22 December 2010

Double demerits kick off

| johnboy
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This in from ACT Policing:

ACT Policing is urging motorists to drive safely over the Christmas holidays and warn that double demerit points will be in effect for speeding and not wearing a seatbelt.

From 12.01am on Friday (24 December) to 11.59pm on Monday (3 January) across the ACT and NSW double demerit points will apply.

Traffic Operations Superintendent Mark Colbran said ACT Policing will continue to target speeding and drink driving during the holidays.

“Put simply, all motorists driving, either in the ACT or interstate, need to heed the warnings put in place to ensure that they have a safe Christmas and New Year,” Superintendent Colbran said.

“We ask the Canberra community to enjoy the festive season, but to remember to keep our roads safe by not drinking and driving and staying within the speed limit at all times. Make sure you fasten your seatbelt and remember it is your responsibility to ensure that all occupants of your vehicle are wearing their seatbelts too”.

All speeding offences will attract double demerits, as will specific offences for failing to wear a seatbelt, or failing to properly restrain a child in a motor vehicle.

“The ACT road toll for 2010 currently sits at 18 and ACT Policing will be working hard to keep our roads fatality free over the Christmas/New Year break, but we need the community’s support to avoid a tragedy on our roads these holidays,” Superintendent Colbran said.

The ACT was the only police jurisdiction in Australia which had zero road fatalities during the Christmas-New Year period in 2009.

If you suspect someone of drink-driving, report them to Police Operations on 131-444. You may just save the life of someone you love or someone you know.

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Yep well drove up to Newcastle, that was fine, not much traffic, then drove down to Sydney yesterday. plenty of traffic, everyone in a hurry, speeding past, their not going to get there any faster, idiots!

About 3 people die on Australian roads EVERY day..

Meanwhile in the US a 24 year old has been convicted of three counts of second degree murder and sentenced to 51 years to life in prison for crashing into a car that killed three lives and seriously injured a fourth. This was while the convicted felon was both under the influence of alcohol and being on probation for a previous drunk driving offence.

It makes double demerits seem bearable.

I don’t see double demerits as a waste of time. I’m sure it’s at least a slight deterrent to a good chunk of would-be offenders.

Regardless of whether the stats do or don’t rise over the holidays season, I’m sure they’d be much higher if drunks and speeders weren’t that little bit more paranoid to risk getting hit by a double dose of the law.

In that case, troll-sniffer, why do we bother to have universities or higher education at all?

Let’s get rid of all the doctors, surgeons and medical specialists – surely someone with a decent grasp of ‘the big picture’ can do better than those snobby bastards.

Same goes with all specialised knowledge careers – might as well get some random arrogant bogan to head the Australian Defence Force.

georgesgenitals8:58 am 23 Dec 10

In terms of kilometres driven, I think you’ll find that major holiday weekends have lower rates of injury and death from motor accidents.

troll-sniffer10:12 pm 22 Dec 10

Jimmy Jones, maaaate…. Not only are the overall figures often no higher than other weekends, but even on weekends when there is a noticeable demonstrated increase, the increase in traffic volumes is far higher as a percentage than the increase in the toll.

And yes, I am happy to declare that I as an untrained uneducated buffoon have the ability to look across the world, take all factors into account, incorporate principles of psychology, and declare that IMHO, all things considered, not just the narrow focus of the traffic ‘engineers’ that those responsible for road safety campaigns, road design and rule enforcement, are often seriously misguided precisely because they fail to look at the big picture.

A double waste of time. The road toll on long weekends or “holiday periods” are not significantly different to the toll on any other weekend. The only thing that has lowered the road toll progressively has been improvements in car road safety.

VG forgot to add, “irresponsible bogan, with no friends.”

Don’t speed and don’t drink drive so my life pretty much remains unchanged. If this is a cause of outrage to you then you’re an irresponsible bogan

hehehehe @ Holditz

@Jim Jones, you can go to http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/road_fatality_statistics/fatal_road_crash_database.aspx and bring up the data, it’s not always easy to use, but it’s there. From a very quick look it appears to depend on the year, some years there is an increase, some there is not.

bah – above should be “evidence to *support* EvanJames’ notion”.

Any evidence to support that statement, troll-sniffer, or are you just pissing into wind?

I’ve not seen any evidence to reject EvanJames’ notion that there there was no actual increase in road deaths at Xmas/Easter, and a quick Google brings up some stats (http://www.britzinoz.com/uk-australia/motoring-2/statistics-road-deaths-in-australia) that pretty clearly indicate a significant rise in road deaths over holiday periods.

I’m at a loss to explain how someone with absolutely no educational background or training in traffic safety seriously professes to know better than people who have dedicated their professional lives to the subject.

troll-sniffer2:58 pm 22 Dec 10

I heard somewhere that there was no actual increase in road deaths at Xmas/Easter, it’s just that the media becomes very interested in them at holiday time. Has anyone else heard that one?

yep but the narrow-minded uni-focussed ‘experts’ in traffic safety won’t entertain any findings that are at odds with what they know.

KB, if you survive, you’ll get double demerits. Adding insult to injury.

Double Demerits have always (certainly for the last 5 years) been only for speeding and seatbelts. Primarily because they are aimed at people driving on highways, which there is a lot more of over the double demerit periods.

I can’t wait till the holiday period is over and it is fine to speed recklessly again.

Double discount period is annoying when I want to have fun on the bike.

I heard somewhere that there was no actual increase in road deaths at Xmas/Easter, it’s just that the media becomes very interested in them at holiday time. Has anyone else heard that one?

Waste of time. There will be a raft of horrific accidents like every year as city people have no idea how to drive safely on country roads.

georgesgenitals1:54 pm 22 Dec 10

“ACT Policing is urging motorists to drive safely over the Christmas holidays and warn that double demerit points will be in effect for speeding and not wearing a seatbelt.”

Forgive my ignorance, but I thought it was double demerits for all traffic infringements over the period. Any reason they wouldn’t have double demerits for things like running red lights?

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