The risk of dying doing what we love

[jackc]

Well, I will be……it’s on a bucket list!

[Thruster88]

8 hours ago, turboplanner said:

From memory, horse riding has more injuries than flying.

 

Many more people, mostly female do it week in week out. Just about every small town has an active pony club.

[spacesailor]

Yes, all female ," horse " riders .

My one fatality was the young ( next ) ' junior championship '  rider . 

Huge loss to all involved in the sport . 

spacesailor

 

[BrendAn]

last week i rode my motorbike up home and back to melbourne, 500km round trip. it was nerve wracking , every second car seemed to have a muppet driving.  getting tailgated while doing 110 was quite common. even had a tip truck right up my clacker at one stage, as some of you alluded to a few weeks back , its just getting too dangerous on the road. flying an ultralight feels safe as anything compared to a motorbike.

[pmccarthy]

Since they made most of our 10km of highway into town a 50 kph limit there is chaos. Tailgating, overtaking on double lines. Someone is running a competition for the best playlist to accompany your drive. Much safer to fly.

[skippydiesel]

Yeah! the 50 kph rule on main arteries is crazy. If absolutely indicated, it should be just on the stretch (centre of town) where risk highest.

[440032]

19 hours ago, pmccarthy said:

Since they made most of our 10km of highway into town a 50 kph limit there is chaos. Tailgating, overtaking on double lines. Someone is running a competition for the best playlist to accompany your drive. Much safer to fly.

Akker Dakker - Highway to hell. Cos it sure the hell is there now!

[Red]

21 hours ago, BrendAn said:

last week i rode my motorbike up home and back to melbourne, 500km round trip. it was nerve wracking , every second car seemed to have a muppet driving.  getting tailgated while doing 110 was quite common. even had a tip truck right up my clacker at one stage, as some of you alluded to a few weeks back , its just getting too dangerous on the road. flying an ultralight feels safe as anything compared to a motorbike.

Yep, The roads or rather the car drivers are terrible these days I'm probably quite capable of killing myself without everyone else trying to do it for me, I find young Ladies particularly dangerous..they simply dont seem to care all safe in their shiny metal boxes.

tbh the Instructors seem really poor quality these days too, I had one tell me you don't need to indicate if there is nobody in the vicnity...wtf?? how about the guy you didnt see and just pulled out in front of?..idiot

Edited June 26 by Red

[BrendAn]

23 hours ago, pmccarthy said:

Since they made most of our 10km of highway into town a 50 kph limit there is chaos. Tailgating, overtaking on double lines. Someone is running a competition for the best playlist to accompany your drive. Much safer to fly.

its part of the 0 fatality program. but instead of repairing victorian rds and making them safe they just keep lowering the speed limit.  and now jacinta daniels has made kids up to 14 free to steal more cars and cause chaos with no consequence.

i pass burn't wrecks almost every day . they are stolen by kids then torched after they have driven around melbourne at high speed.  

[skippydiesel]

14 hours ago, Red said:

Yep, The roads or rather the car drivers are terrible these days I'm probably quite capable of killing myself without everyone else trying to do it for me, I find young Ladies particularly dangerous..they simply dont seem to care all safe in their shiny metal boxes.

Agreed standard is extraordinarily poor. As for "0" road deaths its easier to spend tax payers $$$$$ on stupid /meaningless adverts than do anything practical about the appalling driving standards.

14 hours ago, Red said:

tbh the Instructors seem really poor quality these days too, I had one tell me you don't need to indicate if there is nobody in the vicnity...wtf?? how about the guy you didnt see and just pulled out in front of?..idiot

My guess - driving examiners are held to a certain code/standard dictated by the State - no room for discretion - they most likly know that they are passing incompetent drivers.

 

On my way home this morning with horse float full of hay,e up  climbing a long straight hill,, speed down to 80 kph - came up behind a Range Rover, behind a truck (70kph) - moved into right lane to pass as I derw abeam the RR it suddenly decided to pass truck - jammed on brakes, hit horn, RR kept coming - RR continued up hill at 70-75 kph - I recovered to catch him again on level ground - continued at 75-80 kph in 100 kph zone, no further passing opportunities for next 20 k. To say this drivers is an ignorant illegitimate would be an understatement.

[jackc]

I scored 4 idiots in 1 month in our city 3 months ago, my 45 year old Landcruiser sustained no damage at all, idiot damage ranged from bruising to $3000 each. Crash speeds around 40km, 2 exiting car parks without looking, 1 rammed me from behind at a red light, one drove out of a hotel car park half pissed, crashed into bull bar, and did a runner.  Pays to drive old cars 👍
 

[Steve L]

Plus old cars don’t have computers 

[BrendAn]

A few weeks back one of my driver's was unloading a crane truck in a suburban st. He was standing on the curbside when a car went past that close it tore it's passenger mirror off and it was stuck on the edge of the tray.  And another car earlier this year drove through a give way sign into one of my tray trucks. Wrote the car off and did 10k damage to the truck.  Another time I was stopped at the lights when a new Mitsubishi ran up my bum  . Wrote that off too . Truck sustained a broken tail light lens.  Never dull in Melbourne.

