This must be satire.

What more can governments do to stop people killing themselves and others on the roads? Absolutely nothing, short of banning motor vehicles.

Getting old cars off the road. I thought that idiotic, expensive idea had died with the equally idiot 'cash for clunkers' Rudd government. Socialists are nothing if not mind-bogglingly impractical. No government in Australia has been able to get even a regular MOT program up because of the uproar that it would cause.

Minimum design standards? We don't even build cars anymore, let alone design them; and our safety standards for imported vehicles are the toughest there are. That's why imported cars (the only one we can buy now) are so expensive.

No amount of foolish spending, fineing, licence cancellation or jailing on very rare occasions will solve the problem of idiots on the road.

When the government masters the art of herding cats, it might, just might, be able to manage human morons. As with most things, governments do not have answers or solutions

This article is typical of things written by people who know absolutely nothing about their chosen subject. Then he promotes that people who know even less, if that's possible, about the subject, bureaucrats & politicians, start making new laws about that subject. If ever there was a recipe for catastrophe that is it.

If road safety is the goal, the first thing to do is outlaw & crush all mobile phones. Second is make the licence test a real test of the applicants ability to handle a car in an emergency situation, & thirdly find some way to do the impossible, & make drivers concentrate on their driving.

The ridiculous cash for clunkers is perhaps the worst idea. Do you believe this writer, bureaucrats or politicians could recognise which car is safe. My 40 year old sports car is much safer than any modern hatch. It handles better, stops better, & is much less likely to turn over. Better still it is built of real metal, not the tinplate used today.

My 18 year old Sports car is almost as good, apart from light alloy used in some of it's construction, & both of them are much safer than the modern hatch I use as a shopping trolley. These are the very cars this fool would want removed from the road.

ttbn. Hear, hear and well said!

Death from treatable brain cancer higher than the annual road toll!

Some just kids!

Dito ovarian cancer, treated mostly with Chemo, and often there's a five-year remission? Followed by stage four, when they're sent home to die.

Big pharma makes billions from the sale of drug therapies for cancer, about 40%, and even more from the associated palliative care, around 60% Ovarian cancer average survival rates around double that of brain cancer. Brain cancer averaging around 14 months?

During 2006 several SUCCESSFUL ovarian cancer trials were conducted in several European clinics using conventional radioisotope western orthodox ontological medicine, namely, treatment with alpha particle bismuth 213.

Bismuth 213attached to an antibody and delivers a killer blow to the cancer. Reports I read concluded that the cancers were clear, with no perceptible damage to healthy tissues.

And meant should these ladies have wanted a family, their still functioning and mostly undamaged ovaries, would have allowed that given the usual age barriers allowed it!

There are several other death sentence cancers out there that have been by all accounts successfully remediated with bismuth 213. Seen scans of a liver with three tumours and 66 minutes later, all-clear after one treatment with bismuth 213.

Given the current death toll, we could create a ginormous medical tourist industry taking death sentence cancers in day clinics outback and sending cured patients in full remission back home.

Big pharma, sure to go ballistic along with their puppet practitioners as they see their rivers of gold disappearing from their profit curve!?

And arguably all that stands between this huge annual death toll and massive remission, plus a massive recovery for our cash strapped outback/nation.

All that prevents any of this are the conflicted decision-makers swallowing the guff big pharma is selling as they protect their patch with the same fervour, the big tobacco trade and asbestos did, until the truth finally got out!

Imagine what four or five million medical tourists annually, would do to outback Australia in created specialist day clinics! TBC
Alan B.

God I'm horrified by the naive thinking on display in the article. Was this piece written by a ten year old?

Hasbeen...I think it was actually Julia "stupid" Gillard responsible for the cash for clunkers.
That corresponded with the equally idiotic idea of retiring unleaded petrol from the public.

Contrary to what the author complained, the Government has almost completed a revamp of an entire highway between Brisbane and Sydney with a duel carriageway.
Uncountable billions were invested in that safety upgrade.

We will alaways and forever see road deaths. Humans are notoriously stupid when behind a steering wheel. Nothing will change that.

Dan

Cont> How does one make alpha particle bismuth 213?

Two methods, the first and prohibitively expensive, is to bombard radium with particles inside an energy-burning particle accelerator. And millionaire medicine in every sense of the word!

