31 January 2012

WANTED: PROJECTS TO IMPROVE ROAD SAFETY

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road safety

Most people understand the importance of road safety. After all, it is something that can potentially affect all of us. If you want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem, this is your chance to seek funding to make the solution happen. You might have a good idea about road safety around your local school, in your local community or in the ACT and region generally. This is your opportunity to apply for funding to help make that idea a reality.

Individuals and community-based and other organisations can apply for funding for projects or activities from the NRMA – ACT Road Safety Trust under the 2012/2013 Grant Program.

The Trust has identified the following as priority areas and will give such applications priority attention:

    — Drink Driving
    — Drug Driving
    — Driver Distraction
    — Speed
    — Unlicensed drivers

The Trust will also consider applications focussed on other areas of road safety.

The Trust is jointly funded by NRMA Insurance and the ACT Government’s road safety levy and its main objective is to enhance road safety for the ACT road-using community. The Trust is seeking well-justified applications for grants, which meet the Trust’s objectives and which have the potential to produce practical road safety benefit in the ACT and region.

Information and on-line submission form are available from www.roadsafetytrust.org.au

Applications close on 9 March 2012.

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Felix the Cat6:04 am 05 Feb 12

damien haas said :

I wonder if the decline in road fatalities due to alcohol has been matched with a rise in fatalities due to mobile phone use.

Every day i see drivers on their mobile phone – an offence the much vaunted ‘safety cameras’ dont detect. Yesterday I was catching the bus back from Belconnen and from the bus window saw a person with an iPad on their steering wheel – while driving along Ginninderra Drive.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/super-cam-nabs-drivers-on-phones-and-without-seatbelts-from-600m-away/story-e6freuzr-1226262428942

markjohnconley2:10 pm 04 Feb 12

Remove the ambiguities in the road rules, eg. rule 73 (3) & (5) with 236?
If the police will not / can not enforce the rules and the public is not educated then remove the confusing rules, again 73 (3) & (5)
mark

Holden Caulfield said :

Gee, who would have thought a country of almost 17 million in an area less than half the size of Victoria would have a better planned road/cycle system than Australia.

It’s fine to keep referring to the Netherlands as commuting nirvana, but I would think a minor thing called reality, is going to make it very hard to implement any similar measures on a grand scale as would be required here to create a meaningful effect.

I certainly agree with the theory of better separating motor vehicles and cyclists, I just can’t see it ever happening.

Australia is unique given our massive landmass and tiny population. Cycling from one side of the country, to another, or even simply in between major towns and cities on the east coast will almost certainly never be a reality for general commuting.

However it is a reality that the vast majority of the Australian population live in cities. A request for proper, dedicated and direct cycling infrastructure within towns and cities in order to provide a realistic alternative to the motor vehicle and to public transport, is far from unreasonable.

Staying on topic, less people in 1 to 2 tonne motor vehicles traveling at 50 to 100 km/h, and more people on bikes traveling at 10 to 30 km/h, will also improve road safety. This is what we can take from several decades of cycle infrastructure innovations in the Netherlands.

Such infrastructure becoming a reality in Canberra will take funding and commitment from progressive governments over several terms.

Had the 1970’s oil crisis woken Canberra up to the fact that privately owned motor vehicles are not the way forward for a sustainable future, then we would already be in a situation where a significant percentage of short city trips could be made safely by bicycle.

We did not wake up to that fact then… nor did we wake up to that fact during the fuel cost spikes in the last decade.

Even today, in 2012, new developments in Canberra are not required to have foot paths on residential access streets, let alone cycle infrastructure.

Pedestrians are expected to walk in the same space as motor vehicles may be operated, then hop off the road when a vehicle approaches at a legal speed of 50 km/h. A speed where should a motor vehicle collide with a pedestrian, the pedestrian’s chance of survival is less than half. This goes on meters from our front doors, and is somehow considered acceptable, or too hard to fix.

The privately owned motor vehicle is still king in Canberra, that fact in itself is one of the biggest detriments to road safety today.

poetix said :

NoImRight said :

Ive got a rock that keeps tigers away if you are interested in buying it.

The magic crystals hanging from my mirror keep thylacines away, even when I drive past the zoo.

Beats your rock any day. And they give the car such a pretty, in-touch-with the-spirits look.

Mmmm. Id like to buy your crystals. They do seem to be working!

NoImRight said :

Ive got a rock that keeps tigers away if you are interested in buying it.

