Bad road times here...

[gtimk5]

A lot of Tasmanians are in mourning today after the worst single day of road deaths yesterday in history for Tassie.
Ice and freezing conditions accounted for the first double fatality near Hobart early in the morning followed by a shocker on the Midlands highway later in the morning...
That caused chaos with the road closed for hours while they took away 4 dead people from that one.
Then late in the afternoon the same highway took another 2 lives (at least thats what they reported) until they realised 3 hours later that a 3 1/2 year old was sposed to be in one of the cars that had been crushed by a container. It took the rescuers a fair bit longer to find the childs body in the carnage. The press werent allowed to visit that accident as it was far too tragic and graphic...
I think its terrible and its amazing how some people dont drive to the conditions.
That was 9 fatalities in one day which is tragic for anywhere.
Our road toll is now 46 for 2009 while the total for 2008 was 40

Please drive safe this weekend.....
Andrew

[Stan]

smart thoughts there Andrew. I'm a paramedic and see the results of this all the time. On the public road, in the wet, with other people around is no way to be in a hurry, lack concerntration or do race / drift practice.
Stay safe dubbers...

[SoVeReIgN]

Pretty full on, I don't think speed and other driver restrictions have been effective as the government has hoped.

We need to train drivers better, change attitudes and spend more money on making our roads physically safer.

[Maverick]

Pretty full on, I don't think speed and other driver restrictions have been effective as the government has hoped.

We need to train drivers better, change attitudes and spend more money on making our roads physically safer.

Agreed, all the governments have done is create a bunch of drivers who only know how to watch their speedo and drive at whatever speed is indicated on a sign. The only solution is to make drivers responsible for their actions and make them capable of thought and this can only be done be removing draconian speed restrictions, stupid "safety" campaigns like "every K over is a killer", the removal of speed cameras and replacement with more police on the road looking for stupid idiots not someone going 10kph over, proper driver training including retesting every 5 years and the stupid mindset that a drivers license is a right.

The driver training should be more like Germany, make it cost a few thousand dollars and make the drivers understand how to drive not just pass a test. Germany also requires you to attend a first aid course as part of the process and mandatory vehicle inspections.

[h100vw]

The standard of the average driver in Adelaide is pretty poor. The tailgating is a shocker and it does make me cringe when I see mums on the school run right up the exhaust of the car in front...

The other one that makes me wonder what is going on in the heads of fellow motorists is the speed they travel at in the wet. Especially after it has been dry for weeks in the summer.

Instead of lining the states pockets on straight pieces of expressway, the cops should be pulling up the brain donors that are carving through the city traffic.

I enjoyed driving in Germany when I worked there for 9 months. On the autobahns, you had to keep an eye on your "six" or risk retina burn from a 911 or big Merc. It really kept you on your toes. Far better drivers when you have extremes of weather to contend with. Look at where the top WRC drivers come from.

Be vigilant and anticipate.

Gavin

[Greg Roles]

Gee, that's sad news indeed. It's the flow on effect that is the worst, all the families and friends who will be in mourning today.

I feel the problem has far more to do with people being so uptight and aggressive these days typified by the tailgating soccer mum in the SUV. How often do people drive, yet their mind is a million miles away, on all their perceived problems, and they are only partly aware of what they are doing. We've all been guilty of it, and I think people forget they are indeed piloting a lethal weapon.

Just a few weeks back I had some of the worst road rage I've ever experienced, and it was from a red P plate chickie in a Barina. I've never seen anything like it, absolute madness, and it made me realise here's a 40kg teeny, in a baby car, who has just lost it. She even passed me on the verge, pulled up me and the lane of traffic and got out, looking for more!

Giving a nutjob like that driving skills isn't going to do that much I'm afraid.