Traffic Blitz-Know your rights

[Alan]

There ya go, BTech. Your sentiments echo mine exactly, albeit more eloquently.

 

[jontyB]

Amazing. A recent survey done by one of the major newspapers came back with 80% of the respondents saying they consider themselves good drivers. 90% of the respondents believed that accidents were caused by bad drivers on the road, and less than 10% said that accidents whilst speeding poses a high risk. If memory serves, 40% were involved in accidents, and I think 90% of those involved in the accidents said they were not at fault.

The bottom line is South Africans are terrible drivers. Women do make up, men shave, everyone talk on cellphones - and they do this often whilst speeding. I have even seen someone eating breafast (I think it was cereal or something) while driving - with a spoon! Common disregard for road rules is the order of the day (the taxis hardly obey more than 10 rules as it is) - luxury car owners remove their number plates so as not to be snapped by cameras, and road markings are completely ignored by almost everyone (e.g. in Joburg, count the number of people who do NOT cross a solid line at various offramps on the highways. You can probably count them on one hand). Drunk drivers are commonplace throughout every single weekend and most evenings.

South Africans are terrible drivers, and that's the reason why we have such a huge deathtoll on our roads year in and year out.

To everyone who believes you can "Speed Responsibly" - swing by Joburg General on a friday night, and see how many repsonsible drivers mame and kill people on our roads.

 

[kilo39]

@Steamroller:

Cars are not made for speeding - they take up too much space, cause too much damage and usually kill more than one.

Excuse my previous ego outburst - as someone here said - there is a time and place for everything (I prefer mountain roads that I know like the back of my hand.)

If you're a youngster know that cars (and bikes) are absolute killers that take no prisoners. Alcohol is deaths friend.

I have lost many friends to the rigors of the road (one just a little while ago) - it is a place that knows my arse well.

The greatest skill is being able to stop - level 2 is knowing when not to (attempt to stop.)

I drive something small that goes well (suspension needs doing.) My last motorcycle was an FJ12.

Aah, the stories.

Anyway - 'nuff said.
(lecture time over)

Oh - and no motorcycle is a toy.

 

[TonyA]

IMO Some cars are made for speed eg wide tyres, ESP, ABS etc. These cars are probably safe at 140 -150 as they are designed for much hihgher speeds. The cars that are unsafe at these speeds are the ones made for town driving eg UNO and Citi Golf and are not really designed to go much faster than 100 -120. My Penny's worth.

 

[jontyB]

IMO Some cars are made for speed eg wide tyres, ESP, ABS etc. These cars are probably safe at 140 -150 as they are designed for much hihgher speeds. The cars that are unsafe at these speeds are the ones made for town driving eg UNO and Citi Golf and are not really designed to go much faster than 100 -120. My Penny's worth.

Yeah. Drive it on a race track then - you have NO right endangering my or my families life by disregarding the traffic laws (which as HFGP pointed out are there for a reason).

Just because the car can do it does NOT mean the driver can. And the roads most definitely can't either.

If you speed at the supposedly safe 140 - 150 km/h on public roads you are nothing more than a criminal. period.

 

[jontyB]

This ludicrous belief that the car is safe is an extreme indicator of the morons living in our societies. As long as a driver has the ability to kill someone using a car, CARS CAN NEVER BE CONSIDERED SAFE.

 

[Highflyer_GP]

IMO Some cars are made for speed eg wide tyres, ESP, ABS etc. These cars are probably safe at 140 -150 as they are designed for much hihgher speeds. The cars that are unsafe at these speeds are the ones made for town driving eg UNO and Citi Golf and are not really designed to go much faster than 100 -120. My Penny's worth.

While that may be true for the driver of the expensive car that was "designed" to be safe at 140+, what about innocent people who can't afford that luxury who that driver might knock into? Are they safe from him?

I certainly do not condone speeding, and even though I am guilty of slightly exceeding the limit on occasions, I will not do it if it will endanger the lives of others. So if anybody is going to speed, please make sure that the road is clear and you're alone in the car. If anything does go wrong then you're the only one who dies, and hence taking responsibility for your own actions and not leaving others to face your consequences.

 

[Lord Anubis]

While that may be true for the driver of the expensive car that was "designed" to be safe at 140+, what about innocent people who can't afford that luxury who that driver might knock into? Are they safe from him?

I totally agree and what is even more absurd is that some guys in expensive cars also fly at 180 km/h on single lane pot holed roads with over grown bushes on the side ...in the rain..at night..talking on a cellphone!

Most of these cars are driven and probably designed in Germany for thier own type of Western country road conditions which include on eight lane freeways, climate warnings and specialized tyres for different weather conditions....not the single lane, toll road, bypass, potholed, backwater, pitsonderwater, kyalitsha, plot roads, we call freeways and streets these @ssholes are speeding on!

If you live in JHB North anywhere near the western bypass and you lie in bed at night and by chance wake up at 2am you'll hear the likes of (the forum member who knows he's an idiot, yep you the speeder braggin, you know who I mean ) ripping up the freeways..for what.. so they can brag on this forum?? I have some advice for these heroes:

If you wanna stop your car/bike at 160 km/h within 1 metre, do us all a favour and find the closest concrete block or better go to Champmans peak and accelerate to 160km/h and 1 metre before

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[TonyA]

Yeah. Drive it on a race track then - you have NO right endangering my or my families life by disregarding the traffic laws (which as HFGP pointed out are there for a reason).

Just because the car can do it does NOT mean the driver can. And the roads most definitely can't either.

