Happy Easter - now for the road death toll!

[Hitch78]

Our first weekend in Sydney - taking it easy to get over the lag so the tv is on a bit.

What is it with the obsession with road deaths on the news? And with the wacky reasons why and ideas to stop them?

Some bloke was just on claiming that the increase in accidents over the Easter period was because most people don't drive during the week. He said most people who crash probably use the bus or train to get to work so aren't experienced drivers..er, what?! Nothing to do with everyone being pissed then?

Then some lady pops up suggesting that people cut their journeys into safe chunks of 30 minutes. 30 MINUTES! My commutes in various cities around the world have all been longer than that for well over ten years.

Then there's the politics and the sports coaches calling each other and the referees out.

I love it.

[200bhp]

You forgot:

Stop everyone jumping orange lights at intersections.
Tear down the traffic lights and build roundabouts in their place

[Ozzie Dave]

Hey you forgot my pet hate, 4 changes of speed in a 1km drive, otherwise you hit the nail on the head.
Over here they were mainly rural roads (Qld) that had fatalities, as you head north the driving & roads get decidedly worse I have found!

[Bibbs]

WeirdNeville said:

Stop every having bull bars and fucing fishing rod holders on the front of urban 4x4's.
Stop every fker driving 3 foot off the car in front because EVERYONE is doing 110.1kph on the freeway.
Stop your road being SO boring that you put the cruise control on, tune the radio, then wake up in time to die when you've ploughed into a tree asleep.
Stop the STUPID "left lane ends" mutual merges from 3 lanes to 2 - passive conflict.
Stop 17 year olds being able to jump into 3.8 Litre Falcons and hitting trees.
Stop people from being able to drive cars that may not have had mechanical inspection in a decade.

Or, in my opinion, let people have their freedoms (I don't like to ban stuff) and realise there is a "cost" associated with this.

Improving the driving standards would be nice though.

[XB70]

The driving standards are dire.

Tailgating, brake-testing, flashing and gesturing, lane hogging and generally 'heroes inside the safety of a car"

What astonishes me is the number of cars that run the red, including on pedestrian crossings.

I wait a few seconds after the green then slowly accelerate - yes, you get the beeps etc from behind but given that we nearly got T-boned by car earlier this year, I don't really care.

As for the 'pink slip' inspections, they are a joke. Lights work? Yep. Brakes work? Yep. Great, see ya later.

• shrugs*

I just amble along here. I've been flat out on German autobahns, did a number of the Swiss passes and have seen more supercars and exotica when I was living in London than most here will see in their lifetime so 'been there, done that'. Just so long as some moron does not drive into me, I will plod along in the barge.

[chrisgtx]

I must admit i think the worst drivers in the world are Aussies..
I went a few years ago and couldnt believe the safety adverts on telly,stories in the news and draconian speed limits,but most of them were still awful drivers,they rarely break the speed limit but everything else they did was petty much dangerous.
We had a dollop of rain and watching everyone skid about was hilarious,no idea how to drive to the conditions,but hey,its all ok if your not 'speeding' as that's the only thing they were brainwashed into thinking that's what kills.
Sadly,that is the way this country is going.

[Talk2Dave]

What never fails to amuse me is how people can get it so wrong and crash into a house on a dead straight road!
It never seems to be the big, powerful RWD stuff either, mostly Camry's etc. I'm fairly sure I hear a news report about that every week.

[pikey]

Don't forget the buses, which appear to be on an incentive scheme to have more accidents. Or the taxi drivers, for which it appears mandatory to not have a licence..

Of all the countries I've driven in (most of Europe), I've never experienced anything like Aussie driving.

To the OP, you should have seen the telly around Christmas - they had a full on daily tally running!

[200bhp]

said:

Don't forget the buses, which appear to be on an incentive scheme to have more accidents.

Here in WA the buses blow up quite regularly (for buses, at least) - Do you have that kind of entertainment on the East Coast?

[Cdrtravis]

Every time the media in Oz reports a near-fatal or fatal road incident, it's always with the word 'horror'. For example 'Horror Crash' or 'Horror Weekend'. I've begun to wonder if it's required by law because they use it every time.

[200bhp]

Thats just the way they are on TV here. Some other similar examples are:

"Silent killer that could strike down your child at any moment, hear the dramatic 000 call" = Un-diagnosed heart condition causes heart attack. Man calls ambulance.

"Scandal, shock and controversy" = Someone on My Kitchen Rules used a jar of sauce

"Miracle cure for heat stroke, only on Today Tonight" = Drink some water

[Talk2Dave]

200bhp said:

Thats just the way they are on TV here. Some other similar examples are:

"Silent killer that could strike down your child at any moment, hear the dramatic 000 call" = Un-diagnosed heart condition causes heart attack. Man calls ambulance.

"Scandal, shock and controversy" = Someone on My Kitchen Rules used a jar of sauce

"Miracle cure for heat stroke, only on Today Tonight" = Drink some water

[Pommygranite]

Amazing how every death was accompanied by a comment that we should watch our speed. Riiiight so every death was due to speeding and not lack of attention, fatigue, or mechanical failure...

[pikey]

.. and after this I've since had two near misses.

Last night on the way home, a car stopped dead at 80kmh on a lane feeding into the highway. Cue lots of cars doing emergency stops one after the other. The only thing I can imagine is that because the highway was empty (rush hour.. so something happened upstream) she wondered if it was closed and thought she'd better stop to check. Gobsmacking!

And the other was going to work this morning. 60kmh and a car appears at right angles in my lane, stops, does a slow manouver to point the right way and head off.

Speed doesn't appear to be a factor, stupidity is.