Wellington Protest - Road Safety bungling

[candor]

Organising protest over Labours general incompetency. Road toll seems static, serious crashes on the up past 3 years. Too much revenue, too little action from Govt as blame all put on road users.

Broad based protest at Railway Station date ? late next week TBA. A focus on drug driving (from me) and any other things people want to bring picket signs to highlight. A city councillor trying to get it approved to put up 100 crosses for 3 days. They are built and painted - phew!

Flowers for crosses, leaflets explaining how third world we are (20 000 foot traffic) and the basics of first world government behaviour. Can get beehive in the picture if media see enough supporters to tail it on down there. More fm handy which is good.

So far am small on numbers is only problem, trying to raise the disabled persons assembly but most of them at some human rights thing in New York.
Help wanted, a crowd wanted. A spectacle. You will be rewarded with a flower, Brownie points and just maybe a pic in paper??

Expressions of interest - should know date tomorrow or Monday

[Hitcher]

OK, throwing terms like "bungling" around is productive. But what is it exactly that you want from Government? And what, exactly, is the cause that your "crowd" will be rallying behind, should they care enough to front up?

[Drum]

Are some better suggestions being presented, or is it just complaining about the status quo?

[ManDownUnder]

Too much revenue, too little action from Govt as blame all put on road users.

So.... you want them to take less revenue (fair enough) and spend more on road safety. The slap in the face obvious answer to your problems is for them to legislate road use more tighly... not something I think I want to see.


Are some better suggestions being presented, or is it just complaining about the status quo?

My point exactly. It's be really useful to have numbers on what's collected via road charges (petrol tax, road user tax, traffic tickets and fines) and compare that to what's being spent on Road safety.. perhaps request a specific re-allocation of fund from whence they came?

Good luck mate - don't get me wrong I admire the spirit. Make you you have 2 or 3 well supported arguments, that can be simply explained (aaa the power of the soundbite)... so Campbell or someone can line up the minister(s) involved and hit them between the eyes with it.

[candor]

Am working on a leaflet - the problem part is more like an encyclopaedia but here is the answers part of it so far, ideas welcome-

Solutions for us – if Labour will share surplus each suggestion could stop 100 brutal deaths
.
1. Government must acknowledge revenue based road safety measures failed & a Public Health crisis costing 2.5% GDP is here now, rethink!
2. It must throw off low goals permitted by the World Bank and set first world goals. A proactive road engineering program is required to get all main routes up to safe modern standard so road users could be confident travel on SH1 at least is survivable. Commit to a 15 yr highway upgrade.
3. Nothing is so pointless as breathalysing a million a year when drug abusers are causing much harm and slip through checkpoints with ease. People involved in accidents, at the least must be drug tested for all 4 risk drug classes to enable proper safe processing of high risk offenders.
4. Public has a right to education via National Campaigns about their major safety risks like tinny cars, not just “ enforceable” ones (by Police).

MOT and LTNZ are the Bloody Idiots for not keeping up with the times– and if we value our lives this is no laughing matter.

Their 2010 policy scores well on only 2 out of the big 7 road risk factors (many of which require for them to act – not us).
It addresses drink & speed but fails in; no priority to engineering, safe vehicle standards (70% not), adequate driver training, drugs and fatigue.
If aviation authorities did such a poor job and we saw say 10 light plane crashes killing 400 a year as a result there'd be hell to pay!

[jimbo600]

Turnning up on bikes or just foot traffic.

[davereid]

Don't show up on bikes unless its a bike related protest - like related to rip off ACC or something. Legislators don't really see motorcycles as transport. If Candors protest embarrasses the govt, and they associate it with motorcycles, its us they will target.

Good luck with your protest Candor, it would be great to think you could force some positive change, but the cynic in me thinks they will shoot the messenger... so I hope he not on a scooter.

[candor]

They can't shoot the messenger without looking like total jerks. We get the sympathy vote. The more war wounded the better. Wheels on chairs is good.
Wheels on bikes is good, about time people saw that transport not just cars.

Plus I have a big big scandal under my hat to divert with and make it real juicey if need be - concerns the PMs personal aide and some dirty dealings that undermine road safety - could be quite illegal too - woo hoo!

I thought the main one that might interest bikers is to get some protection on the cheese graters. Before anything gruesome happens not after. Council has approved it, but I just have to put in a form and contract to keep it nice.

[Quasievil]

I will be there in spirit, or I will be up here with spirit.... on ice at least

[rwh]

Plus I have a big big scandal under my hat to divert with and make it real juicey if need be - concerns the PMs personal aide and some dirty dealings that undermine road safety - could be quite illegal too - woo hoo!


Oh - so I turn up, and you pull out some totally different issue and associate that with me too? I've had that happen on the last march I went on - No thanks.

