Morons Speeding And Tailgating In A 40 Zone

[XW_GS]

Really!!

i still see it happening, aggresive (mostly tradies) verbally abusing law abiding citizens trying, to do the safe thing by sticking to the 40kph limit during school times protecting our children, MY CHILRDEN.

The other day i saw this aggressive a/hole harrassing an older couple on Stephensons road Mt Waverley cause they where doing the RIGHT thing.

Today my wife copped the abuse outside MY kids school again from a tradie.
Im a tradie myself , i do have kids , i recently lost someone close to me in a car accident...

Would you put up with someone doing this behind you in a 40km zone??

Or are you the one always in a hurry to get home 5 seconds earlier!?

[Trevor 57]

It makes me more determined to sit on 40 or below- LOL

[1LOUDXFUTE]

i put up with it. id rather put up with some yelling angry tradie than put the lives of some kids at risk.

[uranium_death]

Originally Posted by 1LOUDXFUTE

i put up with it. id rather put up with some yelling angry tradie than put the lives of some kids at risk.

But the issue is that had the tradies not had somebody in front of them, they'd be tearing through the 40 zone, placing the kids at risk.

Though I find the placement of some PERMANENT 40 zones to be questionable (Taylors Lane near Wellington Road, and also Watsons Road outside Brentwood), enforcing the speed limit in 40 zones should be severe.

The speed is kept low for a reason, and it should not take the death of a child to realise that.

[Pinkbits]

It's not just in 40k zones.
I use the Monash & Eastlink most days and it happens in the roadworks 80k zones as well as the 100k zones, whilst trying to obey the limits you watch them darting from lane to lane just to get that few extra carspaces in front.
I generally use the centre lane and sit on the limit and if they start to tailgate i just ease off a little. 9 out of 10 times you are only a few cars behind them at the next bottleneck.

[mad cow]

i find that most of the speeding cars in 40 zones are women with their kids in the car. its like once they have picked up their kids they dont care about anyone elses.

[XA-Coupe]

Do what I so, stick right on the speed limit, get's them angier.
I spend a couple of hours on the road every day and notice that people are getting angrier and driving even more like tools..... I suppose the cops are off at sensitivity training or something.

[Smoke Pursuit]

40 zones are prone to speeding.. as its been said, go slower, i do!

[onfire]

I usually find lots and lots of fleet and business cars giving people a hard time. I guess its not your car, who cares right?... well, you'll care if I need to hit the brakes.

[CHEETR]

although i do agree, and most of the time when someone does it i'll slam on the brakes and get out of the car and they usually pack themselves - i do have to say that 40km limits are fantastic in school zones, but it seems they are spreading these out more and more to non school zones, in my area (back of endeavour hills/lysterfield south) there are 40km limits everywhere and they arn't even school areas, they are fixed 40km signs which i think is rediculous!

[Teflon Turbo]

apart from the obvious, my kids school zone is heavily enforced by cops and it's a no brainer really.

i still reckon when aproaching a school zone the speed limit should 60, 50 and then 40. then 40, 50 and 60 when leaving.

that would help i reckon.

[Thankfull]

Unfortunatly...some people fail to appreciate that others use the road system as well.

Slow down to the speed limit....if you get abused...note the rego number...report to police, let them know what is happening and the police may actualy get around to policing the area.

But they will not know unless you tell them this is occuring.

The main problem I have is idiots in old bangers, or 4 cylinders who treat the front row of the traffic lights like the front row grid at Bathurst....probably because my Blood Orange BA GT is in mint condition and sounds wicked.

The HSV boys are pretty good actualy and the least trouble in that regard...they seem more interested in winding their windows down and listening to my exhaust note.

Cheers all

[XR6_661]

It's the soccer mum generation in their pretend 4WDs that are half the problem...

They belt around with no regard for anyone else...But I think it's moreso the fact that they simply have no idea.

I disagree also with some peoples comments saying to slow down if someone is tailgating you...Won't that just escalate the situation?
Either keep doing the speed limit or if things get worse, take 5 secs to pull off the road and let them pass.

