Aussie economy...

[OLD FART]

You all should be running the country as you are reasoned ,rational , street smart & full of common sense
But then that would mean you would become politicians then you would learn double speak and we common folk would see your lips moving and know you were lying

[thrash]

yeah i wanna become transport minister.. i wonder how you get there..

really hate speed cameras.. they'd be the first to go.. never actually been caught off by one, thanks God, but i still hate them..

plus how does it make sense that someone who has been driving for 30 odd years and never had an accident has to drive at the same speed as an idiot who's had 5 accidents in 2 months? I have a plan to sort all of this out :D

who's gonna vote for me??

[Vulpes]

i'd vote for you thrash. In my rural area every time some young P plater wraps himself around a tree the RTA respond by lowering the speed limit by 10km/h. Thrash, when you get to be TM can you have a different speed for starions ?

[thrash]

lol, i've actually been thinking about this for a while..

I am a P plater myself.. i could go off and get my full license tomorrow, but i just haven't bothered. that said, i'm lucky to have been driving for a while (been driving overseas since i was 14). P platers generally have hot blood. That, melded in with inexperience, is a baaad recipe

So I would not change a lot of the P plate laws.

However, what about the rest of the idiots out there? There are some people who are always idiots regardless of how long they've been driving. To remedy this, I would introduce 'A' plates.. for the accident prone. This will not only alert the police, but also warn other drivers of a possible hazard on the road.

almost all 60 zones would become 70 zones, and 70s would become 80s. Speed cameras will be abolished, but perhaps i would put more red light cams down. More people need to learn that orange means try to stop, not speed up to try and get the light.

marginal speeding (e.g. 10 or 20 above the limit) would also be considered less of an offense by the police. The focus would be more towards stupidity and lack of courtesy on the road. I would introduce more undercover police, and less marked police cars. The reasoning is that people obviously don't do what they normally would when they SEE a police car around. Things like not indicating appropriately, not givign way when required, etc would be high on the prioriity list for police.

Back to the 'A' plates, the idea i was thinking about was that if a person has an 'at fault' accident, they are put on green 'A's for a certain amount of time.. 2 years perhaps? This might be too strict, so maybe they'd be put in the gree 'A' if they have 2 accidents within a year or two..

Someone on an 'A' plate will be enforced to adhere to speed zones strictly and will not be given the lee way of an extra 10 or 20 above the set limit. Any fines during this period will incur an 'A' plate penalty.. maybe 20 or 30%? (the office has to make money somehow or other, and since i'm abolishing speed cameras..)

if a person has another accident while already on a green 'A' plate, they move to red 'A' plates, and must hold these for a minimum of 5 years

I'm still thinking about what to do if a P-plater has an accident...

The thinking is that speeding doesn't cause accidents - it just makes them a whole lot worse when they happen. What causes accidents are things like stupidity, lack of driver knowledge/experience, and inconsiderate driving. Prevention is better than cure right? So why make minimizing accidents a bigger priority as opposed to just minimizing how severe they are? fewer accidents = fewer severe accidents anyway.

I would also make major changes to license tests. less focus on how to park a car without hitting the curb, more focus on actual driving skills. Someone should not be able to get a full license unless they have passed an advanced driving course - subsidized off course. I was also thinking perhaps every 10 years that a person holds their license and has no accidents, that they be given a larger amount of freedom in terms of higher speeds.. e.g. be allowed to do 20% over the limit after 10 years, and another 10% per 10 years after that, etc.. but this would be hard to implement and keep in check eh?

And lastly, I would try to subsidize events like the wakefield "speed off the streets" days for P-platers, so that they have somewhere safe to let their hot blood run free and cool down. After a day of a heap of effort in trying to get your car quickly round a track, the urge for speed and crazy shit is lessened.

