Road incidents

[Happy]

Heard someone on the radio say it was $200 if you drive off on police, not sure how accurate that is though. If that is the figure, then it's not much off a deterrent.

Wander what is it in real terms payment, when offender is unemployed ?

Also, we have 10 or is it now 20 fold increase in unlicensed drivers driving, stolen or uninsured and/or unregistered cars.
What are we doing about that?
(Law and order is for people who comply, blatant multi-repeat offenders should be locked up so physically cannot re-offend)

While ago I saw report (cannot find it now), that one drink driver will not have his license back until is 135 years old.
And he is caught driving drunk quite often, suppose if Police kept an eye on him they could just attend his antics and nothing else.

 

[newbie trader]

What's the penalty for refusing to blow in the bag ?

Perhaps it should be the same in relation to refusing police request to stop.

I thought you are able to refuse to blow into it but then the police have the power to take you into the station?

N.T

 

[drsmith]

I thought you are able to refuse to blow into it but then the police have the power to take you into the station?

N.T

Found this for South Australia. Not sure how up to date it is.

http://lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch10s08s03s08.php

Refuse Breath Test: [Road Traffic Act 1961 s 47E]

First Offence

$700-$1200; automatic licence disqualification of not less than 12 months; plus 6 demerit points

Subsequent Offence

$1500-$2500; automatic licence disqualification of not less than 3 years; plus 6 demerit points

What proportion of chases involve vehicles which are driven by the owner/associates of the owner (not stolen) ?

Surely technology can play a role to catch up with the driver later. In WA for example you no longer get a windscreen sticker for registration.

 

[Happy]

From post #63 above:

Subsequent Offence

$1500-$2500; automatic licence disqualification of not less than 3 years; plus 6 demerit points

Bit silly as points re-set in 2 years time if I remember it correctly, but not the worst piece of legislation I’ve seen.
(Unless there is clause that demerit points apply after person comes out of jail as welcome back to real world)

 

[drsmith]

It might be a more effective deterrent than a $200 fine.

 

[$20shoes]

I once worked for a small company in Adelaide who manufactured a car alarm that would disable your engine remotely. It did this in a very safe manner – cycling the ignition on and off for about 1 minute and with ever increasing delays between the “off” period and “on” period. This gave the driver time to safely maneouver/stop the car before it was completely disabled. For the fist 20secs it feels like your car wants to stall. The alarm was hooked into the pager network, so was effective in the wider metropolitan area. It was a big hit in South Africa where they were targeting a car-jacking problem. I always thought how effective this would be if these alarms were compulsory and police had powers to disable the car if and only when a pursuit was underway. Too costly to implement and liberty issues….I know…. But still, the technology is there….

 

[Whiskers]

I like that idea $20shoes.

How was it wired to the car and could a thief easily deactivate it?

 

[Buckfont]

In the U.S.A, when you`re driving through areas where there are roadworks being preformed there is always,

1) a speed limit, usually 15-20mph.

2) Very large signs indicating that, if any roadworker is injured in whatever way,

There is a minimum $25000.00 fine and/or 3 years imprisonment.

No speeding in the those areas because they all know too well that the law means business.

Wouldnt think it would be too difficult to implement here.

Oh sorry, I forgot about the civil libertarians and the the likes of Skye Webbe`s mother.

 

[$20shoes]

I like that idea $20shoes.

How was it wired to the car and could a thief easily deactivate it?

It was wired in such a way that it was difficult to disengage the alarm altogether without also disabling the car. But I'm sure, given enough time and expertise, thieves might find ways to bypass it.
It was an interesting idea that's for sure. But there would be considerable obstacles in trying to mandate this for all new vehicles.

 

[Happy]

I once worked for a small company in Adelaide who manufactured a car alarm that would disable your engine remotely. It did this in a very safe manner – cycling the ignition on and off for about 1 minute and with ever increasing delays between the “off” period and “on” period. This gave the driver time to safely maneouver/stop the car before it was completely disabled. For the fist 20secs it feels like your car wants to stall. The alarm was hooked into the pager network, so was effective in the wider metropolitan area.

