NZTA hypocrites caught demonstrating that speed does not kill

[R650R]

While I broadly agree with you, that's not quite right on a technical level - the IRD rate is a complete reimbursement and already accounts for depreciation and fuel cost. Having said that I think you've grossly underestimated the costs of our "road safety force".

However on a broad level, the evidence is clear that:
a) on a population level, reducing speed reduces injury and death, all else being equal
b) $60m is barely a rounding error on the government accounts.

Do I therefore agree with the NZTA/Police strategy? Absolutely not, but it's a much more complicated problem than people here care to believe.

But of course the average KB'er would have you believe they're every bit as capable as Rossi on the roads.

I'm glad someone can see the bigger picture outside of the impact on their own wallet

[swbarnett]

The simple fact is speed enforcement is the only one size fits all policy that works on the majority of the population.

Bullshit. Pull your head out of the sand. The simple fact is speed enforcement is a one size fits no-one policy that fails to address the route causes of accidents and only serves to make the government look good to an increasingly diminishing proportion of the population. The rest know full well it's a crock.

[swbarnett]

If they really wanted extra money from motorists they could just up the petrol tax a few cents then let people speed and accelerate briskly, race away from traffic lights and the extra petrol used would generate more revenue than current fines do.

Upping petrol tax will lose votes. Arbitrary speed enforcement won't.

[Scuba_Steve]

Damn you for making me multi quote.... well if your only doing 100k the closing speed is much slower, more time to react. Pretty simple really and has been said a lot by cops and others.
The faster you go the less reaction time for others mistakes. Eg at roadworks if you hit a roadworker at 30k still likely to kill him. The reason for the 30k limit is so you have chance to avoid him if he steps or falls in front of you.

Except as shown by John Lamert formerly of Vic Roads & over half a century in road safety shows that someone [in a 50km/h area] going 50km/h but watching they stay there are upto 10x more likely to hit someone than someone going 80km/h but not watching their speed... ten times more likely!

No one likes speed tickets but really its a lost argument that a govt would spend so much money to get 'revenue' when they could just tax us all another $5 a year....

They do tax us more all the time while still running the speed scam, why limit to 1 revenue stream when you can rape people from all angles?

[swbarnett]

Its not inherently unsafe until that bored tired sales rep drifts over the centreline

That bored, tired salesman is far more likely to do this at 100k than at 130.

[caspernz]

True, true - I would like to think though that we could (with our collective smarts) write better legislation that targets more accurately dangerous driving habits and then fines them accordingly. I don't care for mr and mrs average doing 110 kph on a road where the conditions are safe to do so, I do care about Mr or Mrs reckless doing 80 (in a 100 zone) where the conditions are not safe to do so. I care about Mr or Mrs poor lane discipline wandering all over their lanes, I care about Mr or Mrs shitty cornering lines who can't seem to go round a corner on the open road without cutting it.

I could go on.

There is also a big element in this country that many of our major inter-city arterial routes are little more than Back roads hastily converted into 'State Highways' - and yet I have never seen the Govt issued a ticket for its complicity in the appalling state of some of the roads....

The condition of our roading network, in my view at least, is not bad taking into account our population numbers. The consistency of some of the roading design is an issue, but in essence driving in Scotland for example is no different than traversing our country.

Driving standards need to be lifted, not gonna win votes so any government that makes this change too quickly will end up voted out again. If there was a simple silver bullet for this problem, I'm sure it would have been presented by now. I just try to start by doing the best every time I venture out. Unless I venture out on two wheels in my one piece leather suit of course...

[willytheekid]

Well, who could possibly argue with this unquestionably conscientious body of evidence?

lol, You know what I mean

[swbarnett]

I do care about Mr or Mrs reckless doing 80 (in a 100 zone) where the conditions are not safe to do so. I care about Mr or Mrs poor lane discipline wandering all over their lanes, I care about Mr or Mrs shitty cornering lines who can't seem to go round a corner on the open road without cutting it.

Why? There are far more important things to worry about if you must worry.

Far better to accept that there are drivers like this on the road and drive accordingly.

The only accident rate you have any hope of controlling is your own.

[scumdog]

Except as shown by John Lamert formerly of Vic Roads & over half a century in road safety shows that someone [in a 50km/h area] going 50km/h but watching they stay there are upto 10x more likely to hit someone than someone going 80km/h but not watching their speed... ten times more likely!

Only because they are incapable of doing more than one thing at a time, I bet they couldn't even piss and fart at the same time, frikkin' losers.

[Laava]

From the same hole?

[Kickaha]

They do tax us more all the time while still running the speed scam

If it is a scam then it's a pretty easy one to avoid

[scumdog]

If it is a scam then it's a pretty easy one to avoid

Yep, I suspect he DID need to be told that...

[Tazz]

I like kittens.

I'm just saying. correct horse battery staple

I concur.

I would also like to add rubber ducky economic sandwiches but Camelot endoplasmic sun spots.

Moist.

[swbarnett]

If it is a scam then it's a pretty easy one to avoid

It was pretty easy for Rosa Parks to avoid being arrested to. Are you actually suggesting that she should've stuck to the end of the bus designated for people of her colour?

[Kickaha]

It was pretty easy for Rosa Parks to avoid being arrested to. Are you actually suggesting that she should've stuck to the end of the bus designated for people of her colour?

Can you please point out where I suggested she should have