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Thread: Road toll - Police stupid obsession blaming speed

  1. #1
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    Road toll - Police stupid obsession blaming speed

    Watched the TV News tonight and yet again all the Police can say is we are speeding and we need to lower the speed limits. After decades of rolling out that same lame excuse. When, when, when, will they open their minds to the fact that, just maybe, other factors are behind why their decades of over Policing speeding has made no impact what so ever on the road toll.

    Sadly we have had two terrible head on crashes that sparked today's Media flurry. Southland one on a perfectly straight road. Taupo on a slight curve with double yellow lines. Both sections appear to provide good forward visibility. Yellow lines by the way mean don't cross to the other side. The other side being deceased.

    How fast any of these vehicles were going is irrelevant if they were capable of staying on their own side of the centre line. Whether they were doing 80kpm or 800kpm they would have safely passed each other on their respective sides of the road. Just maybe, just maybe, crossing the centreline is why they struck each other head on.

    The Taupo crash was between two families in people movers. Really! to come out within hours saying speed is the problem. Brilliant investigative work. Yeah right, I see MPVs tearing around NZ at 160kpm plus all the time. The only thing speeding here was the rate the Police jumped to that conclusion.

    Lets take a wild guess that in each tragic case one of the drivers somehow wandered across the centreline. An essential element for a head on to occur. Speed in these situations determines the extent of the damage but even at 80kph a head on is going to kill so don't blame exceeding the speed limit for causing the crashes (unproven at this point in time). Another wild guess could be mechanical failure, blowout or that a driver was distracted or tired.

    If I got a dollar for every time I saw someone driving with a phone in their face I would be a rich man. Maybe the Police should follow that advice and make the Government rich- with the unexpected surprise of reducing the road toll. Pigs will fly before that approach happens.
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    Generally this guy gets up my nose but......

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    Quote Originally Posted by MD View Post
    Pigs will fly before that approach happens.
    I thought the Police already used helicopters in Auckland.
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    WHilst I agree with MD and George Formby, driving standards in this country are pretty poor overall and what makes matters worse are the apparently low expectations of the authorities. Unless we address the root cause, it's rather a lost cause. Of course, raising standards with some vigour will be seen as draconian, so no politician is going to grasp that nettle. That leaves ambulance at the bottom of the cliff solutions such as speed restrictions, increased insurance premiums etc which all have limited impact.

    Depressing, innit?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Blackbird View Post
    WHilst I agree with MD and George Formby, driving standards in this country are pretty poor overall and what makes matters worse are the apparently low expectations of the authorities. Unless we address the root cause, it's rather a lost cause. Of course, raising standards with some vigour will be seen as draconian, so no politician is going to grasp that nettle. That leaves with ambulance at the bottom of the cliff solutions such as speed restrictions, increased insurance premiums etc which all have limited impact.

    Depressing, innit?
    Concur. Ignorance is curable, at a cost.

    It would be good to take the bean counters and enforcement planners out of the road safety equation and minimise the problem from a human perspective.

    Won't happen as long as money reigns supreme over respect for life. I should imagine that current road safety policies will give NZ the slowest average road speed of any first world country and maintain the high casualty rate.

    Depressing indeed.
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    Quote Originally Posted by cassina View Post
    How do you know that increasing insurance premiums and I assume you mean as I do for those with a history of being at fault will not bring down the road toll? If those with a history of being at fault are forced off the road due to higher premiums will we not have safer roads? I think its worth a try as everything else has failed. As for all those who say our licensing system is poor compared to other countries I think that is nonsense otherwise tourist drivers would not cause crashes.
    I think you live in an oxygen tent with an empty gas bottle. You post like someone with narcosis.
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    Quote Originally Posted by cassina View Post
    If you have a better idea lets hear it? Unless my idea is tried no one will ever know.
    unless you listen, you will never know
    unless you engage your brain, you will never know
    unless you try to understand, you will never know

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    Quote Originally Posted by cassina View Post
    How do you know that increasing insurance premiums and I assume you mean as I do for those with a history of being at fault will not bring down the road toll? If those with a history of being at fault are forced off the road due to higher premiums will we not have safer roads? I think its worth a try as everything else has failed. As for all those who say our licensing system is poor compared to other countries I think that is nonsense otherwise tourist drivers would not cause crashes.
    Wrong assumption. I mean that the insurers and/or ACC will simply increase everyone's insurances as they always do but will it not deter anyone from driving although it might encourage more people to drive without insurance.