[skippydiesel]

Mexicans!!!! 😈

[BrendAn]

19 minutes ago, skippydiesel said:

Mexicans!!!! 😈

Drivers are out of control down here. I would imagine Sydney would be just as bad.  A lot of Melbourne's problem is the huge immigrant influx the last few years. Combined with VicRoads handing licences too easy.

[Red]

10 hours ago, BrendAn said:

A few weeks back one of my driver's was unloading a crane truck in a suburban st. He was standing on the curbside when a car went past that close it tore it's passenger mirror off and it was stuck on the edge of the tray.  And another car earlier this year drove through a give way sign into one of my tray trucks. Wrote the car off and did 10k damage to the truck.  Another time I was stopped at the lights when a new Mitsubishi ran up my bum  . Wrote that off too . Truck sustained a broken tail light lens.  Never dull in Melbourne.

I dont know which one was driving but I see one is wearing flip flops and the other wedge/platform shoes...tbh I think the current state of affairs is more an age thing than what country they come from, not saying that doesnt play a part but it seems to me anyone in the 40ish or below age bracket simply has no clue how to behave in society.

This what you get from adopting a culture of "its ok jimmy you're doing fine" told to the kid who just spat at his classmate and can't spell his own name at age 12, been going on a few decades now.

[BrendAn]

9 minutes ago, Red said:

I dont know which one was driving but I see one is wearing flip flops and the other wedge/platform shoes...tbh I think the current state of affairs is more an age thing than what country they come from, not saying that doesnt play a part but it seems to me anyone in the 40ish or below age bracket simply has no clue how to behave in society.

This what you get from adopting a culture of "its ok jimmy you're doing fine" told to the kid who just spat at his classmate and can't spell his own name at age 12, been going on a few decades now.

The lady was driving. Middle eastern I think. She said the sun was in her eyes . 

[skippydiesel]

I don't think it's fair to blame migrants or any group for that matter - its the State Governments job to set appropriate standards, see that they are met (or you dont drive),  policed so that you keep to them.

 

Also its the State (& unfortunatly local councils) job to design road, signs, etc, that are CONSISTENT & make sense  ie relate to the road environment.

 

NSW State Government would rather spend tax dollars on ineffective, inaccurate, meaningless TV campaigns, than do anything logical &  constructive in this area

[Red]

Personal Responsibility used to be a thing, but that was a long long time ago

[skippydiesel]

22 hours ago, Red said:

Personal Responsibility used to be a thing, but that was a long long time ago

Truie! However Personal responsibility, with all the variables inherent in a personal view/approach, is not so good for a mass (all drivers) adherence approach. Where its important that individual adhere to a set of rules/ designed to protect the majority, from personal expression/interpretation (as in driving dangerously/without courtesy)

[spacesailor]

not all drivers are equal  ! .

If it rains in Sydney there are multiple crashes . By all addiring to those same

Rules,  that, they were taught.  Almost none  , taught on a " skid patch " .

But they are competent,  untill they are not .

spacesailor

 

 

[skippydiesel]

46 minutes ago, spacesailor said:

not all drivers are equal  ! .

If it rains in Sydney there are multiple crashes . By all addiring to those same

Rules,  that, they were taught.  Almost none  , taught on a " skid patch " .

But they are competent,  untill they are not .

spacesailor

 

 

The authorities focus on SPEEDING (defined as breaking the posted speed limit) as the cure for all driving ills has brainwashed the public into believing they are safe when the don't break the posted speed limit.

 

Drivers have not been taught to drive to the prevailing road conditions. 

 

Edited July 1 by skippydiesel

[johnm]

we could put the male drivers on one side and female drivers on the other side of the road - that might help

 

the authorites have created a paranoia regarding the speed limit - we have cars in 100 kmh zones doing 90 kmh to avoid a ticket .......... and a fair few other cars, behind,  all trying to overtake that car

 

Leniency has gone out the window - you are merely driving a machine that is potenmtially a contributor to a state budget

 

 

[Marty_d]

Used to be, you could be certain of a "buffer" (usually 10%) where they wouldn't pull you over.  So doing 106 in a 100 zone was pretty safe.

 

I think the rot set in with Victoria first, pulling people over for 1 or 2 km/h over the limit.  Now here in Tassie there's "Over is over" signs all over the highways promising zero tolerance.

[BrendAn]

39 minutes ago, Marty_d said:

Used to be, you could be certain of a "buffer" (usually 10%) where they wouldn't pull you over.  So doing 106 in a 100 zone was pretty safe.

 

I think the rot set in with Victoria first, pulling people over for 1 or 2 km/h over the limit.  Now here in Tassie there's "Over is over" signs all over the highways promising zero tolerance.

Victorian road safety cameras are about maximising gov revenue nothing else. The police try to convince us it's for safety but I think that's pretty low on the priority list.