What's your solution?

[climbatize]

They are building them straight because that is the fastest way to one point. Unfortunately people fall asleep. I had to chain smoke to stay awake when I had to do the Hume hwy runs at 4am in a truck.

[Six Addict]

i have to disagree with someone who said that what cops are doing isnt working... which is immediately contradicted by the fact that despite population and vehicle numbers increasing, the road toll is dropping, all the measures clearly are working... statistics need to be looked at long term

motor vehicle accidents being what they are, are random and varied in nature, it cannot be expected that every road toll will be less than the year that preceded it... thats just a crazy thing to believe... however if there is a downward trend over 5 or 10 years, then id say the right thing is being done...

there is no substitute for having skills to help you deal with tricky situations, there is also no substitute for having common sense... my final point would be that there is no substitute for that saying "shit happens"... lots of things in life are avoidable, but sometimes, SHIT HAPPENS... this doesn't make the "shit" more trivial or warranted or celebrated or condoned or encouraged, it just means it happens...

for some reason in today's society its not ok for something bad to happen, everything has to be perfect, everything has to be someone's fault, and they must be held fully accountable... and while there are idiots on the road, who genuinely appear to be trying to kill themselves, sometime people make mistakes and regrettably these sometimes lead to fatalaties of serious injuries... we should all want to avoid accidents or "crashes" if you want to call them that, but im firmly of the belief that sometimes SHIT HAPPENS...

end of rant...

[climbatize]

for some reason in today's society its not ok for something bad to happen, everything has to be perfect, everything has to be someone's fault, and they must be held fully accountable.

This is the big brother world that we live in and control is only going to get tighter. Shit happening is normal. Sure it's horrible & ugly but it is traditional. It will happen - to someone - and life will go on, for good or ill.

Car manufacturers may well have a result in the fall of the road toll also. As cars advance, technologically, they are of course becoming safer with better brakes, more airbags etc etc.

[kaneg]

Pinchy I have to agree with you mate, sometimes shit just happens and it's as simple as it is.

Each time I see and ad on TV where the guy gets into his X branded car which makes him drive it to the corner shop, as if he was a rally driver .......something is fundamentally wrong with this picture.....

[seiko1]

Soon you will all have a microchip embeded in your body and "they" will know where you are
and how fast you are going at all times
It will have all of your personal details stored on it and if you do something "they" don't
like "they" will simply press a button and you won't even be able to access your bank account
"They" had better hurry though because we'll all be dead in December 2012
( I laugh, but I believe it )

[Glen]

I'm with naked twin on the " experience doesn't always make you a better driver" theory. I reckon in some ways it's the opposite. The fact is a kid will drive 100klm's to get a packet of smokes or a milkshake because he can. I actually think most kids today are more responsible in cars then we were.eg the majority are pretty savvy re drink driving.

I think it's too easy to get a license in so far as there is no real competency based training involved ie like bikes. I think that will be the only thing that will work long term. I also think increased speed limits in freeway style situations are to be encouraged ie like the European's. I saw a study a while ago which showed how drivers doing 130km/hr plus were significantly more alert and aware of their surroundings for longer than someone doing 100km/hr. Unfortunately you've got to have the roads for it which by and large we don't.

The easy option is enforcement which is our traditional response

[ZXR750]

I don't have a clue either but as many have stated the road toll has come down from the 70's. No one has mentioned that cars are far safer today than they were in the 70's. If cars had saetbelts back then they were not the same as today. Look at the big heavy cars compared to the ones that are designed to crumple around the driver. Add air bags,ABS and all of the other "accromins" that I don't understand the meaning of and cars are far safer than in the past. I think the best way to lower the raod toll is to have a better police visibility on the roads. Every one slows down and behaves when they see cop cars.

[photomike666]

I do not believe the Nanny State is responsible for the reduction in road toll. Road toll is the number of deaths; Nanny state effect is only shown if we relaease number of collision figures.

Road toll dropped in the 70s with the introduction of Seat belts. Through the 80 crumple zones were introduced, on the 90s it was air bags. Now we have star ratings ensuring you can entirely write the car off and not get killed.

This is also why motorcycle deaths are now such a large percentage of the road toll, and why we get targeted - we don't have the safey protection.

Driver and rider training to much higher standards would reduce the number of accidnets, and perhaps prevent the deaths - but unfortunately, the under 25s will always be young and foolish. No amount of training will take away the belief that they have the best control of a vehicle, the need to show off in front of mates, and the belief it will not happen to then.

And yet, still more people die by suicide than on our roads - perhaps the focus is in the wrong place.

[kaneg]

Sorry guys for re visiting this thread, but I went on a ride where this topic and specially the mobile phone issue has come up.

One dude was saying exactly the same as some of you : the danger lies in, not so much of holding the phone, as having a conversation, argument, etc.... well that's so true.........no argument there

Maybe I should put it this way:

Is there anyone here, who believes that the war against using the mobiles while driving isn't lost?????

If, there's no-one then we all agree that the way forward is to find a solution to the problem, not trying to fine a handfull of people her and there.

Recently we were watching RPA; a young dude wrapped his car around the post and he died. His passenger had to be cut out of the car, which took almost an hour, blood everywhere, she was put onto a stratcher with a neckbrace on. As the ambo was asking her basic questions to establish the extend of the damage, all she was asking for is if someone have find her mobile in the car?

The attachment and reliance is just getting stronger and stronger with each new day...........

[Supafrog]

Are you saying all mobile phone use should be outlawed? or just reiterating that handsfree is the only acceptable measure?

i ask, because before mobile phones... there were groups that used cb or uhf.. and never had a problem.

[kaneg]

I'm saying that regardless of the law, it's not going to stop people using it and I feel that we can all agree on that.

Having said that, we have to look for an acceptable solution and make it a law.

Is handsfree that solution? What do you say?

[Gosling1]

Are you saying all mobile phone use should be outlawed? or just reiterating that handsfree is the only acceptable measure?

i ask, because before mobile phones... there were groups that used cb or uhf.. and never had a problem.

All mobile phone use while driving should be punished with instant 3 months time in the big house. Simple as that. Once people start doing time, every fuckhead that thinks they have a god-given right to text or talk bullshit while driving - will think twice.

Yes, back in the 70's, truckies used CB radio, and so did a handfull of drivers. But comparing CB radio use in the 70's, with mobile phone use today, is ridiculous. Every single Tom Dick & Harry has a mobile penis extension these days, CB radio use would have been less than 1% of car drivers back in the old days......

Fuck I hate the fucking things with a passion !!!! so don't bother to tell me that I am a dinosaur who needs to wake up and smell the 3G bill - it's already common knowledge ....

[craig]

GOS almost agree but...... that three months should be spent in with the lifers