Is talking about speed limits banned yet?

[rat156]

A leading German safety expert says Australian drivers could travel faster on freeways in an effort to reduce the road toll
Australian drivers would be safer travelling at higher speeds on freeways, a German safety expert says.
Dr Ulrich Mellinghoff, the head of safety at German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz, believes that Australian authorities could also better manage our road network to create a system that was much safer for all motorists.
Dr Mellinghoff is visiting Australia to showcase safety technology fitted to the car maker's vehicles. He said drivers here should be allowed to travel faster on long stretches of road, mainly to fight fatigue.
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He said Australian roads also needed to be better managed to introduce a European-style system where slow-moving traffic - including trucks - was confined to the left lane on freeways, freeing up the right lane for high-speed traffic.
''In Germany, it is not allowed for cars to pass on both sides (of slow-moving traffic),'' he said. ''This divides the traffic more or less, with faster driving on the left side and the slower-driving cars on the right side.
''I think there is no difference here. A system that works in Germany will work in Australia the same way.
''Maybe a top speed of 200km/h is not necessary, but I think if you divided it (the traffic) a little bit on these very long distances you have to drive, it's better to drive at 130 km/h or 140 km/h, although in terms of drowsiness you still have to drive at 100km/h.
''We in Germany have absolutely no problem with higher speeds. We've discussed it often, and very often the discussion was that it was unsafe. But our statistics show this is not the case.''
Dr Mellinghoff, who is on his first visit to Australia, said while the quality of roads here was comparable with those in Germany, the drivers were not.
''In Australia, the people drive very close to each other, and the distance between two cars is much closer than in Germany,'' he said. ''I think the people don't realise how critical, how dangerous this is.''
Dr Mellinghoff said Australia could also improve its road safety record by lowering all suburban speed limits to 60km/h, and imposing a much harsher speed limit on trucks.
''We know that a truck going from 80km/h to zero needs the same length in braking as a passenger car at 120km/h to zero,'' he said.
''It's better that trucks drive at 80km/h or 90km/h. I think this would help to optimise safety in Australia.''
Authorities would also have to do more to separate different road users, such as cars and cyclists, he said.
''I was very surprised to read on the highway that cyclists have to use the parking shoulder,'' he said.
''In Germany, it is absolutely forbidden for the bicycle to go on the highway. We try to divide the different people, the different partners in the traffic, and it makes it much safer.''
Despite having no speed limits on some roads, Dr Mellinghoff said the annual number of deaths per head of population in Germany had remained constant for the past five years, at about 28 fatalities per 100,000 people.
By comparison, he said, Australia's fatality rate sits at about 30 deaths per 100,000 people, almost the same as Germany's.
Of the 4000 people expected to die on German roads this year, only about 150 deaths were likely to be attributed to crashes on high-speed highways, Dr Mellinghoff said.
He said the next goal for car makers was to get the death rate down to one in 100,000 people, or about the same as the annual death toll for the aviation industry.
Volvo is working in conjunction with the Swedish authorities to aim for a zero road toll by 2020 as part of its Vision 2020 program.

We need a German in charge of road safety, they speak sense, not contrite sloganistic rubbish. Australian road safety authorities need to concentrate on driver education, not dropping the speed limits.

Mind you, if I could approach the speed limit on the freeway on the way to work it'd be a miracle anyway.

Cheers
Stuart

[multiweb (Marc)]

Hehe... they're good indeed. They got a consultant from Germany to sort out traffic problems in the Prairiewood shopping complex in western sydney. The council at the time put speed humps every 5m (yes read 5 meters) all around the adjacent streets to the car park in order to stop the hoons. As a result it did slow traffic dramatically and created massive traffic jams. First thing he said was to get rid of the speed humps. So they sent him packing back home and told him he didn't know what he was talking about. Expensive exercise though flying an expert from Germany and not listening.

[supernova1965 (Warren)]

Probably should it always seems to end up nasty which is a shame as i don't mind discussion if it remains civil

[Ric]

That makes perfect sense to me Stuart for the major highways.

For most of the secondary roads around the place I would think of it as a good idea. Thinking around my area most of these roads are in such a bad state with potholes and crumbling shoulders that it's too blooming dangerous to do more than 80 in some parts.

[AndrewJ]

No arguments will help.
I was listening to someone expounding the virtue of speed cameras ( again ) this morning and quoting the old "they have reduced the road toll"
It was then pointed out that our road toll has actually gone up.
Notwitstanding its an argument that cant be won
as long as the govt makes lots of dollars for no effort,
i wonder why the newer cars with antilock braking, automatic stability control, airbags and better crash crumple zones hasn't had an effect on anything
Perhaps we should remove all this "redundant" technology
and get cheaper cars so we can afford the fines easier.

Andrew

[xelasnave]

I could be wrong but it seems to me that many laws are enacted for the public purse rather than the public good.
Could it be that speeding is seen as a ready source of revenue presented to the public on the basis that it is the public that will benefit not the treasury.

alex

[Steffen]

Interesting article, do you have a link?

