Same deal with the road toll, motor vehicle technology has done more than anything to reduce the road toll. You will never hear that in a government funded ad campaign.
So what you are saying it is the drivers incompetence which causes the accident which they are so obviously unable to control.
First example of driver incompetence, They are unable to recognize the correct speed limit.
Second example of driver incompetence, they are unable to maintain the correct speed quite a basic requirement when driving.
Third example of driver incompetence, driver speeds to jump an amber light, oh look it's just turned red.
Forth example of driver incompetence, the driver see's a speed camera, panics, brakes hard and loses control, (braking is a basic driving skill)
If you sit on the speed limit you don't have to panic when you see a camera.
If you don't try to run an amber light from 100m back you won't need to accelerate to get through the light.
Don't blame speed cameras for drivers incompetence.
Driving is part of my job as a sales rep, 60-70,000km per year, have been doing it for 25 years got my last ticket before 1995 (it was a speed camera)
They seem to obviously put the fixed speed cameras where they are the most likely to raise revenue, and are also the least dangerous locations for speeding.
For example there are fixed cameras in the cross-city tunnel in Sydney. If you speed in there how dangerous is it really? There are no intersections, no pedestrians, no bicycles, no driveways, no parked cars, no distractions, nothing. I'd argue a tunnel is the *safest* place do a little over the speed limit.
But my street which is a 50 zone and has pedestrians, crossings, intersections, parked cars, driveways - everything that makes speeding dangerous - has no fixed camera and I've never seen a mobile one either. I hear at least one hoon per hour at night, and generally cars travel along it too fast for the unexpected.
Also, 10kmh over in a 100 zone is not the same as 10kmh over in a 50 zone. And it's not just a relative speed thing either, as I've pointed out.
As for red light cameras I'm not convinced that a fine is more a deterrent than being in a serious accident. you're crazy if you run a red light, and you'll likely crash. I bet most that are caught are either sneaking through on an amber arrow after being in a long queue, which is not dangerous really, or have done the old "oh, amber light, I'll make it eas.....oh I'm not /oh I am, oh I'm ...err" - too late. Again, quite different from running a red, red light. But arguable.
Select to expand quotelightwood said..
Same deal with the road toll, motor vehicle technology has done more than anything to reduce the road toll. You will never hear that in a government funded ad campaign.
Improved safety in vehicles was initially driven by government not the auto industry. It still is driven by government, the auto industry just do a great job of gift wrapping and marketing it for the consumer.
Select to expand quoteevlPanda said..
They seem to obviously put the fixed speed cameras where they are the most likely to raise revenue, and are also the least dangerous locations for speeding.
For example there are fixed cameras in the cross-city tunnel in Sydney. If you speed in there how dangerous is it really? There are no intersections, no pedestrians, no bicycles, no driveways, no parked cars, no distractions, nothing. I'd argue a tunnel is the *safest* place do a little over the speed limit.
MMM
Im guessing if you had an accident in the Sydney tunnel it would be a bloody bad one, So many cars and trucks with no where to go to avoid the crash. Im guessing prevention on that one is the main aim or maybe ive just watched too many hollywood movies of car pile ups in tunnels
W
Select to expand quoteevlPanda said..
They seem to obviously put the fixed speed cameras where they are the most likely to raise revenue, and are also the least dangerous locations for speeding.
For example there are fixed cameras in the cross-city tunnel in Sydney. If you speed in there how dangerous is it really? There are no intersections, no pedestrians, no bicycles, no driveways, no parked cars, no distractions, nothing. I'd argue a tunnel is the *safest* place do a little over the speed limit.
As for red light cameras I'm not convinced that a fine is more a deterrent than being in a serious accident.
It might be the 'safest' place to speed a little, but it's quite possibly the worst place to have a crash when you start talking about emergency vehicle access, evacuation and things like fires.
Saw a meta-study of insurance data once... top 7 reasons for accidents involved "failure to be aware of other road users" in one for or other... "excessive speed for conditions" was number 8.
Red light cameras... none here in law-abiding Japan, and you've got to check both directions before moving on YOUR green light. It's bloody annoying but I'll take the slack-as attitude to road law enforcement here over the nazi-tastic nanny states of NZ etc!
QLD has just reduced the margin for error - in 18 months since Cando's LNP government came in - not once or twice but 4 times. And each time they say 'we've reduced the margin for error, but we're not allowed to say what it is now'.
So now for all we know you can get a ticket at 1kph over.
Meanwhile in our parents day you had 60/80/100. now you have 30 - 110 in 10kph increments. Plus variable speed limits. Plus time-based speed limits like around schools (have to check the clock and your speedo). Plus roadwork limits. Plus some towns having 50, some 60.
