Police Rant

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4783829a11.html

So the police have decided they need more speed cameras. Digital ones too, so now they can hand out more, faster.

"Superintendent Paula Rose, the national road policing manager, said speed cameras had been an essential tool in moving on from the "killing fields" on the roads a generation ago. "Today we've got faster cars, we've got young people accessing fast cars ... so what a success rate.""

Hang on. My old man was thrashing the likes of Escorts and Cordias around, and they are slow deathtraps in comparison to a WRX. We have better roads, we have Playstation games where you can be shown the ideal line to take and we have endless media and other education against driving drunk, or being careful at intersections. The road toll is the lowest it has been in more than 40 years (a quick search using Google will confirm this), and the Police want to attribute this to speed cameras? Yeah right...

Anyway, the most fatalities occur in the 25-39 age group (over the last 5 years, http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/research/toll.html#further), so that young people comment is bollocks

And then: Police Association president Greg O'Connor said officers would support an initiative to reduce the road toll. They preferred speed-camera use to having frontline staff issue tickets. "It's a good idea because obviously the relationship between police and the public is negatively impacted by the heavy ticketing campaign."

Huh. What they'd prefer is speed cameras handing out all the tickets, leaving the Coppers to run around slapping pink stickers on anything that looks non OEM

Disclaimer: Im young, drive an unmodified car, and am otherwise a mild mannered, semi well behaved bloke

Is it ok to be so cynical? Or do I just have a lot to learn... I just think the Police are barking up the wrong tree by this whole "Stop speeding and the road toll will magically hit zero" campaign

Have a good day, and watch out for Mitsubishi vans on the side of our roads

[pjay 8]

[briancol 3]

Kopua Cowboy, I have never read such a load of bollocks in all my life. I think the name Cowboy suits you.

Point one that Escorts, Cordias are slow death traps compareds to WRX's.............. Crap. Take the Escort for example, a reasonably strongly built English car but pushing to exceed 120mph. Subaru WRX a 250kph plus Jappa that will fall apart as soon as it hits something solid.

Point two. We have Playstation game to make us better drivers......... Yeah Right! If you honestly think that playing computer games improves your driving then you are saddly mistaken. Do me a favour, phone me every time you go out driving and I'll stay at home.

Point three, most fatalities occur in the 25-39 age group. There are a hell of a lot more drivers in the 25-29 age group than in the under 25 age group, and if you think that the under 25's are better drivers then check out the insurance company statistics. Wht are insurance premiums dearer for under 25 year olds.

The problem with most under 25's is that they THINK that they are bullet proof and great drivers. Okay, I'm a fuddy duddy old 62 year old, but I am a petrol head and love driving and believe me there is no easy route to experiance. I gaurantee you that my 47 years driving experiance makes me a lot more capable driver than anyone who thinks that what they do on a Playstation game will make them a good driver on real roads in the real world.

[SIR E30 68]

Harden the F**K up

[M325is 0]

Kopua Cowboy, I have never read such a load of bollocks in all my life. I think the name Cowboy suits you.

Point one that Escorts, Cordias are slow death traps compareds to WRX's.............. Crap. Take the Escort for example, a reasonably strongly built English car but pushing to exceed 120mph. Subaru WRX a 250kph plus Jappa that will fall apart as soon as it hits something solid.

I think if you crashed a 1970's escort into a wall at 120km/hour it would not hold up as good as a 2000+ WRX

Point two. We have Playstation game to make us better drivers......... Yeah Right! If you honestly think that playing computer games improves your driving then you are saddly mistaken. Do me a favour, phone me every time you go out driving and I'll stay at home.

sh*t you better not trust pilots then, as they use simulators to train before flying also

Point three, most fatalities occur in the 25-39 age group. There are a hell of a lot more drivers in the 25-29 age group than in the under 25 age group, and if you think that the under 25's are better drivers then check out the insurance company statistics. Wht are insurance premiums dearer for under 25 year olds.

They are talking about fatalities not driving ability

The problem with most under 25's is that they THINK that they are bullet proof and great drivers. Okay, I'm a fuddy duddy old 62 year old, but I am a petrol head and love driving and believe me there is no easy route to experiance. I gaurantee you that my 47 years driving experiance makes me a lot more capable driver than anyone who thinks that what they do on a Playstation game will make them a good driver on real roads in the real world.

Can anyone post some BMW race series results up with ages next to the drivers, this would be interesting. I don't think you should bag somebody for being young. My brother is the National 2WD champion and is 36years younger then you, but I doubt you could match his driving ability.

[M325is 0]

Chopper says... HARDEN THE f**k UP! hahahahaha

[briancol 3]

Shelly, your attitude is exactly what I was talking about. You're young and think you're bullet proof.

