receiving the form in COMPLETE status would result in at least a follow up - some would submit letters as warning, some would place a phone call to the driver, others have said they would "build a file" so to speak on the individual and then take it "further".

Here's the form : MDICOMPLAINT

After filling it out decide where you want to take it :