speed limits (was George Bush)

[Michael & Kate Cooper]

Mark: I didn't say that the motorcyclist wasn't speeding (ie driving too
fast for the road). What I did say was that he may not have been breaking
the speed limit.

You say "I'm all for enforcing the speed limit." The police enforce the
maximum limit of the road, but they don't do anything at all to ensure that
we are all "driving so that we can stop in the clear distance we can see in
front of us."

The only way I can see to reduce the incidence of people
driving too fast around corners is to make it harder for them to get and
keep their licenses. Ticketing those that drive over 110km/h on a straight
road is only going to punish a tiny percentage of 'dangerous drivers.'
Those that
drive too fast around the corners get off scot-free since they're not
breaking the speed limit, even though that is where the majority of
accidents occur.

Enforcing the speed limit is not the way to get the looneys off the roads
and it won't save anyone's lives - we just have to be alert and drive
defensively and hope they don't hit us. Hopefully one day we will have
tougher driving tests.

I also live on a rural road and have a young one, so I also care about the
dangers. We have tourists that drive down our road cutting corners - but they
never break the speed limit!!! (Do tourists in all countries drive
dangerously?)

Kate

[MadMaz]

Hi Kate

Thanks for making some very good points and thanks for sharing them. What
you've said about making it harder to get and keep licences is an especially
good - and agree strongly about the tougher driving tests.

And you're right about the tourists cutting the corners - it's the same over
this way too!

The need to drive responsibly and alertly has become a big issue with my
extended family recently - big 4 by 4's cut the corners all the time up and
down the road and some of them are going the clappers.

It's funny, but after living here for years, there seems to have been a
very big jump in careless driving all of a sudden in this area. Not just a
small percentage but I'm talking well over double what we used to come
across before.

The police were up the road at Pukekohe East Primary School at entry and
leave times today and yes they did catch drivers exceeding the 5k buffer -
but I can't understand why the posted speed limit past the school is still
70 k's - I reckon that's way too high - so am approaching Land Transport
about it.

Cheers
Mark

[Grant]

It's surely stupid that there are schools in some areas where the speed
limit is 100km/h past them. Surely it wouldn't be too difficult to use some
of the revenue gathered to install adjustable signs (lit up ones such as
already on some roads) that can show an appropriate limit , say 40km/h, past
all schools during school hours. This to include a suitable time buffer
either side to allow for kids arriving and leaving the school.
As for the large 4wd's cutting corners while traveling too fast on windy
roads. A common problem throughout the country I think. Probably due to
frustration at the heavy handed law enforcement approach where it's easy to
get caught on main roads, they go too fast on the rural roads as they are
most unlikely to get caught as the speed is probably below the 100km/h limit
anyway. Perhaps the psychologists could investigate this. Costs money though
so they won't!
Seems dumb also that you can get 'done' for driving your good handling safe
MX5 at slightly above the speed limit, but won't get 'done' driving a poor
handling vehicle that needs much longer distance to slither to a stop while
sitting on the limit. I know which vehicle I'd rather be in!

Grant.

[Michael & Kate Cooper]

4WDs can't corner as well as MX5's, so they have to cut the corners or else
they'd roll off the outside of them (at normal speeds). Unless they slow
down, which means they'd be late to pick the kiddies up from school ...

Kate