Have Your Say On The Road Safety Debate

[sixfan]

Curious,

It's good to have someone who supports the current speed restrictions posting here.

However.... Do you really think given a 80 kph limit in an area it's safe to do 80 in that that many people whould speed? What about where there is NO speed limit? I can tell you 85 to 90% of the drivers in the NT are doing around 135 kph on the Stuart Hwy, a safe and sensible speed. We do not all die instantly when we do this, we do not become speed feak lunatics let loose (except perhaps people from down south who come here and go Woopie!, like myself) We are treated as adults and most people act like adults. If the cops think your driving is unsafe, they book you, not because you your going 5kph over some B/S arbitary limit dreamed up by the pollies (who fly everywhere)

P.S Let's not confuse the result of an accident with the cause of an accident. No-body denies that a head on at 10 Kph is better than a head on at 200 kph, but if someone falls asleep and swerves into your path, hey, you're gonna hit him. Poor bloke probably fell asleep from staring at the speedo trying to stay under 110 hours on end......

Math break:

two vehicles closing at 100 kph, driver swerves 50m away into the path of the on-comming vehicle: closing speed in meters per hour= 200000 m/h

/60 to get meters / min = 3,333 m /min; /60 for m/sec = 55 m/sec

therefore at 10kph BELOW the limit for BOTH vehicles, the driver who is awake (and not stareing at his speedo to stay under the limit presumably) has under 1 second to see what's happening, decide what to do and evade the collision. Aint gonna happen.

120 kph closing speed = 66 m/s ~17% difference, now you've got ~17 hundreths of a second less time. Does 17 hundreths of a second make the crucial difference? I doubt it.

By driving slower you do increase your safety margin, but if that was what we were all about we'd take a bus wouldn't we?

If you argue the point that going slower is the only answer then let's take it to the logical conclusion; the ultimate answer is to put speed limiters in cars that will not allow you to exceed 110 kph or, let's ban the car and all use public transport. Hell, let's all stay in concrete bunkers and never go out, then we'll be safe.

Everyone is happy with thier own level of risk I know I'm no where near a "great" driver, I set my limits and stick to 'em.

[curious]

Good point, I am not saying that that split second will alow you to perform a magical power slide or handbrakie that will save you and your car. The probabability of the collision is 90% but the difference is coping the car in your back half rather than the drivers door might just save your life.

Goind slower is not and never will be the only solution. I look at it as a cog in a watch. If it is missing than the whole damn thing will not work.

[sixfan]

let's take a longer term look at this problem;

I say let Darwin rule, 200 years of unlimited speeds and all the people who can't drive fast but try will breed out. Lets remove the seatbelt laws and kill off the stupid ones as well :lol: :lol:

[Dagabond]

but the difference is coping the car in your back half rather than the drivers door might just save your life.

Mute arguement, what if the other car is traveling faster?

If it's gunna happen it's gunna happen, theres not a single thing any one of us can do about it.

I'm not trying to justify speeding in anyway, I just dont believe the propaganda that's shoved down our throats.

[curious]

If it's gunna happen it's gunna happen, theres not a single thing any one of us can do about it.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

If that's the case I will spend my entire eight hour shift in the office playing playstation.

Someone come and offer me the blue pill then please.

[DallasQLD]

I have justspent the week driving around in Mlebourne. Disnt see masses of dead people from sped ing with no speed cameras tunred on.

I did see a lot of sheepinsh looking people at the RBT at 3AM finishing work.

Police on the road doing their job, catching drunks. :banghead:

Police hiding in bushes pretending to be photographers :banghead:

[Dagabond]

Which Pill?

[Redhawk]

Well, the WA Police Minister Michelle Roberts, has just about confirmed that the WA Government sees fixed speed cameras as revenue raising cash machines and road safety is used purely as a propaganda spin for the 'great unwashed, gullible public'.

Guess what?.......they are putting fixed speed cameras on a stretch of the safest road in WA because 40% of users of the Northbridge Tunnel drive over the posted 80kph speed limit, which equates at a revenue bonus of $1.7million per DAY , at the minimum $50 fine.

AND ......they are letting the owners of the joint venture who built the tunnel operate these cameras, their justification is the maintenance workers are at risk from all these dangerous killers who drive a few km's over the limit on the safest stretch of road in the state. Now get THIS ......the WA gov't is considering raising the speed limit of this stretch of road because it is so safe!!!!

Have I missed something here or are these arrogant self serving mongrels treating us, the voting public, as a bunch of mindless, stupid morons or what?

In the words of that misunderstood Aussie Politician......."Please explain ?

[SSingh1]

no one has mentioned that car saftey in the last 10 years has gone leaps and bounds ahead , yet speed restrictions have gone from tollarable to sheer stupidity in the the same time because we the motorist are the cows with golden milk that as far as the pollies are concerned will never stop flowing.

Drove around sth Island of NZ hardly a pot hole to be seen, even rains there. It about time the motorist put some of the blame back where it belongs. 21 st centary and the most use highway in Australia is still not dual carage way(pacific hiway) answer redued the speed liimit. F3 to sydney the concrete is breaking up so reduce the speed. If you slow everybody up the broken up roads don't seem so bad and moey can be made.

[KEN 24T]

This is the official response from my initial letter.

Comments encouraged.

03_1976.doc