Did a drive up to the Hawkesbury River and back, and there were traffic cops everywhere! Would've been a great day to do a burglary! Couldn't get the beastie above 80k!
yeah, they're saving the world : Australian drivers hit with over-the-top fines I really like the fines for numberplates that have fallen off (double sided tape can be vibrated off eventually) .... 3 points and $300, well done you pack of ....
Actually it's not just on the roads though. I was on the beach at Mooloolaba spit before Christmas and in 2 hours saw: 2 officers on horseback, 1 in an ATV and 3 doing it the old fashioned way on foot.
The latest Melbourne money making scam is making a 40 km zone, and putting a speed camera soon after the sign. 40 km is so incredibly slow that it is so easy to exceed the limit. More and more of these are rolling out, and the camera lights are seen to be flashing repeatedly. Don't believe the propaganda that speed kills. Crashing kills. In Europe, and other 1st world countries, where speed limits are much higher, and administered with more common sense, they do not have any higher accident or death rates than Australia. Our community representatives have not shown, and are not able to show, any actual statistics showing that our overly strict administration of road rules yields better safety results than other developed countries. If the speed limit is dropped low enough, say to 10 km an hour, naturally the death rate will drop (if everyone obeys the law). But this would be at the cost of even more congestion, and even further reduction in the efficiency and competitiveness of this country. Dropping speed limits, and ferociously enforcing the limits, as well as being an unfair additional tax on one part of the community, just is an easy way instead of actually looking at real ways of increasing safety. eg. not having lamp posts next to roads, more divided roads, higher standards for obtaining drivers licenses etc. Cars are much safer now, and that is the real reason for any drop in injury and death rates in accidents. Congratulations to automotive engineers who have truly saved people's lives. Why do people quietly accept state and local government money making schemes, involving driving and parking penalties. Don't vote for the type of politicians that allow this to occur. This plus huge fuel taxes are unfair and unequal taxes that only part of the community pay, the car driving community. I personally avoid local country driving, and stay out of shopping strips with overzealous parking and speeding enforcement. I don't spend my money in these areas. That is my little protest, which I suggest others also do, and let everyone know. In summary, it is all a big con, a money making scheme using safety as an excuse.
While we may disagree with it the tactic clearly works. It is designed to enhance pedestrian safety. In Brisbane where the 40k zone is rigorously enforced I read recently the number of pedestrians getting knocked down in town has gone from 1 a day 6 years ago when the 40k was introduced to less than 1 a month and with much less injury and death and that is a good thing for them and their families - I think it was a couple of school girls being killed that prompted the introduction. John
I have no problem with the 40 zone .... it's the BS 70 zones on dual carriageways with NO residential environment to warrant the low speed ....
You mentioned one example. The data for the many speed restricted zones including 40 kms is not publicly available. And I am suspicious of misinformation published by government and community representatives to justify their stance. But as I wrote originally, if speeds are reduced enough, there may not be any fatalities, at the expense of increasing travelling times and reduced competitiveness of the whole country. Many more productive and efficient overseas countries, build pedestrian overpasses over busy intersections and wide multi lane roads. I got caught in a new 40 km zone at 45 kms near midnight, with no pedestrians and no shops open. No safety issues there. Just another tax gouge. But I don't want to focus just on 40 km zones. It is the whole attitude of administering the letter of the law without common sense. These community representatives have lost sight of what they are there for and who put them there. They are not there to hassle citizens, especially if they are not doing anything unsafe. Many people including overseas, criticize Australian over regulation, and overly zealous administration of regulations without compromise. I have been told there are no speed cameras in Texas because the public won't allow it. Is that true?
Agreed. The apathy of the Australian public is such that, whilst the overwhelming majority of voters drive, we have allowed ourselves to be criminalised for the purpose of state govt revenue. The harder they promote the "speed kills" message, the less likely a revolt against the whole dysfunctional system. I have seen no fixed cameras in Texas and it is one of many US states I've driven in where you won't get booked for being over the limit unless you're driving dangerously (like most of Europe). They have a great saying, "Don't mess with Texas"
They have the "every k over is a killer " campaign going up here .... at that rate I'm one of the greatest mass murderers of all time Had one accident 10 years ago in the GT4 which was not my fault doing 87 in a 100 zone, s**t road was deemed unsafe in a court of law, never hit anyone in 42 years of driving but somehow doing 110 in a 100 zone on a dual carriageway makes me a killer ??!! I'm over it ... looking forward to 6 months of peace
For your driving pleasure while visiting the U.S., info on which states allow speed/red light cameras... http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/auto_enforce.html T
Actually I was told that there was an attempt to install speed cameras in Texas, but citizens shot them out. Got to respect those Texans. Now I have to put a disclaimer here that I don't support or promote that Australians shoot out or damage any speed cameras, because I could be charged for inciting civil disobedience if I did promote these actions.
