140km/h Off-peak Speed Limit

[Peter89]

will never happy but its a good idea. left lane should be still 110, for trucks/vans and n00bs.

[Phatboy]

If part of the licensing system is driver training eg., at high speed, how to control spin-outs, etc like they do in Finland in the TG episode 140kmh would be safe.

The problem is always money. Of course the govt is not going to choose to lose money.

We should start up a political party promising higher speed limits and driver training, or get one of us elected as State Roads Minister On one hand most of the elderly and nanny-state embracers will be against it, on the other hand most reasonable people, not to mention every car enthusiast, will be for it. That would be something for me to vote for, instead of taking off my Saturday morning to randomly tick boxes for local MPs I have no idea about whenever election time comes around.

[GTRNUR]

We should start up a political party promising higher speed limits and driver training, or get one of us elected as State Roads Minister

Not a bad idea. I was told that one of those morning shows did a recent poll regarding popularity of current politicians and an independant called Don Key was chosen to be more popular than current pollies.

http://wagga.iprime.com.au/index.php/news/...d-abbott,411851

Thinking of licensing tests and their forcus on driver ability, it reminds me of how I got my license. Had to go for the test 3 times so I could pass.

1st test: Failed due to "driving with too much confidence", (I have been driving cars, go-carts and motorbikes since I was 12, doing all maner of stupid things and learning how to recover from such stupid driving activities). I also failed to make a right hand turn where instructed to do so (The test was on an unfamiliar winding road, and I had no idea where the right hand turn was so I didnt take it).

2nd test: Failed due to rolling over the painted line at an intersection at a Give way sign (which isnt against the rules anyway).

3rd test: Passed. Instructor had me drive him to the esplanade, wait in the car while went to buy lunch, and then drive him back to the QLD transport depot.

No car control tests, no emergency braking tests, not even a hill start in all three tests.

Edited June 14, 2010 by GTRNUR

[Gazelle D]

finally somebody with "swing" wants to do something about the nanny state.......

somebody needs to do something.

[llama_au]

The problem with increasing the speed limit at present is that there are too many cars on the road that couldn't safely do that speed. Work on getting unroadworthy and unsafe cars off the road and then we can think about higher speed limits.

[StealthX]

If farken sucks how the government refuses to up driver training!

I can't believe how blatantly obvious it is that this sort of action will greatly save lives, but those money hungry farks just want more coin in their pockets. I honestly can't believe how dumb these people (who are running our country) are.

I think the government wont do anything to do with driver training because 1) it costs too much money, and 2) the real world effects wont come into play until the next election term, by which time the current government probably wont even be in power (read: wont give a gosh darn).

We used to have decent people running our country, but now we only have money hungry chair sniffers.

I hate in that article how everyone takes Skaife out of context. The only thing that is mentioned is the 140km/h speed limit increase, and the point he makes about increasing driver training, road maintenance and car safety is only touched on. More great trash journalism from the Herald Sun. What Bev Brock said at the bottom of the article is f**king retarded too.

Bev Brock, former partner of late Australian motoring great Peter Brock, agreed.

"Obviously Mark comes from a racing environment where he is dealing with people with exceptional ability, in specially designed vehicles," she said.

"But the real world is not like that. There are drivers who are incapable of managing the current speed limits."

So Bev, are you saying Mark Skaife has no real world driving experience, and he is only thinking from a racetrack? What a dipshit. He's on the right track (pardon the pun) you're just taking him out of context.

[R31Nismoid]

Bev is just a sensationalist, i have little respect for her and how she went about Peter's death in the media circuis. I don't even know why the media would bother contacting her.

Probably more was her contacting them now it think about it

[saff_cossie]

I always read threads/articles around speed increases/driver training with interest and have commented many times on it.

Did anyone notice how on Satuday's Herald Sun, the only part they put in size 24 font was the speed limit to grab the attention and enable anyone to form an opinion without reading the rest of the article from Mark. Whatever sells papers it seems.

A tougher test is not just the answer, it has to start before that. The instructors giving the training need to be trained to a very high calibre much like teachers who teach primary aged kids are not your average teachers due to the knowledge they absorb at that age. A half trained instructor gets the whole process off to a bad start. 120 hours with parents isn't worth 2 hours with an good instructor if you are driving the family Prado on a long weekend along the highway with the family in the car because dad can't be bothered to drive. An example, when on a 4 lane road, teaching a student to switch lanes to join the shortest queue at the lights. The student has eaten into someone else's braking distance, this I see all too often with learners and onto fully licenced drivers. P platers would be the most common culprits of this. Do it in front of a truck once and you may not do it again!

