[AshSimmonds]

yea, the vibration and noise in the Porshe would keep me more alert..

LOL you can buy my POS X then!   With the added bonus you'll never get a speeding ticket because it's too slow

[leburpor]

LOL you can buy my POS X then!   With the added bonus you'll never get a speeding ticket because it's too slow

I think my life insurance policy prohibits me from driving a car that:
1. is older than me
2. has less than 1 airbag
3. has rust in more than 10% of the car
4. is basically, a OHOS 

[AshSimmonds]

I think my life insurance policy prohibits me from driving a car that:
1. is older than me
2. has less than 1 airbag
3. has rust in more than 10% of the car
4. is basically, a OHOS 

1. it's younger
2.
3. < .5%
4. 

[j15]

It appears GPS speed limited cars are back on the agenda

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/time-to-lift-the-lead-foot/2008/05/17/1210765270417.html

[AshSimmonds]

It appears GPS speed limited cars are back on the agenda

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/time-to-lift-the-lead-foot/2008/05/17/1210765270417.html

You can get a GPS jammer for about $20 bucks.

[PA]

Cover the antenna with a piece of metal, job done.

[AshSimmonds]

http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/carsguide/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/three_points_a_gouge/

IN DEFENCE OF JOHN DELLA BOSCA

This comes very hard to me. I’m going to defend John Della Bosca. Well, sort of.

It’s difficult to know whether the man is just another NSW Government Minister with a monstrously overdeveloped sense of entitlement or just a flat out dropkick.

I mean while it would be difficult to find a clique with as little regard for the people of this state as those who govern it, no-one with the sense of a single cell organism is so preternaturally thick as to get done severally by the same speed camera.

So; arrogant or halfwitted? Take your pick.

No-one laughed more sardonically than I at the sight of the Opposition doing the pinkie wiggle at this crowd.  After all, our alleged Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal endorses this mindless ad campaign while actively opposing any meaningful form of driver training or instruction – or doing anything that would require him doing a bit of work or spending the hundreds of millions he raises in fines.

His tenure remains a middle finger raised to every person who drives in this state.

And it was one of this responsibility dodger’s predecessors in the roads ministry, the alarming Michael Costa, who raised the demerit points for speeding offences over 15km/h to three.

So nyah nyah, basically.

BUT …

Therein lay the provision that allows me to feel a glimmer of sympathy even for potty mouthed Della Bosca.

The absurdity is that while most of his incursions were under 15km/h, he could have been doing 30 over and lost no more points than that. It’s all too easy – even inevitable – for a responsible human to slip over the correct number of kays (especially when coasting downhill on a deserted road in perfect conditions).

To rub out one quarter of a license – half of it in double demerits periods – for minor transgressions is absurd.

But then so is this government, as the sight of this city’s latest cyclist illustrates spendidly. 

[AshSimmonds]

I picked up a fine recently - 61 in a 50 zone - on who's speedo can you even see the difference between 50 and 60 without leaning right forward and squinting at the dam thing anyhoo?  Guess I *am* sorta getting tired of watching the road and other cars and pedaestrians and stuff like that.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23833137-2682,00.html

ALMOST 60,000 South Australian motorists are just one offence from losing their driver's licence - triple the number of six years ago - Transport Department data shows.

Of those drivers, almost 2000 need only one more demerit point before facing a ban.

Advances in detection and stricter laws have led to the dramatic increase in the number of motorists at risk.

As thousands of motorists return today from long-weekend holidays, motoring body the RAA and police have warned drivers to be on their best behaviour because of the more intense policing of road laws.

On May 29, 59,300 licensed motorists had accrued between six and 11 demerit points, putting them on the brink of a driving ban of at least three months. In November, 2002, The Advertiser reported more than 21,000 drivers had six or more demerit points.

There are more than one million licensed drivers in SA.

The surge in the number of motorists on the brink of losing their licences might indicate worsening road behaviour but the RAA argues increased detection is playing a major role.

RAA traffic and safety manager Rita Excell said there was more chance of getting caught now than ever before.

She said speed and red light camera technology had improved and the police focus on enforcement was more intense.

"With more constraints and restrictions on drivers, most people are compliant – there's just more ways to get caught and more detection going on," she said.

Motorists who reach the 12-demerit-point limit can apply for a "good behaviour option", under which they cannot incur a further two demerit points in the next year.

There are 3614 people subject to this agreement. However, there are 626 people who have had their licence disqualified for breaching a good behaviour agreement.

Ms Excell urged all motorists to check how many demerit points they had accumulated.

"We know they do change their behaviour if they know they've accumulated demerit points," she said.

Traffic Support Branch head Superintendent Mark Fairney said drivers on the verge of losing their licence "know they need to be on their very best behaviour".

"I would imagine those 2000 people (with a one-demerit-point leeway) are driving at the very best that they've ever driven because they don't want to suffer the inconvenience of losing their licence," he said.

