Thread: Why Do We Have Crashes

Originally Posted by joel_nicholson

P.S. Hope I was sufficiently snobbish and rude for the liking of all and sundry.

depends, did you post that from the series or the disco?

Originally Posted by joel_nicholson

Most of you have no idea how demoralising it is... for young people like myself who work damn hard for a living, strive to succeed in everything that we do, and consistently do the right and good thing for other people... to be then accused of being "inexperienced bloody P plate hoons responsible for every road fatality since sliced bread".

Joel you're right, not all accidents are caused by P-platers. Lots of factors contribute to MVA's. Unfortunately mate we (emergency services workers) see too many young people involved in accidents. Up my way it's mostly single car accidents due to driver inexperience + speed, and quite often factors such as poor judgement & vehicle maintenance don't help the situation.

9 out of 10 accidents that happen in our area involve a P-plate driver being 'at fault' Usually if we can't see a plate on the car we'll find one sitting in the general area However we do have a university in our city, so that may contribute to a higher than average population of younger people. That said, the biggest idiot this year was a guy towing WAYYYY too much gear on a trailer with an F100. He wasn't a P-plater.

Stay safe mate, and keep up the fight for young drivers

Mate, I haven't met you but for the while I've been on this forum you're a bit of a stand out for a good and sensible young bloke who loves his landys and has a mature head on his shoulders - one who isn't afraid to look for advice and not a 'know it all' - So good on ya. And this is demonstrated in your questions and you undertaking driver training courses - which aren't cheap.

The main problem is that the red or green 'P' on a car is the thing that catches the eye when a vehicle is being driven (dangerously) - it becomes a label as you've indicated. Everyone developes bad habits over time but when it comes to driving it's Soooooo frustrating that people who have (within the past 1 or 2 years of getting a licence) developed the attitude that they'll do what they want when driving and couldn't give a bugger about anyone else.

It's just a fact that novice drivers are over represented in significant traffic breaches - let alone injury and fatal collisions. You could give them all Porsche GT3 RS's and with the right training and attitude there'd be no problem - let them do what they want in a bunch of Subaru Sherpa's and there's your road toll. It's training and attitude - ones expensive and the other starts at home. I deal with this day in and day out and you can instantly see the bloke who's made an honest mistake and the di*khead who couldn't care less.

So mate, you just keep doing what you do and stay safe - stuff the others. Your hide will thicken up and it won't matter what anyone says about young drivers 'cos you'll know you're doing the right thing.

Originally Posted by joel_nicholson

Most of you have no idea how demoralising it is... for young people like myself who work damn hard for a living, strive to succeed in everything that we do, and consistently do the right and good thing for other people... to be then accused of being "inexperienced bloody P plate hoons responsible for every road fatality since sliced bread".

I feel that I have wasted time, money and effort undertaking 4wdriver training and trailer towing courses... because it is totally and utterly thankless. There is no point in being a good young driver because nobody will ever give you credit for that - you are always a dickhead in their eyes. Where is my freakin gold medal, puppy or girl??

I for one have given up - living within an inch of your life has proven much more exciting.

Give me one reason why young drivers should bother to have a responsible attitude if self proclaimed "veterans" are constantly going to be at their throats.

P.S. Hope I was sufficiently snobbish and rude for the liking of all and sundry.

Well said Joel.

Joel, you don't "post" nearly enough. Keep them coming. And for what it is worth, my son who recently met you in Euroa made the comment what a sensible and well-spoken young man you were and it was pleasure to meet you.

Originally Posted by tombraider

I use my cruise rain hail or shine and never feel as tired as I do when driving 'manually'....

In fact, I'm more alert and attentive on cruise after a few hours than the alternative.

I'm not about to say that you are or aren't, but I can assure you that the risk assesers from any insurance company you want to talk to will tell you that you are wrong. 2 certain ways to reduce insurance premiums for a heavy vehicle dissable cruise-control and remove bull-bar (they make drivers agressive)

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

A The results of investigations found that with the speed of the train, the truck driver never had a chance of stopping his rig from his first sighting of the train or first being able to see the flashing signals at the side of the tracks.
Diana

I have never driven a big rig so definitely can't speak from experience, however I have a good mate who drove big jobs for Finnemores for many years. I recall having a yarn with him about stopping trucks and he distinctly told me that in a full emergency situation, if he hit the brakes big time he would pull up quite quickly. He said he would probably stuff most/all his tyres but would achieve it. If you think of it rationally, you may have say 60 tonnes, but you also have say 22 tyres with much greater contact area than a car, so if you divide the mass by the contact area it would probably equate to that of a car.

Any truckies care to comment?

Cheers

Originally Posted by Rosco

I have never driven a big rig so definitely can't speak from experience, however I have a good mate who drove big jobs for Finnemores for many years. I recall having a yarn with him about stopping trucks and he distinctly told me that in a full emergency situation, if he hit the brakes big time he would pull up quite quickly. He said he would probably stuff most/all his tyres but would achieve it. If you think of it rationally, you may have say 60 tonnes, but you also have say 22 tyres with much greater contact area than a car, so if you divide the mass by the contact area it would probably equate to that of a car.

Any truckies care to comment?

Cheers

That was my understanding too... that they could stop quickly if required but it wasn't pretty.

Originally Posted by Rosco

I have never driven a big rig so definitely can't speak from experience, however I have a good mate who drove big jobs for Finnemores for many years. I recall having a yarn with him about stopping trucks and he distinctly told me that in a full emergency situation, if he hit the brakes big time he would pull up quite quickly. He said he would probably stuff most/all his tyres but would achieve it. If you think of it rationally, you may have say 60 tonnes, but you also have say 22 tyres with much greater contact area than a car, so if you divide the mass by the contact area it would probably equate to that of a car.

Any truckies care to comment?

Cheers

I honestly could not give you any figgures on this suffice to say straight line good conditions you would be close to a car bet certainly not as good bit bringing in variables such as type of load, road conditions and such the difference increases dramaticly. One of the scariest things is a bob-tail prime-mover with ABS in the wet you never know one application to the next wether it will stop or not.