Easter road toll was the worst in 16 years

[smoky]

The Easter road toll was the worst in 16 years, 10 deaths
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10636572

National Police Headquarters' Inspector John McClelland said many of the deaths had been preventable;
"I think there are people making bad decisions, particularly with overtaking - not allowing enough room to get past vehicles and things like that,"
When you read the reports on the accidents, you’ll see the majority of deaths occurred with overtaking, or with poor road conditions, one was a foreigner trying to overtake a truck with on coming traffic.
Yet the dumb arse police in the country ignore the obvious and trot out the ol message they are pre programmed to default to;
"There've been a few fatalities involving suspected speed and alcohol”
Note the word ‘suspected’ but no facts

Isn’t any accident unintentional and generally the result of a poor decision?
Wouldn’t you expect any accident when overtaking to involve speed?

Rather than state the moronic obvious shouldn’t they be investigating the contributing factors and the criticality of those factors?
Surely the most critical cause of most of these accidents is the fact we have shit roads that have only a very limited provision for safely overtaking – unlike most developed countries?
We have campervans, old people, Asian drivers, tourists, huge trucks, too many trucks, more trucks all clogging up our so called state highways and main arterial routes (not picking on trucks, but the single carriage way they block up) frustrating the hell out of average motorists, who end up taking unacceptable risks to get past.

I would back the police when they implore us to be patient on the roads and to make better choices – if they were also lobbying the powers to be about creating more room on our roads for overtaking, if they would also stop their wanky pathetic practice of ticketing traffic for speeding when they use what few overtaking lanes there are.
The Police are short sited and moronic in thinking the sole answer is to slow down and be patient! It won’t be long before they have covered the entire state highway 1 with double yellows (no overtaking at all) and reduced the speed limit to 80.

They should remove their heads from their over stuffed colons and help increase the quality and safety of our roads, rather than fall back on lame one liners like “speed kills”

[yungatart]

Why do people feel the need to overtake, I wonder...could it be that they have been stuck behind Joe and Mabel travelling at 85 km/h for miles. Joe and Mabel are totally oblivious to the fact that there is a 2 k long tailback behind them, of course. Frustration kicks in and......
And despite utterances by TPTB prior to this weekend that they would be targeting slow drivers, I never saw any evidence of it.

On TV1 news last night one of the reporters was out and about with the cops, doing laser checks....one speed was stated as 92. I would think that would be on the higher side of the average speed on todays roads. People have bought lock stock and barrel the "Speed kIlls thing" and are terrified of driving at much above 90

[rainman]

I would back the police when they implore us to be patient on the roads and to make better choices – if they were also lobbying the powers to be about creating more room on our roads for overtaking,

Two facts may have escaped your attention:
1. Roads are expensive
2. We're skint

Best option is just to drive to the conditions (aka slow down on a poor road), eh?

[kwaka_crasher]

They must have all exceeded the speed limit. Speed kills, not shitty driving. I know because the gubbermint told me so.

[slofox]

On my way back from the ride yesterday, I happened in behind a laden SUV on Owairaka Valley Road. This guy was fairly booting it - I clocked him (briefly!) at 140km+ before allowing him to disappear into the distance. Then came up behind him again as he closed on other cars ahead. He followed them through the twisty bit and then overtook two cars (with maybe 50-100 metres between them) in one blast. Uphill. Approaching a blind crest. With what turned out to be a sharpish left hander just over that crest.

I backed way off - I didn't want to be hit by flying heads-legs-arms etc when he hit whatever was coming over the top of the hill. (Nothing as it turned out. Lucky for him. And everyone else.)

Whenever I see driving like that, I know why there is a road toll...

[CookMySock]

Isn't any accident unintentional and generally the result of a poor decision?

No.

It's like getting angry and out of control and then hitting your wife - the hitting is not when control was lost - that happened a lot earlier. Perhaps drivers are stressed or tired - only they know, and only they can do something about it, and do something soon before they lose control and loose their ability to choose. Perhaps some understanding of this process would assist - it's pretty clear to me many people are unable to

Overtaking is only used when someone doesn't want to wait. Why do they not want to wait? Maybe they are following a combine harvester at 35km/hr.. but probably not. More like they are following traffic at 95k when they were previously travelling at 115k, and they feel frustrated, and even angry that their rights and freedom are impacted on.

One of the best things about motorcycles is I do not need to speed. I can fit through even the smallest gaps without having to pull out and belt it harrrd past the traffic, whereas cars must pull out and muster a good turn of speed before they get back in - the more speed - the safer. On bikes this does not need to happen - it's much safer in my opinion.

Surely the most critical cause of most of these accidents is the fact we have shit roads that have only a very limited provision for safely overtaking – unlike most developed countries? We have campervans, old people, Asian drivers, tourists, huge trucks, too many trucks, more trucks all clogging up our so called state highways and main arterial routes (not picking on trucks, but the single carriage way they block up) frustrating the hell out of average motorists, who end up taking unacceptable risks to get past.

Sure, but what is the real problem? People don't have to get past. Waiting won't hurt them.

I submit that it's the impatience, one-upmanship, and then the road rage the causes the problems, aside from the genuine driver "oopsies", but I have no data to back that up.

The Police are short sited and moronic in thinking the sole answer is to slow down and be patient! It won't be long before they have covered the entire state highway 1 with double yellows (no overtaking at all) and reduced the speed limit to 80. They should remove their heads from their over stuffed colons and help increase the quality and safety of our roads, rather than fall back on lame one liners like "speed kills".

I think that's wrong.

I think the world would be a much better place if people took ownership and control of their emotional state, and not just on the road either.