"People that are so close (to losing their licence), they drive now at 50km/h in a 60km/h zone, they won't even sniff a drink, they couldn't afford to lose it."

Since 2002, the number of offences attracting demerit points has increased and more red light and speed cameras are operating.

From December, 2003, all speed camera offences have attracted demerit points.

In December, 2001, excessive speeding laws carrying six-demerit-point penalties were introduced and in the past six months the Government also has increased demerit points for failing to ensure passengers wear seatbelts and for drink and drug driving.

If drivers accumulate between 12 and 20 demerit points they can lose their licence for up to five months. Speeding motorists can incur up to four demerit points for travelling 30km/h over the speed limit while drink-driving can attract up to six demerit points.

Like all learner drivers, India Carty cannot afford to attract a single demerit point. Next month she hopes to progress to her provisional licence, on which drivers can attract up to three demerit points. The 16-year-old, who shares a Hyundai Getz with her mother, said it would be a "bummer" to lose her licence so she is careful to obey the road rules.

"I make sure I keep within the speed limit," she said. "If I get three demerit points (as a provisional driver) I have to stay on my Ps for longer." the number of motorists on the brink of losing their licences might indicate worsening road behaviour but the RAA argues increased detection is playing a major role.

 

[AshSimmonds]

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23892464-2682,00.html

South Australian speed traps catch 100,000 extra drivers

DRIVERS fined for speeding between 60 and 69km/h have risen from 1515 in 2002 to more than 100,800 last year - an MP branding them 'cash cow' revenue raisers.

In a further dramatic surge, the number of fines issued by police in the 60 to 69km/h speed range jumped from 76,536 in 2006 to 100,866 last year.

Official figures show that, overall, more than 1.38 million people have been fined a total of more than $200 million for speeding since 2002, when the Rann Labor Government came to power.

The figures were tabled in Parliament after a question from Opposition transport spokesman Duncan McFetridge, who last night said it "showed the Government was using motorists as cash cows".

But Treasurer Kevin Foley said it was "offensive to suggest that our motivation for making our roads safer is to raise revenue – it is to save lives".

Dr McFetridge said the figures raised serious questions about the accuracy of police speed detection devices, and the motivation behind lowering speed tolerance levels.

"Uncertainty over the accuracy of the SA Police speed cameras and laser guns is causing potentially thousands of motorists to be unfairly fined," he said.

"Police need to come clean and tell motorists about lowering speeding tolerances to catch more drivers.

"Motorists caught inadvertently driving one or 2km/h over the limit are not the same as drivers who deliberately endanger lives with their reckless behaviour on the road."

Police Commissioner Mal Hyde announced last year police were considering lowering the secret margin for error, given to speeding drivers.

New lower speed tolerance limits were introduced in December but Mr Hyde has refused to reveal the limit because it would allow drivers to speed. He did cite the Victorian limit of 3km/h.

Last night, a spokeswoman for Mr Hyde said speed detection devices were lawfully calibrated, and she reiterated the tolerance limit would not be revealed.

The spokeswoman said there had been a significant increase in the number of speed detection devices deployed by the police since 2002.

The data released by the Government is broken down for the past six calendar years by speed range and the total number and value of fines issued.

It shows the number of speeding fines has increased by 38 per cent since 2002, while revenue from expiation notices over the same period has gone up by 70 per cent. There was a total of 197,404 speeding fines issued in 2002, costing motorists in that year $25.24 million.

During 2007, the total number of speeding fines issued increased to 272,519, raising an annual revenue of $42.94 million.

From July 1, speeding fines will increase by about 3.5 per cent. Speeding fines from next month will range from $182 for those caught driving less than 15km/h above the speed limit to $435 for those driving more than 30km/h over the limit.

Mr Foley said the rise in the number of fines was linked to "the default urban speed limit being reduced" in March, 2003, from 60 to 50km/h.

"Police exercised a three-month amnesty period for speed enforcement on 50km/h roads from March 1, 2003," he said.

Mr Foley pointed to the latest findings by the Centre for Automotive Safety Research, which showed a 23 per cent reduction in casualty crashes on roads where the speed limit was reduced from 60 to 50km/h.

He said it was State Government policy that all revenue raised was "dedicated to enhance road safety".

Mr Foley also said in 2002 there were 154 fatalities on SA roads, compared with 125 last year – a fall of more than 18 per cent.

But Dr McFetridge said the continuing reduction in road fatalities "cannot be attributed to the single decision to ping drivers doing 60 to 69km/h".

"Where is the evidence of the impact of that multimillion-dollar revenue raising decision?," Dr McFetridge said.

"Treasurer Kevin Foley has drained more than $200 million from the wallets of motorists during the past six years. "He has used motorists as cash cows."

Mr Foley said the Government had created a Community Road Safety Fund, to provide "transparency in relation to income from speed detection devices".

[leburpor]

I contributed over $300 this year