Tougher test comes next. I was shocked when I took my girlfriend for her test and the examiner told her what he would be testing on, what to do and not to do. A licence is a privelige, not a right.

Next comes the type of vehicles, a P plater who is an inexperienced driver does not need a big powerful car. Comparisons are regularly made with European countries, 1-1.5 litre cars will suffice however the bigger picture of the local industry needs to be considered here. A young driver doesn't need any more confidence than they already have with the freedom of a car. This includes power, music, full of mates, weather, traffic conditions, wildlife etc. Mitigate as much risk as possible.

Once the car has been decided on, it has to be insured and not just via rego. Refer Europe again. This teaches the real value of car ownership and the real risk associated with not only driving but also the type of vehicle and driver.

Introduce an annual check, bombs on the road are as much of a hazard as a hoon.

Curfews are not the answer, restricting passengers isn't either. The disparity of this country doesn't lend itself to that setup with public transport/infrastructure.

My 2c

[GTRNUR]

Bev is just a sensationalist, i have little respect for her and how she went about Peter's death in the media circuis. I don't even know why the media would bother contacting her.

Probably more was her contacting them now it think about it

Either way her words have helped push the ajenda of the popular media (organisations that call themselves NEWS that is).

I hope Mark Scaife recognises the fine line he is walking here. Suggesting higher speed limits while at the same time as recommending a change in driver attitude and improved driver training allows those in opposition to stimulate public opinion to brand him as a "hoon". Once branded a hoon there will be little if anything at all he will be able to do to improve the situation on Australian roads.

Focusing on one thing at a time will help, such as creating more awareness for the need for more driver training, and perhaps lobying the government to begin channeling a percentage of its road penaity income into such training endeavours. Focus on one issue at a time forces stories to be printed for what they are, and does not allow the media to take the reality of the facts out of context as much.

I do wonder if Bev was read the whole story about what Mark had said, or if whe was getting a pedicure and a facial and was just asked to make a passing comment on Mark's suggestion to raise the speed limit. She could have easily been lead into making a comment that could be used to harm Mark's credability. Such a thing then printed serves to divide the motorsport community, further reducing the credability of anyone in motorsport that does speak up on road safety.

[blind_elk]

While it's a great idea, it won't work for a couple of reasons.

Firstly as already stated, most drivers seem incapable of driving safely within the current 100 / 110 kph speed limit. How on earth are they expected to cope with 140? Not until there is a radical improvement in testing and skill levels of drivers will it be possible to consider raising the speed limit to 140.

Secondly, many drivers seem to think it their God-given right to drive in the right hand lane on divided highways, like the Hume. Combined with the inability to drive at 100 / 110 kph, such behaviour will undoubtedly anger those drivers both capable of driving and willing to drive at the much higher speed. This is what contributes more to crashes than the actual speed involved. Not until "keep left unless overtaking" is rigorously enforced and drivers get over this "I can drive in whatever lane I like" mentality, it will be difficult to implement a 140 limit.

Speed doesn't kill, it is inappropriate speed that kills.

[dan_the_man]

I will never understand why the coppers target the import and modified car community and not the old bombs you see every day driving to work on bald tyres with blue smoke coming out the exhaust.

the guy in the old heap of shit is probably just trying to make ends meet and doesn't mean to go breaking the law.

where as the guy with the import purposely makes his car unroadworthy (by law) by modifying it.

the law should be fair to everyone, but it's not.

[teK--]

the guy in the old heap of shit is probably just trying to make ends meet and doesn't mean to go breaking the law.

where as the guy with the import purposely makes his car unroadworthy (by law) by modifying it.

the law should be fair to everyone, but it's not.

Here's a dare for the government, put some of the traffic enforcement revenue towards a subsidised new cars program to get bombs off the road! (Means test would apply, of course)

[180Roman]

i bet a lot of the crashes happen because a lot of people are so worried about their speed they are looking at their speedo and not the road

[zero-R33-]

It's about time someone with some real world experience on good driving skills, has brought out such a well publicised story.

When I finished my driving exam I said to the testing offier "Is that it?" Which pretty much sums up how inadequate our licensing system is.

+1 to that, my test seemed like 5 minutes of driving, a 3 point turn, then the 5 minute drive back to the place...

$$$

who do you think has a greater capacity to pay fines.. the guy with the $1k car or the guy with the $1k exhaust?

Hilarious

[scotty014]

While it's a great idea, it won't work for a couple of reasons.

Firstly as already stated, most drivers seem incapable of driving safely within the current 100 / 110 kph speed limit. How on earth are they expected to cope with 140? Not until there is a radical improvement in testing and skill levels of drivers will it be possible to consider raising the speed limit to 140.

Secondly, many drivers seem to think it their God-given right to drive in the right hand lane on divided highways, like the Hume. Combined with the inability to drive at 100 / 110 kph, such behaviour will undoubtedly anger those drivers both capable of driving and willing to drive at the much higher speed. This is what contributes more to crashes than the actual speed involved. Not until "keep left unless overtaking" is rigorously enforced and drivers get over this "I can drive in whatever lane I like" mentality, it will be difficult to implement a 140 limit.

Speed doesn't kill, it is inappropriate speed that kills.

agreed, people tend to think that its their road and they can drive in any lane they want. id also like to add if your going to overtake a car than hurry the f*k up about it, there are other cars behind you that would like to do the same. everyone are just thinking about themselves and dont care if they are holding up other people and also never use there mirrors to see where other drivers are.

[OMY31T]

as much as i like victorias "get a RWC when u puchase a car" idea... there is far 2 many cars down here that are not safe to drive. im from nsw originally, 25yrs up there and 2 yrs down here. As much as i hate to say it i think victoria needs to bring in yearly safety inspections like nsw. Basically before you can re-register your car you need to have it inspected by an authorised inspector and passed as safe. i live out in gippsland and i can tell u now theres atleast 30% of the vehicles ive seen shouldnt be on the street, that would compensate for removing bad vehicles off the street.

I also 100% agree with more driver training, nsw and vic alike sound like they are the same with the very minimal driving lessons and experience to obtain a license.

i think a big issue with some people is that they dont respect thier vehicle as a weapon, nor do they respect speed. I feel that speed is not the killer, its the people who have minimal experience in driving, and want to "test out the car" or push it to its limits, unfortunatly they are to unexperienced and push it beyond its capabilities, before they know it, they are dead along with their mates. In the midst of all of this, the rest of the sensible drivers who are passionate about thier car and thier mods, have it stuck is a damn garage at home in fear of getting singled out as a hoon, and picked on by the police.

so i agree with what has been said, bad cars should be taken off the road, more driver training should be put in place, and the speeds should be raised. instead of punishing everyone and creating a massive group of rebellious car hoons, who get a kick out of disobeying the law and endup costing someone thier life.

cheers.

[teK--]

i bet a lot of the crashes happen because a lot of people are so worried about their speed they are looking at their speedo and not the road

+1. If motorbike riders did this they'd be dead. That's probably why so many cop speeding fines

[YF34R]

australian road laws are gay and like what most of u said experience what all matters

i went to germany to visit my uncles, i LOVE their road laws

(left lane) trucks and slow drivers, also trucks stays on left unless they wanna over take a slow driver and jump back to left lane

(mid lane) mid-speed around 90 to 110 kmph

(Right lane) Open speed.

my uncle was doin 130 in the mid lane and people were zooming past us lol i wish i could of driven their

but autralia should consider this kind of laws on their roads

[PENGUYEN]

australian road laws are gay and like what most of u said experience what all matters

i went to germany to visit my uncles, i LOVE their road laws

(left lane) trucks and slow drivers, also trucks stays on left unless they wanna over take a slow driver and jump back to left lane

(mid lane) mid-speed around 90 to 110 kmph

(Right lane) Open speed.

my uncle was doin 130 in the mid lane and people were zooming past us lol i wish i could of driven their

but autralia should consider this kind of laws on their roads

Thing is. People need to be taught how to drive on those roads...

[dan_the_man]

Here's a dare for the government, put some of the traffic enforcement revenue towards a subsidised new cars program to get bombs off the road! (Means test would apply, of course)

They did that in Northern Ireland.

Worked well and boosted the economy.