Escaping traffic infringement

[Sturdee]

Slightly off topic but the fine approach to speeding doesnt seem to really work.

That's only because the fines imposed are way too lenient. IMO the fines ought to be increased with compulsory attendance at a road trauma emergency ward for one evening for the first offence, 2 nights for the second etc. Once you spend some time there your attitude to driving will change.

May be also needed for mobile phone users.


Peter.

[johnc]

I've done the sorry thing and been let off, but it was 55k in a 50k zone, with no sign at one end between two 60k intersections, and one section of that road was 60k. The waiver also came with the note that driving record was the main reason and an implication that a better understanding of the speed zone rules would have saved some bother on my part.

By all means try but in view of the advertising blitz I can't thing of a single mitigating excuse in your favour, if it was me I'd just pay the fine. However posting here may well mean a few may think twice before answering their phone whilst behind the wheel.

[China]

Speeding does not cause collisions, we are one of the only country's in the would that set speed limits with no regard to traffic flow, speed limits it this country have nothing to do with safety, they are purely revenue raising, as can be seen by the placement of the highly inacurate and untested devices and the revenue raised is forcast in budgets. Open your eyes and do your reserch, if the subjects of this country were doing this we would be charged with fraud

[kiwigeo]

It would be great if drivers could drive at a speed approriate to conditions.....unfortunately this is usually not a part of the limited skill set of the average driver in this country.

Attention to attitudes and driver education are the only effective ways we'll see a reduction in the road toll.

[johnc]

Speeding does not cause collisions, we are one of the only country's in the would that set speed limits with no regard to traffic flow, speed limits it this country have nothing to do with safety, they are purely revenue raising, as can be seen by the placement of the highly inacurate and untested devices and the revenue raised is forcast in budgets. Open your eyes and do your reserch, if the subjects of this country were doing this we would be charged with fraud

You could look at speeding fines as an optional tax, you only pay if you choose to speed. Budgeted fine collections are based on a measured calculation of our collective stupidity. There is plenty of information linking speed to collisions, when Victoria dropped its town speed limits to 50kph on most streets there was a drop in collisions. Its a bit of a no brainer that the slower we go the less likely we are going to hit anything that will seriously damage the occupants of a vehicle, and the more time we have to react. I'm not advocating dropping limits further but I do think speed limits are based on traffic volumes and road conditions in a way we hopefully understand.

[kiwigeo]

I'd like to see a move back to the good old days when cars moved at walking pace and had to be preceeded by a person waving a red flag.

[hughie]

Speeding does not cause collisions, we are one of the only country's in the would that set speed limits with no regard to traffic flow, speed limits it this country have nothing to do with safety, they are purely revenue raising, as can be seen by the placement of the highly inacurate and untested devices and the revenue raised is forcast in budgets. Open your eyes and do your reserch, if the subjects of this country were doing this we would be charged with fraud

[/QUOTE]


I agree totally, you might remember that a few years ago you would only get booked if you ran 10k over the speed limit ( NSW ). It was un-official but it worked, with that in mind we drove at just over but not more than 10k so the revenue dropped, guess what happened?

Yep they dropped the 10k thing as "it was too dangerous" and now we have a couple of k's grace.

High fines will kill the goose that lays the golden egg

[Sturdee]

High fines will kill the goose that lays the golden egg

That's just the point of the fines, we want everyone to obey the road laws so the roads will be safer, not only for the drivers but also the pedestrians.

If you don't like the speed limits then agitate politically for a change, don't break the law.

Peter.

[damian]

I've been booked at least 3 times for speeding when I know for certain I wasn't over the limit. There were a couple of other occasions when I very much suspect I was under. I even had my speedo checked and calibrated to be sure.