Often we hear people say:
If it saves one life it is worth it.

Unfortunately groups opposed to it claim that loss of power can cost lives too.
Of course there can be instances that somebody might be killed when instead of driving 200k an hour will slow down for 20 seconds, but I would take the risk if I could make that decision.

Looks like another great issue for referendum!

 

[drsmith]

If you thought driving and using a mobile phone at the same time was bad, check out the Sky News Perth thunderstorm video.

http://player.video.news.com.au/theaustralian/#_IO6vOxUX6_e0ApzKA7kJWb_NEZBFYId

At about 30 seconds a reporter is doing a recorded interview from inside a car while driving down a freeway at the height of the storm. She even looks over her shoulder towards the camera in the back seat.

 

[Smurf1976]

In the U.S.A, when you`re driving through areas where there are roadworks being preformed there is always,

1) a speed limit, usually 15-20mph.

2) Very large signs indicating that, if any roadworker is injured in whatever way,

There is a minimum $25000.00 fine and/or 3 years imprisonment.

No speeding in the those areas because they all know too well that the law means business.

Wouldnt think it would be too difficult to implement here.

Oh sorry, I forgot about the civil libertarians and the the likes of Skye Webbe`s mother.

My experience working on roads was always that speed limits, generally 40 km/h, were routinely ignored by the vast majority of motorists.

Best way to stop them seems to be to deliberately create a situation that will make them slow down. Just throw some gravel on the open part of the road, leave a hose lying across it etc. Mud works really well - those with the "hot" cars don't seem to like getting them dirty and hence slow down.

Alternatively, a call to Police requesting a speed camera be set up is effective. Likewise a road worker standing beside the road armed with an ordinary camera and a notebook - most don't realise that Police generally will act on reports of law breaking drivers from roadworks crews and the official proceedure, as per the law, is to take note of all offending vehicles.

The law is the law and there's a damn good reason why those working on the roads don't want trucks especially (yes truck drivers certainly are massive offenders on this one and they're the ones that scare the **** out of the workers for obvious reasons) hurtling through worksites at such speed as to have no chance of stopping safely.

Car drivers aren't much better, nor are cyclists disobeying directions (and directly placing themselves in serious danger as a result when they end up in the middle of a worksite in the blind spot of machinery operators etc). Bus drivers at least tend to slow down, even if they do run over cones and signs rather a lot. Worst of all though are those who drive onto a road that is actually closed, and then have the nerve to make legal threats and abuse workers when their car is damaged - worth noting that not once did I ever hear of them getting a payment (and I'm aware of one situation where insurance wouldn't pay either).

Personally, I see no reason not to put a speed camera in every worksite. It's clearly a situation where it might actually save a life.

 

[newbie trader]

My experience working on roads was always that speed limits, generally 40 km/h, were routinely ignored by the vast majority of motorists.

Best way to stop them seems to be to deliberately create a situation that will make them slow down. Just throw some gravel on the open part of the road, leave a hose lying across it etc. Mud works really well - those with the "hot" cars don't seem to like getting them dirty and hence slow down.

Alternatively, a call to Police requesting a speed camera be set up is effective. Likewise a road worker standing beside the road armed with an ordinary camera and a notebook - most don't realise that Police generally will act on reports of law breaking drivers from roadworks crews and the official proceedure, as per the law, is to take note of all offending vehicles.

The law is the law and there's a damn good reason why those working on the roads don't want trucks especially (yes truck drivers certainly are massive offenders on this one and they're the ones that scare the **** out of the workers for obvious reasons) hurtling through worksites at such speed as to have no chance of stopping safely.

Personally, I see no reason not to put a speed camera in every worksite set to 1 km/h above the posted speed limit. It's clearly a situation where it might actually save a life.

A lot of roadworks I have noticed now have a police car just sitting there with its lights flashing, which i'd say would slow down the traffic, its quite a good idea.

