Police working to a quota?? Surely not...

**MikeL** · 9th July 2006, 18:30

Originally Posted by Ixion

It's not about speeding it's about priorities. And the public perception of priority is very different to that of the police.

So far this year I've been burgled twice. The chances of seeing any of my stolen property again are virtually nil. The only reason to report the crimes is for the insurance. The effective abandonment of the fight against property crimes is rationalised by minimising the victim impact and reducing the problem to essentially an economic matter rather than a social and moral one. How long before minor assaults and other crimes against people are similarly rationalised?

**Jantar** · 9th July 2006, 18:30

Originally Posted by terbang

You're on to it spud, the trick is is not to hit anything and the best way to do that is with a combination of skill and self control that can be taught. Its not the speed that kills its the attitude resulting in inapropriate speed for the circumstance among other things that do it. We have known about this in the aviation world from its inception, hit anything and you're history and we train & examine accordingly in a broad spectrum, including attitudes. ..

I bet that not many people on here realise that there is a speed limit in avation too. Terbang, how many times have you exceeded 250 kts below 10000'. How many times have you received a speeding ticket for doing it? Yet I bet you were on radar every time.

**trumpy** · 9th July 2006, 20:17

I wish the poiliticians, LTSA, safety experts, enforcers and Greenies would display some honesty and a little less ignorance when it comes to the subject of speed. If you want to stop vehicle deaths then simply speed limit all motorised vehicles to 20kph. Problem solved.
In reality, all speed limits are an arbitrary figure which accepts (a) a certain amount of "colateral damage" (b) is easy for the general public to remember (who would remember 51.73kmh) and (c) can be easily written on a conveniently sized road sign.
Whatever the "experts" may tell you about the "research" that has been done to prove such and such and hence justify a particular law or the agressive enforcement of that law, is bollocks. You will never be able to set up an appropriate experimental model, indeed it would be unethical to do so, so how can you take seriously "research" where you can at very best only control one variable? Current research is really only based on gathered statistics which may or may not be "clean" and have a nasty habit of being analysed with a certain degree of predetermination.

[QUOTE=terbang]...Its not the speed that kills its the attitude resulting in inapropriate speed for the circumstance among other things that do it..../QUOTE]

You are dead right Terbang, it is not the speed per se that is the issue but the decisions you make about that speed. The politicians etc have completly missed this point (and it is probably politically expedient for them to do so).
Three and a half years ago I purchased my current work vehicle. As of today the mileage reading is 308,287kms, 95% of that on the open road. I get to see a lot of good driving decisions and I get to see a lot of bad ones. I have been first to the scene of two fatals and several lesser crashes in that time and in every case, plus every near miss I have seen as well, it has been the result of poor decision making by one or more drivers. People died because of the intensity of the impact, poor vehicle design etc but the CAUSE of the accident was the decision relating to that speed.
It is the skill level and the driving culture of NZ drivers that needs far more attention than the speed per se.
For those who still insist on statistics to prove a point, then consider this; why is it when the state of Montana (I think) removed its speed limit and focussed on dangerous driving habits instead, their road toll went down? They have had to (due to a law suit, surprise, surprise) re-institute an open road limit and guess what? Fatality numbers went up. The likely explanation is that when there is a speed limit in place drivers try to drive to that limit, even though it is beyond THEIR speed limit. Take away the abritary one and people tend to drive to their own limits.
..sorry, rant over

**trumpy** · 9th July 2006, 21:13

[QUOTE=Dynamytus50 Air bags and crumple zones are not going to make a huge amount of difference in a head on crash at over 100k or when you loose it on a corner into a bank at 120k.QUOTE]

Having been the rehabilitation industry for twenty five odd years now (and yes, some of them have been odd), I have made friends with a number of prominent and less so Orthopaedic surgeons both here and overseas, and without exception all have now greatly increased workloads in the area of car accident injuries. This first manifested itself in a dramatic increase in serious leg injuries where the cars in question had dash and steering wheel air bags. It is not the air bags themselves that are the problem, rather it is clear to them that in the past, many of these victims would have been taken away in a body bag and the injuries would not have been presented (and hence recorded) as a medical issue.
Drivers fortunate enough to own the right BMW or Mercedes model with underdash, pillar and overhead bags are not only surviving some quite horrific accidents but presenting with fewer major injuries as well.

**WINJA** · 9th July 2006, 21:35

dont try and convince dynaarse of the above , according to him pigs are the be all and end all of road safety.

**number33** · 9th July 2006, 21:48

The cops here seem to be pretty much spoilt wimps hiding behind their uniforms. Spud's obviously on the edge of mental breakdown, S.D's long gone loopy and away with the fairies, and the rest'll probably end up in psychiatric care too.

**scumdog** · 9th July 2006, 21:53

Groundhog Day!! (again)

Same old blah-blah-blah, - public whinge & cops 'defend' their position.

Keep it going if it makes you happy but I can't see things changing in the near future guys.

**Da Bird** · 9th July 2006, 23:07

Originally Posted by number33

The cops here seem to be pretty much spoilt wimps hiding behind their uniforms. Spud's obviously on the edge of mental breakdown, S.D's long gone loopy and away with the fairies, and the rest'll probably end up in psychiatric care too.

And soon we'll have tasers to hide behind as well...

**spudchucka** · 10th July 2006, 00:33

Originally Posted by Ixion

We have , in this very thread, police officers telling us that burglary isn't important, doesn't matter. .

Rubbish! You have police officers telling you the truth about the way things are done and the wankers on this site are just turning the thread into a typical BS pig bashing.

**spudchucka** · 10th July 2006, 00:37

Originally Posted by number33

, and the rest'll probably end up in psychiatric care too.

Keep a seat warm for us please, ya F'n retard!

**Finn** · 10th July 2006, 00:42

Stop with all this civilian bashing. We're people too you know.

**scumdog** · 10th July 2006, 07:50

Originally Posted by Finn

Stop with all this civilian bashing. We're people too you know.

Hah! Prove it!

**Lou Girardin** · 10th July 2006, 08:12

Originally Posted by Grahameeboy

..............guess it makes a change from getting egg on ya face...

Egg? (Tui)

**Lou Girardin** · 10th July 2006, 08:14

Originally Posted by Dynamytus50

Doesnt change the fact that speed kills.

. Speed,not alcohol, is the biggest factor in fatal road crashes.
.

Well you've swallowed it hook, line and sinker. Try studying some research from other than Victoria. Even Queensland found that exceeding the speed limit accounts for less than 7% of fatals.