Speed tolerance reduced for December and January

[Dave-]

Safer looking where I am going. If now having to check you speedo more often makes you feel safer dont complain on here if you have a rear end crash.

Here's what I do, I check my speedo often enough, except I keep a lower average speed, so any undulations in the road, variations in speed etc are still under 52kph. It's real simple, try it next time you pop down to the shops.

Don't try to average 50kph, try for 48 or 49.

[R650R]

I have heard that there is a shortage of drivers in the transport induustry. Those fines would explain it. The electrical industry has huge fines if you make a mistake too. We would possibly have the safest roads in the world if penalties were that high for other motorists.

There is no shortage of drivers, there is a shortage of good employers to work for that don't want you to break the law and are willing to spend money maintaining the gear properly. I often pondered the same thought as you, had a mate with high flying job for packaging manufacturer. Big dollars doing design and sales rep combo, SV6 commodore driving all over NZ doing mega hours. Finally caught up with him one day and saw how fatigued he was after repat 20 hour days and mega kms driving car. Although it would be an OSH conviction if he had accident and the right evidence was collected, he would NEVER be done by cops as there is no easy box to tick and no requirement for him to prove adequate rest breaks etc.
And he wouldn't be the only one like this and I guess the govt would know it, but they won't do anything as it would lose too many votes hence once again proving they are not serious about road safety (talking about the govt here, not the cops).

[Tazz]

You'd have fail the attitude test horribly or get an absolute dick of a cop to get handed a ticket for doing 105, but yeah speeding cameras don't discriminate, particularly ones around town that will potentially be pinging you for doing 55?

Can't remember if I posted it or just typed it but to me it seems a bit of a trap that you can change the rolling diameter of your tyres by 5%, still pass a WOF but be done for speeding because you're speedo is out and the margin for error that is the WOF rules and enforced by law don't line up with the speed limits enforced (and what is the margin of error on the death rays these days? Would be pretty small I'd imagine but it adds up)

But meh, touch wood etc that I make it through another summer without any tickets.

Was reflecting on the 4kph margin and the realisation dawned that it doesn't really affect me personally. It's not as if I was going to be travelling at 110kph anyway, except possibly when slowing to ride through villages/towns en route.

The faster you go, the sooner you get there, meaning you're off the road quicker, therefore making yourself and the population safer by default is the way it works right?

[Berries]

And he wouldn't be the only one like this and I guess the govt would know it, but they won't do anything as it would lose too many votes hence once again proving they are not serious about road safety (talking about the govt here, not the cops).

Fatigue is the big one, I have no doubt about that. On NZ roads it only takes a second to cross the edge line and have two wheels in the gravel or on the grass and then unless you are a rally driver you have had it, sideways back across the road in to someone else or straight in to a tree or a well placed power pole. There was a big one early this morning just down the road from me. The question is, what do you do about it? Log books might be one way of recording driving hours but they are of absolutely no use to someone who had a late night, managed a few hours of interrupted sleep due to the kids then spent the morning at work before a 200km drive on a warm afternoon. The driver/rider has to recognise they are fatigued and know that they have to stop driving. Get pulled over and you'll be wide awake straight away so that won't work.

Apart from in-vehicle technology what can be done? The only thing I can think of is providing many more rest areas with decent facilities. Not just a pull off area with a shagged out wooden table, but clean toilets, coffee stops etc etc. Lots of $$$$$ but people need to be encouraged to stop for a break. If the Government were serious about tackling the fatigue issue they would be doing more than having the occasional sausage sizzle on a long weekend. Unfortunately it cannot be measured like speed and alcohol so cannot be enforced like speed and alcohol hence the current focus.

and what is the margin of error on the death rays these days? Would be pretty small I'd imagine

I am guessing +/- 3% which means the 4km/h tolerance is as low as they can go before ticketing people doing a true 100km/h.

[Robbo]

Now these guys have got the right attitude..

[caspernz]

There is no shortage of drivers, there is a shortage of good employers to work for that don't want you to break the law and are willing to spend money maintaining the gear properly.