I think if you crashed a 1970's escort into a wall at 120km/hour it would not hold up as good as a 2000+ WRX

You crash the WRX and I'll gladly crash the stronger Escort, what flowers would you like on your coffin?

sh*t you better not trust pilots then, as they use simulators to train before flying also

There is a hell of a difference between a flight simulator and a Playstation game.

They are talking about fatalities not driving ability

What then causes fatalities then if it's not a lack of driving ability?

My brother is the National 2WD champion and is 36years younger then you, but I doubt you could match his driving ability.

Big deal, but where did I say that I was a race driver, This thread has nothing to do with race driving, if you remember it was about speed cameras and they are on the public roads, and thats where these Playstation trained drivers are driving, not on a race track

[pjay 8]

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

mmmkay, perhaps "Harden up" is a fair comment, but I think putting more cameras out there is a sh*t idea

As for the Escorts... pics or lie. Show me an Escort surviving a crash better than a modern Jappa, and I'll withdraw that. My point still stands that the WRX is a better car, and although going faster makes you generally more likely to cock up, they are safer to go fast in- a small matter of better brakes, better tyres, better roads, ABS, AWD... plus whatever other acronyms you want

Ha the Playstation thing... all I had in mind by that was a recent comment my brother made about a mate, how his driving (pretty bloody scary) had improved markedly since he'd got himself an XBox- because now he actually knows what a line is, and that braking mid corner isnt smart etc. Re pilots... another mate of mine has his PPL and will have his CPL in a few months says he spends hours in a sim, and that even the airforce boys do it that way now. What better way to test your reactions in a crap situation than in real life where crashed planes cost lives?

Briancol, I think its pigheaded to say all road deaths are caused solely by lack of driving ability. Remind me... how did Possum Bourne die? Accidents happen. So do drunk drivers.

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

lol and thanks to pjays running comentary

this wasnt intended to get personal, just a general moan about speed cameras

[pjay 8]

I thought my 2000 words would be appreciated.

Speed cameras do suck. But the easiest solution is...

DONT SPEED

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

Point.

But...

100% compliance with the speed limit will not eliminate the road toll.

All it will do is keep us in beer money and the Police a little poorer

Edit: spelling schmelling

Edited December 5, 2008 by Kopua Cowboy

[pjay 8]

It would reduce it. Last time i crashed i was speeding. Time before that, i was speeding. Time before that... Hmm I was asleep. And time before that i was speeding.

So i can conclude based on my limited research 75% of crashes are caused by speeding.

Prove me wrong

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

I cant prove you wrong. Speeding IS a factor, although my one accident was caused by being asleep

[zenetti 0]

Briancol, I think its pigheaded to say all road deaths are caused solely by lack of driving ability. Remind me... how did Possum Bourne die? Accidents happen. So do drunk drivers.

I think he died because the other guy due to his LACK OF DRIVING ABILITY ploughed into his car. Please someone correct me if I am wrong. Drunk driving impairs your ABILITY to operate a motor vehicle.

Sorry but I don't believe accidents just happen - there is always a reason behind it. Case in point, I stubbed my toe today, because of my INABILITY to watch where I was going.

[zenetti 0]

I cant prove you wrong. Speeding IS a factor, although my one accident was caused by being asleep

Falling asleep affects your ABILITY to operate a motor vehicle

[Silver Fox 43]

My 2 cents worth,

All the above help cause accidents, but you're all missing the most important ones IMHO?

ATTITUDE, ABILITY, and RESPECT.

Drive with the right attitude, and respect the conditions and the other road users. Drive to your ability, and the ability of what you're driving. These aren't age related, but you will better understand what they are as you get older, wiser, and more experienced, until this happens, expect to get tickets for all the things you now get them for, you will learn in time..

[kingkarl 136]

Point one that Escorts, Cordias are slow death traps compareds to WRX's.............. Crap. Take the Escort for example, a reasonably strongly built English car but pushing to exceed 120mph. Subaru WRX a 250kph plus Jappa that will fall apart as soon as it hits something solid.

I dont see how a sub 1000kg 1970s RWD tin can with no rear seatbelts, no ABS no stability control no airbags and crap brakes could hold up better in a crash than a AWD modern car with modern safety features.

As for speeding, it isn't always unsafe. Going 61km/h on a dry straight well lit road with very little traffic is not dangerous and yet you will still receive a ticket.

[pjay 8]

I think this sums it up

And im off to my 21st now. Soooo....

IBTL

Edited December 6, 2008 by Pjay

[Eagle 1661]

I think this sums it up

And im off to my 21st now. Soooo....

