Suggestions for speed limit enforcement

[scumdog]

Smoke screen, smoke screens, smoke screens, yes all the variables MAY influence but at the end of the day it is a lack of policing and speed limits in NT that causes it to have three times the death rate of the next highest state death rate. :disapint:

[750Y]

If it makes people think about what they are doing and drive in a manner that doesn't attract the attention of the fuzz then its probably a worthwhile approach.

amen to that,
there's a lot of drivers out there who seem to be have their brain disconnected. I'm glad to hear less people are going splat. that's the bottom line after all...

[Marmoot]

yea Lou.
As well as people's attitude, road quality, road layout, traffic arrangement, travel time of day, weather pattern, bad luck, and even genetical arrangements (overal low IQs and inter-family marriage that results in idiots on the road?) can play factor.

I always believe bi-polar discussion would lead to nowhere as none of the parties involved would consider thinking of the unthinkables.

[Lou Girardin]

Thank you Mr Dog, your analytical approach is worthy of a Monash study grant. I assume from your post that German autobahns also have an extremely high fatality rate?
And, as for Firestormer junior, I'm sure that being involved in an accident that was truly an accident, then being charged for it will make him respect the Police and vow to be a better driver in future.
I only wish he defends it, this 'careless driving' bullshit is merely a catch all used to ensure that someone is held to be at fault.

[Lou Girardin]

There was this one time, at band camp, and the speed limit was 80kph, then the Govt of the day bumped it up to 100kph and said there will be no tolerance for speeding, now 20 or so years later people want it bumped up to 120kph and no tolerance.....

This also is a true story

I don't recall talk of no tolerance when they increased the limit. The MOT did not, in fact, change their tolerance. I do recall how cynically I viewed the change, when not long prior I had been booking people for exceeding 80 k's.

[Lou Girardin]

it used to be 100km/h, with a 20k tolerance. guys like me, scumdog, spud et al, spent our weekends scraping people off their windscreens. personally, i like the 100k with defacto 110k limit. rather that than the aussie situation with a 110k limit/5k tolerance.

Cops must be sick of scraping people off windscreens since the 'near zero' tolerance policy was introduced. Remember last year? Highest toll for some time as I recall. Even this year is only 25 or so less, despite record high fuel prices. (High fuel prices always changes vehicle usage and results in a lower road toll.)

[marty]

i'll need to see some stats for that lou. in 1990, when gas was $1.10 a litre, i don't think the road toll was <500

[marty]

don't worry about it - i looked it up myself. in 1990, when gas was $1.10 a litre, (and the MOT was in charge of road safety), the road toll was 729. in 2002, when gas was $0.80 a litre, the road toll was 363. i'm not sure how that equates to your bracketed comment above lou, but if it does, please enlighten me.

[speedpro]

Just a thought, how many road deaths does Australia have a year?? about 1700 (4 times whats here)... whats the population??? a lot more that 4 times whats here...
wonder why that is??

Victoria has over 5 million people and less deaths than here.
Victoria has a 110 limit on freeways, 100 everywhere else.
SA is 110, WA 110,

Spot the one with no speed limit!

Road Fatality Rates by State/Territory, 1995/2000
Per 100 000 population
State 2000 1995
NSW 9.39 10.14
VIC 8.54 9.28
QLD 8.92 13.91
SA 11.08 12.28
WA 11.31 12.07
TAS 9.14 12.05
NT 26.09 35.08
ACT 5.79 4.93
AUST 9.52 11.17

Makes ya think about speed limits when you can compare the differences in states (unlike here)


one thing to note is the toll in ACT is up...lets hope it politicians

Stats in this case mean nothing on their own. If the discussion was about the proportion of young males working in high paying remote jobs then the stats could support the hypothesis that they are more likely to be involved in a fatal crash. What about the roads as well - they are mostly red dust/gravel. From experiance, they are quite safe to do very high speeds on. In fact they can be a good test of a vehicles ability to sustain high speeds over long distances. Hilux gearboxes tend to fall out if you keep your foot in it long enough, for example. The NT cops will still book you if you are travelling faster than the vehicle or conditions suggest is safe.

[marty]

and the 110kmh freeway limit is on separated motorway, of which i think there is about 200km of it in NZ (i know it is exactly 100km from mercer to orewa on sh1, plus there is the north western, sh20, and some in wellington and chch). oh that's right - hamilton has got 3 kms worth too! and there's some between whangarei and kamo...

[scumdog]

I don't recall talk of no tolerance when they increased the limit. The MOT did not, in fact, change their tolerance. I do recall how cynically I viewed the change, when not long prior I had been booking people for exceeding 80 k's.

There WAS extensive publicity prior to the 'new' speed limit along the lines of "o.k. we gave you the speed limit you all wanted but by hokey anybody exceeding it will be penalised severely" or something like that, there was a fair bit on the radio & newspapers about it, I can remember it well, especially as on the first day of the new limit (a Sunday I believe) my mate and I were sprung exceeding it while having a friendly "acceleration contest" - he got the ticket.

[scumdog]

Cops must be sick of scraping people off windscreens since the 'near zero' tolerance policy was introduced. Remember last year? Highest toll for some time as I recall. Even this year is only 25 or so less, despite record high fuel prices. (High fuel prices always changes vehicle usage and results in a lower road toll.)

And how many more vehicles are on the road now?

For example, in 1985 I wanted a no. plate with a specific letter prefix (pre-personalised plate days!) and was told "we don't issue plates more than 2 years ahead of there due date and for those letters the due date is 2002" guess what? -the plates with that set up came and went by 1997!!!

So at a guess there were 5 years worth of extra cars on the road by that date that the government had not anticipated. (the Jap imports did it I'd say)

[AMPS]

don't worry about it - i looked it up myself. in 1990, when gas was $1.10 a litre, (and the MOT was in charge of road safety), the road toll was 729. in 2002, when gas was $0.80 a litre, the road toll was 363. i'm not sure how that equates to your bracketed comment above lou, but if it does, please enlighten me.

Let me clarify, my post was murky after a couple of wines. I should have said when fuel prices spike suddenly, there is a change in vehicle usage for a period until the public get used to them. That's why the road toll dropped earlier this year and the LTSA crowed about the success of the 'anywhere, anytime' camera policy. Unfortunately it also co-incided with the first major fuel price jump. When we get used to these prices we'll start killing each other with gay abandon again.
There is a similar effect caused by bad weather during holiday periods.

[spudchucka]

Stats in this case mean nothing on their own.

Stats in every case mean nothing on their own. Every organisation that uses stats does so to promote their own cause and therefore they should not be taken as being written in blood, (yes Lou, even the police and LTSA).

[spudchucka]

Let me clarify, my post was murky after a couple of wines. I should have said when fuel prices spike suddenly, there is a change in vehicle usage for a period until the public get used to them. That's why the road toll dropped earlier this year and the LTSA crowed about the success of the 'anywhere, anytime' camera policy. Unfortunately it also co-incided with the first major fuel price jump. When we get used to these prices we'll start killing each other with gay abandon again.
There is a similar effect caused by bad weather during holiday periods.

Thats putting a bloody simplistic spin on the whole debate. All the crash stats and dreaded Monash uni research are crap and the whole reason the road toll rises or falls is due to the price of petrol and the weather. How many wines did you have Lou?