The magic crystals hanging from my mirror keep thylacines away, even when I drive past the zoo. Beats your rock any day. And they give the car such a pretty, in-touch-with the-spirits look.

BicycleCanberra11:34 am 02 Feb 12

NoImRight said :

Ive got a rock that keeps tigers away if you are interested in buying it.

what about a Bull, or the elephant in the room!

BicycleCanberra said :

Holden Caulfield said :

Gee, who would have thought a country of almost 17 million in an area less than half the size of Victoria would have a better planned road/cycle system than Australia.

It’s fine to keep referring to the Netherlands as commuting nirvana, but I would think a minor thing called reality, is going to make it very hard to implement any similar measures on a grand scale as would be required here to create a meaningful effect.

I certainly agree with the theory of better separating motor vehicles and cyclists, I just can’t see it ever happening.

Interesting for the size of the Netherlands that there is over 29 000km of dedicated cycle paths and 12 000 km of cycle lanes. In terms of scale, the most amount of cycling infrastructure anywhere in the world.
The figures and statistics speak for themselves really. If you want to compare road safety statistics they are also at the top of the tree for motorised countries at around 4 deaths per 100 000.

It will only happen with ‘political will’ and a willing to invest in cycling and walking.

http://youtu.be/rn2s6ax_7TM

Ive got a rock that keeps tigers away if you are interested in buying it.

BicycleCanberra11:06 am 02 Feb 12

Holden Caulfield said :

Gee, who would have thought a country of almost 17 million in an area less than half the size of Victoria would have a better planned road/cycle system than Australia.

It’s fine to keep referring to the Netherlands as commuting nirvana, but I would think a minor thing called reality, is going to make it very hard to implement any similar measures on a grand scale as would be required here to create a meaningful effect.

I certainly agree with the theory of better separating motor vehicles and cyclists, I just can’t see it ever happening.

Interesting for the size of the Netherlands that there is over 29 000km of dedicated cycle paths and 12 000 km of cycle lanes. In terms of scale, the most amount of cycling infrastructure anywhere in the world.
The figures and statistics speak for themselves really. If you want to compare road safety statistics they are also at the top of the tree for motorised countries at around 4 deaths per 100 000.

It will only happen with ‘political will’ and a willing to invest in cycling and walking.

http://youtu.be/rn2s6ax_7TM

Holden Caulfield said :

Gee, who would have thought a country of almost 17 million in an area less than half the size of Victoria would have a better planned road/cycle system than Australia.

It’s fine to keep referring to the Netherlands as commuting nirvana, but I would think a minor thing called reality, is going to make it very hard to implement any similar measures on a grand scale as would be required here to create a meaningful effect.

I certainly agree with the theory of better separating motor vehicles and cyclists, I just can’t see it ever happening.

Pretty much this…..

I could make a lengthy reply detailing the logic fail, economic fail and moral high ground fail in #36 and #43 but Ill sit pat for now. Please think about paras 1 and 2 above before launching…

Holden Caulfield10:05 am 02 Feb 12

Gee, who would have thought a country of almost 17 million in an area less than half the size of Victoria would have a better planned road/cycle system than Australia.

It’s fine to keep referring to the Netherlands as commuting nirvana, but I would think a minor thing called reality, is going to make it very hard to implement any similar measures on a grand scale as would be required here to create a meaningful effect.

I certainly agree with the theory of better separating motor vehicles and cyclists, I just can’t see it ever happening.

Given that most accidents are caused by driver error, why not an advertising campaign giving people tips on how to drive more safely – well, really, how to avoid accidents.

I know that defensive driving courses often involve instructors sitting in a car and having the driver tell the instructor all the potential dangers (or the instructor pointing out the dangers) eg: there is a car pulling up at the cross road, danger is that it wont stop or will pull out. So you (as driver) need to check that the car is stopped. Best way – look at their wheels, because you can tell if a wheel is turning. Then see if the driver is looking in your direction. Or you notice the driver of the car in the lane next to you has turned and looked at you. Does this mean s/he might be changing lanes, even though the indicator is not on? What do you do – slow down and leave a gap between you and the car in front, just in case. Or you are driving along a country road at night and a car coming towards you blinds you with their headlights – what do you do? Or a fox appears in the middle of the road – what do you do?

Its all well and good to say ‘make getting a licence harder’ but the vast majority of people on the road already have a licence, so making it harder is a very long term remedy.

