Lugwig,

You must have missed one of my earlier posts.

The problem with forcing people to drive slower than is appropriate for the situation is that drivers tend to get distracted more easily and are more likely to become drowsy. Driving at a speed that is appropriate for the conditions will more likely result in the driver focusing on the job at hand and be less likely to become drowsy.

As I also said in an earlier post, over 80% of crashes and near misses occur within 3 seconds of the driver becoming distracted.

Now, which situation is better.

Potentially reduce crashes by a possible 80% (distracted drivers) and increase crashes by a possible 3% (crashes with the major cause of travelling above the speed limit) by allowing drivers to travel at an appropriate speed, which may be above the current speed limit

OR

Potentially increase crashes by a possible 80% (distracted drivers) and decrease crashes by a possible 3% (speeding) by forcing drivers to travel at a speed that is too slow to maintain concentration.

There is far more to this issue than just sitting back and enjoying the ride...

Yes, I'm a whacky and zany kind of guy.
The risks begin as soon as the journey starts, The trick is to minimise them. I never thought a simple trip from Innisfail to Cairns would turn into such an epic.
You'd not be comfortable with it and may react in a manner likely to cause inconvenience and frustration, in my opinion rude and dangerous. But you probably pay your rego too and are entitled to do as you see fit. Hasbeen seems like a sensible person, knows how to be courteous and lets faster traffic pass.
Thats great advice about sitting back and enjoying the journey, maybe you should be prime minister.
You were spot on about police discretion though, I couldnt agree more.
Seems a bit childish to make statements such as you did and declare the conversation over, another example of how you have a strong desire to control things outside your own space (like other drivers) and an inability to accept that just maybe there are better ways of dealing with things.
I love guessing games...my guess is that you are female, drive a hyundai, live at home with parents, 18-25, maybe live at Ryde or Epping.
5 guesses @20% each, be a sport and give the score.
I'll be a sport and admit I think I got a revenue camera fine today.

I for one like the idea of speeding fines. I care not where the police place their pesky little cameras be they stuck at the bottom of a hill., hidden in bushes or on the dash of an unmarked car.

I note the signage that abounds on our highways and byways telling me how fast the law says I can go - I usually take heed of this advice - even if I think my driving prowess and the road conditions tell me (rightly or wrongly) I can go faster;

The "Speed Kills" arguement is fallacious - who cares if there are other contributing factors - its only a bloody advertising hook.

If we ever construct freeways like they have in Germany for example in such a way that they can handle great speed we can go faster - right now we cant.

Fines high or low I really do not care - yes the Government takes in a lot of money from fines - so what! if you dont want to be fined or more perversely if you are motivated by a desire to resist all governments attempts at securing money no matter how legitimate the means - Dont Drive Faster Than the Law permits - Deny them the pleasure of your hard earned cash, then - take your arrogant assumptions about how well you can handle your high performance car, or what ever else veehickul you might drive - and slip them deep into your tail pipe.

M3RBMW

Maybe there is some sort of a trade-off between driving slowly and carefully and perhaps becoming a bit jaded and distracted, and driving fast and perhaps staying more alert.

But why would people stay more alert when driving faster? Directly because they have to be that much more careful! They recognise, mostly subconsciously, that there is an increased risk, which requires fuller attention.

It is a bit of a crazy argument to suggest that drivers are performing more safely because they are driving in a riskier manner, which is what you are inadvertently implying. Extrapolating this line of thinking: the safest drivers would be those who take the most risks, because they would also be the most alert.

SURELY it is preferable to maintain safety margins in the first instance, and concentrate on keeping them in place.

Your figures are highly problematic.

Firstly, we cannot assume that slower drivers cause the majority of distraction-related accidents.

Secondly, we have to be highly sceptical about distraction leading to 80% of accidents and speeding leading to 3%. The exact cause of many accidents is only an estimate, and is often a combination of factors.

In the vast majority of accidents are caused by a lack of respect for the risks and a lack of knowledge of the sorts and sizes of safety margins that should be observed in order to minimise risk. If there was such a category, we would probably find that 90%+ of all accidents would fall into it.

Ludwig,

If the increased speed instils a sense of reduced safety then the speed is inappropriate. I do NOT simply advocate driving as fast as possible, I advocate driving at a speed at which you are completely comfortable. For many that speed might be 140-150 on the Hume when conditions are clear. At those speeds I am 100% comfortable and I perceive no increase in risk. I am also far more alert because the task of driving now requires my attention (it ALWAYS requires my attention but when the speed is too low it is not required to the same level).

I have driven through Europe a couple of times and can honestly say that I felt comfortable driving at 250kph in Germany. I can also say that I was concentrating 100% on the job at hand. Not because of a significant increase in risk but because the drivers inputs have to be far more precise at those speeds and you have to be aware of what is happening a long way ahead.

When I approach slower traffic I always slow down to within 10-15kph of the speed of the other traffic until I have passed them because they represent a genuine increase in risk and so I reduce speed accordingly.

Once again I would like to reiterate that I do NOT advocate forcing everyone to drive faster, simply to allow them to drive at a speed that they find comfortable.

On the subject of voluntary taxes, on the way home tonight I noticed two vehicles 'flashed' as they went through the red light at a long established and well signposted red light camera.

The fact that people are willing to risk throwing money out of the car window, so to speak, only shows to me the mentality of many drivers, that is, they don't care that things like red lights are there both for safety and the convenience of other drivers.

I equate red light camers with speed cameras. They are both there to try to modify people's behaviour, in most cases they work, otherwise there would be virtually no one with 'gold' licences.

But for a select few, they always argue that there mnust have been something wrong with the camera when the fault is with their own driving.

The fact that so many people push through red lights when they have time, due to the amber light, to slow down and stop, is another problem. I don't think that there would be anyone reading this who hasn't had the situation of trying to turn right at traffic lights but facing difficulties due to selfish drivers not accepting the fact that the amber light is also there to let other traffic turn.

They also trade on the fact that not everyone will behave like they do, so when they have to turn right they expect people to let them.

The roads abound with selfish, moron drivers who think that the world only exists for them.