If you can be bothered go to qld transports website and the bureau of statistics. Get the numbers going back to say 1980. Divide the number of fatalities by licenced drivers to get the fatality rate (because the raw number makes this trend look even worse). Then plot out that data by year and get ready to catch your jaw as it drops. The trend even shocked me. There was an exponential decline in the road fatalities rate until 1997, then it rose slightly and plateued. That was the year the government introduced speed camera into queensland and launched thier anti speeding campain.

If you can be bothered doing some proper research you will find that all the _credible_ evidence in Australia, plus nearly all the research done throughout the OECD, show that "excessive speed is a signifigant contributing factor" in between 5 and 6% or all investigated crashes, crashes involving injuries and death. The figure is remarkably consistent. Inattention is a isgnifigant contributing factor in a multiple of that number.

I ahve long held teh view that to make our roads safer we need to do 3 things, neither of which a state government would do:

1. Tie all fuel excise to either pollution mitigation or roads.

2. Tie wage increases and indeed jobs among traffic and road design engineers to outcomes.

3. Adjust the traffic act so the points system stays, but rather than paying a fine you have to attend within a set period an approved course by an approved provider and pay a fee for same equivalent to the fine. You nullify the revenue argument, you add inconvenience to the penalty, you compell wayward drivers to take training without penalising drivers who may not need it.

No doubt someone will point out the errors of my thinking

[rrobor]

The arguement that speed doesnt kill is false, the faster you drive the worse your accident will be, that is simple physics. If the speed limit is 60 and you grant 10% it creates a normal speed zone of 66 not 60. so why not have it at 66 full stop. The error allowance was for mechanical tolerances not some form of exceess nod and wink stuff. People complain when they get caught, "Im a good driver, look at him" . Well sorry the law is the law. Watch TV tonight see the idiots of Melbourne give their excuses. Sure Ive been done, and once I was incorrectly done by a young cop getting numbers. But that was once, the rest were my fault.

[China]

rrobor, you need to do some further reaserch

[glenn k]

Well rrobor I'd say you were lucky. When I was young I was booked many times for speeding while not speeding(always at the end of the month). Once I was followed from Carlton to North Coburg and eventually they pulled me up and said I was doing 80 kph I said no I wasn't I'd be stupid to be speeding seeing you've been following me since Carlton. They seemed surprised seeing they all ways stopped 3 or 4 cars behind me at lights. He then only booked be for the lowest but I was told to pay it as there were 2 of them and 1 of me. I stopped driving after the 28th of the month and then I was told my problem by my girl friend I used to look at them nerviously expecting to be booked for nothing. After that I ignored them and they go away and pick on somebody else. Since then only been booked twice in the next 25 years both being my fault.

[Gingermick]

2. Tie wage increases and indeed jobs among traffic and road design engineers to outcomes
No doubt someone will point out the errors of my thinking

As a road designer I don't think I should be held responsible for people driving inappropriately. All we can do is follow the rules set by the state traffic authority and any other relevant standards.
Safety is a large concern for us. We don't want people dying on roads or anything else we designed.

[TP1]

As a road designer I don't think I should be held responsible for people driving inappropriately. All we can do is follow the rules set by the state traffic authority and any other relevant standards.
Safety is a large concern for us. We don't want people dying on roads or anything else we designed.

Well said. In WA, a high percentage of smashes resulting in trauma involve a single vehicle on country roads, often on straight stretches. None of them were driving slow at the time.

[kiwigeo]

3. Adjust the traffic act so the points system stays, but rather than paying a fine you have to attend within a set period an approved course by an approved provider and pay a fee for same equivalent to the fine. You nullify the revenue argument, you add inconvenience to the penalty, you compell wayward drivers to take training without penalising drivers who may not need it.

No doubt someone will point out the errors of my thinking

Yes Ill start. Driver training should happen BEFORE you get into a car not after youve had your first accident.

Driver attitude also needs to be addressed....to some degree this comes under education but to a larger degree you can look at parenting and changes in what society views as acceptable/unacceptable behaviour. Don't know how you'd deal with the latter....