Australia has killed my desire for fast cars
Discussion
randomwalk said:
I do a bit of country driving and find the warning of an impending 50 or 60kph zone on entering a town inadequate, usually it requires foot on the brake to slow in time for the 50 or 60kph zone, a bit more warning would avoid having to hit the brakes at all and reduce chances of being done by some police car hidden in the bushes. I have also had a number of experiences overtaking where speed can get up to 160kph or more, I pull in and let car drop back to 100kph only to have an oncoming police car around the next corner, not so sure what would have happened if the police car had been there just after my overtake and my speed still on the high side of 100kph.
loos of licence if past experiances from a trip back from Mt Buller are anything to go by - that first long straight down the hill and up the valley the other side......I had a lucky escape this week, coming to work along Ocean Reef Road (North of Perth) in a 70 limit doing 80-90 as everyone does and has done since the road was built. As usual for that time of day there were half a dozen cars on the road - The only reason I and the others around me diddnt get stopped by the man with the laser gun was that they already had 4 or 5 cars pulled over and diddnt have space for more!
Never seen a speed trap or camera there before in almost 2 years of driving that route.
Is the man with the laser gun able to report me for speeding anyway or does he have to pull me there and then? I was in a group of 4-5 cars pre-dawn, headlights toward him so reading my plate would have been near impossible.
Never seen a speed trap or camera there before in almost 2 years of driving that route.
Is the man with the laser gun able to report me for speeding anyway or does he have to pull me there and then? I was in a group of 4-5 cars pre-dawn, headlights toward him so reading my plate would have been near impossible.
200bhp said:
I had a lucky escape this week, coming to work along Ocean Reef Road (North of Perth) in a 70 limit doing 80-90 as everyone does and has done since the road was built. As usual for that time of day there were half a dozen cars on the road - The only reason I and the others around me diddnt get stopped by the man with the laser gun was that they already had 4 or 5 cars pulled over and diddnt have space for more!
Never seen a speed trap or camera there before in almost 2 years of driving that route.
Is the man with the laser gun able to report me for speeding anyway or does he have to pull me there and then? I was in a group of 4-5 cars pre-dawn, headlights toward him so reading my plate would have been near impossible.
With laser, I think you need to be pulled.Never seen a speed trap or camera there before in almost 2 years of driving that route.
Is the man with the laser gun able to report me for speeding anyway or does he have to pull me there and then? I was in a group of 4-5 cars pre-dawn, headlights toward him so reading my plate would have been near impossible.
Camera on a tripod, not so much.
But I've been wrong before.
I see a young guy got caught in the UK on the M25 doing 149mph (240kph) and the punishment???
Disqualified from driving for six months. He was also fined £600 ($1,000) and ordered to pay £85 ($140) costs and a victim surcharge of £65 ($110)
Now I ask you, what would the same result be here for someone caught doing 240kph??
Crushed car? Jail? $5,000 in fines??
All of the above no doubt!
Disqualified from driving for six months. He was also fined £600 ($1,000) and ordered to pay £85 ($140) costs and a victim surcharge of £65 ($110)
Now I ask you, what would the same result be here for someone caught doing 240kph??
Crushed car? Jail? $5,000 in fines??
All of the above no doubt!
I remember reading a Canberra Times article a number of years ago. A guy got done doing 240+kph in his Bentley Continental GT at Collector just outside of Canberra. The driver pleaded he didn't realise his was travelling so quick as the car felt like it was doing only 120kmh. Before passing judgement, the judge went to a Bentley dealer and took a GT for a test drive.
I think the judge must had agreed with the speeding driver because the outcome was, the driver got 6 points and a $1000 fine.
I think the judge must had agreed with the speeding driver because the outcome was, the driver got 6 points and a $1000 fine.
robm3 said:
I see a young guy got caught in the UK on the M25 doing 149mph (240kph) and the punishment???
Disqualified from driving for six months. He was also fined £600 ($1,000) and ordered to pay £85 ($140) costs and a victim surcharge of £65 ($110)
Now I ask you, what would the same result be here for someone caught doing 240kph??
Crushed car? Jail? $5,000 in fines??
All of the above no doubt!
All of the above indeed followed buy two weeks being suspended buy your thumbs. Disqualified from driving for six months. He was also fined £600 ($1,000) and ordered to pay £85 ($140) costs and a victim surcharge of £65 ($110)
Now I ask you, what would the same result be here for someone caught doing 240kph??