Richard
(I thought I was marching about GE - they guy next to me was yelling about the crap food at Burger King, and somebody up front was campaigning for Maori sovereignty. Both causes they're entitled to march about, but not what I was there for)

[candor]

Burger King - LOL. No, I think I can stay on task. Hard enough getting the main message thru as it is. That they're mesing up road safety - cos in awareness of this they've recently issued a ton of propaganda to the reverse. Its just real tempting the thought of bringing out the dirty laundry. Theres no planned marching anyway so unlikely any strays will get in on it, but we could carry a cross to Parliament if feeling energetic I guess. Cept they only in Tues - Thurs and I think this might not get pulled together till Friday. Aiming for Wed or Thursday, but depends on what day is best for those who wanna come plus how long till council ticks off.

[Lou Girardin]

I admire your enthusiasm, but I think your aims are too general. You won't capture public imagination with what you've mentioned here.
It has to be succinct enough to grab the sound bite generations attention span.
Something like, "Drivers are dying at night, while cops collect revenue during the day" for instance.

[Finn]

Good job Candor but I agree with Lou. The general populous of NZ are very simple people (hence why we have a Labour Government in the first place) so you need to be direct and to the point.

The problem you will have with attendance given the topic is that the people that agree with you are typically hard working and can't afford the time. Where on the other hand, the leftist do gooders (professional protesters) have all the time in the world.

[candor]

Lou - I know this. Normal people generally dont have time to protest. That is why I am quite happy to do it in small company if necessary. I think with 100 crosses the point can be made that those most affected could not be here.

I'll be happy enough if I can raise 20 passionate people. Got no family here and friends mostly working or otherwise can't make it - small kids etc.

High hopes on the wheelchair users - but if they dont show not to worry. It will still be a bit of a spectacle via the crosses and 20 000 people will get their consciousness raised before the weekend even if media ignores it.

NZers are hard to catch their attention on something like this I know. Stick in the muds that we are.

I just put an ad in the Wellingtonian but had to write it in (no exaggeration) 3 minutes due to deadline (as council just gave proper approval) so it is basic and no catchy byline. Wish I'd read what Lou wrote first.

Got to go out now as they dont trust me for $100 odd for ad and must sign and fax contract. Not a credsit card person this one. Later!

[Drum]

Yeah well good on ya for doing something for a cause you believe in Candor.

Given that people love mystery, you might get more press if you just hammered the 100 crosses into the lawn outside the beehive one night and say nothing. Just let the press speculate.

Good luck with your efforts.

[Beemer]

Plus I have a big big scandal under my hat to divert with and make it real juicey if need be - concerns the PMs personal aide and some dirty dealings that undermine road safety - could be quite illegal too - woo hoo!

As I'm doing a paper on investigative reporting at present, I am DELIGHTED to hear that such an important story will be reaching my newspapers soon... :whocares:

Please don't make your protest on Tuesday, I'm heading to Wellington to take my mother out for lunch and would not appreciate the delay!

[Bonez]

Don't show up on bikes unless its a bike related protest - like related to rip off ACC Don't knock ACC. It keeps Dover here ;)

[candor]

OK - it's happening, got consents etc. Details as per press release below - just in case anyone local wants to show with speech or just in support.

Press release for reporters - Road Safety Protest
Wellington Railway Station Forecourt Friday 25/8 9.30am

A small group of road victims will be protesting Labours botched revenue based 2010 road safety policy. Serious crashes and injuries are increasing and the official toll (underreported by Police) is more flat-lining than dropping based upon other Depts statistics. The Breen report indicates 2010 performance targets will be undershot 25% and we believe people are being killed and maimed by Labours cheap and really quite criminal negligence. Drug driving inaction is one case on point.

The protest will highlight the nature of the bungling of road safety by MOT/Police/LTNZ jointly which is best summed up as "greed kills" or the "greatest enforceable risk policy" (versus targeting the greatest road safety risks). Some solutions including better infrastructure will be held up.

Protest is being held before the weekend as a timely reminder to the 30 000 passing by the railway station each day, around 600 of whom will die on the road if there is no radical change to Transport Policy. Said by the Breen report to be in conflict with the Injury Prevention Strategy. There will be opportunity to lay flowers at a victim Memorial set up for the day.

[candor]

Beemer - Whatever! Its lucky journo students like you are so damn good at telling what an important story is. I guess 300 dead and thousands injured UNNECESSARILY a year is small fry. You might be happy to have one in 40 chances of dying in the road toll quite painfully - most wouldn't be. Too busy to make a fuss I can understand. But "dont care" is a bit wacky in my book.

I really hope you don't live to regret those words. And not to see you in ICU

It is nice you can have lunch with your mum - I hope like mine she is not one of the one in 40 to later join the toll (and thru no fault of her own - but thru some of the governments fault eg no median divider and a drunk gets her).

So I'd be interested to know what world shaking stories you are working on? What do you care about? Is it something I might like to belittle and hey... What is your problem anyway to be so negative?