Giving a few tips – in a genuine non patronising way, that isn’t a ‘you are doing it wrong, stop it’ attitude (like speeding, drink driving, mobile phone use etc ads usually are) – encouraging people to realise what dangers exists and what they can do to minimise those dangers, surely will reduce accidents.

All of the ‘priority areas’ identified are serious, but they are all things people already know are wrong and nonetheless they chose to do it. A few more campaigns waving a disappointed finger at them isn’t going to change anything. But a campaign that teaches people new skills, rather than trying to stop them doing something, surely is both worth the effort and will get more attention than yet another ad saying the same things as has been said many time over many years.

damien haas said :

I wonder if the decline in road fatalities due to alcohol has been matched with a rise in fatalities due to mobile phone use.

Every day i see drivers on their mobile phone – an offence the much vaunted ‘safety cameras’ dont detect. Yesterday I was catching the bus back from Belconnen and from the bus window saw a person with an iPad on their steering wheel – while driving along Ginninderra Drive.

Safety camera don’t detect drink drivers either (your other comparison point). So, not sure why they come into that comparison?

NoImRight said :

Whatever they arent doing in the fricken Netherlands gets my vote.

Really?

You say this despite their road deaths being roughly the same as ours in 1971 (Netherlands over 3300, Australia 3590)… at which time the Dutch decided to invest heavily in bicycle in infrastructure and push people back onto bicycles.

In recent years, our road deaths, 1,488 in 2009, 1,352 in 2010.

In the Netherlands, 720 and 640 respectively.

Despite the commitment of the Dutch clearly paying off, despite proof that proper dedicated bicycling facilities within built up areas are considerably safer than catering primarily for motor vehicles… we continue to treat car as king consider cyclists as less entitled to their own infrastructure.

Why?

Just to confirm… given the chance to have our road deaths decline at double the speed that they have been, you would chose not to take that option?

BicycleCanberra4:20 pm 01 Feb 12

NoImRight said :

Whatever they arent doing in the fricken Netherlands gets my vote.

How about Sweden then

Whatever they arent doing in the fricken Netherlands gets my vote.

I wonder if the decline in road fatalities due to alcohol has been matched with a rise in fatalities due to mobile phone use.

Every day i see drivers on their mobile phone – an offence the much vaunted ‘safety cameras’ dont detect. Yesterday I was catching the bus back from Belconnen and from the bus window saw a person with an iPad on their steering wheel – while driving along Ginninderra Drive.

I’m with the black boxes and cameras guy. An accurate record of any accidents will make people drive more carefully. We need to treat road transport as seriously as we treat air or train transport. Not just write off the costs of accidents as the price of convenience.

DermottBanana1:46 pm 01 Feb 12

The laws we have regarding road safety are adequate. What they need is greater enforcement.
One doesn’t need a study grant to work that out.

BicycleCanberra1:43 pm 01 Feb 12

Sgt.Bungers said :

Okwhatever said :

BicycleCanberra said :

How about spending money to improve cycle/footpaths.I can’t remember seeing a path without being cracked, broken, lifted up,overgrown and covered with dirt,leaves rubbish. Every time the grass is mowed the paths are covered with grass.

I think you have had enough of my money spent on your infrastructure thanks.

Say what?

Are you aware that Australia wide, motor vehicle crashes alone cost Australia nearly $18 billion a year? (BITRE 2006)

Passenger vehicle and light commercial vehicle registration and CTP insurance, assuming a very generous average cost of $1000 per year, raises around $15 billion?

Most transport infrastructure funding comes from general revenues, such as income tax, GST, stamp duty, etc.

Given that cyclists and pedestrians cost the least amount of money in terms of wear and tear on road infrastructure, social costs, crash costs, environmental costs… not only should we be investing far more heavily on dedicated cycling and pedestrian infrastructure… it could be argued that State, Territory and Federal governments should be refunding money to those who don’t privately own a motor vehicle. To be fair of course.

In Canberra it is impossible for most families not to at least own a car at present, but with balanced investment in cycling infrastructure, intelligent city planning, that could easily change in a period as short as a couple of decades.

Back on topic, big investment in cycling infrastructure would also be a massive win for road safety, as seen in the Netherlands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBdf9jYj7o

Couldn’t have said it better myself, and the Netherlands has some of the best roads in the world…..

http://youtu.be/O7VkXWubgcY

……….. you don’t see cyclists having to ride in the shoulders of the motorways, as we are encouraged to do here.

