Increase in Police radar and speed measuring devices.
Increase in pedestrian deaths and injuries.
Increase in frustration and road rage incidents.
Increase in deaths related to cars.
Increase in revenue due to petrol tax.
Increase in revenue due to speeding fines.

I think you have missed the whole point with this add.

These people are real people. Real families that have been affected. Parents who have lost children.. Your remarks about the road side shrines giving you the shits are just callus.

You have obviously never lost anybody meaningful in your life, until you have don’t judge.

Dont bring other issues such as the government needing to fix the public transport system into this… I think that’s for a different forum all together.

We (i.e. the speeding drivers) are the highest contributors?!
What happened to Alcohol, Drugs, Fatigue and Lack of Concentration,
Aren’t they also contributors as well as speed?

I seem to remember a “Wipe off Five” ad where they tried to prove
With two white AU Falcons, driving into the side of a truck, that going 5Km/H over the limit increased your stopping distance. Funny how the 65 Km/H vehicle got the tailgate while the 60Km/h car got a nice even surface to run into.
Also, remember the small controversy over that ad regarding the cars actual speeds?

Back to the ad I see the shot of a family member at a hastily made roadside shrine,
If there’s one thing that gives me the absolute shits when driving its roadside shrines.

What, can’t you find their grave?!

Seriously, if they’re buried at someplace where are they going to be, spirit and all?

Overall the only contribution I can see this ad making is little, apart from more “friends” to join us on the moving roadblock and the improved reflex action on the remote control.

Memo to the Victorian Government;

Try actually improving the public transport system.

What we need, I think, is to attempt to lobby all tiers of government, especially state governments, to deal with this issue. On another blog on this site somebody proposed pumping the cash raised from speed cameras into subsidising driver training and other road safety pursuits. This is a damned good idea, as at present revenue goes straight into the gov’s budget and is not necessarily spent on making road transport safer. Also, we need to work for a more rigorous licencing system (ideally a set state/federal minimum curriculum which states competencies which must be achieved before progressing) with a mandatory driver training and, in the case of those who’ve been caught in offences, maybe more training in lieu of a fine. The training element MUST address attitudes and motivations as well as the skills involved though, to ensure responsible driving habits and behaviours.

How can we be heard? Not sure – maybe if we as collective driving enthusiasts, families/friends of accident victims, industry reps, car manufacturers and interested parties lobby toward these outcomes we could see a change. A letter to the state transport minister perhaps? What would be great is if a few larger respected entities could also get on board – if we were represented by a couple of car magazines and car blogs as well, perhaps the message could get out there.

I definitely agree with you… Its pathetic that all that is required to obtain a license is a hazard test that even a child could pass, and a lousy drive. But the question is what do we do about it? How can we be heard…

The answer that they have is to limit P platers to one passenger… well that is not going to help at all.. because I can tell you from firsthand experience, the night my friend was killed he was the only passenger in the car…

As for the TAC adds being a waste of tax payers money…. At the end of the day if one life can be saved be a TAC campaign… then that’s enough for me.

I think I represent everybody who’s posted here in saying that we’re definitely not having a go at you or your friends – really, they’re victims of an apathetic system. While I can’t pass judgement on what actually happened to cause the crash shown in the ad (especially as it’s not broadcast in QLD, so I’ve not seen it), I think most would agree that a) it’s too easy to obtain a licence and b) when learning to drive nobody gets taught the absolute necessities i.e. how to avoid emergency situations or, in the worst case, get out of them. If the government was truly serious about this, they’d be pushing forward positive initiatives. What drivers need is skill, combined with the correct mental attitude – and this isn’t taught by our licencing system.

Let me reiterate that I have the utmost sympathy for the friends and family of crash victims – the reason I’m such a proponent of driver training is because I’m sick and tired of my family and friends being either involved in accidents they could easily have prevented, or on the roads with so many other people who really have no idea.

The point I’m trying to raise the issue is that throwing millions of dollars in to television commercials DOES NOT WORK. We’re immune to scare tactics.

There are, as you’ve pointed out, far larger issues behind these tragic crashes and it is high time these issues were addressed fully instead of producing another TV commercial.