[Rodp]

Used to annoy me when my XR8 was marginal about engaging cruise control at 40kph. I find it hard to drive 70's and 80 zones and notch it down to 40 without having 1 eye permanently glued to the speedo, not something recommended in a 40 zone - hence the cruise control.

Car I have now doesn't care what speed I engage it at. If morons decide to tailgate me, I move the rear view mirror away. Problem solved. :P

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Rodp

U If morons decide to tailgate me, I move the rear view mirror away. Problem solved. :P

agreed. although i don't move the mirror, i just mind my own business. as far as i'm concerned, when driving you should be alert and aware of your surroundings and others but don't let others influence you. that includes getting annoyed/flustered because someone else isn't doing the right thing. thats their choice. its not your job to correct them.

[Bearman]

Recently I've been driving my wife's Corolla to work to put some mileage on it. Tell you what, I get tailgated and intimidated a lot more in that car than the XR6. Yesterday morning I'm on the Eastern Freeway with my speed varying between 85 to 100km/h going with the flow of other traffic and keeping to the left or middle lanes.

I had no less than 3 different idiots tailgating me. One in particular, a Mercedes Vito van was so goddamn close I reckon if I was able to switch on the reverse sensors I would have heard one continuous beep!!

When he finally moved over and came past me (he didn't fly by) I made sure I gave him "the stare" as I'm sure the last thing he expected behind the wheel was a big ugly caucasian with cropped hair and a goatee!! No idea whether it had any effect as it was still dark.

I'm normally pretty calm on the road but this guy really got to me to the point where I briefly contemplated "having a word" if we ended up stopped together at the end of the freeway. Once he was out of sight I settled down and normal transmission resumed.

Agree with the original post, see lots of aggressive tailgating and have also noticed tradies seem to be the most prevalent.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by Bearman

Recently I've been driving my wife's Corolla to work to put some mileage on it. Tell you what, I get tailgated and intimidated a lot more in that car than the XR6. Yesterday morning I'm on the Eastern Freeway with my speed varying between 85 to 100km/h going with the flow of other traffic and keeping to the left or middle lanes.

I had no less than 3 different idiots tailgating me. One in particular, a Mercedes Vito van was so goddamn close I reckon if I was able to switch on the reverse sensors I would have heard one continuous beep!!

When he finally moved over and came past me (he didn't fly by) I made sure I gave him "the stare" as I'm sure the last thing he expected behind the wheel was a big ugly caucasian with cropped hair and a goatee!! No idea whether it had any effect as it was still dark.

I'm normally pretty calm on the road but this guy really got to me to the point where I briefly contemplated "having a word" if we ended up stopped together at the end of the freeway. Once he was out of sight I settled down and normal transmission resumed.

Agree with the original post, see lots of aggressive tailgating and have also noticed tradies seem to be the most prevalent.

I have noticed the same thing, when I am in the ute I do not get it very much (or perhaps I can't see them because the rear vision is woeful) but when I am in the Mini I get them all the time. I agree tradies in hilux utes are the worst, normally with trailers. I have noticed the ones without trailers often can't go around a corner without getting it sideways. Personally I do not see the achievement,anyone can get an empty hilux 4x2 sideways.

[Thankfull]

Originally Posted by Bearman

Recently I've been driving my wife's Corolla to work to put some mileage on it. Tell you what, I get tailgated and intimidated a lot more in that car than the XR6. Yesterday morning I'm on the Eastern Freeway with my speed varying between 85 to 100km/h going with the flow of other traffic and keeping to the left or middle lanes.

I had no less than 3 different idiots tailgating me. One in particular, a Mercedes Vito van was so goddamn close I reckon if I was able to switch on the reverse sensors I would have heard one continuous beep!!

When he finally moved over and came past me (he didn't fly by) I made sure I gave him "the stare" as I'm sure the last thing he expected behind the wheel was a big ugly caucasian with cropped hair and a goatee!! No idea whether it had any effect as it was still dark.

I'm normally pretty calm on the road but this guy really got to me to the point where I briefly contemplated "having a word" if we ended up stopped together at the end of the freeway. Once he was out of sight I settled down and normal transmission resumed.

Agree with the original post, see lots of aggressive tailgating and have also noticed tradies seem to be the most prevalent.

