Lower Speed Limits

[inlinefour]

Hey all check this out

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?...jectID=9005392

Now would this be an attempt to boost takings as people are driving slower these days and therefore HP are making less moolah. What about putting the limit up on some stretches of road. When will it end? 40Kmh over the whole country? Hey I know let's not go out at all.

I saw on another thread that more pedestrians got killed than bikes in 2004. Let's ban walking too.

Bloody hell

Geez there are some dumb arses...

[Drunken Monkey]

Geez man, harden up already, even if they dropped a 50kph zone to 40kph, it would only add, on average, 90 seconds to your journey.

They're doing it to save lives, what better reason dya need?

Apparently not, although the LTSA would never admit it. I tacked this on to the end of the 85/15 thread, but no-one seems to be reading that thread anymore:


Canada
In Ontario, Canada's most populous province, speed cameras (usually hidden in vans) were scrapped in 1995 after public anger over them helped the Conservatives win the election, with the provincial premier criticising each device as 'an Orwellian cash machine'. Road deaths fell after the scrapping and have kept falling since, much to opponents' chagrin, we presume.


From a Top Gear article: http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...orld_Speed/01/

[Drunken Monkey]

The other 35% will be mobiles, seat-belts, and the elderly

Whilst understandably there is quite a disdain around for people who talk on their mobiles while driving, I think the reasoning behind the decision to not ban cell-phones while driving is fair - it makes no more impact to a driver's concentration than say, scoffing a burger or changing a CD. I doubt the powers that be will get away with banning eating while driving and fiddling with radio while driving.

With seat belts the level of compliance has levelled off for a long time. Compliance with seat-belt wearing is at about the level it will always be. The people that still don't wear them, won't. You could chuck a few more million dollars a year at it and still not make a significant difference.

[PhilBilly]

I cant afford to get more tickets at mo, got 80 demerits at moment. If i speed and get caught then thats my prob. Speed limit is there for a reason, but i think they should only have motorbikes on the Rimutaka hill over summer

[Lou Girardin]

They're establishing an 80km/h limit by stealth as it is. Noticed all the 80 signs and 80 or 70 temp limits that seem to become permanent?
On the other hand, all the cages I saw on SH 2 (another KILLER highway) on Sunday seemed to be stuck at 70 km/h. I was passing everything in sight while doing 100 - 110 k's. Strangely enough I didn't die doing so, didn't kill anyone either.
Still, lower speed limits raise revenue. Proper solutions cost money.
And wouldn't it be amusing if they lowered the national speed limit to 80 and the road toll rose? I'd love to hear the LTSA/Police excuses.

[Drunken Monkey]

They're establishing an 80km/h limit by stealth as it is. Noticed all the 80 signs and 80 or 70 temp limits that seem to become permanent?

Yeah, seen a few 'roadworks' 70km/h temp signs, no cones, no pea gravel, no new seal, no workers, no maintenance trucks, no new paint.
Can't figure that one out yet...

[denill]

Geez man, harden up already, even if they dropped a 50kph zone to 40kph, it would only add, on average, 90 seconds to your journey.

They're doing it to save lives, what better reason dya need?

Yeah, and why not be preceeded by a man waving a red flag. I've heard that used to work really well??

[scumdog]

With seat belts the level of compliance has levelled off for a long time. Compliance with seat-belt wearing is at about the level it will always be. The people that still don't wear them, won't. You could chuck a few more million dollars a year at it and still not make a significant difference.

Ah yes but they are good for 'revenue gathering', a car with three idiots not wearing seatbelts = $450, the same car would have to be doing more than 80kph (can't remember exact speed) a 50 to get that sort of ticket, of course if you get them at that sort of speed AND no seatbelts? whoo-hoo, jackpot!!

Anybody got a problem with seatbelt tickets??

BTW How did you guys cope with the old 80kph national open road speed limit? (this does not apply to snot-noses - ya weren't around then!)

