Mark Scaife calls for 140km/h limit on VIC freeways
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From: D Walford on 15 Jun 2010 04:24 On 15/06/2010 6:09 PM, Feral wrote: > D Walford wrote: > >> Since most of the enforcement done in Vic is by cameras it would take a >> lot of extra traffic police on the roads to have any effect. >> I actually saw a cop car today, I had to look twice because its been a >> while since I've seen one. > > A marked one. ;-) They are just as easy to spot as the marked ones and are just as rare. I don't think there is a lack of Police but I do think there is a lack of Police out and about, they probably spend half their time doing admin work which should be done by clerical staff. > >> I see those sorts of thing as short term measures which may have some >> affect but long time IMO the only answer is better training and >> increasing the difficulty of getting a license. > > I think John's reasoning is to *combine* them. Yeah? > Could be but IMO the emphasis should be on long term measures. Daryl
From: Noddy on 15 Jun 2010 05:38 "D Walford" <dwalford(a)internode.on.net> wrote in message news:4c171e86$0$14139$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com... > Could be done but we would need a lot more Police on the roads. Interesting that you mention that. This long week-end in Victoria they were supposed to be having one of the biggest blitz's we've ever had, yet in travelling between Bacchus Marsh and Altona over Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday (including one trip to Tecoma on Sunday night) I didn't see a single copper or Vicroads vehicle on any road the whole time. -- Regards, Noddy.
From: st3ph3nm on 15 Jun 2010 08:15 On Jun 14, 4:39 pm, the fonz <arthur.fonzzare...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > On Jun 14, 4:15 pm, Athol <athol_SPIT_S...(a)idl.net.au> wrote: > > > The injury and fatality rates in Australia are worse than various > > countries around Europe, and are actually worse than the improvements > > predicted based solely on the improvement in the safety of the vehicle > > fleet plus improved roads (eg new freeways, carriageway duplication, > > black spot modifications, etc.) should have achieved. > > australia is pretty much on the OECD average at 0.7 deaths per hundred > million vehicle kilometres. again, when skaife talked about how "it's > not working" i'm unsure what he meant. you can also see from that > report that Vic, with the most strict enforcement regime, has a lower > fatality rate than other states. > > http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/2009/pdf/r... > > i agree with skaife about the need to train better drivers and that if > we did, it's possible to raise speed limits. but i don't agree we > could do that today. You're looking at National figures, where improvements in safety are arguably accounted for by improvements in safety engineering in more modern vehicles. If we're only average by OECD standards, the draconian speed enforcement tactics are clearly not working. In Victoria for example, (which Skaife is talking about) in 2001 - 2002 the road toll increased by 10%, whilst speeding apparently was reduced (according to the Vic Police at the time) by 25%. Which sadly was hailed by authorities as a success! So here's the thing. They're enforcing laws which aren't addressing *causes* Getting back to the point, freeways would be safer if we enforced proper lane discipline, rather than speed limits, because it's more dangerous to be travelling at different speeds in the same lane, than it is to be travelling fast per se. Cheers, Steve
From: st3ph3nm on 15 Jun 2010 08:19 On Jun 13, 8:55 pm, "Lindsay" <ask.me.for...(a)hornet.net.ay.you> wrote: > "Trevor Wilson" <tre...(a)rageaudio.com.au> wrote in message > > news:87jmt9F9jeU1(a)mid.individual.net... > > > > > "Athol" <athol_SPIT_S...(a)idl.net.au> wrote in message > >news:1276400086.762014(a)idlwebserver.idl.com.au... > >>http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/v8-supercar-driver-mark-skaife-cal... > > >> Apparently there'll be a TV program on it at 6:30pm today on channel 7. > > > **He made some valid points, but, IMO, he left out a few important ones: > > > * He failed to impress on the viewers just how tough it is to obtain a > > driver's license in Germany. > > I didnt see the show, but he IS pushing for harder licensing.. > > > * He failed to push for strict power/weight ratios for young drivers. > > You can still kill yourself in a datsun 180b at 110kmh.... > > > * He failed to mention that the German road network is supported by a > > population of 82 million people and a land area of 349,000 sq km. > > Australia's land area is more than 7 MILLION sq km. > > Lucky he was talking about VICTORIA, and not Australia then, eh? > > > * He failed to mention that Germany has a stunning public transport > > system. Australia does not. > > What public transport takes you to , say, Dargo? How is that relevant? Better public transport would reduce the road toll. And is desperately needed in Victoria. > > I support his ideas to some extent, although I think 140 is a bit much. > Geelong Rd/Princes hwy is screaming for a higher speed limit. > It's currently 100 kmh, dead flat, at least 3 lanes both ways, and up to 5 > lanes in some areas..) nearly dead straight, has oncoming traffic protection > (cheesecutters), and a shitload of fixed speed cameras. > > Princes Highway/Freeway between Warragul and Traralgon is 2 lanes both ways, > twisty in parts, undulating over the whole lot, poor quality road surface, > no protection from head on traffic in parts, and is 110kmh. > > Why is that? Because speed limits aren't set based on the design speed of the road. Cheers, Steve
From: D Walford on 15 Jun 2010 08:48
On 15/06/2010 7:38 PM, Noddy wrote: > "D Walford"<dwalford(a)internode.on.net> wrote in message > news:4c171e86$0$14139$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com... > >> Could be done but we would need a lot more Police on the roads. > > Interesting that you mention that. > > This long week-end in Victoria they were supposed to be having one of the > biggest blitz's we've ever had, yet in travelling between Bacchus Marsh and > Altona over Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday (including one trip to > Tecoma on Sunday night) I didn't see a single copper or Vicroads vehicle on > any road the whole time. That doesn't surprise me at all, at one point the Western Hwy around Rockbank had the reputation of being the area with the highest number of camera fines but in the last couple of years police and cameras in that area are rare. If there is a camera its usually easy to spot in the 90zone usually just before the caravan park (could be either in or out bound), be suspicious of anything late model parked in that area. They must have been about because in the news they said they booked over 11,000 motorists but for some reason they are few and far between around our way. Daryl |