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Thread: Reducing the road toll

  1. #1
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    23rd June 2008 - 19:58
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    Reducing the road toll

    This goes on a bit, but bare with me. I think that within a kernel of sense prevails.

    Firstly. There's like 1.4 cops to every ten thousand drivers. Thus the chances of any driver being caught being an idiot or an arsehole is like on the improbability scale.

    But who sees idiot or arsehole drivers, daily? Answer. Other drivers. What do they do when they see idiots and arseholes? They either get a dose of road-rage, call *555 for no good reason cos there's no enforcers out there, or just boil with rage.

    But arsehole and idiot drivers don't become so occasionally. They are what they are. An so they daily wander around the highways and byways, being arseholes and/or idiots. You see them. I see them. We are powerless to do anything about them.

    But what would be the case if the Gov agreed licencing say, 10,000 regular road-users to formally report bad or stupid behaviour?

    What would be the case if the same group in fact reported good behaviour?

    Over a period the bad-behavourists would clock up a tally, yet no cop has clocked them till, one day, a cop does. The issue goes to court. The judge looks at the report from the 'informal' group of watchers. who, individually, have observed this cretin doing all manner of stupid thing.

    And so, the judge asserts, 'Mr Dickhead. Although you're here today to answer a charge of exceeding the speed-limit by 15Kph, I note there are five sightings of you acting like a dickhead. You sir, are to get the max fine.'

    The next prole goes up, also accused of exceeding the limit by 15Ks. The judge asserts, 'I see here, Mr ordinary, that you have had no sightings from the road watchers. Well done. good driving. Keep it up. Discharged.'

    So who are the road watchers? I have named them Road Knights. They are regular drivers who have to pass some level of test to ensure they're not too anti-Asian, anti, women, anti anything....although through the effluction of time, it wouldn't matter with the computer programme I have in mind to drive this process.

    The idea is, the Road Knights, ordinary citizens on th road, would simply report behaviour, both good and bad, to a central agency, by email, using some simple quantifying code. But they're not cops and their reports cannot be used, substantively in a court of law, but they could sure as hell give a judge a much better appreciation of the dude/dudess before him/her.

    Sure, it will take some time before an arsehole or idiot's profile became clear, but we have to start somewhere.

    But then there's the reward process. The carrot. Imagine a boy racer getting a letter from the ministry, along these lines.

    Dear sir,

    On January 15th a Road Knight observed you giving way to another driver at a time when he/she should have given way to you. We wish to thank you for your valuable input into road safety.

    Imagine the look on the boy-racer's face when he got such a letter. 'Fuck! Someone actually noticed me being good!'

    Do you think such a thing would incentivise the boy-racer to get another such letter? Given that probably he has ever only got negative feedback from the day he was born?

    Then add to that. 'Dear Boy Racer, due to you being observed acting in a very civilised manner we hereby credit you with two parking tickets and one speeding ticket. We appreciate your efforts.

    Now go to the next leg. Annuallly, most folk don't have accidents, but their time might be coming due to lack of concentration. How do you remind them to concentrate? Beta them up with misery ads? or write to them and ram it home.

    Dear Mr O'Hagey.

    We note you have completed yet another year, accident free. You are now entitled to a 20% reduction in regsitrastion fees, you will be allowed three free parking tickets, one speeding ticket and the included ten dollar voucher from the Warehouse.

    Next.

    Dear Mr/Mrs Driver,

    If you complete the driving course offered at.....you will be entitled to a 50% reduction in registration fees for your vehicle for the next two years. However, if, within those two years, you become engaged in any form of accident, this offer will be withdrawn and you will be required to pay twice the fee.

    Next. Licence grades.

    As of tomorrow everyone starts with a black licence. Go one year accident free and you go up to a bronze. Go two years and your up to silver. Go fiver years and you're on gold.

    Now go backwards.

    Gold licence holders can speed with impunity. Now then, before you scream, think about what it takes to become a gold-class licence holder.

    Silver. We catch you doing more than???? and you get fined.

    Bronze. Slow learner, huh. We caught you being an idiot. You now have a black licence and we're taking your car/bike/truck/bus off you for 28 days.

    Black. 'You really can't see the plan, eh? We're taking your car/bike, bus to the crusher.'

    And the whole plan is based upon being accident-free. It's not based upon being no-fault, accident free, but accident free. It takes two to create a crash. Don't get in one. Do all you can to avoid and all of a sudden the rewards come your way.

    You see? Reward works way better than punishment.

    And all the above is just a small fraction of the scheme I have devised. But can I get any Gummint Minster to listen.

    Hell no.

    I wonder why.
    Only 'Now' exists in reality.

  2. #2
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    15th March 2007 - 20:38
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    Don't think it will work.

    If the powers that be were serious about the road toll they would focus on teaching people how to drive better.

    - Raise the driving age (yes the farmers will complain - tough luck)
    - Lower the alcohol limit
    - Make the test harder, much harder. All my driving tests were so easy it was laughable.
    - Before you can sit the test you must pass a vehicle control course
    - Before you can sit the test you must pass a theory test that tests everything in the road code
    - Your license lasts for 15 years - then you sit a refresher. 3 attempts to pass the refresher test. If you fail it's a buss pass for 2 weeks before you can resit.

    If you hand out licenses like a pedophile handing out sweets you shouldn't be surprised that people crash lots - most of them don't know how to control a vehicle properly and barely understand the road rules.

  3. #3
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    Road Knights?????...........

    Rotflmfao!

  4. #4
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    I agree with all three posts, esp Katman's
    The reason no-one is listening to the first idea is it's too complicated to write down - but you don't need to understand it for your behaviour to change.
    The reproting system is already there - web based reporting of bad driving and the owner of the car gets a bad boy letter - provided the reporter of said behaviour gets their details right.

    It all sounds a bit like red and blue rep on some well known web sites.
    They called it paradise, I don't know why.
    Call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye.

  5. #5
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    30th August 2006 - 21:44
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    That does not go on a bit at all.

    I got rotflmao

    Want to break that down into smaller bites so some of us with longer attention spans can actually take it in?
    Quote Originally Posted by Gubb View Post
    Nonono,

    He rides the Leprachhaun at the end of the Rainbow. Usually goes by the name Anne McMommus

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by MaxCannon View Post
    Don't think it will work.

    If the powers that be were serious about the road toll they would focus on teaching people how to drive better.
    I agree completely. Bikers have to do a basic handling skills test, (which was just a bit too easy) how come people getting 1L's don't?

    How come we have engine restrictions (which I now have to admit are really quite a good thing) but 1L's and 1R's don't?

    Maybe engine restrictions aren't the way to go for cars but perhaps a power restriction. If I had the money I could go out and buy a car that would be just as dangerous as a bigger bike would be to me.

  7. #7
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    Are these RoadKnights observing the actual driver/rider, or just the vehicle? And if you say the registered owner is liable what's to stop hardcore offenders registering vehicles in their partners/siblings/elderly mothers name?

    How long would this information stay on your record? 2yrs? 5yrs? 10yrs? forever?

    Also you must remmber that not all accidents involve the offender, sometimes they escape scott-free leaving the carnage behind them.

  8. #8
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    Oh yeah, the Road Knights are a South Island supremecist gang. Might want to rethink that name lol.

  9. #9
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    26th February 2005 - 15:10
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    Road Knights? Like, these dudes ?

    OK by me, but will they have a lot of credibility with the judges?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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    Quote Originally Posted by skidmark
    This world has lost it's drive, everybody just wants to fit in the be the norm as it were.
    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Vincent
    The manufacturers go to a lot of trouble to find out what the average rider prefers, because the maker who guesses closest to the average preference gets the largest sales. But the average rider is mainly interested in silly (as opposed to useful) “goodies” to try to kid the public that he is riding a racer

  10. #10
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    This isn't going to work at all, the RoadKnight in that picture is breaking the law himself by not displaying a visible registration plate. Who's going to watch the Roadknights?

    On that note however, the enforcers who ensure that 'black licence' holders are not driving could be called BlackPower.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by onearmedbandit View Post
    This isn't going to work at all, the RoadKnight in that picture is breaking the law himself by not displaying a visible registration plate. Who's going to watch the Roadknights?

    On that note however, the enforcers who ensure that 'black licence' holders are not driving could be called BlackPower.
    Well, obviously as the Road Knights are *almost* perfect, those who watch them would have to be perfect angels. Hells Angels, in fact .

    So the idea is we replace the traffic cops with Hells Angels? Have I got that right?

    I think I'm starting to like this scheme.
    Quote Originally Posted by skidmark
    This world has lost it's drive, everybody just wants to fit in the be the norm as it were.
    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Vincent
    The manufacturers go to a lot of trouble to find out what the average rider prefers, because the maker who guesses closest to the average preference gets the largest sales. But the average rider is mainly interested in silly (as opposed to useful) “goodies” to try to kid the public that he is riding a racer

  12. #12
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    Perfect. Well almost. There is always the chance of corruption, even amongst the Hells Angels. Corruption is a dirty crime, filthy you could say. Now we'd only need a a small group looking after this area. I give you the Filthy Few.

  13. #13
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    Surely the Filthy Few would be the crew who do what is now handled by Motorway Support?
    Quote Originally Posted by skidmark
    This world has lost it's drive, everybody just wants to fit in the be the norm as it were.
    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Vincent
    The manufacturers go to a lot of trouble to find out what the average rider prefers, because the maker who guesses closest to the average preference gets the largest sales. But the average rider is mainly interested in silly (as opposed to useful) “goodies” to try to kid the public that he is riding a racer

  14. #14
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    10,000? I think 61 should be sufficient. On the highways. Work it out.
    Do you realise how many holes there could be if people would just take the time to take the dirt out of them?

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ixion View Post
    Surely the Filthy Few would be the crew who do what is now handled by Motorway Support?
    I had the Undertakers pegged for that position.

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