Thread: Is motoring better today than in bygone eras?

I think the cars are definitely safer but far less stylish than, say, the '50's and 60's

Originally Posted by moose

I think the cars are definitely safer but far less stylish than, say, the '50's and 60's

...unless you drive a Defender then your car is stylistically pretty much exactly the same .

Well, I think it was more fun then. The cars required a great more skill and concentration to drive fast. The roads were nothing like as good as today, even the ones we then thought were good roads. In NSW most roads outside built-up areas were unrestricted, meaning there was no arbitrary speed limit. If you were driving fast and the police charged you with driving at an excessive or dangerous speed then the onus was on you to convince the magistrate that this was not so. The Putty Road was the last unrestricted road out of Sydney and the speed limit signs went up on it about 1970.

The road toll, based on number of registered vehicles and distances travelled, in the early-mid sixties was horrific by todays standard. A number of things have contributed to the improvement in this. Seat belts the big one, collapsible steering columns another. The steering column was regularly referred to as "the spear aimed at the driver's heart". Better brakes, better tyres, better crash resistance of cars, better roads, better emergency medicine, all played their part.

In spite of the almost exponential improvement in cars and roads, I cannot travel Brisbane-Sydney any quicker today than I could in around 1963-67 when I was involved in buying used cars in Sydney for sale in Brisbane. Twelve hours was the benchmark and this is about what you can do it in today with speed limits, speed cameras, & highway patrol. We had a lot of fun driving the New England Highway overnight and trying to cruise the underpowered drum braked retread shod beaters from the auctions almost at the top speed of many types. I did bring a Chev Camaro327 with drum brakes up in 8 3/4 hours one night. This jigger was good for an indicated 120mph cruise. Another night I got a higly modified Plymouth Belvedere loose on a gentle bend somewhere over 100mph and it took a good 1/2 mile of road to get it tucked back in and pointing straight. I had a passenger that night and he was very, very, quiet for a good while afterwards.

Back in the old days you had to know how to drive as well as how to fix them. That kept a lot of numptys off the road. Automatics came along an know even women can drive! What is the world coming to?

I am sure that an 18 year old feels the same freedom on the road in his crapped out commodore as I did in the old mini 30 years ago.

Originally Posted by 87County

youg fella !


+ there was NO ROAD RAGE THEN (or none that I remember - so maybe that's the key?)

"evidence" from 1950 suggests the concept has been around for some time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCJsE...eature=related

Originally Posted by DiscoStew

"evidence" from 1950 suggests the concept has been around for some time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCJsE...eature=related

well maybe so ... as I said, it's the remembering (or not) that now hold the key

I think life was generally at a slower pace (as far as I can remember that is)

but seriously, hooting at someone was definitely bad manners, and as for rude gestures, well they just didn't happen in polite society, and I cannot remember any overtly aggressive (towards another motorist) driving

Originally Posted by Panda

I also disagree with Ron, there are far more coppers on the road (where we are & when we go away) than there used to be. Far more unmarked cops lurking in bushes etc, just waiting to spring unsuspecting motorists.

Apart from the coppers who we call to come to work, I haven't seen a cop car on the road in nearly a month (except all the ones in the cop shop next door to work - but they aren't out and about anyway). Oh, I drive to/from work in the Blue Mountains (about 17km each way)

Cops really are as rare as hen's teeth. That's why I don't worry about being pulled up for speeding. The cops that are out and about are on general duties and too damn busy, anyway.

The cops are no longer parked (and haven't been for years) in the little hidey-holes they used to frequent. OH&S rules, I guess.