I must admit Traffic gives me a very wide berth behind my BA GT, even in heavy traffic, which was not the case with my BA XT Wagon.

There must be a lot of cars out there on the road that do not have comprehensive Insurance...perhaps it is on their mind that my insurance company will go after them personaly for the money if there was a rear end collision ?

Cheers

[Mark s]

It's not just tradies, it mums as well who should know better.

I was on my motorbike the other day on my way home from work. I slowed down to 40 and I had the soccer mum in her Territory tail gating me and on the horn. She few past me when we went from single to double lanes and I copped a gob full. She had 3 kids in the car as well. It the tables were turned and I went wizzing past her, I would have been a motorcycle idiot.

Still soccer mum would be the first to jump up and down if a child was hit near the school, I am sure. They would also the first to complain about lack of Police.

This is just typical of the ingnorant "me, me" "Bugger you, Jack" behaviour of people today. Lost in thier own little world. They fail to even stop and think about someone else for a second, until it effects them.

[Macca23]

I think you can't just say its all tradies. The news showed a school bus doing 58 in 40 zone. I do try and use my cruise control as well as stated above in the zones. I hate that they also do it to my wife who has just got her P's. They scare her out of wanting to drive!

It happens in all speed zones. I find it funny though that when its a higher speed zone and tailgaters hang on you, overtake in crazy spots then come to a few bends where they do way below! I then have to slow down :

When I had my patrol (lifted and big tyres) no one came anywhere near me. Interesting people find that in other vehicles too!

Originally Posted by Thankfull

The HSV boys are pretty good actualy and the least trouble in that regard...they seem more interested in winding their windows down and listening to my exhaust note.

I must admit im guilty of this when theres a nice sound to be herd. I dream of the day I get to have the v8 :evil3:

[Sorted]

Its the parents droppin the kids off at the school that are the speeders.

On the way to work they have a left hand turn lane to drive into the school and drop the kids off.

I will be doing 40 in the 40 school zone and the parents who are in the left lane dropping their kids off speed past me.

Dont they think the speed limit applys to them - its their little weeds that I have to slow down for so they should as well arrrrrrrrrrrrrg!

[Crazed]

People have no respect for speed limits in this country, because speed limits in this country are a joke. If people felt that all speed limits were overall relevant to the conditions, then they would probably ahdere to them more when they come across low speed limits (such as school zones).

And also I'd rather someone 'speed' doing 50, with acute reaction times and their attention glued to the road, then some smug holier-than-thou 'driver' sitting on 40 feeling pleased with themselves, staring at their speedo.

All this, 'I slow down when I see someone in a rush so I can hold them up' is a real sign of the selfishness running through this country, the whole 'If im not allowed to speed, well then I wont let anyone else' attitude reminds me when in 1998 my wife and I were rushing our daughter to hospital as she couldnt breath after a bee sting. Drivers could see I was in a hurry and I needed to pass, but they all took some form of tall poppy glee in denying me the courtesy of letting me rush ahead.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by Crazed

All this, 'I slow down when I see someone in a rush so I can hold them up' is a real sign of the selfishness running through this country, the whole 'If im not allowed to speed, well then I wont let anyone else' attitude reminds me when in 1998 my wife and I were rushing our daughter to hospital as she couldnt breath after a bee sting. Drivers could see I was in a hurry and I needed to pass, but they all took some form of tall poppy glee in denying me the courtesy of letting me rush ahead.

That is what ambulances are for. Not only can an ambulance get someone to hospital quickly if required, but because they have the safety devices and training to do so, they minimise the risk to the patient, family and other road users. They also rarely have to because they have the skills and equipment to prevent the condition from becoming life threatening or reverse it if it already is. For example, had a paramedic been called he would have administered adrenaline which would stop the anaphylaxis.

Rushing to hospital is not reason to speed, it is not safe as you're distracted, full of adrenaline and not adequately equiped nor trained to do so safely. The average code 1 response time for all metro ambulance services in australia is under 9 mins, that is more than enough time for a good outcome even in severe allergic responses. You are lucky the police did not catch you, most will get you to hospital and then give you a ticket, medical emergency is not a defence. What would you have done if your child stopped breathing, you can't give mouth to mouth because you are too busy driving. If you had your wife with you I bet she could not either as mouth to mouth is very difficult to do effectively in a moving vehicle. I am sorry, but it was a bad choice, next time call an ambulance.

