Thread: 48,000 Dead on our Roads

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

Road deaths cane be easily reduced. It would take an act of great political courage and the government probably would not survive the next election.

"A most courageous decision, Prime Minister" in the immortal words of Sir Humphrey.

Introduce much stiffer driver's licence testing and retest every 10 years. A skid pad test to be included and a written examination on road rules and safe driver behaviour.

In a decade probably two thirds of drivers would be delicensed

This would produce great savings in that extensive road works would no longer be required. The savings to be used to improve public transport to cope with the influx of non-drivers.

Wasn't there a thread bemoaning the fact that a sizeable percentage of youth were not interested in driving ? Myself. , I walk to and from work now as my hours have been changed , so that meeting my wife , with the car , is no longer viable , nor is public transport. I would consider a bicycle but the prevailing attitude is not very conducive, as are the mandatory helmet laws. So I guess in a way I am helping to save the public purse by being almost invisible to the roads and parking spaces. Too bad I don't buy much that I can't carry on my walk home.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Lack of social “conscience” and “contract” is a primary issue in Australia.

Take Thailand - less than 50% on the roads have a licence.. not uncommon to see a 12 yr old ride out of school with a couple of mates on their scooter etc..

What they do have is understanding of responsibility and tolerance..

Not a lot of accidents over there considering the way the roads are..

Thailand is crazy stupid, but I actually feel safer in Bangkok than I do in Melbourne. I sometimes think it is the lack of regulation, and the SE Asian mindset. Everyone just accommodates everyone else, and they don't rely on an ever increasing regulatory system to "protect" them.

Originally Posted by johntins

Thailand is crazy stupid, but I actually feel safer in Bangkok than I do in Melbourne. I sometimes think it is the lack of regulation, and the SE Asian mindset. Everyone just accommodates everyone else, and they don't rely on an ever in creasing regulatory system to "protect" them.

Absolutely.

I drive over there whenever I go. (back there in April for Songkran)

They have all the laws we do, but are far better at self regulation and rarely enforce the smaller rules.

When this topic comes up, as it so regularly does, I am always staggered that nobody ever mentions the MILLIONS of safe journeys that are undertaken EVERY day. I'd say reflect on that, and stop worrying about what you simply cannot control. And read Tombie's post.

Autonomous cars? Are you going to do Googs Track in one? Better to stay home and watch the vid, or, better still, do it on a playstation. My advice is to get a copy of Wall-E, and check out all the obese dudes on the Axiom. That's how you'll all end up. Perhaps you'll have deserved to.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Absolutely.

I drive over there whenever I go. (back there in April for Songkran)

Don't get too wet!

Belay that, getting wet is what it's about.

My time there is usually the week or two later, for ANZAC Day. Must get back a little earlier again. Wonderful country, beautiful people.

So it is acknowledged that the road behaviour here is not nice ?

The problem with being human is that we have inbuilt weaknesses.
We will happily sit at a macas drive through for 30 minutes when you could walk inside and grab your food in 10 minutes for example but not be willing to wait for the right time to overtake someone on a hwy. Frustration and complacency would be the root causes of most driving fatalities I'd imagine. People are either not willing to wait or are so relaxed that they have a lapse in concentration amd their better judgement betrays them.
Now what im about to say is probably going to be counter intuitive to a lot of you think but ive read a lot of research suggesting it could work. The hwy speed limit should be increased to 130kmph. This would eliminate the frustration as people who want to travel slow would be passed by people that dont have to worry so much about how many kms over the speed limit they are doing whilst safely overtaking. Would also make people more alert and aware whilst driving and less complacent. If we compare the total road kms travlled, population and deaths per population then the autobahn is safer than Australian roads, food for thought

Originally Posted by Fatso

They are killing themselves , not some innocent party taken out in a road crash through no fault of their own .

Originally Posted by Tombie

Most road deaths are single vehicle.

I wonder what percentage of the single vehicle accidents are suicide ??