Crushed car? Jail? $5,000 in fines??
All of the above no doubt!
I remember hearing about the chap in the conti GT, if i recall he is a popular media personality or at least a well know person. I doubt judges are always so lenient.
Jim Campbell said:
All of the above indeed followed buy two weeks being suspended buy your thumbs.
I remember hearing about the chap in the conti GT, if i recall he is a popular media personality or at least a well know person. I doubt judges are always so lenient.
From memory his first name was Rene and he was a less than reputable stockbrokerI remember hearing about the chap in the conti GT, if i recall he is a popular media personality or at least a well know person. I doubt judges are always so lenient.
Thom said:
Sorry for the noob question, but could someone please sum up or point me to historical reasons why law enforcement has become so brutally stupid in Oz?
Because the Australian public like being told what to think, what to do and how to act at every junction in their life. The laidback, easy going stereotype is a myth.
Today drove from Sydney to Byron Bay up the Pacific Highway, distance about 800kms. Roadworks galore, they have been working on making this road dual carriageway for over 20yrs but still long way to go. I lost count of the number of changes of speedlimit, 110,100,80,70,60,50,40... these changed in no particular order or pattern. Police presence was everywhere, spotted about a dozen or more police cars, some hiding in bushes, also a couple of camera vans parked at side of road and at Grafton I was stopped for random breath test. At least I am not driving tomorrow when double demerits are in force and no doubt more police on the roads.
randomwalk said:
Today drove from Sydney to Byron Bay up the Pacific Highway, distance about 800kms. Roadworks galore, they have been working on making this road dual carriageway for over 20yrs but still long way to go. I lost count of the number of changes of speedlimit, 110,100,80,70,60,50,40... these changed in no particular order or pattern. Police presence was everywhere, spotted about a dozen or more police cars, some hiding in bushes, also a couple of camera vans parked at side of road and at Grafton I was stopped for random breath test. At least I am not driving tomorrow when double demerits are in force and no doubt more police on the roads.
Had a similar experience driving from sydney up to lake macquarie recently. Highway patrol everywhere including one sitting in the middle of the road by ourimbah i think. How a copper can do that with his day is beyond me.Can someone explain how no one in this country understands the "keep left unless overtaking" signs. This chap thinks people are fixated on their speedo's for fear of getting points. http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/police-defend-s... might explain why the signs aren't paid attention to.
You don't have to go fast to be able to enjoy some driving. Wow, would I have said that 40 years ago?
I went for a Queensland Triumph club run on Sunday. A great deal of it was a ball, even at legal speed. In some areas even 40 Km/H was pretty fast.
With a leader who knew his back roads, we first explored some of the dairying country south east of Beaudesert, coming out at Rathdowney. All were narrow, but good smooth roads, with plenty of twists.
After a coffee break at Maroon dam, we started the real back road stuff. Head road, then Spring creek road led along the Queensland NSW boarder up to the Darling downs, via a good, but narrow, extremely twisty & at times steep roads, up to Killarney.
Apart from the one occasion when a motor cyclists had committed to apexing a curve before finding me coming the other way it was great driving. For a moment or too, it did look like he was about to do an Evel Knievel using my 7s wedge front as his launching ramp. Even the 4WDs encountered in the very narrow bits were courteous.
330 kilometers, including the 100 Km or so transport stage from Warwick back the big smoke, without seeing a single bloke in blue, [although some may have been hiding in the scenery], was a great drive, with high speed not required.
I went for a Queensland Triumph club run on Sunday. A great deal of it was a ball, even at legal speed. In some areas even 40 Km/H was pretty fast.
With a leader who knew his back roads, we first explored some of the dairying country south east of Beaudesert, coming out at Rathdowney. All were narrow, but good smooth roads, with plenty of twists.
After a coffee break at Maroon dam, we started the real back road stuff. Head road, then Spring creek road led along the Queensland NSW boarder up to the Darling downs, via a good, but narrow, extremely twisty & at times steep roads, up to Killarney.
Apart from the one occasion when a motor cyclists had committed to apexing a curve before finding me coming the other way it was great driving. For a moment or too, it did look like he was about to do an Evel Knievel using my 7s wedge front as his launching ramp. Even the 4WDs encountered in the very narrow bits were courteous.
330 kilometers, including the 100 Km or so transport stage from Warwick back the big smoke, without seeing a single bloke in blue, [although some may have been hiding in the scenery], was a great drive, with high speed not required.
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