The only exception is in rural areas where ambulances may be unavailable or too far away.

Rant over!

[Crazed]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Rushing to hospital is not reason to speed, it is not safe as you're distracted, full of adrenaline and not adequately equiped nor trained to do so safely. The average code 1 response time for all metro ambulance services in australia is under 9 mins, that is more than enough time for a good outcome even in severe allergic responses. You are lucky the police did not catch you, most will get you to hospital and then give you a ticket, medical emergency is not a defence. What would you have done if your child stopped breathing, you can't give mouth to mouth because you are too busy driving. If you had your wife with you I bet she could not either as mouth to mouth is very difficult to do effectively in a moving vehicle. I am sorry, but it was a bad choice, next time call an ambulance.

The only exception is in rural areas where ambulances may be unavailable or too far away.

Rant over!

I want to say that you guys must have a really hard job as I dont know how I could take to seeing what you guys must see on a daily basis. I have the highest respect for the work you do, Ive been in a few situations over the years where I have been waiting for an ambulance, and seeing the ambulance pull up is the best sight in the world, especially if things are serious.

In the 'bee sting saga' (as my wife puts it) we were in an outer metro area heading home after a picnic, so the problems arose when she was already in the car, I knew where a hospital was and estimated I could get there within four or five minutes plus my wife rang ahead to tell them we were coming. I drove safely and got her there quickly. You have got to be kidding if you would even think for a moment I would care about a speeding ticket in that situation.

Ive also driven a 3 tonne F250 tall body ex-ambulance which was an apalling car, and quite frankly if a vehicle like that is allowed to legally exceed the speed limit then it goes to show how much the safety is reliant on the driver rather than some randomly picked limit for a road. So my point is, safe driving is not all about obeying a limit, instead its being attentive, driving to the conditions including traffic volume and pedestrians. Some cases you would drive very fast (which also keeps you aware and reduces fatigue) or you would drive very slow. The drivers who constantly drive 10 under the limit - no matter the conditions, are probably I would bet, the most accident-prone and dangerous drivers around.

And lets not forget the facts in all this, speed limits have never been lower, cars never been safer and look at the staggering road toll.

In Europe where you have sensible open road limits, you have a lot less 'hoon' behaviour, travelling speed limits are seen as appropriate and are set usually at the 85th percentile, so the populace has a greater respect for the limits. In Australia, how can you possibly expect a young teenager to respect a 40 zone when the government a few suburbs over puts cameras on a safe downhill section of an 6 lane highway and has the speed limit at 60. Once you have damaged the credibility of a speed limit, you have damaged the credibilty of all of them.

[oceanwave54]

Originally Posted by Crazed

All this, 'I slow down when I see someone in a rush so I can hold them up' is a real sign of the selfishness running through this country, the whole 'If im not allowed to speed, well then I wont let anyone else'

Well think of it this way, I'm slowing right down while your tailgating me so you get the message, that if I hit the brakes (especially in a school zone with kids running around), you wont run straight up the back of me.

And yes, I'm slowly on the anchors if you're right up me, how else is the message going to be conveyed? Not with any damage of my vehicle, that's for sure.

Originally Posted by Crazed

reminds me when in 1998 my wife and I were rushing our daughter to hospital as she couldnt breath after a bee sting. Drivers could see I was in a hurry and I needed to pass, but they all took some form of tall poppy glee in denying me the courtesy of letting me rush ahead.

+2 for the argument that, that is what ambulances are for. When you're in your car in that situation, other drivers don't know wether you're a speed freak darting in between lanes about to cause a loss of life, or a concerned family member trying to save one. Different story when it's an ambulance coming through.

[burnz]

Originally Posted by barraba182

Well think of it this way, I'm slowing right down while your tailgating me so you get the message, that if I hit the brakes (especially in a school zone with kids running around), you wont run straight up the back of me.

And yes, I do it.



