I just checked some stats :-
The Standardised Death Rate in Australia in the years 2005, 06 and 07 was 6 per 1,000
Car deaths are 8 per 100,000 so 8 in every 600 deaths is car related.
That says 1 in every 75 people is killed by a car. Can this be true?
What about a different kind of shock add -
The scene is assembly at the average primary school. There are 480 kids and the mums and dads are there too. Its a special assembly. Everyone is lined up in their class cohort.
Then God (looking like a cross between Beathoven and the grim reaper) comes down to address the assembly and says "OK, you can have your cars but in return I will take 6 of your children chosen at random mostly in their 20s"
Close in on mums and dads looking a bit worried. End of add.
just a note on car sleeping.......
I had nothing other than my KIA carnival [catastrophe] as my residence for 3 years while i supported my children in schooling [living with the X]. There are many many other rough sleepers on a street near you now. It is not easy. Police in Sth Australia are very tolerant.
Sometimes i have helped them by reporting happening crime in the street where i was residing that night. Resulting in immediate apprehension of break and enters, I was really sh***ing my self as i tried to hide the dail up light on my mobile when i dialed 000. In the city, 5 unmarked prowl cars turned up silently within 30 seconds. Got em.
Other things, i slept near were railway lines and advised of rail carriages spreading fires along the line in tinder dry drought. Aircraft flying at night without navigation lights in normal flight paths,
Yes it all goes on, and tip off's from people sleeping rough are very helpful to other people sleeping in their nice warm comfortable secure beds .
I am grateful that i no longer have to live like that
There used to be a whole group of car dwellers near the city where I used to park my car. I spoke to a few of them and they were good people. My car was never touched while left there all day as I think any would be theives were put off by their presence.
They've all gone now, so I assume they were moved on by the authorities... pity!
What sort of car makes a good dwelling, a camper van maybe? The notion has some appeal :)
Slightly OT.. I used to sleep in the back of my van(s) and wagon(s) after paties too. The Kombi camper really was stoilish (better than my house at the time!).
As far as I know in WA you are only booked if your keys are actually in the ignition. So that means no turning on the car radio etc.
Back to the topic - that is fantastic that other states are starting to adopt the 'white elephant' policies reducing access to powerful cars for P platers. One day I hope we will look back with disbelief at the 'anything goes' laws that we currently have.
BTW I would have thought a simple power/weight ratio indicator would sort the acceptable transport from the health hazards??
Back in 1971 didnt we have the same problem with GT HO Phase 3s & 6pack chargers ect? & we still dont learn!!
Making electronic stability control mandatory in all new Australian motor vehicles is the most critical road safety measure since compulsory seat belts, the federal government says.
The new measure could have the ability to reduce the chance of a fatal accident by 25 per cent, Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said.
From 2011 all new vehicles will be fitted with electronic stability control while models presently on the market will have a further two years to install the technology.
The mandatory laws will apply to all new models of cars, passenger vans and off-road vehicles.
"This will save lives, full stop," Mr Albanese told reporters as he made the announcement on Tuesday.
"This is the most critical measure that we've taken on road safety since mandating seatbelts since the 1970s."
The ESC technology is a computer-based system that helps drivers maintain control of vehicles in dangerous conditions including wet weather.
General Motors Holden Chairman and Managing Director Mark Reuss, who accompanied the minister, said his company had introduced the technology five years ago.
"We've seen a 30 per cent drop in our insurance claim business ... so we know that this has had a big effect on safety," he told AAP.
But it wasn't clear whether the new technology could potentially put insurers out of business.
"It's bad for business, but I guess I'll take that trade off any day," Mr Reuss said.
The Australian Automobile Association, in welcoming the announcement, said it had been advocating the measure.
"We of course would like it tomorrow," executive director Mike Harris said, adding the association supported a uniform introduction across the nation.
Research released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries shows that 65.6 per cent of new passenger cars and sport utility vehicles have been fitted with ESC so far this year, an increase of 12.1 per cent from 12 months ago.
"By the end of the year it is likely to be fitted to more than seven out of 10 new vehicles," chamber chief executive Andrew McKellar said.
**Dunno if it will make that much difference** doggie
How old is this motoring writer?
www.stuff.co.nz/world/2593909/Ferrari-impounded-after-231kmh-road-test
The article turns up in the SMH search page, but doesn't actually exist - a coverup, or honest mistake?
Follow the 3 second rule in Sydney traffic and about 3 cars will cut in front of you into your lane. For some reason they think that because there is a bit of space between you and the vehicle in front, getting into your lane will somehow get them to their destination quicker.
Sydney traffic, cursing the fool in front of you who is cursing the fool in front of them who is cursing the fool in front of them.
I mean seriously.. it could equally have been called:
Killer drunk drivers... WHY?
Killer elderly drivers... WHY?
Killer truck drivers on speed... WHY?
Killer wire rope barriers that chew up motorcylists like cheese... WHY?
Killer planes that keep falling out of the sky... WHY?
Killer [insert pet hate] drivers WHY?
or maybe just
KIA drivers... WHY?