The second method is to harvest it as a virtually free byproduct of an operational MSR thorium reactor There are some minor technical problems that should not allow this bonanza to be stopped or be prevented. And able to be remedied as we trott out the first electricity creating several prototypes across the lenth and breadth of the nation.

If there's one thing we need to thank President Trump for? Then it has to be for signing off on the lifting of the prohibition on R+D on thorium!

With the U.S, Atomic energy commission now actively engaged in improving their intellectual property, i.e., MSR thorium. And have appointed Former NASA scientist and nuclear technologist to their ranks as their resident expert.

This is an endeavour we could become partners in and reap the reward with the world's cleanest, SAFEST, cheapest energy, along with the industrial renaissance it would force into existence right here.

Along with copious quantities of the miracle cancer cure, the alpha particle, bismuth 213!

We'd also have to mine, nickel, molybdenum, lithium, beryllium, graphene along with titanium and several other critical ceramics creating minerals. And in safer hard rock mines.

The thorium we have in the past reburied as an indicator mineral only could be processed and refined to then power this nation for thousands of years with carbon-free power that also effectively completely address climate change all whilst quite massively turbocharging our economy

And drawing down any and all debt we've needed to create, to make it happen/prevent another enduring depression! Even trillions!
Alan B.

how about another lockdown. This time the Government can provide padded cells (oh that's right they are out of money). It will certainly keep people safe.

Road death toll and congestion go hand in hand, as does the longer and longer daily commute. Rapid rail would allow many to just leave the car at home and even do productive work or study during the daily commute

If we want to lower the road toll? Then that is achieved by allowing more folk to use other viable and more convenient options! Trains work better when there are adequate parking buildings sited at suburban rail stations

And we need more satellite suburbs replete with heir own CBD and industrial estates!

And should ensure we put enough folk to work to avoid even a mild post-pandemic recession! Just need a leader with balls and a party working for the nation, not naked personal ambition!

Hasbeen makes a good point with his older, safer, professionally-maintained car! And professional driving ability/experience!

The highest road toll remains stubbornly among a young teenage/young adult cohort, whose abilities and reactions are not yet automatic and where their confidence always exceeds their actual ability in an emergency!

I believe a licence should not be handed over before a vision test that must include, a verifiable, complete field of vision test! Which needs to be done every five years or so! Also, there has to be speed limiters fitted to P platers cars/breath test kits attach to the ignition and the speed limiter, only removed after they've done the skid pan/advanced driving test?

Inexperience, coupled to speed and alcohol are the principal reasons for the road toll not the advanced age of the car or the driver!

The author needs to go back to the sandpit and leave the commentary to folk who know a couple of things about safe driving/skills!
Alan B.

runner. A padded cell? Getting a bit lonely in yours mate?

Not as stupid as it sounds?

Rember when all our commuter trains where compartmented! And social distancing just a normal part of normal train travel?
One could imagine the old bench seats being replaced inside said compartment with individual chairs that compel the said, social distancing!

And doors that allowed individual access to these compartments would mean even less interaction with all the other passengers!

They'd probably need to reopen all those old railway shops and take on thousands of new non-gender-specific, apprentices, to build the old is new again, rolling stock?
Alan B.

The illegal use of mobile phones is a major cause of car smashes according to SAPOL. It has been suggested that legislation enabling mobiles to be impounded would be more effective than fines, which don't seem to worry offenders, even the $500 plus ones.

one also wonders how many single road deaths are suicide. I am not sure how good the design but if you run into a solid tree chances are not good.

Why not simply just introduce proper Driving Schools ? Coupled with a two year National Service & we'd only have a handful of hard-core morons to deal with !
There are no bad drivers, there are only drivers who have a poor mentality due to indoctrination during their school years.

Education and correct driver training.
Savage penalties for stupid behaviour. Confiscate cars instead of just impounding them.

nowdays I don't know how people can be unconcious about this situation... I heard last night on Rojadirecta that goverment should be take this serious (for time 342423) and stop this acttitud you all are describing. And they talked very harder about the people don't give his part to help go out of all this mess. But... No words about it...

You can see the interview here if are interested http://www.rojadirecta.me/en?p4

The sadist thing about this article is that this author may end up trying to be a spiritual leader and trusted advisor to some poor soul! May be its best this author moves on to his maker before he causes too much damage to his breathern!