+2 for the argument that, that is what ambulances are for. When you're in your car in that situation, other drivers don't know wether you're a speed freak darting in between lanes about to cause a loss of life, or a concerned family member trying to save one. Different story when it's an ambulance coming through.

you live in sydney, you honestly think an ambulance can go to your house and back quicker than you can drive.
no one care's about sirens and flashy light's if you havent noticed

ps: this is not directed at you just general obsevation.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by burnz

you live in sydney, you honestly think an ambulance can go to your house and back quicker than you can drive.
no one care's about sirens and flashy light's if you havent noticed

ps: this is not directed at you just general obsevation.

Ok, going to tell you a little story and see if it makes sense.

I was on shift and recieved a lights and sirens job to a major road for a patient fitting. We got to the intersection and there was no car, we then got an update with a new intersection so we proceeded. On our way there at considerable speed, but safely (not much traffic but it was night), we recieved another update with a new intersection. This is when it clicked that they were in the car moving. We got the call taker to instruct the caller to pull over and wait. By the time we caught them, we had been on case for 15 mins, the patient was still fitting and was very hypoxic (lack of oxygen). Within minutes we stopped the seizure with midazolam and had reversed the hypoxia by ventilating them. The outcome was good and the patient survived, with no ill effects.

The thing is that the distance that the car had covered, in the amount of time they did, they would have been doing well over 100km/h in predominately 60 zones. Do you think that is safe, considering some of it was built up areas with cafes and bars? A pedestrian could have stepped out and been hit by a speeding car with someone fitting inside.

The other important fact is we were on the initial scene within 4 mins from call recieved, we could have stopped the seizure within 6 mins instead 17-18. Had they not stopped, we would not have caught them and the outcome may have been a lot worse.

I guarantee you an ambulance can get to hospital faster than you can, while still offering safety for all. The biggest point is a vast mojority of the times we do not need to go to hospital quickly as we have a vast array of life saving skills that negates the need. In 5 years and thousands of lights and sirens call outs, I have gone lights and siren to hospital perhaps 30 times, what does that tell you? Like I said the national average is under 9mins for code 1 response.

But then, what would I know?

[DBourne]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Ok, going to tell you a little story and see if it makes sense.

I was on shift and recieved a lights and sirens job to a major road for a patient fitting. We got to the intersection and there was no car, we then got an update with a new intersection so we proceeded. On our way there at considerable speed, but safely (not much traffic but it was night), we recieved another update with a new intersection. This is when it clicked that they were in the car moving. We got the call taker to instruct the caller to pull over and wait. By the time we caught them, we had been on case for 15 mins, the patient was still fitting and was very hypoxic (lack of oxygen). Within minutes we stopped the seizure with midazolam and had reversed the hypoxia by ventilating them. The outcome was good and the patient survived, with no ill effects.

The thing is that the distance that the car had covered, in the amount of time they did, they would have been doing well over 100km/h in predominately 60 zones. Do you think that is safe, considering some of it was built up areas with cafes and bars? A pedestrian could have stepped out and been hit by a speeding car with someone fitting inside.

The other important fact is we were on the initial scene within 4 mins from call recieved, we could have stopped the seizure within 6 mins instead 17-18. Had they not stopped, we would not have caught them and the outcome may have been a lot worse.

I guarantee you an ambulance can get to hospital faster than you can, while still offering safety for all. The biggest point is a vast mojority of the times we do not need to go to hospital quickly as we have a vast array of life saving skills that negates the need. In 5 years and thousands of lights and sirens call outs, I have gone lights and siren to hospital perhaps 30 times, what does that tell you? Like I said the national average is under 9mins for code 1 response.

But then, what would I know?

Bit off topic, but great post Gecko! I have always had immense respect for you guys and this post just summs it up brilliantly!

[TC200six]

There's a part of Shore St. West in Cleveland from the train station to Masthead Dr. which is 40km because of a couple pedestrian crossings and bus stops and no one does the speed limit along there. I stay at 40 and my father goes nuts over them, but I just stick to the speed limit and stay calm.

[LTDHO]

Kids were safe when the limit was 60, pretty sure everyone who posts here had 60kph zones around their school, you all seem alive enough to post.

Speeding and tailgating happens on all roads, I don't condone it, but it's not restricted to school zones. I fear of the 'soccer mums' in the AWD's than the speeders.