What do you guys think? It'll be interesting to hear your thoughts on these "policies" :)

[thrash]

argh, i ranted again.. sorry fellas :roll:

[OLD FART]

argh, i ranted again.. sorry fellas :roll:

Hey Thrash luved your rants and (in my humble opinion )some of your solutions were a bit over the top there were some pearls of wisedom
1 idiots there are some that should never have been allowed to get a liscense
2 you are 100% on the money re hot blood & inexperience + stupidity
3 Speed cameras are simply revenue collectors no matter how much the spin n doctors try to promote them as a life saving devices as they are incapable of detecting -tail gating ,failure 2 indicate etc
4 speed is always involved in accidents it's usually combined with innatention & or innappropriate speed 4 the conditions
5 We definately need more driver training complexes
Don't agree with your speed increases 4 no prangs 4 many years .That rationale would let me do 100k's in a school zone rofl

[Vulpes]

Sheeeeeet Thrash, now your just making too much sense. You will never be a politician. 100% on the money although Farties point about speed zones is valid.

[crshbndct]

should be instant loss of license for every single offense too...
i.e. failing to indicate, 3 days. tailgating, one week. etc etc. that way rich businessmen in their porsche's wont feel they are untouchable as they can just pay fines. your car gets driven by a police officer to the nearest station where it is held till your suspension is over. you also get a ride back to town and if you were some jerk trying to get to some high and mighty business meeting you would be late. the penalties would be really short but instant. no fines. fines only hurt the poor. one would be a lot more inclined to give way properly and actually learn the rules if they knew they could be walking tomorrow. not in 3 months time after 6 court hearings.

[thrash]

that's a great idea methinks, except that this is assuming that all police officers will actually be fair, and not just try to get you because you piised them off and they can..

as the sayign goes, who will watch the watchers?

oldie, re speed zones, obviously there would be some common sense put into the equation.. i would say you could do 100 in a 70 zone and not worry about your chances of having an accident eh? when that 70 zone becomes a 40 zone, back of the gas and drop the speed down to 40.. i don't think we should touch 40 zones.

having said that though, i find it rather silly to allow schools to be built on main roads.. why not have them one or 2 streets in so that it doesn't affect traffic flow? during school hours, bus services that go past the school could be redirected to turn of the main road and stop near the school to prevent kids from having to get onto the main road. Plus, instead of building 40 zone speed camera, why not just build an overhead pedestrian bridge so that the children don't even have to cross the road in the first place?

[thrash]

and oldie.. re your humble opinion, it is always respected. you have probably 10 to 100 times more experience on the roads than i do

and over the top maybe, but all prototypes start off as an over the top idea, and then they are trimmed down to a realistic picture ;)

[benny]

the ideas are quite good, only problem not enough money being made.. come on now gotta think like the government here.
sure a bridge might save lives but where's the money for the next trip to the titty bar!!! rofl

[Vulpes]

should be instant loss of license for every single offense too...
i.e. failing to indicate, 3 days. tailgating, one week. etc etc. that way rich businessmen in their porsche's wont feel they are untouchable as they can just pay fines. your car gets driven by a police officer to the nearest station where it is held till your suspension is over. you also get a ride back to town and if you were some jerk trying to get to some high and mighty business meeting you would be late. the penalties would be really short but instant. no fines. fines only hurt the poor. one would be a lot more inclined to give way properly and actually learn the rules if they knew they could be walking tomorrow. not in 3 months time after 6 court hearings.

Labour voter are we ? Or do we just dislike business people in general ?
The idea does have some merit though.

[WidebodyWoody]

Speed camera are just for revenue for sure.

A speeder either a) Doesn't see the speed camera or b) Gets nabbed, slows down a little for 2 seconds, then continues.

A radar gun however, you get caught, he pulls you over, and you are stopped from speeding. Only problem is for the cops to catch you, they too have to speed, which even though they think they are good drivers, they are just like the rest of us. Higher speeds = greater chance of crashing.

To be honest, I never worried about the money side of things, it was the points that hurt me because I didn't want to lose my license. Only ever been caught speeding once. 66 in a 60 zone down a hill. And I was still slowing. So annoyed LOL

[redzone]

you know i have ALWAYS wondered why people who cause accidents are not hammered with fines big time. like if you fail to give way at a T intersection and someone T bones you, why dont you lose your license and cop a $2000 fine?

seems stupid to ping people like me (who have never contributed to causing an accident) for speeding when people that have no speeding or other fines constantly have prangs....