Okwhatever said :

BicycleCanberra said :

How about spending money to improve cycle/footpaths.I can’t remember seeing a path without being cracked, broken, lifted up,overgrown and covered with dirt,leaves rubbish. Every time the grass is mowed the paths are covered with grass.

I think you have had enough of my money spent on your infrastructure thanks.

Say what?

Are you aware that Australia wide, motor vehicle crashes alone cost Australia nearly $18 billion a year? (BITRE 2006)

Passenger vehicle and light commercial vehicle registration and CTP insurance, assuming a very generous average cost of $1000 per year, raises around $15 billion?

Most transport infrastructure funding comes from general revenues, such as income tax, GST, stamp duty, etc.

Given that cyclists and pedestrians cost the least amount of money in terms of wear and tear on road infrastructure, social costs, crash costs, environmental costs… not only should we be investing far more heavily on dedicated cycling and pedestrian infrastructure… it could be argued that State, Territory and Federal governments should be refunding money to those who don’t privately own a motor vehicle. To be fair of course.

In Canberra it is impossible for most families not to at least own a car at present, but with balanced investment in cycling infrastructure, intelligent city planning, that could easily change in a period as short as a couple of decades.

Back on topic, big investment in cycling infrastructure would also be a massive win for road safety, as seen in the Netherlands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBdf9jYj7o

Alderney said :

Learners to do more hours with qualified/registered driving instructors. Driving is a right not a privilage, if you can’t afford to learn, how the hell will you afford to maintain a roadworthy vehicle. Desire is a powerful motivator..

It’s not always knowing about ‘how’ to drive, but chosing to do it correctly.

I was not prepared to pay the fortune that driving instructors charge – and so was taught by my parents. I have not had a single accident or fine.
It’s peope’s attitudes, not who taught them that is the problem here!

replace speed cameras on straight sections of road with tailgating cameras.

Felix the Cat12:50 pm 01 Feb 12

Okwhatever said :

Why is it that drug driving is driving with the drugs present in your system but drink driving only happens when you have a certain amount of alcohol in your system? I struggle to understand how drug driving can be tested for when there are no designated levels of intoxication indicated. If you are going to preach about any drugs in your system being bad then why not have the same rule for alcohol?

With illegal drugs it’s not relevant what is or isn’t the level of intoxication, what is relevant is the fact they are umm… illegal and you aren’t supposed to take any, at all, ever.

To have zero alcohol ban I believe is impossible as some (legal) drugs can give an alcohol reading when breath tested.

Alderney said :

Double demerits and double fines for anyone caught breaking the road rules with a person under the age of 16 or 18 in the car.

And automatic fines and demerits for anyone with a My Family sticker arrangement on their car.

Can’t believe no-one’s said MOAR speed cameras” yet :-\

Okwhatever said :

Why is it that drug driving is driving with the drugs present in your system but drink driving only happens when you have a certain amount of alcohol in your system? I struggle to understand how drug driving can be tested for when there are no designated levels of intoxication indicated. If you are going to preach about any drugs in your system being bad then why not have the same rule for alcohol?

Coz they’re only testing for illegal drugs, so any quantity is an offence. Nothing to do with safety per se other than the assumption that drugs are bad, mmmmkay.

p1 said :

Large blue and orange flashing signs by the roads side which say BEWARE OF DISTRACTIONS.

😀

BicycleCanberra said :

Okwhatever said :

How about spending the money on doing a better job fixing and installing our roads. I can remember when seeing a pothole in Canberra was pretty much unheard of, now every time it rains holes magically appear in the roads.

How about spending money to improve cycle/footpaths.I can’t remember seeing a path without being cracked, broken, lifted up,overgrown and covered with dirt,leaves rubbish. Every time the grass is mowed the paths are covered with grass.

I agree, I’m sick of getting broken spokes because of the crap state of the cycle paths.

Also building sites should be forced to maintain the on-road cycle paths going past their works f#$&@^%& c%$@!

I have cars (note the plural) and I ride. I only drive when I have to.

I drive, I ride, I vote!

johnboy said :

if only we could think about “our money” and “our infrastructure”.

We do – for a given definition of “our.” Many of the posts on RA are about “us” and “them.”

BicycleCanberra said :

How about spending money to improve cycle/footpaths.I can’t remember seeing a path without being cracked, broken, lifted up,overgrown and covered with dirt,leaves rubbish. Every time the grass is mowed the paths are covered with grass.