Damn straight!! I was gonna write something along those lines, but yeah it's as simple as that really. At times when I've gone for a chat with a prospective employer I've voiced the sentiment of the shortage being in suitable employers...funnily enough it doesn't go down well

That said, find a decent operator to work for and it's all dandy

[caspernz]

Due to there not being any real police work for the pigs to do they need to resort to this. Hard enough for most people at this time of year as it is.

Ah well, I aint stopping for no cunt this christmas

Don't worry, the "terminate pursuit threshold" has been lowered as well...so even your slow Busa will do ok

[Zedder]

I did intend to try a variety of speedo checks and scanning techniques on my ride today but gave up due to an unusually high wind factor. My homeward run was wind assisted while the outgoing one was the opposite! Brakes on one route and fuel consumption on the other were the victims today.

No revenue to the Gubbermint again though, apart from usual onroad costs, and I certainly think if I had have been driving a van I would've been literally sailing home with little throttle use.

[zeocen]

Having a chuckle about those here who think this is police revenue collecting.
For a starter, a $30 speed ticket costs more in time, wages, fuel etc than it makes. Secondly, fuck that shit, I make way more revenue sitting at the stop sign down the road where punters cough up $150 per time (one guy in a truck twice in three days) for doing the normal "but I slowed down" rolling stop.
Also 22 cell phone tickets in 5 days at $80 per time, now that's fucken revenue collecting (well that's what most of them told me).
Of note, the lowest speed I've ticketed this year was 118km. Obviously not doing my job properly

If you want some serious money, tell one of your Auckland police mates to set up shop on corner of Union and Nelson street in the morning. The amount of red light runners there would save the financial crisis.

There actually used to be a motorcycle police officer that would catch the odd red light runner a year or so ago in that spot, but he was never not rushed off his feet. As soon as he settled back into his monitoring spot, he'd just have to set off again to get the last of ~8 cars running the latest red light.

[BMWST?]

If you want some serious money, tell one of your Auckland police mates to set up shop on corner of Union and Nelson street in the morning. The amount of red light runners there would save the financial crisis.

There actually used to be a motorcycle police officer that would catch the odd red light runner a year or so ago in that spot, but he was never not rushed off his feet. As soon as he settled back into his monitoring spot, he'd just have to set off again to get the last of ~8 cars running the latest red light.

And then he could also nab all the dimwits who drive into the intersection when they cant get out of the intersection,so that when the lights turn green for the othr traffic they cant move because th eintersection is blocked by people who dont look beyond their own nose

[Waihou Thumper]

I don't mind IF in fact it reduces the carnage, which we know it doesn't....
WHY though do we publicly announce it? WHY not just do it...
and for that matter, why also let everyone know where speed cameras are operating.....
IMHO, kind of defeats the purpose...

[fridayflash]

I did intend to try a variety of speedo checks and scanning techniques on my ride today but gave up due to an unusually high wind factor. My homeward run was wind assisted while the outgoing one was the opposite! Brakes on one route and fuel consumption on the other were the victims today.

No revenue to the Gubbermint again though, apart from usual onroad costs, and I certainly think if I had have been driving a van I would've been literally sailing home with little throttle use.

your dead right, its utter madness that when a light goes red, at 6 and sometimes as many as 10 cars will keep trickling through, and as said they only serve to block the oncoming greenlighters adjacent

[Shadows]

With a little tolerance available it was easy to get around without having to stare at the speedo all of the time. Now I'll just ignore it all together and travel at a speed which feels appropriate by gauging the vibration of my arse cheeks. So fuck your fucking speed limit and kiss my vibrating arse cheeks. Motherfuckers.

[rastuscat]

With a little tolerance available it was easy to get around without having to stare at the speedo all of the time. Now I'll just ignore it all together and travel at a speed which feels appropriate by gauging the vibration of my arse cheeks. So fuck your fucking speed limit and kiss my vibrating arse cheeks. Motherfuckers.

Nicely put. A well constructed final sentence or two.

Now, back to normal discussions with reason and logic.

[Scuba_Steve]

Now, back to normal discussions with reason and logic.

Like ...
Get rid of the speed scam cause it's a misuse of police resources & time, & it makes the roads more dangerous than they need be while endangering the lives of all NZers

Keep the speed scam, cause, Govt $$$. Fuck safety!


Theres the 2 sides of the discussion with the logic & reasoning behind them, not a hell of alot more to it really.