It's fair to say that you can now drive down a stretch of road and have the limit change 6 times and you honestly have no idea which bit you're in unless you watch nothing but the speed signs,the clock, and your speedo.
Total confusion - all it results in is more time 'eyes down' and less time looking out for hazards.
It's simply the easiest form of detection of breaking a road-law (ie; gathering revenue). With an exception of 'excessive' speed, there are much worse issues in regard to road-safety.
- Mobile phones...very hard to detect a driver sms'ing or talking on one. Need a good visual (or camera tech) on their eyes, or at least notice how poor their driving is & check phone after they get pulled-up.
- Non-confident (or non-competent it should be) driver. These are the ones that either sit at an intersection and can't make a decision, drive ridiculously slow, causing other drivers (that may not have the best skills) behind to make dodgy judgement calls or simply stop mid-turn because they can't make up their mind!
- Hoons (inexperienced teens & bogans)...although speed is a common symptom...it's not the cause in a lot of the cases.
- Age...'some' oldies really should retire their licenses - but it should be based on ability & competence, not simply age.
- Alcohol & drugs...breathos take many man-hours, and relatively easy to avoid.
I wouldn't be surprised if most fines that are handed out are due to the incorrect speedos in cars. A brand-new 4wd that I drive on occasion is >7kms out, but under the speed shown on the speedo. My car is about 5km out - also under luckily, but my last car was about 5kms over...causing me a couple of tickets before I realised & made the mental adjustment.
Select to expand quoteevlPanda said..
Also, 10kmh over in a 100 zone is not the same as 10kmh over in a 50 zone. And it's not just a relative speed thing either, as I've pointed out.
Actually, speed limits seem to be a very arbitrary thing really.
How can it be that the 'safe' speed to do down a freeway is the same speed regardless of whether it's a crowded road on a wet day, or an empty freeway on a dry clear night.
They both can't be reasonable limits.
Either the crowded road on a wet day is grossly unsafe at 100k , or the empty road late at night is grossly oversafe at 100k.
It's probably a case of both.
And yet late at night on a dry empty freeway with unlimited visability, 30 km out of town, you still get busted for doing 10k over the limit.
That's got to be more to do with revenue raising than safety.
driving from Geelong to Melbourne there are 4 crosses with flowers on the side of the road just before the speed camera fixed on an overpass. pretty sad.
that camera defenatly failed to save lifes.
Select to expand quoteSailhack said..
I wouldn't be surprised if most fines that are handed out are due to the incorrect speedos in cars. A brand-new 4wd that I drive on occasion is >7kms out, but under the speed shown on the speedo. My car is about 5km out - also under luckily, but my last car was about 5kms over...causing me a couple of tickets before I realised & made the mental adjustment.
It's very rare to find a car that shows less than actual speed. They generally aimed for around 5% margin showing more than actual speed - like your current car - or mine which has 105 indicated = 100, 116 indicated = 110.
If the wheel size has been radically changed that might make it read under actual speed, was that the case with your last car? Stick some 20" rims on it?
Select to expand quotepweedas said..
Actually, speed limits seem to be a very arbitrary thing really.
How can it be that the 'safe' speed to do down a freeway is the same speed regardless of whether it's a crowded road on a wet day, or an empty freeway on a dry clear night.
They both can't be reasonable limits.
You are forgetting the posted speed is the speed LIMIT, which is supposedly based on ideal driving conditions.
It is not the required speed to travel at - it is the "limit".
The driver is responsible to drive to suit the road conditions, without exceeding the limit.
having said that, how they determine which limits apply in certain areas, and the location of speed traps and cameras certainly makes little sense to me.
stephen
Select to expand quotekiteboy dave said..
It's very rare to find a car that shows less than actual speed. They generally aimed for around 5% margin showing more than actual speed - like your current car - or mine which has 105 indicated = 100, 116 indicated = 110.
That's true. A simple GPS check with a Tom Tom will usually show a car speedo overreads by about 5% so long as the tyres are the recommende size for that car.
The new electronic speedos are far more consistent than the old type, which used to vary with temperature or the weather or just about anything.
Once you know what the error is, you can leave the tom tomm off nad just drive according to the speedo, but taking into account the known error.
Mine is 105k on the speedo is actually 100k on one car but spot on on two others because I'm running bigger tyres.
Checks over a long period have shown this is consistent.
Select to expand quotesn said..pweedas said..
Actually, speed limits seem to be a very arbitrary thing really.
How can it be that the 'safe' speed to do down a freeway is the same speed regardless of whether it's a crowded road on a wet day, or an empty freeway on a dry clear night.