There is a beautiful new flat piece of bike lane outside the new ANU housing in Marcus Clarke. Of course, its only 100m long and you cant use it yet. But soon you can have 5 seconds of bliss….

Double demerits and double fines for anyone caught breaking the road rules with a person under the age of 16 or 18 in the car. It may take 20 years to see the results, but learned behaviour will alter dramatically.

I’m not advocating this postion is a panacea, but I’d estimate there would be significant behavioural improvements over time. This would result in good savings to the State via enforcement (allocation of scarce resources), hospitals, courts, improvements in productivity etc.

Limit provisional licence holders to a power to weight ratio similar to that of motorbikes (not sure if this is the case already, I think it is in some jurisdictions). E.g. Make them all drive Diahatsu Sirions…

The State to take possession and to sell the vehicle used by a 2nd, 3rd etc time unlicensed/disqualified drivers. If the vehicle is not theirs, the owner receives a warning and the next time their car is seized.

Learners to do more hours with qualified/registered driving instructors. Driving is a right not a privilage, if you can’t afford to learn, how the hell will you afford to maintain a roadworthy vehicle. Desire is a powerful motivator.

Compulsary third party property insurance. Why should someone who does not have comprehensive insurance have their life stuffed up by anothers inability to drive/pay attention?

I got lots of these, but I won’t be putting in a submission. I gotta work for a living. Happy to help someone out putting a submission together if required though.

BicycleCanberra11:31 am 01 Feb 12

Okwhatever said :

BicycleCanberra said :

How about spending money to improve cycle/footpaths.I can’t remember seeing a path without being cracked, broken, lifted up,overgrown and covered with dirt,leaves rubbish. Every time the grass is mowed the paths are covered with grass.

I think you have had enough of my money spent on your infrastructure thanks.

Er over $1 Billion dollars spent in the last 10 years on roads and another $150 million for the next four. Less than 8% spent on cycle paths and footpaths over that time and only  $3 million a year over the next 3. I think we know where the money is being spent and your worried about a couple of pot holes.

A survey in the latest Transport for Canberra document stated that there should be a fairer distribution of transport dollars. More people what more money spent on cycling and walking!

if only we could think about “our money” and “our infrastructure”.

BicycleCanberra said :

How about spending money to improve cycle/footpaths.I can’t remember seeing a path without being cracked, broken, lifted up,overgrown and covered with dirt,leaves rubbish. Every time the grass is mowed the paths are covered with grass.

I think you have had enough of my money spent on your infrastructure thanks.

BicycleCanberra10:28 am 01 Feb 12

Okwhatever said :

How about spending the money on doing a better job fixing and installing our roads. I can remember when seeing a pothole in Canberra was pretty much unheard of, now every time it rains holes magically appear in the roads.

How about spending money to improve cycle/footpaths.I can’t remember seeing a path without being cracked, broken, lifted up,overgrown and covered with dirt,leaves rubbish. Every time the grass is mowed the paths are covered with grass.

How about spending the money on doing a better job fixing and installing our roads. I can remember when seeing a pothole in Canberra was pretty much unheard of, now every time it rains holes magically appear in the roads.

Why is it that drug driving is driving with the drugs present in your system but drink driving only happens when you have a certain amount of alcohol in your system? I struggle to understand how drug driving can be tested for when there are no designated levels of intoxication indicated. If you are going to preach about any drugs in your system being bad then why not have the same rule for alcohol?

DarkLadyWolfMother8:52 am 01 Feb 12

DarkLadyWolfMother said :

You cant … get t-boned at a roundabout.

I beg to differ on this point. Having attended an accident where just this happened. Never underestimate idiot drivers.

Well, I screwed that up. I was trying to reply to turbodewd saying you can’t get t-boned on roundabouts.

DarkLadyWolfMother8:40 am 01 Feb 12

You cant … get t-boned at a roundabout.

I beg to differ on this point. Having attended an accident where just this happened. Never underestimate idiot drivers.

turbodewd said :

Less intersections and more roundabouts. You cant run a red roundabout or get t-boned at a roundabout. I cringe at some ACT intersections which are low/medium traffic at any hour and I see cars stationary on RED while no cars are moving.

And roundabouts are greener – cars lose fuel economy badly when they have to stop and start.

But you can be cut off on a roundabout by retards that try to drive in a near straight line past a roundabout going from the outside lane to the inside lane.

* Separate cars and bicycles.

* Recycle the cars of texters, unlicensed and drink drivers. Recycle repeat texters, unlicensed and drink drivers.