EDIT nvm, found it: http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...011-16fer.html

Cheers
Steffen.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by Steffen

Interesting article, do you have a link?

EDIT nvm, found it: http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...011-16fer.html

Cheers
Steffen.

Interesting indeed. When I first moved here in 1995 I used to drive much faster on the freeway still being used to the roads back home and a couple of times I nearly got in trouble in a couple of freeway exits because the curves they build here are not designed for high speed. They're just to small radii. Just something I've remembered while reading this article. If we increase speed limits we need to modify a few things on the way the road are built too.

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

If we followed these guidelines though, how long would it be before some leftist lawyer challenged the rule, saying it was discriminatory and against slow drivers and trucks.............. and won!

[astroron (Ron)]

Originally Posted by multiweb

Interesting indeed. When I first moved here in 1995 I used to drive much faster on the freeway still being used to the roads back home and a couple of times I nearly got in trouble in a couple of freeway exits because the curves they build here are not designed for high speed. They're just to small radii. Just something I've remembered while reading this article. If we increase speed limits we need to modify a few things on the way the road are built too.

Mark, as you have brought up the roads into this thread especially the Turn off exits, Here in Queensland, I don't Know if it is also interstate but some of the curving on the Cambers is so steep that they have Semi Trailers
Tip over, so what do they do They put up a sign, instead of fixing the problem

[Alchemy (Clive)]

Originally Posted by AndrewJ

No arguments will help.
I was listening to someone expounding the virtue of speed cameras ( again ) this morning and quoting the old "they have reduced the road toll"
It was then pointed out that our road toll has actually gone up.
Notwitstanding its an argument that cant be won
as long as the govt makes lots of dollars for no effort,
i wonder why the newer cars with antilock braking, automatic stability control, airbags and better crash crumple zones hasn't had an effect on anything
Perhaps we should remove all this "redundant" technology
and get cheaper cars so we can afford the fines easier.

Andrew

I heard the same interview, abc melbourne, a rather brain dead view that speed cameras are the sole cause of dropping the road toll, don't worry about air bags, crumple zones better engineeering.
Speed cameras = revenue raising, everyone knows it.
There are roads such as freeways where a higher limit is justified

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

Dont think it would work in Aus, too many slow drivers on the right hand lane.

[Roobi]

some good points here, I totally agree they need better driver education, rather than reducing the speed limits, but i don't know about the speeding fines for revenue raising. IMHO if people followed the speed limits and didn't break the law, then they would get no revenue from it.
Laws are there for a reason and we should abide by them weather we like them or not. But hey everyones entitled to there opinion. Just my two cents worth.

Cheers

[Alchemy (Clive)]

Originally Posted by Roobi

some good points here, I totally agree they need better driver education, rather than reducing the speed limits, but i don't know about the speeding fines for revenue raising. IMHO if people followed the speed limits and didn't break the law, then they would get no revenue from it.
Laws are there for a reason and we should abide by them weather we like them or not. But hey everyones entitled to there opinion. Just my two cents worth.

Cheers

True one can avoid a fine by not speeding, but why do they put them at the bottom of hills, or 5 miles out of town ( that town in NSW with the submarine) Where clearly there is no need for a 60 k zone.
Why only 3 ks above the limit in VIC when many older vehicles aren't that accurate.

[astroron (Ron)]

In My opinion we should fight bad or wrong laws, not just except them Meekly
Anyway who decided that 60kph is safe and 61Kph is a death speed
Every Kph below 60Kph is a killer too

[GrampianStars (Rob)]

Originally Posted by mswhin63

Dont think it would work in Aus, too many slow drivers on the right hand lane.

That's why there's Bull Bars and Shotguns in Aust
I'd teach these ferel drivers to keep left real quick
Mad Max Lives
out here south of the border in Victoria at least

[Alchemy (Clive)]

Originally Posted by GrampianStars

That's why there's Bull Bars and Shotguns in Aust
I'd teach these ferel drivers to keep left real quick

to Australia

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by mswhin63

Dont think it would work in Aus, too many slow drivers on the right hand lane.

There are keep left laws. Shame they never enforce them

Originally Posted by Alchemy

... ( that town in NSW with the submarine) ...

Holbrook?

Originally Posted by AndrewJ

No arguments will help.
I was listening to someone expounding the virtue of speed cameras ( again ) this morning and quoting the old "they have reduced the road toll"
It was then pointed out that our road toll has actually gone up.

And the UK are talking about removing speed cameras because they increase the road toll.

[Osirisra (Ken)]

I wish they had the autobahn here in oz between the major places at least. When I was in Germany is was a great thing and then comming back here to our roads was painful, expecially with the large distances we have.

[Kevnool (Kev)]

110 on the M4 in peak hour ......thats really 10klm/ph or less.
Fast roads aint gunna fix that.
30 years ago when GTHO and the Montys were in. yep but not now.

Cheers Kev.