Proposed speed limiters, HP limits on cars

[Captiva Fan]

But the alternatives take a fair bit longer ... & are more dangerous.

[meggala]

hmmm looks like I'm keeping the cefiro for a while

wont happen and it proven to be dangerous .
p plates should only be allowed to drive toyota priuses or diesel non turbo's that wiould solve a few probelms
meggala

[edo]

Nah the alternative is flying...its faster & cheaper plus lots less dangerous.

Think about this, its 2000km approx from Bris to Melb. Im flying down in a month to collect my car & driving it home.

The flight down costs $145, & they feed you, it takes 2 hours.

Coming home guessing at 10l per 100km in the cab at current fuel prices means around $200, plus it takes 2 days of driving 10 hours a day...& thats a pretty good average given town speed limits & fuel stops. I'll have to get accomodation for a night for between what $60 & $100, plus I'll have to feed myself 2 breakys, 2 lunches & a dinner...say $80...
So ignoring the time (which with 4 weeks holiday a year you really cant afford to) it costs you $360 to drive.

Take this further, say I wanted to spend a week in Melb but needed a car down there...
Driving: 4 days travel plus $720
Flying: 4 hours travel plus $290, plus car hire at say $60 per day 7 days = $420 Total $710

Plus you save yourself nearly 4 days & you get to wear out someone elses car instead of putting another 4000km on yours...

[willsy01]

Originally posted by Grinno
Yeah.

A $12 billion highway with a 110km/h speed limit the whole way...

$12b could be spent so much better.....putting some of it towards teaching people how to drive before handing them a license would make this little black duck happier.

License test is a very false name......you aren't "tested" at all. You creep along under the speed limit turning a few corners here and there, reverse park, whip out a 3 point turn then go back to the motor registry and eagerly await the result. ANYONE can do that.

Driving courses MUST be a part of the licensing process. If you underperform in said course, you don't get your license.....quite simple really. I know it sounds harsh, but if you can't display a decent ability to control a vehicle under certain circumstances you shouldn't be behind the wheel of one.

[rowdytoot]

hmm I was going to stay the hell out of this... but I cannot resist..

we were up the mountains on the w/end, taking the Rx-8 for it's 1st big drive after the 1000 km service.. you'd think I could find a nice twisty road with a decent speed limit, hell no

all the interesting stuff was 60 and 70 km limited.. boring, and license destructive to do more.

I did have a run up Scenic Hill though ( the bells line of rd side of Lithgow) it's 2 lanes each way, divided, quite steep ,and beautifully made... the speed limit is 60.... there are no houses for miles. you get to the top and the road goes back to 2 lane each way, rough as guts, and it's 80 km/hr... WTF??

Victoria pass is steeper, straighter 90 km/hr and it's fugging terrifying with large semi's up your arse going down..

So whats my point, you may ask??

Speed limits have SFA to do with road safety.. or likelyhood of accidents.

I came up Scenic hill at well over 120 km/hr in places went through the corners without trying too hard at 80 km/hr and...

then I get to the 80 zone and Im' going, nah I wouldn't wanna do 120 here., yet it was safer in my estimation to do 120 in a 60 zone that it was 120 in an 80 zone...

I sat with the ruise control down the M4 on the way home, and was thoroughly bored at 115 km/hr after about 20 minutes... it's too wide, too straight, and too low limited..

I wouldn't choose to drive to Brissie or Melbourne.. it's cheaper to fly when you take into account the amt of time you lose by driving.

I noticed coming down the mountains that there was a separate truck and bus speed limit on the GWH... why can't that be instituted where appropriate?? ie on the highway.. 130 for cars, 100 for everything else.

I know from past experience that my 147 kw ute it's much much less sure footed than the RX-8 with the DSC off, so it's not about limiting high performance vehicles, or cutting power.

At will I can get the ute sideways wet or dry.. the RX-8 takes severe provocation. my 45 hp corolla used to go sideways in a big way in the wet if you tried, all can exceed 110 km/hr with ease..

it just doesn't work on any level.

If it did ever get instituted.. I'd love to see the rule makers get sued by the family of someone who could have survived an emergency situation by being able to exceed 110 km/hr eg. getting stuck passing a truck that's doing 100 and having a car appear over a slighly blind crest etc..

Cheers

Rowds

(not well put together, but you get the drift)

[Captiva Fan]

Originally posted by edo
Nah the alternative is flying...its faster & cheaper plus lots less dangerous.

True ... long distances like that probably are better by air. Mind you, you're only statistically safer in the air per-km not per-trip ...

Shorter distances like Sydney to Canberra, Brisbane to Gold Coast, even Sydney to Necastle, are a different matter though. They're more indicative of travel times & distances in Europe as well, come to think of it.

[TonyJZX]

Originally posted by rowdytoot
If it did ever get instituted.. I'd love to see the rule makers get sued by the family of someone who could have survived an emergency situation by being able to exceed 110 km/hr eg. getting stuck passing a truck that's doing 100 and having a car appear over a slighly blind crest etc..

This is what I find very dissappointing.

This is a PhD, a Labour MP and a high ranking police officer.

I wonder what world they live in.

How can they even think these steps are even safe let alone practical.

What are their combined qualifications and years of experience worth???

And they are certainly not alone in their feelings.

T.

[Captiva Fan]

There is no way they can think safety is involved. The PhD is protecting his job, & has been for years now by providing information that's just incorrect. The MP knows only about what can be sold to the electorate. The police officer is exactly the same as the MP; it's all about politics at that level.

[fury]

they're all victorians.. victoria is a police state with the most screwed up road rules in the country.

And those guys should be shot for making life hell by making statistics that make the rules that annoy the majority of the population

Enough said!

[Jim]

on the condition they ban all forms of sport at club level to go with it, including limiting golf balls to only fly 5m at 20kph and clubs to be made from NERF, then it's all fair and reasonable huh

[edo]

Everything pointy should have a cork placed on the end & no projectile should be capable of moving at more than 5kph so that if its scary we can run & hide from it.

Yes, we need to be saved from ourselves.

[Jamezilla]

Why, when this argument surfaces time and time again, do these guys never say how limiting a car to 110km/h will stop idiots doing 110km/h in a 60/50/whatever zone?

The speedo in the R reads to 320km/h - does that mean I speed all the time, feeling compelled to have the needle somewhere between 3 and 6 o'clock?

The speedo in the Niva goes to 140km/h. It has a terminal speed - on a dyno - of 136km/h - yet I've managed to be booked doing 53 in a 50, 64 in a 60 and 73 in a 70 zone.

Hmmm - perhaps their argument is stupid and unfounded.
Say it aint so.

[Vicko]

Its been bandied about before and justifiedly shot down in flames each time.
This time will be no different.

They don't expect it to actually happen, its just part of the political marketing *haggle*. Which makes me wonder what they're going to try on instead...?

"Well we wanted to limit all vehicles to 110k, but we're now looking at only limiting hi-po sports cars instead. Anyone who travels at 250km/hr in Australia is clearly an anti-social hoon anyway."

[GT4_Jase]

Originally posted by Jamezilla
The speedo in the Niva goes to 140km/h. It has a terminal speed - on a dyno - of 136km/h - yet I've managed to be booked doing 53 in a 50, 64 in a 60 and 73 in a 70 zone.

Your a bloody lunatic mate, your gonna kill us all.

Be a bit more responsible in future...


/sarcasm off

[Mike V]

How long before you have to have some sort of tracker with GPS that detarmines if you speed in order to get insurance?

i.e. "We won't insure this car unless you fit this special tracker."


I'm told that some hire cars in the states have these already and they automatically void your insurance if you break the speed limit.