Dangerous driving/riding comes in all forms

[MSTRS:Me]

Hi all - as a recent returnee to the wonderful world of 2 wheels, it is great to see so many people out there who are passionate about the subject. I note that there is a lot of discussion about speeding & tickets/demerit points I thought I'd see if there was just as much anger over the dorks out there who insist on doing 70k on the open road. Most people I've talked to locally, including driving instructors, think it's high time that our beloved police should be spending more effort here, which would reduce driver frustration & dodgy overtaking manouvres. After all, I ride a big, fast one & it's soooo tempting............

[Sniper]

Hi all - as a recent returnee to the wonderful world of 2 wheels, it is great to see so many people out there who are passionate about the subject. I note that there is a lot of discussion about speeding & tickets/demerit points I thought I'd see if there was just as much anger over the dorks out there who insist on doing 70k on the open road. Most people I've talked to locally, including driving instructors, think it's high time that our beloved police should be spending more effort here, which would reduce driver frustration & dodgy overtaking manouvres. After all, I ride a big, fast one & it's soooo tempting............

Thats very true, after all the talks and tv talk about how police are targeting drivers doing 80kph and below and wont pull over for traffic.

Prime example was yesterday on the way home I got caught up in a wee bit of traffic. Some plonker was doing 75kph down SH1 of the South Island. He had about 12 cars behind him by the time I caught up and that included 3 police cars, one directly behind him. When we eventually got to Blenheim, there was a total of about 20+ cars stuck and the cops didnt do anything, yet when a car went to over take one cop, perfectly fine and it didnt even look like he went over 100kph, the cops pulled him up. I mean whats the story with that? :spudwhat:

I dont know what the story is behind it, maybe the cops were escorting him but they seemed too spaced out between so I dont get it. Could someone shed some light on the subject?? Maybe its me :spudwhat:

[MSTRS:Me]

OH didn't you know? Helen was demonstrating what really happened.

[vifferman]

Nah, they don't bother me so much, as they're usually easy to get past; it's the ones who drive at 90 or so, then speed up to 110 in the passing lanes that piss me off.

But my personal bugbear is people who run red lights and stop signs. I'd rather see the police hammer this sort of thing than speed, be it slow or high. I'd also like to see campaigns by the police, LTSA, advertisers etc. addressing the appallingly bad standard of driving and disregard for other motorists' safety exhibited by too many drivers (including most D'Auckland drivers).

[Ms Piggy]

But my personal bugbear is people who run red lights and stop signs. I'd rather see the police hammer this sort of thing than speed, be it slow or high. I'd also like to see campaigns by the police, LTSA, advertisers etc. addressing the appallingly bad standard of driving and disregard for other motorists' safety exhibited by too many drivers (including most D'Auckland drivers).

That's my pet hate too! It happens all the time in Wgtn and the stupid part of that is that I usually catch up to them at the next set of lights - all they gain is a few seconds, maybe a minute - woo hoo! Is that worth endangering other traffic for?? I think not!

But, getting back to the original subject - I recall once coming back from Queenstown (we were in a car) and there was a van at the front of a loooooooong queue of traffic going about 70km/hr, a cop actually pulled out of the traffic and pulled the van over - bloody inconsiderate and ignorant - that and tail gaters. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

[MSTRS:Me]

Yeah to all that - but perhaps all the crazy stunts that drivers/riders pull are differing examples of frustration with the slow dorks. I live in Napier & work takes me to Hastings quite a bit - there are 4 100k roads between the two cities & the prats are on ALL of them

[MSTRS:Me]

Brings to mind the old lament "Lord, I don't mind all the prats being on the road, but do they have to be on the same bit as me?"

[riffer]

There was a case recently in my home town, Upper Hutt, where a Taxi Shuttlebus driver was successfully prosecuted and convicted for careless driving for doing 75 (or thereabouts) km/hr on River Road, where there is a 100km/hr restriction.

In this case, there was a large tailback of cars behind him, and the quite rightly concluded that he was causing an obstruction to traffic and stopped him.

He decided to defend it, he lost. Game Over.

It all comes under failing to drive/ride appropriately to the conditions.

[sels1]

I'd see if there was just as much anger over the dorks out there who insist on doing 70k on the open road............

And what about those camper vans - do they have engine governers on or something? I dont dont think I've every followed one doing more than 80K
(and I've followed quite a few...)

[riffer]

And what about those camper vans - do they have engine governers on or something? I dont dont think I've every followed one doing more than 80K
(and I've followed quite a few...)

They don't have engine governors on them.

I've driven one.

They are gutless. And when you go over 75 the front wheels start to wobble in a way that makes you want to slow down real quick-like

[Slingshot]

The Police in Wgtn often target people running reds or not stopping at stop signs. Two classic examples of where this happens often is the intersection of Cuba & Able Smith Streets, it's one of those intersections where there's stop signs on all four sides. The other is the intersection of Vivian & Taranaki Streets. Often in the morning rush hour, they'll have a cop just around the corner on Vivian St, he spots the bad people that run a red as they're turning left on to Vivian and then communicates that to his henchmen that are standing up the street a little (normally by the lock shop), they just wander out in front of the traffic and pull the offender over.

I do agree that more focus should be put on poor driving habits.

I believe that being licensed to drive is a privilege, not a right!

[spudchucka]

There was a case recently in my home town, Upper Hutt, where a Taxi Shuttlebus driver was successfully prosecuted and convicted for careless driving for doing 75 (or thereabouts) km/hr on River Road, where there is a 100km/hr restriction.

In this case, there was a large tailback of cars behind him, and the quite rightly concluded that he was causing an obstruction to traffic and stopped him.

He decided to defend it, he lost. Game Over.

It all comes under failing to drive/ride appropriately to the conditions.

He was probably charged with inconsiderate driving, which comes under the same section of the LTA as careless driving.

8.Drivers not to be careless or inconsiderate—

A person may not operate a vehicle on a road carelessly or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road.

[MSTRS:Me]

There was a case recently in my home town, Upper Hutt, where a Taxi Shuttlebus driver was successfully prosecuted and convicted for careless driving for doing 75 (or thereabouts) km/hr on River Road, where there is a 100km/hr restriction.

In this case, there was a large tailback of cars behind him, and the quite rightly concluded that he was causing an obstruction to traffic and stopped him.

He decided to defend it, he lost. Game Over.

It all comes under failing to drive/ride appropriately to the conditions.

Can we have that man here pretty please

[vifferman]

They [camper vans] don't have engine governors on them.

I've driven one.

They are gutless. And when you go over 75 the front wheels start to wobble in a way that makes you want to slow down real quick-like

That's a de facto engine governor, innit? :spudwhat:

[MSTRS:Me]

Re campers - lot's of visitors to our fair shores use them & probably think that we still use mph, besides they are now in the southern hemisphere & you fall off the world here don't you?