I,ve got about 1800 seconds to go before my licence comes back.I,d like to say something funny,i,d like to have a winge, but I won,t.My attitude towards the rta and the highway patrol are now burned in stone.Despite paying drivers during the week, the weekends kill you.Without that shooting trip i think i would have burst.The square box of the law keeps getting smaller and us round humans don,t fit in it.I think my neighbour needs to be my new best friend so i can regularly cut loose on the other bacon.It takes a trip in the country to confirm how constricting sydney has become.If i could make good money elsewhere i,d light a match on my way out. Glenn the Spa Man
its definately getting harder and harder, if only wed have an autoban on suitable highways. much of the Hume is quite suitable.......but speed kills right? try telling that to the Germans.
Heard an interesting fact in the last of the 2006 season shows of that british car show Top Gear - the one with 2 hosts - the diminutive guy who had a bad prang in October and the taller guy.
Anyway... whatever its called... the tall guy was spewing about how certain counties were having more speed camera's installed because the road toll was still steadily rising in those particular areas. The constabulary had quoted $ revenue increases (from fines) in those same areas as proof that speeding was on the increase and a harder crackdown was required.
Tall host then read through the names of about 12 counties with the highest number of speed devices - and each had experienced road toll increases of not less than 15% and up to 25%.
Tall host then read through the the names of the 5 counties that had experienced a reduction in road toll. First point is... in the whole of southern England, only 5 counties had experienced a decrease. Second point is.... they are the only 5 counties without ANY speed cameras.
So, I think those facts do prove that speed kills. Only, I think its inappropriately low speeds, coupled with drivers who are constantly under stress that kills. Stress caused by drivers constantly checking the speedo, not the road. Stress caused by traffic jams - which are caused by ridiculously low speeds. Stress caused by the certain knowledge that for the sake of the government raising a few extra dollars their life could be thrown into chaos because they lose a license for months. Stress caused by checking every space between trees looking for a hidden police car.
Our attention is being diluted... we can't concentrate on hazards, we're too busy stressing about being able to drive to work tomorrow. We all know if you are caught doing 80km/h in a 50km/h zone, we just lose our license. Zip, flash... gone in an instant. Were we being a menace to society at that speed ? Did someone die ? No. We were speeding yet somehow... by some miracle instead of dying instantly (because speed kills... remember) or killing someone... we survived long enough to get fined. Kinda proves the point doesn't it ?
If all the "Speed Kills" rhetoric was right, you'd figure there would be dead bodies and car wrecks lining the streets. But no... all those speeding dangerous criminals seem to survive long enough to get fined - and beyond.
And the greatest cause of stress... that we are all well aware that its all a form of indirect tax - but theres nothing we can do about it. Its that sense of injustice. The feeling that the noose just gets tighter and eventually some government official is going to find a way to make one of your normal driving habits illegal - so he can keep his job and our state governments can avoid admitting they are financially inept.
Soon we'll all have to have someone walking in front of the car at 15km/h with a red flag to warn people we are coming.
I'd rather they just upped the registration fee by $300 for all vehicles and restore some sanity to our driving lives than just keep raising the stakes and finding immoral means to tax us indirectly.
The older I get, the better I was. Regards.... RobEdited by: AstroBusa at: 25/11/06 14:52
Excellent write up Rob. Couldn't agree more, especially the dilution of attention. I have never felt more comfortable than riding in the NT where I rarely looked down. I saw everything because I could focus on riding to the conditions, which wasn't that fast most of the time.
How long now, Glenn? Edited by: glen66 at: 25/11/06 15:41
I,m glad you wrote that astro,as it is exactly how i feel as a mobile tradesman, but my mind to fingers translation lacks finesse.Went for a ride with dad thru the national park.Saw 2 highway patrol going the otherway but a good ride anyway.Bedding new rotors in and discovering the finer skills are a bit rusty.Not to mention a 24 kg lighter busa feels very different to steer,especially noticeable are the wheels.Dyno daves pc mapping is fantastic and the 35mm total sag settings were excellent through that bumpy road.Best bike I've been on through there.Don,t like the 190/50 profile much,turns too slow.Will try 190/55 or 180 next time otherwise front bridgestone 002 felt good.Saw the zx12 on the cover of rapid at stanwell tops,didn,t look like much in the flesh.Copped shit for getting home 1 hr late on the first ride in 6 months .Should have left and came back sunday night.
Welcome back to the land of the living Glenn.
Rgds BUSGO
"TAKE MY ADVICE"
I'm not using it anyway!
I,d say cheers busgo,but there is no beer in the house at the moment. Glenn the Spa Man
Take control Glenn. Cheers,
Kawasuki
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