If you speed at the supposedly safe 140 - 150 km/h on public roads you are nothing more than a criminal. period.

I agree whole heartedly, all I said was car is safe, still have to take other factors into account like roads, traffic, drivers ability etc. Me I drive my chariot on cruise control set at speed limit for that section of road, takes away all temptation to speed. Also saves on petrol!

 

[noxibox]

swing by Joburg General on a friday night, and see how many repsonsible drivers mame and kill people on our roads.

Ignoring red lights, ignoring stop streets, driving without lights, driving a vehicle in poor condition, driving while intoxicated with alcohol, driving while alseep, driving while deaf and blind, driving while incompetent? Must be speed. Makes a better soundbite anyway.

 

[noxibox]

himself was lying a considerable distance away in a big puddle of blood. The weird part was that his body was now sans head.

That is weird. It is usually best to keep your head on your body.

Who knows, maybe he jumped the light?

Maybe? Is water wet?

had the bike been moving at a sane speed then far fewer lifes would have been affected by one man's indulgence.

Sounds like the rider, who would have been very seriously injured or killed in such an accident at 110kph, was one of the lucky ones who got to take the ******* in the car out with him.

 

[noxibox]

CAN NEVER BE CONSIDERED SAFE.

There is no such thing as being perfectly safe. The only ones with a guarantee they're not going to get hurt and die are the dead.

 

[noxibox]

Simple, like in the UK the cameras are yellow and it even shows on your GPS and tells you to slow down if over 40mph...which keeps speeds down.

That's because the motorists took the traffic mafia to court and forced them to admit that their camera placement and policies were designed to maximise income not safety. Now they're required to not only make the cameras visible so people do slow down, but to be able demonstrate that the cameras location has been chosen for safety reasons. There are still many cameras that don't comply, but it is up to motorists to lodge complaints against the racketeers who operate the cameras.

I know a couple of spots in Cape Town that seriously need permanent cameras, but I doubt they'll ever be installed. There is no way to hide the cameras. They never even use mobile cameras because there is just nowhere to hide. Nowhere to hide means almost no income from that camera so no business case to install one.

 

[noxibox]

what about innocent people who can't afford that luxury who that driver might knock into? Are they safe from him?

Targeting and blaming speeding is meant to be a quick fix. It is easier than dealing with unroadworthy cars and unskilled drivers among other things. Regular retesting would be a start. Mandatory advanced driving courses would be a good idea.

 

[StrongTurd]

Noxibox, its Sunday morning, bud. Isn't it time to go and practice some civil disobedience? Go for it, you need to get up to 300 km/h, mate. Sub-300 km/h speeds are for wusses. You're not a wuss, are you? Come and tell us about it afterwards. I trust the ol' scooter is capable of achieving a lowly 300? If not then its time to junk that snail for something quick.

 

[Angelo]

Speeding maniacs beware

Speeding drivers exceeding the legal limit by 30km/h are to have their driver's licences suspended when the 2006 National Road Safety Strategy kicks in.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060911105706996C627819

 

[noxibox]

Sub-300 km/h speeds are for wusses

Apparently they are.

 

[noxibox]

We are looking at the reduction of the speed limit to 30km/h and 40km/h in areas of high pedestrian activity, especially around schools

Sleeping speed. And no need to brake if someone steps into the road.

Someone having their license suspended hardly stops them from driving.

It also seems a little idiotic to make it a fixed amount where before it was a percentage of the posted limit. It means you can drive at nearly double the limit in some areas.

And it won't affect motorcycle riders much at all. If you've never ridden one you won't understand why.

 

[icyrus]

Speeding drivers exceeding the legal limit by 30km/h are to have their driver's licences suspended when the 2006 National Road Safety Strategy kicks in.

This would actually be quite typical of how our government opperates: completetly arse about face...

Compare how many people are killed on our roads by reckless driving (taxis) and unroadworthy vehicles (taxis) and unlicenced drivers (taxis) and overloading (taxis) compared to speeding BMWs and Mercs...

Never mind developing a functioning and safe public transport system, lets just put up more speed cameras under bridges and hidden in trees...

File this with most of government's plans, under "retarded".

 

[Leitmotif]

I have a bike and it sure as hell isnt "real transport" it is a damn toy.

Never owned a car, never intend to. A bike is the best transport possible for anyone with no wife and kids. It's fuel-efficient, able to mitigate the worst of traffic, and relatively inexpensive. Bike riders aid in preventing congestion... how many people do you see every day in traffic, one person to a car?

It is also *not* a toy. the second you treat it like one, it kills you. It is a machine providing absolutely no protection, propelling you to speeds well beyond what your body was designed to survive.

The bottom line is South Africans are terrible drivers. Women do make up, men shave, everyone talk on cellphones - and they do this often whilst speeding. I have even seen someone eating breafast (I think it was cereal or something) while driving - with a spoon!

Try doing any of that on a bike! No distractions whatsoever. Unless of course you're on one of those tank-BMWs or a GoldWing, in which case you're probably not interested in speed anyway.

Speaking of people interested in speed: there's a corner near my home, right down the road from a school. Narrow road, one lane each way. I'm sick of seeing guys try to impress their school chums/chicks by coming around this as fast as possible, and either oversteering into the opposite lane or sliding through on the paved verge. These too are people who talk about their 'skillz'. Driving faster than everyone else does not make you a better driver. *Control* makes you a better driver.

Incidentally, if StrongTurd is still reading this thread I'd like to apologise for the utter bollocks I was spouting about stopping distance last week. I know it kinda wrecks my credibility.