The last week or so ive noticed 2 or 3 incidents of pretty bad road rage (seems to be becoming more common). Has anyone else noticed this? Australian drivers are very impatient (ute drivers seem to abide by their own road rules and etiquette), i've driven around both Thailand (for 5 weeks) and Cambodia (1 week) where there are basically no road rules and yet everyone is so patient and well manered on the roads.

N.T

 

[Happy]

I always have cars really close intimidating me to go faster in road works zone.

Whenever I can, I pull over to let them through.

Often it rewards me with Police trap further down the road giving me instant gratification.

 

[jancha]

A lot of roadworks I have noticed now have a police car just sitting there with its lights flashing, which i'd say would slow down the traffic, its quite a good idea.

The last week or so ive noticed 2 or 3 incidents of pretty bad road rage (seems to be becoming more common). Has anyone else noticed this? Australian drivers are very impatient (ute drivers seem to abide by their own road rules and etiquette), i've driven around both Thailand (for 5 weeks) and Cambodia (1 week) where there are basically no road rules and yet everyone is so patient and well manered on the roads.

N.T

I noticed the same in Bali.
They have no road rules other than the small give way to the big and if you're a visitor in an accident it's your fault because you shouldn't be there.
I think the reason why they're so patient is because the public doesn't tolerate violence or bad manners and it's frowned upon.
I reckon that if all bad drivers took a few weeks of driving over there they're come back reformed. ( That's only if they survived it)

 

[WaveSurfer]

....The law is the law and there's a damn good reason why those working on the roads don't want trucks especially (yes truck drivers certainly are massive offenders on this one and they're the ones that scare the **** out of the workers for obvious reasons) hurtling through worksites at such speed as to have no chance of stopping safely.....

I remember reading this about a year ago:

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2009/03/03/truck-driver-court-roadworks-deaths/
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2009/01/16/sunshine-coast-road-madness-three-killed/

Not only are the road workers at risk, so are other motorists abiding by the rules!

 

[WaveSurfer]

Before anyone jumps to conclusions, I was actually up there the previous day and went through the exact same works. There was AMPLE signing for km's before you had to stop.

 

[Happy]

What I don’t like is road works left with the same speed limit over public holidays or weekends.

Sure, there is some danger as sometimes not all lanes are available for traffic, but without machinery being used and road workers not there, 40 k limit is bit rich.

And I treat it as insult to my intelligence, I complained numerous times about it but have no idea if any of my comments were taken seriously.

But remember in Tasmania that on weekend speed limit was higher than during road works during the week, so motorists are not treated with contempt in every State.

 

[newbie trader]

Before anyone jumps to conclusions, I was actually up there the previous day and went through the exact same works. There was AMPLE signing for km's before you had to stop.

I was driving along the logan motorway between probably 10pm and 1am (picking my sister up from a party) and there were significant roadworks going on. It was very frustrating as there were police cars booking people for speeding even though they were sitting before any signage indicating that there were roadworks ahead and that you needed to slow down (roadworks were around a bend in the highway and hence no one could see them). I'm just lucky that I saw the flashing lights on the police car ahead of time and slowed down immediatley like many other drivers in front and behind me (they were in the process of booking people anyway). I'm not sure whether the police were at fault or the workers forgot to place the appropriate signs. It was, however, fine coming the opposite way as there were signs indicating the change in speed and then police cars beyond that.

(No I did not miss any of the signs).

N.T

 

[newbie trader]

What I don’t like is road works left with the same speed limit over public holidays or weekends.

Sure, there is some danger as sometimes not all lanes are available for traffic, but without machinery being used and road workers not there, 40 k limit is bit rich.

And I treat it as insult to my intelligence, I complained numerous times about it but have no idea if any of my comments were taken seriously.

But remember in Tasmania that on weekend speed limit was higher than during road works during the week, so motorists are not treated with contempt in every State.

Maybe Kevin's holding that one up his sleeve as another election promise for further down the track!

N.T