What I am reading here is absolute bullshit..

it’s so disappointing to see that his family dredge up there pain and hurt, just to have people have a go at the government….

This add is to show people that this is real.

Innocent people are dying here all because of speed…

It doesn’t matter what add they come up with next, or how much they spend on driver “hands on education” until these “hero’s” take responsibility for their own actions, until they wake up and see that they are not invincible road trauma is going to keep happening.

- first, get a politician in charge who is actually a driving enthusiast themselves – someone who has an inkling of commonsense and is there to do the best job they can, not just seek recognition and promotion. So, no politicians I’ve ever heard of…
- a standardised curriculum for learner drivers – I’ve heard and seen firsthand some of the crazy things driving instructors teach learners – either the Federal or state governments should address this a set basic curriculum driving teachers must follow…possibly integrating this with a competency based system (like Q-ride for motorbikes in QLD) to ensure kids are getting the skills they need.
- driver training – people poo poo this because “if people have more skills they will test themselves and crash more”. Utter bollocks in my experience – I’d rather ensure that all drivers had these skills in the first place. Undoubtedly a life saver, providing this is a mix of practical (skid control, accident avoidance, effective braking etc.) and theoretical (addressing attitudes, accident stats and so on).
- a fair go for driver training – supposedly driver training is not as effective as other road safety countermeasures (eg. speed cameras or shock-horror advertising)…because the standards of measurement are skewed against training. I researched this subject a bit recently and found that, where training is measured on how many people have accidents, no research is done into how many situations were avoided over the same period through this training. Additionally, things like adverts are measured based on recall rate, not on crashes prevented.
- finally, the scrapping of the majority of speed cameras (as people just brake, then accelerate after passing) and replacing with more police on the street. I have the utmost respect for the highway patrol guys, and you can really see that people drive more carefully when police cars are on the road nearby. Yet most people have a profound disrespect for mobile and fixed speed cameras. Spend the speed camera budget on an extra couple of patrol cars will result in a more positive police presence on the road which will both benefit the police’s reputation and possibly save a life or two.

Speed cameras have never been about lifesaving…and for various governments to claim otherwise is pure unadulterated crap. Perhaps getting serious about the issue, instead of installing more cameras, could save a few more lives (though reducing government revenue).

Rule one, NEVER admit to speeding, as Boggy pointed out you are being recorded and by admitting you MAY have been speeding blows any chance of a subsequent defence in court. And dont think for a minute that one can not defend the matter in court.

Yes, i feel very sorry for family that has lost a loved one.

BUT the TAC has no right to claim “its why we take speed photos” what a croc of s/hit.

They should spen money on drived hands-on education, to easy to get a lics. and to easy to get into bad habits.

Cheers

F-0

How can Victorians put up with such rubbish!.

Dual carriage ways save lives and prevent almost 90% of fatal accidents.

So why aren’t they putting every available dollar into building better roads.

Answer – too hard

The Victorian Government should be ashamed of such gross incompetence.

Vehicles poorly or not maintained at all, lights out, bald tyres, rusted, damaged or illegally modified body work etc.

Drivers who are reckless in their disregard for the safety of other road users. Lane changing on a whim, with, if you are lucky a single flash of the signal. Tail gating at 100 km/hr, a mere few cms from the vehicle in front, when a safe distance is at least 50 metres. etc.

Drivers who seem to think & certainly behave as if driving is a distraction from answering the phone, eating their breakfast or combing their hair.

Roads that are designed to encourage discourtesy toward other drivers, racing & generally behaving as if the only thing that matters is that your vehicle is behind theirs.The left hand suicide lane at road junctions is a classic example.

Road rules that likewise encourages discourtesy toward other drivers etc. Overtaking on the inside is a prime example.

The complete & almost total lack of any enforcement of road law by the police, other than by the snr sergeant at the camera fines collection agency, is the single most important root cause of many of the problems that make driving on our roads a serious health & safety issue.

Our pollies seem only to be interested in those aspects that can be subject to a quick, preferably cheap fix.

A significant, 24/7 active police presence on our roads would go a long way to addressing many of our road problems. Building better roads & updating the road rules would do the rest.