They both can't be reasonable limits.
You are forgetting the posted speed is the speed LIMIT, which is supposedly based on ideal driving conditions.
It is not the required speed to travel at - it is the "limit".
No that' can't be true. 
Whenever conditions are bad I slow down but then all the d!ckheads bunch up really close behind me and try to shunt me alomg, up to the speed limit.
They also make rude gestures as they scrape past my door when they pass. 
From that I would have to conclude, the posted speed limit is the mandated minimum. 
Select to expand quoteSailhack said..
- Mobile phones...very hard to detect a driver sms'ing or talking on one. Need a good visual (or camera tech) on their eyes, or at least notice how poor their driving is & check phone after they get pulled-up.
- Non-confident (or non-competent it should be) driver. These are the ones that either sit at an intersection and can't make a decision, drive ridiculously slow, causing other drivers (that may not have the best skills) behind to make dodgy judgement calls or simply stop mid-turn because they can't make up their mind!
- Hoons (inexperienced teens & bogans)...although speed is a common symptom...it's not the cause in a lot of the cases.
- Age...'some' oldies really should retire their licenses - but it should be based on ability & competence, not simply age.
- Alcohol & drugs...breathos take many man-hours, and relatively easy to avoid.
I watch the Spanish news on SBS, and in Spain they had 37 fatal road accident over Easter highest in 10 years... but the DGT (roads authority) started using helicopters with high powered cameras to check for people using their phones/ipads in metropolitan areas last year.
It was so successful they started reducing speed limits and doing the same on highways... pre financial crisis this wasn't the case.
So more enforcement, more accidents.
Spanish guy irate for being fined can't find any of those ipad using drivers DGT videos:
Wife just got a ticket on the mail - 51 in a 40 School Zone! (Normally a 60 Zone) $150 and 2 points - First ticket ever (nearly 20 years driving)
But the kicker is... she sets her clock forward 7 minutes so she isnt late - got her ticket at 15:54
So annoying as I was driving into the school zone - dropped off and picked up my car on a side street and she drove out - where there are no signs!
Select to expand quoteKamikuza said..
Red light cameras... none here in law-abiding Japan,...
Bollocks. Not many, but coming to an intersection near you.
Certainly bugger all cops outside of the big cities, and (almost) no RBTs!
0% blood/alcohol laws, but no enforcement unless you are involved in an accident. Quite the incentive
Select to expand quotekiteboy dave said..Sailhack said..
I wouldn't be surprised if most fines that are handed out are due to the incorrect speedos in cars. A brand-new 4wd that I drive on occasion is >7kms out, but under the speed shown on the speedo. My car is about 5km out - also under luckily, but my last car was about 5kms over...causing me a couple of tickets before I realised & made the mental adjustment.
It's very rare to find a car that shows less than actual speed. They generally aimed for around 5% margin showing more than actual speed - like your current car - or mine which has 105 indicated = 100, 116 indicated = 110.
If the wheel size has been radically changed that might make it read under actual speed, was that the case with your last car? Stick some 20" rims on it?
It was a 2003 hilux and from memory had bigger tires on it? I never took much notice, just drove knowing that it was 5 kms out. 
Select to expand quoteBuster fin said..
Kamikuza said..
Red light cameras... none here in law-abiding Japan,...
Bollocks. Not many, but coming to an intersection near you.
Certainly bugger all cops outside of the big cities, and (almost) no RBTs!
0% blood/alcohol laws, but no enforcement unless you are involved in an accident. Quite the incentive
I've not seen any in my travels...! Got a location for those?
Plenty of cops with nothing better to do but set up stings - miles away in the country where you could do 250 and not endanger any thing but you gas mileage 
Like the guys camped out at the crossroads that has stop signs on every corner LOL
They have plenty of breath checks too - usually involves breathing in the policeman's face - kid you not 
There was a guy who got nailed at a check point for having... eaten a box of chocolate liquors. Stupid law...
I've got nothing to with regards to the placement of speed cameras or their tolerances but for those that claim it's revenue raising, you do realise it's a voluntary tax don't you?
Select to expand quoteMy name is Stan. I am a retired Sergeant of the Police force for 14 years...
I am so annoyed at what is happening these days, in what I call ?Indiscriminate revenue gathering? It is absolutely disgusting. The government and the Police Force need to hang their heads in shame. If you did a survey of current serving members of the police forces in this country, you would be hard pushed to find many who disagree with me.
I know how the legal system works, and I know how to beat the system. This is how to do it ...
www.epicinter.net/how-and-why-you-should-fight-all-traffic-fines-by-an-ex-police-sergeant/
