12. Publicity. While a lot of effort is being put into television and general media campaigns, regarding drink driving and the other fatal three, and has been for many years, we need to really gear up and vastly broaden this public expression. This needs to go in conjunction with greatly increased driver training and a greatly improved policing regime.

Drivers need to know that 60kmh speed limit signs will effectively mean what they say, before the police start strictly policing them. Likewise with stop signs, etc, etc.

Drivers also need to know that they will be booked for driving behaviour that demonstrates impatience, aggression and reduced safety margins, such as my pet hate; tailgating. They need to know that the practically unknown law of ‘failing to show due care or courtesy to other road-users’ will be enforced vigorously.

As I said earlier, most drivers don’t respect the law, they only respect what they can get away with, and they make a judgement as to the risks of getting caught before they undertake unlawful activity. So we need to impress on them (and on the whole community) that the likelihood of getting caught is going to be greatly increased, and not just for the obvious infringements that the police have concentrated on to date

Summary of my concerns and suggestions for improvements in road safety.

1. Make the forthcoming Qld road safety summit a national summit.

2. Instead of spending many millions of dollars on roads, spend the majority of it on improving driver skills and the policing regime.

3. A massive effort is needed to improve driver skills, including rigorous training up front, with regular revisions.

4. The policing regime needs a great deal of work, including police being much less conspicuous and melding into the traffic, all police officers having the power and the inclination to deal with dangerous drivers at all times, including when they are off-duty, community policing and a greatly improved system for handling complaints about dangerous driving.

5. The real number of police on the roads and behind the scenes needs to be greatly increased.

6. The police have got to deal with ALL road rules, and not just the small set that are relatively easy, such as speed and drink-driving.

7. The policing regime has got to be uniform across the country.

8. The law has to upheld at face value.

9. The relationship between police and the courts needs reform and each needs to uphold its responsibilities and not rely on the other.

10. We need truth in sentencing and we need magistrates to treat road safety matters more seriously. The courts needs to be practicably accessible to all people, no matter how minor the issue. And of course, the notion of being innocent until proven guilty has to be upheld.

11. The policing effort needs to match the significance of the issue.

12. Publicity.

Some of these could have been split into a number of points, especially 4 and 10. There are no doubt others, which I will add to the list when they come to mind.

It all basically comes down to point 2.

This is a pretty raw expression from someone who is by no means an expert in this field, but who is obviously very concerned about it and has been for many years

Well….. have you finished now Ludwig?? Got it off your chest eh, you loony? Gonna give us all break? All bleated and blithered out?

Ahhh Ludwig...being passionate about a cause is a wonderful thing - even if it does make you "bleated and blithered out" :)

Haaaaa

Fat chance Luddie. You ain’t seen nothing yet!! There’s a million more things to say on this subject.

Hi Coraliz

Much appreciated comments. Thank yu

I hate stop signs. In 99.99% of all cases they should be replaced with giveway signs. There should be no compulsion to stop if you don’t have to in order to give way. Stop signs are an affront to our intelligence. They diminish respect for the law, because they are overkill.

The police tend to turn a blind eye to drivers who take it cautiously but don’t actually stop. Then every once in a while they will undertake a stinky little trap and book everyone who doesn’t come to an absolute halt, including little old grannies who drive very carefully all the time and have never had an accident in their lives.

One of the important tenets of road safety is engendering respect for the law. But in order for that to happen, the law has got to be fair and reasonable and be seen to be appropriate.

Getting rid of stop signs and with them that aspect of the blind-eyed police syndrome and the stinky little trap syndrome, would surely work towards a better impression of police in the eyes of all drivers. Respect for law enforcers is another important part of road safety.

In my town stop signs are used as traffic-calming devices by breaking long straight stretches into short segments. This often means that very minor suburban streets have the right of way over roads with higher traffic volumes. That is frustrating and I think and improper use of stop signs. At any rate, giveway signs would do the same job. We have had giveway signs replaced with stop signs and we have also seen one of the most curious absurdities of all time proliferate in the backstreets; four-way stop sign intersections! Now THAT is an affront to one’s intelligence, well and truly!

Continued….