* Re-build the rail network and get trucks off the highways.

* Synchronise traffic lights.

* Re-instate annual vehicle inspections or, at least, headlight alignment checks.

Fewer Police on the roads…

I am currently forced to use twice the necessary amount of fuel, driving the long way to places, to avoid getting defected.

So Who’s REALLY to blame for global warming?!

More dirt roads. Pull up the tar, and get it nice and gravelly. Only thing is the government will go broke, no more speeding money.

Less intersections and more roundabouts. You cant run a red roundabout or get t-boned at a roundabout. I cringe at some ACT intersections which are low/medium traffic at any hour and I see cars stationary on RED while no cars are moving.

And roundabouts are greener – cars lose fuel economy badly when they have to stop and start.

whitelaughter said :

Cyclists are quite happy to go over hills etc; it makes the trip more interesting and is useful when trying to get fit.

Speak for yourself. Some do, some don’t. I don’t. I’ve gone out of my way seeking flatter roads on the way home.

OpenYourMind10:14 pm 31 Jan 12

Personally, I think technology isn’t that far off where we won’t have to worry about road safety. The game change is approaching so fast and so few of us realise it. Every year our cars get a little more technologically advanced. The safety features of expensive cars filter down to the cheapest. We’re still a way away from an autonomous car sans steering wheel, but not that far. We’ve already got cars that park themselves, cruise controls that lock on to cars in front and stability control and ABS. But they’re just the pre-cursors. Audi this year is bringing out a traffic jam mode in the A8. This will allow the car to drive/steer itself up to 60km/h in a traffic jam all the while following the lane and ready to brake. The Google self driving car has already clocked up 200,000 accident free miles.

The toughest hurdles in the future will be trust and legal issues for autonomous cars.

I forget, how many road deaths did we have last year?

whitelaughter9:17 pm 31 Jan 12

Expand the cycle paths *away* from the roads.
The cycle paths are currently set up for exercise/relaxation, rather than transport, so cyclists are on the roads as often as not. Cycle paths should run through the parks/hills, well away from other traffic, so that they’re safer and more pleasant; and end at covered bike racks 0.5k away from each city centre, so that people can safely chain their bikes and then walk the rest of the way to work. Cyclists are quite happy to go over hills etc; it makes the trip more interesting and is useful when trying to get fit.

Large blue and orange flashing signs by the roads side which say BEWARE OF DISTRACTIONS.

Indicators.

Have someone invent a camera we can install at every intersection that fines people for not using their indicators early enough.

Thats my biggest gripe with other drivers, everyone seems to put on the indicator AS they start the turn (especially older drivers and fat women in 4wds). Etheir people start putting them on 5secs before they turn or we should just do away indicators for good.

justsomeaussie7:34 pm 31 Jan 12

We just don’t get it, the easier we make it to drive the more people will do something else like texting while driving.

If you want zero fatalities just replace steering wheel air bag with a large spike. You’ll find then everybody instantally becomes the most considerate, attentive and safe drivers around.

Everyone else’s solution revolves around placing a bigger and bigger bubble around people, making roads straighter, easier to drive on, bigger barriers and more police.

We need to encourage people to pay more attention to the roads not less.

Road User (not just Car Driver) Training is conspicuously absent from the list of priority areas.

Increase the speed limit on Gungahlin Drive.

Not true. I drive a BMW and I sometimes text and drive.

Well, since the ACT & NSW transport ministers (past and present) are aware of my opinion on what can help road safety (better education, stricter licence testing, road maintenance and more police on the beat/road), I’m going to go out on a limb with this one:

Install a camera in every ACT registered vehicle mounted above the drivers head that covers the instrument panel, the centre and RH door mirror and the view ahead. This camera incorporates a GPS unit which records location, direction of travel and speed. The camera operates any time the key is in the ignition and transmits all recorded information back to the ACT RTA in real time.

Then, as a requirement to receive centrelink payments, each centrelink recipient will be required to review a certain amount of recorded footage. Any time a reviewer notes a breach of the road rules it is reported & the centrelink recipient receives a bonus over and above their centrelink payment.

Any attempt to tamper with the camera will result in an automatic disqualification of the vehicles registration and the owners drivers licence.

Please note that this is posted with the greatest of sarcasm, although I’m sure the government will think it’s the best idea since the speed camera…

VYBerlinaV8_is_back5:05 pm 31 Jan 12

Ban Hondas. People who own them text while driving. So do people they lend their car to.

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