    This is not arguing with you because you've already demonstrated that it's pointless.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Blackbird View Post
    WHilst I agree with MD and George Formby, driving standards in this country are pretty poor overall and what makes matters worse are the apparently low expectations of the authorities. Unless we address the root cause, it's rather a lost cause. Of course, raising standards with some vigour will be seen as draconian, so no politician is going to grasp that nettle. That leaves with ambulance at the bottom of the cliff solutions such as speed restrictions, increased insurance premiums etc which all have limited impact.

    Depressing, innit?
    Agree and agree with the article. All you can do is try to avoid as much as you can.

    Had a woman pull out on me today. She was looking right at me. Good thing I was in a good position to see her and do something about it. Did work out I need a new shock.
    Quote Originally Posted by Katman View Post
    but once again you proved me wrong.
    Quote Originally Posted by cassina View Post
    I was hit by one such driver while remaining in the view of their mirror.

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    Quote Originally Posted by cassina View Post
    The only thing we can individually do about it is buy maybe a 4WD over a bike/car to give us a chance of coming off better if a muppet screws up
    Fucks sake - muppets on TV this week in the head on were two 4WD's. From what I see on the road the 4WD drivers are under the illusion that they are invincible.

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    Quote Originally Posted by cassina View Post
    Putting up insurance for everyone will do nothing as there is no incentive to "improve" for those who have a history of "at fault" crashes.
    Talk about stating the bleeding obvious, of course it won't

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    Quote Originally Posted by AllanB View Post
    From what I see on the road the 4WD drivers are under the illusion that they are invincible.
    A similar thought has already been expressed in this thread. It would have been easily missed.
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    Quote Originally Posted by cassina View Post
    What I am trying to point out is that if you are in something bigger than the muppet that screws up you have a chance of coming out of the crash better off. Sure there are muppets in bigger vehicles too but as I read in a media post yesterday its a lottery out on the road and having a bigger vehicle just like buying more than one lottery ticket just may give you a better chance.
    Wouldn't agree with that, driving defensively you have more chance of survival, with more chance to avoid a head on a bike.

    There has been no exact conclusion to the cause of these accidents, (speed seemingly an easy cop out) the variables are great, condition of roads, tiredness, weather, unfamiliarity to N.Z driving rules, vehicle or driver faults, chickens crossing the road, etc.
    At a guess inattention or distraction (kids in cars), we are all human and make mistakes (if you are a motorcyclist that cruises at 100 KPH all day long you're nose is growing), unfortunately deceased don't reveal.
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    Don't know much about the Taupo crash other than it happened at the end of a passing lane suggesting someone was pushing it a bit much considering how many passengers they had on board. But I could be wrong. A little more familiar with Dipton where speed was not an issue. Well, it was in so much as if both vehicles were doing 20km/h then nobody would have died. Not seen the TV story yet but speed is not the be all and end all, it is just all there is re enforcement.

    The Police cannot enforce stupidity. They cannot enforce ignorance and they cannot enforce fatigue. And, to be brutally honest, they cannot deal with someone from overseas straying on to the wrong side of the road just that once that catches them out and unfortunately catches someone else out who was minding their own business. They can enforce shit driving if they witness it, and excess speed wherever they want, but the chances of that making a difference to the road roll are actually negligible. If a change is really really really desired then it is going to have to come from a different avenue than what has been the norm for the last 20 years.

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    Quote Originally Posted by cassina View Post
    But doesnt having a bigger vehicle e.g. 4WD cover you better irrespective of what the reason is for muppets screwing up? What a lot on this website dont realize is that muppets don't all screw up at speeds or distances that necessarily will give you time to brake or swerve etc around them.
    I am not really not sure why you bother posting on this website. You know the reaction you get and now here you are saying that a 4wd is the best vehicle out there. On a motorbike forum. And you still bang on about not having time to react when the rest of us seem to have had enough time not to have become a statistic on multiple occasions. You should really take some of the advice offered by others on here and just fuck right off.

    No offence.

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