[Aitch]

I wonder how they reach these apparently arbitrary numbers?? Since they don't know which roads are to have reduced limits how on earth can they say how many they need to do????
This smacks of a government minister deperate to be seen to be doing something positive! (Though how anyone could possibly justify this stunt as positive is beyond me!)
Instead of loading the place up with more speed camera traps why, oh why doesn't he spend the money on better driver training? (like teaching people how to merge at motorway on ramps).
I wonder if National will do any better??

[Ixion]

..
Anybody got a problem with seatbelt tickets??

BTW How did you guys cope with the old 80kph national open road speed limit? (this does not apply to snot-noses - ya weren't around then!)

No probs with seatbelt tickets, so long as they're sensible ones.

I knew a guy (I was actually there), who went out to move his car back about 6 foot into the next park, so someone could get out. And got a ticket for not putting his seatbelt on. True, he didn't, but come on. He just started the engine moved back about 6 foot and turned the engine off.

As for the 80kph limit (was actually 50mph, they hadn't invented kilowassinames then). No probs, we just ignored it.

Back then radar sets were the size of a small refrigerator and sat on top of the roof of the Ford Zephyr. And had a range of about 50 yards. If you couldn't see that before you got in range you needed a new seeing eye dog.

Only tricky bit was at night, especially in the small towns down along SH1. They could get you before you realised they were there in the shadows. Very lucrative that was for the local councils who got the fines. And right bastards those cops were - they really were petty . Hated the "tourists passing through"

So the only way the snakes could get you was to follow you, for the 2/10 mile that convention required. Which meant catching you in the first place, without you seeing them coming up behind. Just had to keep a good lookout.

Did get a fright once on the Speed Twin on the Northern Motorway. I was trying to see what it would do, got to just under 80 and rising, thought I better check behind (had to lift my head off the tank, so couldn't keep a constant lookout), and shit, there was a snake on a bike 100 yards back and gaining. So I braked hard, and he shot past and shook his fist at me! Didn't stop me though so I guess he hadn't stabilised his speed.

In theory they could do you just on the basis of observation, and a few did get done that way, but it was pretty unlikely.

And, by and large, the MOT guys were pretty reasonable, so long as you weren't doing stupid crap near schools or old ladies etc.

EDIT. Most bikers back then cruised on the open road at 70 -90 mph, about 130 - 150kph. So, much slower than present day sports bikes, but faster than present day cruisers and tourers (cruising speeds I mean, not top speed)

[Bonez]

BTW How did you guys cope with the old 80kph national open road speed limit? (this does not apply to snot-noses - ya weren't around then!)

Still cruised around at about 100kish on the cb400T.

[Kickaha]

Anybody got a problem with seatbelt tickets??

No

BTW How did you guys cope with the old 80kph national open road speed limit? (this does not apply to snot-noses - ya weren't around then!)

Completely ignored it

When one of my friends drove my car from Chch to Cheviot one time she sat on 80mph the whole way as she thought the speedo was in Km

[mstriumph]

always wondered why some things were a no-no and others were allowed ... i mean, one would imagine that NOTHING would intefere with a driver's concentration like spilling scalding coffee in his/her lap?....

Whilst understandably there is quite a disdain around for people who talk on their mobiles while driving, I think the reasoning behind the decision to not ban cell-phones while driving is fair - it makes no more impact to a driver's concentration than say, scoffing a burger or changing a CD. .................etc.

[crazylittleshit]

(Quote)You take a mortal man,
And put him in control
Watch him become a god,
Watch peoples heads a'roll
A'roll...
(Quote) mega death.

[SPman]

My open road cruising speed then was about 120-130 - about the same as now! The Duc would lope along quite nicely at that clip, regardless of load.
The Mighty Morris 1300 was happy on the motorway at 60 - 70 mph.
about the same as most cars now.......
although 50 was not the painfully slow speed it is now - for a while it was quite relaxing.....until we all got bored and thought....."oh fuckit!"

So - 30 yrs on ..whats changed?