Steve

[Daffyd]

"We have campervans, old people, Asian drivers, tourists, huge trucks, too many trucks, more trucks all clogging up our so called state highways"

And the gummint has just announced they're going to increase the maximum size of trucks from 44 tonnes to 53, and bigger still with special permits!

And for the road toll... you can't protect people from their own stupidity!

[jim.cox]

. you can't protect people from their own stupidity!

Probably Not.

But is it not dersirable to be protected from the stupidity of others?

[smoky]

Two facts may have escaped your attention:
1. Roads are expensive

Why would you presume it has escaped my attention? I have some very interesting information comparing the savings from both an environmental perspective (fuel and maintenance) that would off set the construction of duel carriage-ways
The savings from decreasing the road toll and accidents in general

2. We're skint

So you believe everything you're told then? Have a look at where our tax $ taken from road tax and petrol tax is used, it is suppose to be used to make our roads better

Best option is just to drive to the conditions (aka slow down on a poor road), eh?

and here is an example of compliance; follow that logic and you have to ask why allow motorbikes on the road at all

[SMOKEU]

The real reason for all these fatalities is because there are too many selfish pricks who think that they own the roads, giving them the right to travel well below the speed limits holding traffic up and they refuse to pull over and let people past. Therefore, other people get angry and impatient and make poor decisions when it comes to overtaking, which in some cases leads to a 1V.

[smoky]

And the gummint has just announced they're going to increase the maximum size of trucks from 44 tonnes to 53, and bigger still with special permits!

It's just crazy - to say we can't provide better roads because we have no money, then increasing the very monsters that chew the road surface up and damage it the most.
At the same time we have a coastal shipping industry in decline, railways being closed and not used. Why don't they make any loads over 5 ton subject to a permit where you need to show you can't ship it any other way (rail, air or sea).

Just an idea - less damage to the roads, less congestion, more jobs, less pollution ???

[rainman]

Why would you presume it has escaped my attention?...

Jeez, the serious is strong with this one.

I simply pointed out the likely truism that providing little old NZ with first-world standard roads will cost a metric shitload (of real money now, not potential future savings through lower death tolls), and as a country we currently seem to have left our wallet in our other pair of pants. If you have evidence to he contrary, (ie. that roads are cheap, or that we're flush) please share it. But preferably with the Minister of Transport.

So you believe everything you're told then? Have a look at where our tax $ taken from road tax and petrol tax is used, it is suppose to be used to make our roads better

Well, no I don't believe everything I'm told. However there needs to be reasonable doubt before I disbelieve things purely because they are inconvenient. We seem to be borrowing a large chunk of money every week to pay off debt - on this basis it seems irrelevant whether our "road" taxes actually go to roads or not.

follow that logic and you have to ask why allow motorbikes on the road at all

Good question. What do you think the answer is?

The real reason for all these fatalities is because there are too many selfish pricks...

Yeah buddy, it's all someone else's fault.

[MaxCannon]

Went out for a ride yesterday morning.
Thought about one in the afternoon but the prospect of impatient Easter travellers clogging the roads put me off.

Why do they crash ?
- Probably because no-one taught them how to drive.
When I sat my test 16 years ago I drove around 50kph roads around where I lived for about 10 minutes. Did a U turn and came back on the same route.
Because I didn't crash and didn't speed during a 20 minute test I was deemed fit to drive.
Same thing when I sat my bike tests over the past 3 years.

Fortunately for me my Father wouldn't let me drive until I'd had some proper instruction.
The right lines through corners, how to brake smoothly and set the car up for a turn.
Looking for passing opportunities, car control in wet weather, etc etc

Venture out of the city and the roads around NZ are some of the most challenging in the developed world.
I've driven in the UK, US and Australia and our main highways are like goat tracks by comparision.
Without the proper training people will keep trying to pass in stupid places, keep going around corners on the wrong side of the road etc etc

Road safety is a joke here, the advise is slow down. Sometimes it's valid but if compulsory vehicle control was part of learning to drive I think there would be a lot fewer crashes.

[Maha]

This a very good point!

'The Police are short sited and moronic in thinking the sole answer is to slow down and be patient! It won’t be long before they have covered the entire state highway 1 with double yellows (no overtaking at all) and reduced the speed limit to 80'.

Around these parts anyway.
They have reduced the Dome Valley speed limit to 80kph over the last year.
Has it lessened the accident rate?...that would be no.
The accident rate there is (on average) high, there are even three 'H' spots for a Helicopter to land.
Bike V's Car in the Dome over the weekend, two dead bikers. Dont know who was a fault there, doesn't matter.
Someone was on the wrong side of the road passing and now two are dead.
See, they lower the speed limit to 80kph and a large amount of drivers drive at 60-70 kph!!
This brings on frustration and inevitability a mistake in judgement.

Today, I was heading to Auckland. Leaving Warkworth, the traffic was heavy and slow, why was it slow? couldn't really tell to be honest. First passing lane I managed to get by three cars then back down to 60 kph. Along windy ridge at the speed, down the hill, onto the next passing lane where myself and one other car got passed ONE car! our speed was 130kph. Still about 15 vehicles in front heading towards the tunnels at 50-60kph past Puhoi...Fuck Me!!!!
I had intentions of going Waiwera/Orewa but saw a campervan/lightweight trucks and a smelly desiel thing crawling up the hill....fuck it, its all double yellows through there apart from the passing lane at Waiwera, toll road it is.

Driver Responsibility!!

[Maha]

One other thing,
TV News last night, they were in a Cop Car filming traffic heading home from the long weekend.
Cop was sitting parked on and onramp with a radar pointed at the passing traffic.

The carnage aint on the fucking motorways!