Thread: I've been "civically incompliant"

Pay the ten buck or whatever and get the picture first.

Simon

Originally Posted by abaddonxi

Pay the ten buck or whatever and get the picture first.

Simon

The place is right next to the university and I can see the picture for free. I'll wander across tomorrow.

You are in good company.
From yesterdays 'Hun'

Anthony Dowsley
March 11, 2009 12:00am

EXCLUSIVE: A PUSH to introduce double demerit points is gaining strength, with thousands one mistake away from being forced off our roads.
A staggering 63,000 drivers with 10 or more demerit points are at risk of losing their licences.
Police are examining whether Victoria should crack down on drivers twice as hard next Christmas.

Assistant Commissioner (traffic) Ken Lay said double demerit points worked in other states and a team was reviewing it in Victoria.

"We need to find something that bites," he said. More than 31,000 drivers are on 12-plus demerit points and face immediate suspension.
Another 9950 are on 11 points, while more than 21,000 have racked up 10.
The figures do not include almost 10,000 suspended drivers who will have carry-over demerit points when they get their licences back.
Drivers who exceed 12 points are given an option of handing over their licence for three months.
Those who decide to chance it risk losing their licence for six months for any indiscretions in the following 12 months.
More than 2300 P-platers are on 12 or more points. And almost 7000 learners have demerit points.
Mr Lay said double penalty points could help cut the road toll.
Sixteen people died on Victorian roads during the Christmas-New Year period - the highest in the nation - and police fear another horror toll at Easter.
"It's difficult to say that because it works in New South Wales and Western Australia it will work in Victoria," Mr Lay said.
"If we believe it can, we will be going to the government to have this talk."
Not all offences would attract a double penalty.

Only high-risk offences that attract three or more demerit points would be doubled.

A spokesman for Roads Minister Tim Pallas said the State Government was committed to reviewing fines and penalties, but it had not considered double demerit points.

The debate comes as the number of disqualified and suspended drivers on our roads soars.

In 2006-07, more than 7000 drivers were convicted in the Magistrates' Court of driving while disqualified or suspended.

It has been described by Chief Magistrate Ian Gray as an "epidemic".

Those caught were only the tip of the iceberg, he said.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show traffic matters make up almost half of cases heard in magistrates' courts across the nation.

The push to adopt double demerit points comes as the Sentencing Advisory Council looks set to recommend abolishing the mandatory jailing of disqualified drivers nabbed while back on the roads.

The penalty for second offenders under the Road Safety Act is a minimum of one month's jail and a maximum of two years.

Almost a quarter of motorists have their jail sentences suspended.

The recommendations, to be announced next month, are likely to suggest magistrates be given more discretion.

Vehicle impoundment and immobilisation laws are likely to be recommended for a ramp-up.

Diversion programs, restricted licences, driver education and specialised courts dealing with banned drivers are key areas the council has flagged in its discussion papers.

A submission by the Federation of Community Legal Services recommended offenders could "work off" their demerit points with community service. It is not known if this will be part of the Sentencing Advisory Council's final recommendations.

Hmm interesting. But probationary drivers can only get 5 points in any 12 months before they lose their licence.

NSW are going the other way, a cynic would say that their cash cow is drying up as people are forced off the road after losing all their points.
Speeding demerits to be lowered | The Daily Telegraph

THE New South Wales Government says it will make an announcement "within days" about reducing demerit points for minor speeding offences.

In 2008 more than 60,000 motorists lost their licences across NSW, with the current system stripping drivers of three demerit points for exceeding a speed limit by less than 15km/h.

If 12 points are lost in a two-year period, a driver's licence is cancelled.

The majority of drivers who lost their licence in 2008 for speeding offences were P-platers, Roads Minister Michael Daley said on Fairfax Radio Network.

"The overwhelming majority are P-platers because we've got a zero tolerance for P-platers speeding, so I can't apologise for being tough on P-platers," he said.

"Some people want me to be tougher. I don't know how much tougher I can be. We want to send a message that there is no such thing as safe speeding because there isn't."

