Up the speed limit

[Marmoot]

Originally posted by mangell6
PS Why can a learner rider only have a 250cc bike but a learner driver can drive a 300hpV8 car?? OR do I need to read the road code again.

Oh c'mon....at least you don't have to ride around with your mum on your back all the time like L cagers do

[Lee Rusty]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wkid_one


For fucks sake - everybody bloody speeds anyway?



QUOTE]

did you know there are some areas in NZ where the ambulance service is not replacing staff who leave due to the lower amount of work caused by a lower road crash toll.

Why do you think the Traffic police are now targeting the more obscure road rules. It is because the anti speed campaign has been so effective. They are not making enough money from speeding fines.
Drivers these days are scared of loss of licence, huge fines in relation to offences, Truckers seem to be copping a load of flak from Traffic police at the moment. Trucking companies have be issued warnings that truck drivers not wearing fitted seat belts are to be targeted next week.
And that is getting pretty desperate to increase the governments coffers.

If you drive a truck and it has fitted seat belts be warned if you are in Auckland at least. Wear them or get pinged.

[What?]

The thing about speed is, it is all relative. Blanket limits make no sense - 100 is ridiculously slow on some roads, and downright dangerous (or even impossible) on others. Pomgolia once had no speed limit on the open road (hence the term "open road"), but the cops could do you for Speed Dangerous. Much more sensible, don't you think?

And Marmoot, good point my man. How often do we hear about crashes where "speed was a factor"? Of course speed was a factor - stationary objects are known for not colliding with other stationary objects.

[Dave]

I hear that the truck limit is being raised from 80 to 90.
does this mean that the roads have improved or is it the trucks?
because bikes use the same roads an bikes have progressed as well, can we go faster too?

[MikeL]

Originally posted by Dave
I hear that the truck limit is being raised from 80 to 90.

?? When did you last see a truck sticking to 80??

[marty]

Originally posted by wkid_one
Some more permutations of that - why can a learner rider by a hypersport GP road legal Aprilia RS250 - yet not a shitty old 400/600?

.

i should know - i've got a shitty old 400 and a spanky new rs250, and I know which one is quicker to go/stop/pull wheelstands/chicks/cops (must get a back seat....will do both better!)

[marty]

oops that's right, the 400 isn't shitty - it's for sale. see the for sale ads for pix..

[Lou Girardin]

One of our major issues is the standard of driving tests in NZ. The average 1st time pass rate is 75%. In most of Europe thats the fail rate. I recently did 2 years as a licence examiner. The LTSA has structured the new tests in such a way that that you can learn the test by rote and pass and still not be competent to drive. It's actually possible to get a licence and not know how to park.
Many Asians, in particular, will practice a test route dozens of times until they pass. However, take them off the route, as I did once to prove a point, and they can't cope and revert to total incompetence.
The problem is that tougher tests are politically unpopular, draconian speed enforcement is much better and more lucrative.
Lou

[MikeL]

Two articles on separate pages in today's Herald reveal the narrowness of the vision of our decision-makers. A further "softening-up" to make the introduction of hidden speed cameras and demerit points from speed cameras appear inevitable (some strange logic in the article: spectacular success in reducing the road toll means we have to redouble our efforts!) in order to get down to that magical, mystical 300 which is apparently (without any real debate) considered an acceptable number of deaths. Another article announces the long-overdue tightening up on dirty exhaust emissions, which (surprise, surprise!) have apparently accounted for an estimated extra 400 deaths annually.

Hmm... something doesn't seem quite right here. Surely consistency would require that instead of banning dirty vehicles or spending money on education and training and technical resources to upgrade vehicle exhaust quality, we deter people by fining offenders on a sliding scale according to the degree of pollution. Of course the police would need to invest in some sophisticated measuring equipment, but the fines would more than cover the capital expenditure and running costs, and who knows, there might be a little profit to be made as well...

On another note in relation to Lou's observation about driver licensing: does the practical driving test still require a demonstration of parallel parking ability? My observation in Auckland city is that for many drivers (of recent residence in this country), parallel parking is only possible with two friends to help, one standing in front and one standing behind...

[Coldkiwi]

i agree.. driver/rider eductaion is the way to go.

the vast majority of accidents happen because people make mistakes. Either they didn't look properly, didn't drive at a safe speed, didn't check their tyre pressures before leaving..a  whole host of things that would be listed as causes of the accident under"things that weren't done properly prior to impact'.

So, if we reduce the numer of mistakes made by road users, we should see a corresponding decrease in accidents.

And the obvious way to reduce mistakes is through education, not scare tactics.

Imagine a primary school kid asked to do complicated long division. it doesn't help them get the right answer if you give them a super duper flashy calculator if they haven't been taught how to use it. Nor does it help get the right answer if you stand over them and threaten them with no tea if they get it wrong. What WILL help get the right answer is sit down with them and take them through a similar problem and show them how to do it right. Show them how to use their brain and it will also be more rewarding for them.

same as drivers/riders on the road. Telling people 100kph is generally safe on open roads in NZ is useless if they can't use their education to figure out when that is not true. People need to be told 'you will have less control if it is raining, slippery, tight corners, poor road conditions and the car will become hard to control... now lets go out to the skid pan so you can try it out for yourself'

our licencing system is only  rubber stamp system, not an education system. until it is, we're going to be trying to protect idiots from other idiots and innocents and thats completely unpolicable.

 

 

 

[bluninja]

So which grop of idiots am I in? The group that needs protecting, or the group that is doing the damage? Or does that depend on the prevailing road conditions at the time? LOL

TTFN

[Coldkiwi]

probably the group that needs protecting Si! after all.. you do button off on the road a bit because you need a larger margin for error (yours and others).

of course given where you originate from that kinda pushes you into the first category a bit more so I suppose its a fine line!!

[Marmoot]

Originally posted by MikeL
On another note in relation to Lou's observation about driver licensing: does the practical driving test still require a demonstration of parallel parking ability? My observation in Auckland city is that for many drivers (of recent residence in this country), parallel parking is only possible with two friends to help, one standing in front and one standing behind...

*ahem*.....(clears throat)........helpers are RECOMMENDED ABCORDING TO ROAD CODE BOOK AND LTSA FACT SHEETS!



(no, they don't include paralel parking test in license test at all nowadays.........They don't even test reversing ability!!!!)

Clearly, there IS something wrong with our drivers education.

And this is my point of view as A driver (now)....sheesh.....

[wkid_one]

Apparently - Parallel parks are being scaled down and diagonal parks replacing them....as PP's are too dangerous for oncoming traffic.

Also - the old 'reversing around a corner' has gone - as the LTSA realised they had actually made the manuveur illegal.

Do you know - that apparently it is illegal to reverse out your driveway on to the road??

[What?]

Quite right, Dan. It is illegal to reverse on to the road. So they want more angle parking (nose in, not bum in like Aussie) so you have to reverse out of the parking space into the roadway... Is it any wonder nobody knows the road rules?