It's not funny, and I'm not drunk.

Let's just forget all the prattle about 'safe roads, safe cars' yadda yadda and just put the blame where it lays - irresponsible drivers! Forget speeding, forget texting, forget alcohol as a single item - just one 'charge' - "careless driving" and throw the book at them. "Careless" driving would also include impairment due to drugs, alcohol, etc.

 

If the road toll is suddenly going up after years of slowly going down, there is only one possibility to explain it:

Mobile phones.

ie. Distraction(s).

 

Phones are getting to be the BIGGEST issue for poor driving behaviour.

I spent the last 3 weeks in Sydney and have noticed that cars are weaving a LOT in the lanes and when you get along side them you can see they are on the phone, looking at the phone or using it in some manner.

I started driving in '71 in Sydney when most drivers were quite good and automatics were rare so you had to pay attention to what you are doing.

Now with autos and mobiles the idiots are turning their attention to "filling" in their time while on the road by using the mobile in some manner

 

Partly true, but more often poorly trained drivers, in hard to control vehicles like 4WD's. Half of fatal accidents are single vehicle - running off the road and into a tree or rolling over. There is no part of a NSW driving test that includes correcting an understeer or oversteer situation, yet it's a common occurrence on wet rural roads. Why don't we have skidpan training? AAMI insurance pay for such courses for P-plate drivers - they're doing it for a reason.

I recently got my bike license back, the "emergency stop" test was from 25kmh. What a joke.

The second part of the problem is police road presence. In urban Sydney, you hardly see road patrol cars, unless they're hiding behind a tree at the bottom of a hill in 50 zones. Meanwhile, you stop at any traffic light and look at your fellow drivers, all on sms or facebook. We're being booked for 54kmh on 4 lane arterial roads, but not for using phones.

 

The sad fact is more than half of the idiots behind the wheel have never climbed a tree or ridden a bicycle so there is zero coordination, anticipation or CDF.......

 

Nailed it.

I’ve often said we could retire State debt in a week if the police really cracked down on people for being on their phones.
My work commute takes about half an hour and involves about a dozen sets of lights.
I kid you not, EVERY time I’m stopped at the lights if I look around (and in my rear view mirror) there will be at least one person obviously looking at / typing on their phone.

Oh, how I wish I was a traffic cop at that moment so I could get out, walk over, and book them...

 

Agree 100%

 

Back in the 70s & 80s Utes & 4x4s had different ADRs (not the same safety rules) to Falcon ,Commodores etc. is that still the case ? SUVs outsell the sedans by a fair margin in NSW these days

 

This story aired before Christmas
https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/38189035/new-camera-to-detect-mobile-phone-use-behind-the-wheel/

 

Same rules for ABS, Stability control, etc apply. Most quality utes & 4x4's today have 5 star NCAP ratings (not the Chinese s**tboxes though).

The issue is that there are an awful lot of pre-ABS & stability control 4wd's being driven around, just look at all the early-series Landcruisers parked in any country town. These cars have a much longer life than normal sedans and they are much harder to control when they lose grip.

Another bugbear of mine is the % of 4wd's you see fitted with junk Chinese tyres. As we all saw with Whom on the GG, who had them on his Rangie, they have hopeless grip and are actively dangerous. I walked past a Cayenne turbo the other day with $100 Chinese tyres on it!

 

Some Light reading
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00857
https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/motor/design/
https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/motor/design/files/ADR_Applicability_Summary-M-Group-Jan18.pdf

 

Thanks for that. To a retired examiner it appears they have the same nowadays.

 

Off road 4wd Category 4C which most are only ADR I read that they introduced 10/01 in 1992 for Steering columns.

 

Disgraceful and embarrassing

'It can happen anywhere': Father and son allegedly bashed returning from Australian Open - 9news.com.auhttps://apple.news/ADeL1Hnr6TqmY718XVJsgfQ

 

Hmmm I can feel a looong weekend coming on in Sydeney.....wonder why they didn'y make it any other day of the week??

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-24/sydney-trains-strike-locked-in-after-union-vote/9348044

 

just pathetic

 

Rudy Giuliani proved in NYC, with his "no broken windows" policy, that the only solution to urban crime is tough policing and sentencing. The result was a complete turnaround in street crime, today I feel safer in New York than Sydney and the stats back that up.

In VIC meanwhile, they let serious offenders walk free and focus on fudging the statistics. e.g. 3 separate assults committed by one person is measured as 1 crime. A leftist "progressive" judiciary is a big part of the problem, if not the major part.

 

deliberate long-term campaign to discredit the Liberal state govt, because public transport has been a big success story - unions will make trouble for the next 14 months.

 

Yep,you did notice that only 6% of the 6k members voted against striking on this decisive issue.....gives 'em a warm,fuzzy feeling I'm sure,stuff the commuters.
I'm sure the timing of it will do a lot to discredit them from the rest the city/state who rely upon trains.

 

It will be chaos on the roads tomorrow, lucky I drove my Ferrari to work today instead

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Obviously photoshop

 

In the batman suit?.......

 

No, nude like normal.

NTTIAWWT

 

Seriously?

https://www.facebook.com/fatima.mawas/posts/10160261888875157


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Crock of sh!!t stirred up by the ABC