But Mr Daley acknowledged losing three demerit points for low range speeding was harsh.

"I still say losing three points for low range speeding - five, six or seven kilometres over the limit - is harsh. It's unfair. I'll be lowering that."


Regards,
Tote

Originally Posted by DeeJay

Mr Lay said double penalty points could help cut the road toll.

"If we believe it can, we will be going to the government to have this talk."

Pffffttt......another zealot who thinks you can control the road toll through your hip pocket.

There are far better options to cut the road toll but the reality in Australia is that no politician will ever introduce these laws. It would be political suicide and this is what makes all this nonsence just hollow talk.

For one, the introduction of proper driver education would go a longer way and the simplistic rule of 'You drink...you don't drive' would have a far greater impact on the road toll.

Simplistic I know but I thought the game was...'could help cut the road toll'

The Hollowmen rings a bell.

Originally Posted by feral

Pffffttt......another zealot who thinks you can control the road toll through your hip pocket.

There are far better options to cut the road toll but the reality in Australia is that no politician will ever introduce these laws. It would be political suicide and this is what makes all this nonsence just hollow talk.

For one, the introduction of proper driver education would go a longer way and the simplistic rule of 'You drink...you don't drive' would have a far greater impact on the road toll.

Simplistic I know but I thought the game was...'could help cut the road toll'

The Hollowmen rings a bell.

Couldn't agree more, and something I've been advocating for a long time, but when you have idiots like the original Stay Safe committee here (yes, a group of sitting politicians) saying something along the lines that driver education just encourages young drivers to drive faster with their new found skills, what hope have we got.

It's shown beyond doubt that sex education dramatically reduces teenage pregnancies, yet no one has the balls to introduce better driver education.

I just wish someone with brains and that was a little articulate started to advocate an approach away from the populist 'punishment and retribution' approach to most things in our society. It patently doesn't work, so what do we get ? more useless laws that are 'tougher'.
Hello Police state.

<edit> Stepping off soap box now

For 20 years the number of people killed on the roads in the UK had been falling steadily. Then the government discovered the wonderful speed camera. Since then the number killed has stayed steady rather than falling however this has to be balanced against the income from the cameras. This is self funding as new cameras are purchased and maintained from the proceeds. With the added cost benefit that traffic police who are costly to train / equip and maintain have largely been disbanded. Its all done for our betterment though. This of course takes no account of the massive improvements in car safety seen in Europe over the last 10 years.


Less than 3% of road deaths are accidents were speed inappropriate for the conditions is considered the cause. Speed though is always a factor as if neither were moving it could not happen. Hence the headlines about speed kills. Media needs a simple story for a big headline.


Ban nears for 1 million motorists

Almost ONE MILLION motorists are on the brink of receiving a driving ban because they have racked up penalty points from speed cameras, a study has found.

About 3 per cent of drivers - 920,000 - are three points away from losing their licences, the usual penalty for speeding, according to the survey by Direct Line insurance.

The company said convictions for speeding had risen dramatically in the past five years, and the number of drivers with three points on their licence had increased by 7 per cent in the past two years.

A YouGov survey of 2,430 adults, commissioned by Direct Line, found 16 per cent of motorists have penalty points on their licence, 14 per cent having six points and 3 per cent nine points. YouGov estimated the number of drivers close to a ban based on the total of 33.8 million motorists in the UK.

The survey also showed that more than one in seven - 14 per cent - of the drivers with nine points on their licence would lose their jobs if it was taken away, a total of more than 125,000 people across the UK.

Direct Line said 92 per cent of those receiving motoring convictions in the past two years were for speeding.

Emma Holyer, Direct Line's motor spokeswoman, said: "Despite the growing number of speed cameras in the UK and the increase in motorists receiving penalty points, our research shows that drivers are still speeding.

"Drivers need to take notice of the speed limits - and cameras - regardless of whether they agree with them, as they could lose their licence if they choose to ignore them."

Direct Line said cameras were first introduced in London in 1992, and there are now more than 6,000 fixed and mobile speed camera sites across the UK.