High risk in Australia
Discussion
http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-reviews/car-n...
Apparently the Australian authorities are having fits of the vapours after someone drove at 130 on the Melbourne to Sydney road (KMH not MPH).
Apparently the Australian authorities are having fits of the vapours after someone drove at 130 on the Melbourne to Sydney road (KMH not MPH).
Dr Jekyll said:
http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-reviews/car-n...
Apparently the Australian authorities are having fits of the vapours after someone drove at 130 on the Melbourne to Sydney road (KMH not MPH).
If they'd have been in Northern Territory it might have been legal - drivers are less dangerous up there......Apparently the Australian authorities are having fits of the vapours after someone drove at 130 on the Melbourne to Sydney road (KMH not MPH).
s m said:
Dr Jekyll said:
http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-reviews/car-n...
Apparently the Australian authorities are having fits of the vapours after someone drove at 130 on the Melbourne to Sydney road (KMH not MPH).
If they'd have been in Northern Territory it might have been legal - drivers are less dangerous up there......Apparently the Australian authorities are having fits of the vapours after someone drove at 130 on the Melbourne to Sydney road (KMH not MPH).
The authorities in Oz have simply got wrapped up in health and safety b
ks, plain and simple. If speed killed then 110km/h would be too fast, and so would 5km/h. It's a balance and their balance is wrong.C
mikal83 said:
LOL If you think its H & S nuts here, go to OZ!
1000% +1When younger I had a stonking job in WA but decided against staying for (amongst other things including very punitive taxes) the utter, utter nannying by the government. It makes us look like our H & S is still in the 70's by contrast and that was 15 years ago....
Disappointing for a proud country to be SO risk averse
I agree that Oz has a bizarrely nannying culture, but the death rate on their roads was truly appalling. Much of the problem lies in poor road layouts (side roads opening onto fast A roads without roundabouts, for example) and long distances, leading to fatigue. Cutting speed is quite effective against both these problems, which is why they have adopted them with such vigour. And the human cost of that death rate was so dreadful that, in the main, the people respect the very low speed limits.
Sid's Dad said:
and long distances, leading to fatigue. Cutting speed is quite effective against both these problems,
Yes, as taking longer to get where you are going really helps fatigue.To be fair in OZ long distances are probably long enough so knocking off an hour probably still means a twelve hour drive.
Edited by Toltec on Tuesday 17th September 22:37
As a born and bred local it has been sad to watch Australia turn into a nanny state over the years. It's just un-Australian. Many of the previous comments are pretty spot on regarding the lack of balance here. Enforcement is pretty much driven by what can be measured electronically and converted to a revenue raising fine (and if you run out of points on your licence you can just buy some back). As late as the 70's Victoria (my state) had unrestricted speed limits on the highways. You could go at any speed so long as you were driving safely. 200k in a 911 on a 4 lane empty freeway, no probs, 160k in a truck and you would be busted. Today if I do over 125k on any freeway/highway I lose my licence and get the same penalty as someone caught driving over 65k through a school zone. There is little enforcement to catch people who are dangerous at any speed and should not be on the road. Most of us still have some favourite remote spots to enjoy some driving on, but the risk of being caught is very high. I now tend to reserve my need for speed to days on the racetrack. Fortunately we have lots of them around Melbourne. Anyway, enough ranting, time to jump in the car and do my 100k commute to the office, all highway driving but restricted to 80/100k the whole way. Mind you, the traffic is so bad here in the mornings that I will probably only average 50k anyway :-)
Been back nearly a year. Here are my comments:
- get some proper baby seats and toddler seats on the market, not the garbage that is offered for sale. And ISOFIX for crying out loud - only now been introduced next year!!!
- driving standards are appalling - tailgating, right hand land hogging, red lights are optional, green man for pedestrians means nothing just drive around/through them, no indicating, undertaking.....pathetic.
I don't think OZ could actually cope with a higher speed limit: people will NOT pull over from the outside overtaking lane; the tailgating means they would pile into the back of each other at higher velocities and the motorways are pretty average in any event.
Echo the comments about shocking road design.
- get some proper baby seats and toddler seats on the market, not the garbage that is offered for sale. And ISOFIX for crying out loud - only now been introduced next year!!!
- driving standards are appalling - tailgating, right hand land hogging, red lights are optional, green man for pedestrians means nothing just drive around/through them, no indicating, undertaking.....pathetic.
I don't think OZ could actually cope with a higher speed limit: people will NOT pull over from the outside overtaking lane; the tailgating means they would pile into the back of each other at higher velocities and the motorways are pretty average in any event.
Echo the comments about shocking road design.
XB70 said:
I don't think OZ could actually cope with a higher speed limit: people will NOT pull over from the outside overtaking lane
It's not really an overtaking lane in Victoria, where we have bunched up packets of 20 or so vehicles...cars, vans & trucks...all doing 101.7km/h....with 2km of empty road both ahead and behind. Occasionally some nutter makes a break for it...at a risky 102km/h. Crazy hoon!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff