Speed limit decrease on rural roads

[gossipgirl]

the problem is that peoples attitudes need to change e.g. people always want to accelerate to get out of trouble instead of the much safer option of slowing down.
i am guilty of this as well

As I said above, my first thought was to slow down and drop back behind the truck.
But it wasn't the safer option...

I couldn't tell in my mirror whether the several other cars behind me had closed up the space I'd vacated behind the truck, because the truck obscured my view.
So, if I'd slowed down I may have been stuck out on the wrong side of the road as we approached the next crest.
Accelerating was the only way to be sure that didn't happen.

but why overtake in the first place ? taking such a large risk when slowing down would be the safer option

[Psyber]

but why overtake in the first place ? taking such a large risk when slowing down would be the safer option

I, and about 5 more cars behind me, had been sitting patiently behind a very slow truck well below the speed limit for several kilometres on a road that didn't have passing lanes.
So, I took the first opportunity where I could see the road was clear ahead with a long enough gap between hill crests to pass safely.
What I didn't anticipate was that the truckie would speed up despite the fact he could see someone was half way through passing him on the downhill run.
(I had put my lights on to make sure I was conspicuous in his side mirror.)

There was no apparent risk until I realised the two trailer truck was now matching my speed with me half way past him...
And there was no real risk once I realised that, and accelerated beyond the speed limit and his limiter.

There would have been no risk at all if I'd accelerated to say 140kph from the outset as I'd have been gone by the time he could accelerate.
(Except the risk of a heavier fine.)

[gossipgirl]

unfortunately doing 140 kph is always at high risk ... you just cant be serious to think its safe to do high speeds

thats the big problem and its not just the young ones about changing peoples attitudes.

SPEEDING is never safe no matter how good you think you are

[Psyber]

unfortunately doing 140 kph is always at high risk ... you just cant be serious to think its safe to do high speeds
thats the big problem and its not just the young ones about changing peoples attitudes.
SPEEDING is never safe no matter how good you think you are

Tell that to the Germans and the Italians on the Autobahn and the Autostrada - or to Jeremy Clarkson!

I'd totally dispute your claim that it is always dangerous - it depends on the road and the conditions.
I'd driven on SA highways at that speed for years, along with most other South Australians, before an arbitrary limit was introduced in SA - in the 1970s I think - and without an accident.
Yet I never drove at even 100 kph on roads like the Onkaparinga Valley Road then when there was no limit, or since it has been legal to do up to 110 kph on them.

[Mr Beefy]

unfortunately doing 140 kph is always at high risk ... you just cant be serious to think its safe to do high speeds
thats the big problem and its not just the young ones about changing peoples attitudes.
SPEEDING is never safe no matter how good you think you are

Tell that to the Germans and the Italians on the Autobahn and the Autostrada - or to Jeremy Clarkson!

I'd totally dispute your claim that it is always dangerous - it depends on the road and the conditions.
I'd driven on SA highways at that speed for years, along with most other South Australians, before an arbitrary limit was introduced in SA - in the 1970s I think - and without an accident.
Yet I never drove at even 100 kph on roads like the Onkaparinga Valley Road then when there was no limit, or since it has been legal to do up to 110 kph on them.

[Psyber]

Beefy, I did say, "I'd totally dispute your claim that it is always dangerous - it depends on the road and the conditions."
The big factor in the German pile up was fog, and in recent UK one smoke and fog, both of which should have signalled people to slow down to suit the conditions.
The problem is that certain speeds become the declared norm and people no longer use judgement because the declared norm seems to supersede common sense.

I am not advocating higher speeds under all conditions..
As I've said above, I voted here in favour of the proposed reduction, and I don't drive as fast as the present limit allows on many of our lesser roads.
And I have no problem with the limits being reduced in the Adelaide Hills when it is raining, using our adjustable signs, as that is a congested area.

My case is simply that on some major roads far from towns, and in certain transient circumstances, higher speeds that 100 kph or 110 kph are reasonable.

[Ian]

unfortunately doing 140 kph is always at high risk ... you just cant be serious to think its safe to do high speeds

thats the big problem and its not just the young ones about changing peoples attitudes.

SPEEDING is never safe no matter how good you think you are

While I don't condone travelling at 140kmh, it's a shit load safer than being stuck on the wrong side of the road with a truck next to you!! The less time you are on the wrong side of the road while overtaking the better.

FFS, a lot of the comments made on here make me wonder how often the author actually drive (not just travel) on country roads

[Nighthawk]

do any of these changes apply to roads near strath?

[Squids]

unfortunately doing 140 kph is always at high risk ... you just cant be serious to think its safe to do high speeds

thats the big problem and its not just the young ones about changing peoples attitudes.

SPEEDING is never safe no matter how good you think you are

While I don't condone travelling at 140kmh, it's a shit load safer than being stuck on the wrong side of the road with a truck next to you!! The less time you are on the wrong side of the road while overtaking the better.

FFS, a lot of the comments made on here make me wonder how often the author actually drive (not just travel) on country roads

Bingo!

[Booney]

unfortunately doing 140 kph is always at high risk ... you just cant be serious to think its safe to do high speeds

thats the big problem and its not just the young ones about changing peoples attitudes.

SPEEDING is never safe no matter how good you think you are

While I don't condone travelling at 140kmh, it's a shit load safer than being stuck on the wrong side of the road with a truck next to you!! The less time you are on the wrong side of the road while overtaking the better.

FFS, a lot of the comments made on here make me wonder how often the author actually drive (not just travel) on country roads

Once again this comment goes back to experience and training, be it formal or simply "on the job".

My brother does 5000km+ per month out of Mildura and cant believe some of the things he sees on a regular basis.

[gossipgirl]

Unfortunately too many city slickers have no idea on driving in country roads. The number of people who take such high risks in overtaking at ridiculous speeds is astonishing. The problem is that people only think of themselves when breaking the law not realising that they put other peoples lives at risk.

Dumb people shouldnt be allowed on the roads, just imagine how good it would be for the environment plus there would be hardly any traffic !!!

[Psyber]

I have a lot of family in the area around Peterborough and across towards Moonta.
One of them took me for a ride in his old Ford GTHO recently and scared the hell out of me.
I tend to slow down for cross roads even those in the back blocks on the dirt roads, rather than assume "there is never any traffic out here"..

I've spent a lot of time driving in those areas, and around Victoria and southern NSW, and I'm a damn site more cautious than most of my cousins.
Also more so than a lot of others I've see on those country roads over the years, or when I drove to Bundaberg and back last year..

[fish]

For those who want to know more about the science around speed and road safety get along to the event Fast facts for road myths on Thursday evening at the Royal Institute off Grenfell Street.

If you can't make it to the venue on the night you can stream it live.

There are many myths about driving, road safety and speeding. Driving a little bit over the speed limit doesn’t matter and it doesn’t harm anyone, right?

In conjunction with the Motor Accident Commission, RiAus will be joined by experts from the University of New South Wales, Monash University Accident Research Centre, and the Centre for Automotive Safety Research to examine some of the myths surrounding speed on the road and explain the science of speed.

Myths which will be tackled include: the belief that small increases in speed do not increase risk of accident; that speed limits are arbitrarily chosen numbers; and that speed cameras are little more than revenue raisers. We will learn how MAC comes up with its campaigns, and find out whether one driver can make a difference.

In this “mythbusting” style event we will strip away shock-tactics and examine common perceptions about speed and road safety with evidence collected by world leading road safety researchers. You may be surprised at some of the findings.

[Psyber]

I have an old friend on the MAC committee, and I'm satisfied that all their statistics have a sound scientific basis.
The problem is where to draw a reasonable and balanced line between risk and immobility.

Speed is always a factor in any accident as stationary vehicles don't collide with each other or with anything else - so it has to rank highly in the statistics.
There are other significant factors but they are harder and more costly to police, and don't subsidise themselves as well.

My argument with the MAC, and the TAC in Victoria, is that they tend to push the obvious idea that speed is the most common factor, with occasional references to drinking and drug taking.
There is no focus at all on road standards, and adequate and sufficient passing lanes to reduce frustration, which would embarrass the state governments.
Also overlooked are unmaintained cars on dodgy tyres, and people who don't think about their driving any more than they do about maintenance.

What other factors correlate and coincide with the speed factor needs to be looked at too.

[Psyber]

PS: From the latest edition of SA Motor - I haven't checked their source:

Although people aged 16 to 24 make up just 13% of the population, they account for nearly a third of all road fatalities and serious injuries.

The article goes on to point out with graphs that L-platers have very low accident rates, but their is huge rise in the accident rate once new drivers get their P-plates, and are no longer being supervised.
This rate then settles fairly well over the next 3 years. (Victorian figures 1996-2001)

So, perhaps inexperience and overconfidence are co-factors operating in parallel with speed.

[Zelezny Chucks]

Hmm how do the government make money out of inexperience and overconfidence though?

[Ian]

From Adelaide Now

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/councils-ignored-on-speed-limit-cut/story-e6frea6u-1226204178845

"Council's elected body moved ... to write to the Minister for Road Safety objecting to the reduction of speed limits on those roads within its area," he said, adding the objection was unanimously supported.

He said the council was worried a reduction to 100km/h would lead to more overtaking accidents.

[Psyber]

Hmm how do the government make money out of inexperience and overconfidence though?

Only when it leads to speeding, and getting caught, I assume.

[fish]

Man paints massive '30mph' sign on house to stop speeding drivers

A MAN from a small village in southwest England has taken drastic action to tackle speeding drivers - painting a five-meter high 30mph (48kph) sign on the side of his house, according to UK media reports.

Tim Backhouse, a builder from the village of Bow, in Devon, said he felt he had no other choice after authorities failed to heed his fears that a speeding driver would hit a pedestrian.

"I know it might seem like a bit of a drastic measure but I'm sick and tired of motorists, lorries in particular, speeding through," he told the Metro.

"There is no speed camera in the village so no incentive for people to abide by the law. If drivers just stuck to the speed limit Bow would be a much nicer place to live."

Backhouse said he had also painted the sign to coincide with Road Safety Week, which runs from November 21-27 in the UK.

[Psyber]

30 mph (48 kph)- near enough to our 50 in suburban back streets and the CBD - is a sensible speed in closely built areas with narrow roads or heavy traffic in towns.
In fact looking back at my experience of driving through very narrow roads in some English villages earlier this year I'd wonder how anyone could top 20mph.