I believe Texas had speed cameras, but they got banned due in part to taxpayer protests & no proof they enhanced safety. There are red light cameras. It's not about safety, it's more about idiot politicians trying to soak taxpayers...T
Many many years ago a friend was booked for speeding by an overhead chopper. I thought that was in Texas?
One of the great drives of my life was from Bonneville to Las Vegas, down a road called the Lincoln Highway. 100+mph all the way in a rented Hyundai Sonata, through the sort of scenery you see in old westerns. Between the twisty bits and the "interesting" handling of the Hoondy, it needed maximum concentration but gave huge fun. You can of course do this "off the track" in Australia, but the roads are nowhere near as well engineered or maintained, so you're going to have moments or leave bits of your car behind. The USA (outside of California and most cities in the north east) is not blighted with an anti-car lobby, so there is more freedom and better infrastructure to enjoy. Australia is now dominated by anti-car sentiment from all levels of government and the media, yet I look around and see that most people drive. Why is this so?
Because they all drive 4WDs which are NOT cars but small trucks and they're bloody useless at driving them
These guys have been getting a bit of prime news time recently https://www.facebook.com/www.blockthiershot.come?fref=ts Basically pretend to break down and park in front of camera with hood up, oops.. oh dear, looks like I might be blocking your line of sight.. even a breast feeding mum did an extended stop to do a change and feed in front of one.. these devices and the way they are deployed have sure got the gander up on some.. I noted in the news journo said such people liking the FB page were "performance car" types.. sigh. I would assume since this high profile news likely a new thing on the books would be added so can get a ticket for it.. I don't like the concept of interfering with legal signage and equipment.. but I can see how the official approach is effectively counter productive and so these people doing this to actively block and protest in the only way anyone is going to take notice! What was predictably sickening was likes of Road Minister and RTA talking head said how people blocking the camera view was "risking lives"... I mean they put a direct 1:1 correlation between their automated camera and "saving lives". Also they whacked out some number of "lowest fatalities" in the same correlation sentence.. needless to say no other qualifiers, like better roads, cars and other things over same time.. noooo it is ALL about their camera systems getting the credit based on their wording. As far as I can see they are just automated ticketing systems.. a few days later likely receive your friendly invoice in the mail.. I just don't see how that is "saving lives". To me if a cop on active duty can make the judgement on the spot as to what deserves the attention or not. In my local area they put these cameras in the most trafficked area which is the simple bit of straight flat road joining 2 local towns a few kms apart.. nothing happens around here.. at best I can surmise is that people here REALLY crawl along this road and the BEST they could do is to perhaps lower the threshold to see what they can skim off the top.. I REALLY don't see how such setups "save lives".. as they let active driving continue.. and are content with invoicing later.. unless they think "safety" is all about learning from a financial sting later down the track yet quite happily let the event occur unchallenged? I'd rather cops on the beat than these automated things... the talking heads drone on about "saving lives".. yet they simultaneously administer a licensing standard that is so low it may as well come on the side of box of breakfast cereal .. I am putting the last of my kids through the "L" plate system and it could stand with some improvement as to what's needed to pass!
good idea is to send your 17 year olds to an advanced driver training course as soon as they've got their P's. I did this for both my boys, for free thanks to AAMI insurance. At no stage in the RTA approved driver education & testing process, did they have to perform an emergency stop or encounter understeer/oversteer situations. Practising all this on a skid pan means they'll be less inclined to panic if it happens on a single lane country road with trees nearby.
Sounds like a great idea. I have been tempted to do a similar course myself so I will chat to AAMI and see if I can share a track day at Eastern Creek with my son.
Entering Melbourne from the North on Sydney Road, there are 3 or 4 speed camera locations close together on the straight multi lane freeway. How many deaths have there been in the vicinity of each camera (I assume none). What has been the reduction in the number of accidents, injuries, or deaths (probably no reduction). What a scam. There could be a few speed camera locations where statistics indicate a reduction in the accident rate, but definitely not all the locations. I have not seen any statistics for all speed/red light camera locations, just a few are selected to support the argument.
Don't you think that seeing these cameras and getting caught by them means that at all times, in the back of your mind, you're conscious of their existence and it slows you down?? It certainly works on me.....I now don't speed anywhere. So my point is the cameras don't HAVE to be in black spots for them to work.
Most of the independent studies I can recall having seen suggest that traffic light cameras increase accidents. This report suggests the opposite, however... http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=2429&issue_id=72011 I read another study by Texas Dept of Transport that suggested, if I understood it (statistics were never my strong suit) that right angle crashes were decreased while rear end crashes increased. So, seems like a mixed bag on efficacy, but I still cant get past my opinion that it's a money grab by politicians...T
The stupidest thing I've ever heard is the insurance companies give no credit to people doing driver training programs because "the courses are aimed at racing"!
AAMI gives you 10% off your premium if snyone under 25 listed on your policy does their advanced driving course