IBTL

Nice try fool

[oldskool 4]

My 2 cents worth,

All the above help cause accidents, but you're all missing the most important ones IMHO?

ATTITUDE, ABILITY, and RESPECT.

Drive with the right attitude, and respect the conditions and the other road users. Drive to your ability, and the ability of what you're driving. These aren't age related, but you will better understand what they are as you get older, wiser, and more experienced, until this happens, expect to get tickets for all the things you now get them for, you will learn in time..

Ahhhhhhhhhhh..............

The voice of sense & reason prevails...................

Thank you...............thought we may have had two further fatalities due to inability to operate a motor vehicle whislt using laptop in wireless hotspot.

It has to be said that speed & stupidity are not merely the preserve of the young, however as we age so do we discover the desire to remain on this mortal coil by minimising the stupidity factor............

I personally never got my bike licence when I was young due to the firm belief that if I rode a motorbike the way I drove cars, I was never going to be anything more than a temporary citizen and would amount to nothing more than a greasy stain on the road.

It is fair to say that most of us (Lads) seem to have far greater bravery than skill when we are young, I know from my own experiences I ran out of skill long before I ran out of bravado on a number of occassions and only by shear blind dumb luck did I emerge from those situations unscathed, did it make me a better driver, yes, did it make me less of a dickhead, no.

Better driver yes, scared the sh*t out of me, slowed me down, learnt what the car would do in an overdriven situation.

Dickhead, no, because I shouldnt have got so far ahead of my own ability, I shouldnt have been over driving a vehicle on public roads, and if the good luck hadnt been there, I could well have ruined an innocent persons life because I was to stupid to know better.

So do we need far better driver training & compulsory track day & skid testing etc etc to gain a licence, hell yes...............

Too often the first time anyone strikes having to deal with an emergency avoidance, panic braking, etc type of situation is when they are experiencing it for real.............the first time they discover they have no idea how to handle it is about a nanosecond later................the results speak for themselves,

The one figure that we havent looked at is injuries from road accidents and permanent damage, these I have no doubt will be up dramatically, because whilst newer vehicles have a greater ability to disapate kinetic energy away from the passenger cell & airbags are huge in reducing the impact loads, as far as I am aware the human body hasnt evolved to the same extent and is still pretty crap at dealing with sharp & solid objects conecting with it at high speeds.

Do I think our Roading Police policy makers are a bunch of dickheads................absolutely.................putting more Highway cars on the road is a visual deterant & has far greater pychological effect on drivers who knowingly drive dangerously, plus the fact that people driving unroadworthy cars may think twice about taken them out for a spin...........

Note : unroadworthy vehicles does not mean modded vehicles with the correct paperwork etc, I agree that some police officers take delight in stckering vehicles that are roadworthy, just cause they can.

It also has the effect of knowing you will lose points if you get pinged, not simply another hit in the pocket by some faceless machine........................

However we know that this is the key revenue stream to pay for the policing machine & of course pad out the govt coffers.

So untill we get an altruistic Roading Police Force that is only there to enforce safer driving & promote greater use of common sense on the roads, we will keep hearing the same political puffery & retoric being spread about.

What should be happening is that the open road speed limit be raised to 110km/h in a trial and if it is successfull, then it should be raied to 120km/h, this has been trialed in the USA in some States & has resulted in reductions in accidents & fatalities, however this needs to go hand in hand with greatly improved driver training & far higher standards to secure a drivers licence, and a change in approach regarding policing of our roads, that is to focus on poor driving habits, not simply speed.

As I have always said, Speed will never kill you, but the sudden stops a bitch..................

Unfortunately using the former in the wrong place means the latter is never far away..........

Thats my rant, anyone want a new Transport Minister ??

[briancol 3]

Nice try fool

You bastard.......... Now how do I stop it?

[e30plz 1]

Ctrl+Alt+Del lol.

[antony 0]

Do we seriously need to have one of these threads every 2 months?

What it will come down to are:

Your young and stupid, and people will have a go at the illegal "boy racer" cars, of which few (if any) are on this forum.

Respect the police. Although, it will be agreed they are used as a cash cow, but still respect the police.

Useless facts pulled from ltsa and various other sources.

People will eventually admit to speeding, but "only in controlled environments", which will be accepted, but condemned by some members.

There will most likely be some personal insults chucked in at some point.

Come on guys, e-arguements are lame.

As to the original poster, it will be said, if you don't speed you have nothing to worry about.

E: Haven't actually read the thread, but a quick skim now is proving my point.

Edited December 6, 2008 by antony

[Forrest 35]

save the speed for the track and you will have nothing to worry about it, think when you speed how much that would cost in fines...and think of where you could put that money on your car..that made me sort my s**t out