Demerit points changes, Screwball Harold, cyclists what a mess

[merlin]

This is a long read but worth it I reckon (from the Sydney Morning Herald) - makes you pretty angry about how people with no qualifications run the roads:

Fairness stuck in the slow lane

We all breathed a sigh of relief when the Roads Minister, Michael Daley, announced last November he would reform the draconian demerits points system. No longer would good drivers fear losing their licences for being snapped keeping up with the traffic flow.

"Three points for exceeding the speed limit from 0 to 15kmh will be reduced, and I'll be coming back with a comprehensive proposal to make motoring fairer for people in NSW," Daley said at the time.

But here we are, four months later, and nothing has happened.

In February, only the message had changed: "Some people want me to be tougher," said Daley. "We want to send a message that there is no such thing as safe speeding because there isn't."

Earlier this month, Daley said changes will still occur, but not exactly as he had promised and not until September. Why the backsliding?

We know that anti-car lobbyists have beaten a path to his door, including one Harold Scruby, chairman of the Pedestrian Council of Australia.

We know Scruby has been in the minister's ear, because he tells us how productive their meetings have been. "He's good," he said yesterday of Daley. "He listens." Uh, oh.

Scruby means well, and some of his ideas have merit, such as increased penalties for drink driving. But like any single issue zealot, he needs to be kept at arm's length, something few roads ministers seem to manage - except Michael Costa, who called him "Harold Screwball" and banned him from his office.

Scruby said yesterday Daley was impressed with his proposal to bring NSW's demerit system closer to Victoria's, with penalties applied in increments of 10kmh rather than 15kmh.

Thus, Daley has watered down his initial promise. A reduced penalty of one demerit point will apply only to speeding between 0 and 10kmh above the limit. If you speed by 11kmh to 20kmh, the old penalty of three demerit points remains, and between 21kmh and 30kmh speeding will attract four demerit points.

It's better than nothing, although a six-month delay to reprogram the RTA's computers gives anti-car zealots time for more mischief.

Daley could stiffen his spine by listening to one of his predecessors in the portfolio. The former NRMA lawyer wasn't even in Parliament when Michael Costa was the minister, but he might find the war stories instructive.

Costa inherited a portfolio almost fatally distorted by his predecessor Carl Scully, a vegan cyclist who empowered Scruby and other anti-car activists. Scully put Scruby on a task force to overhaul the demerits scheme, which met for a year and came up with a complex matrix of 1500 offences that Costa yesterday described as "ridiculous".

Even Scruby thought the task force had gone too far, with such penalties as three demerit points for travelling in a bus lane, which has nothing to do with road safety, or two points for playing loud music.

Costa regarded Scruby as a menace, constantly demanding meetings and causing trouble. "I locked him out … I banned him from my office. He was really annoyed," the retired MP said. "He wants to bring the road system to gridlock so everyone walks."

When Costa arrived, he immediately put the Scully-Scruby demerit points reforms on hold. But he couldn't stop those Scully had already announced. So he tried to undermine the scheme, but ran out of time in the portfolio.

Still, one of his first achievements was to sack the general manager of the bicycles and pedestrian branch of the Roads and Traffic Authority. He believed the organisation was full of people obsessed with lowering speed. "The place has been captured by cyclists", to the detriment of motorists.

As Costa says, the main reason the road toll has fallen worldwide is because of improvements in vehicle design, not the totalitarian tinkering of the RTA and its speed Nazis.

For instance, he complained that while new freeways are designed for 130kmh speeds, the RTA often forces motorists to drive at 90kmh. Costa tried to get an obstructive RTA to audit Sydney's busiest thoroughfares to achieve a consistent speed limit, rather than a mess of different speed zones.

He addressed the social justice problem of massive fines for low-range speeding offences, which often meant those who could not afford to pay lost their licences for fine defaulting and wound up in jail. It was the first time the Government had ever lowered fines, sending the message that he was not about revenue raising but road safety.

But, under pressure at the time, he said he had to compromise by increasing low-range speeding to a three-point offence.

His cunning plan to neutralise that extra point was to undermine the entire demerits system, by rewarding responsible drivers with bonus points, on top of the usual 12. Drivers could earn two bonus points after two years of "clean driving", and an extra point a year to a maximum of six.

Scruby had only bad words for Costa yesterday, blaming him entirely for the demerit debacle that saw more than 60,000 people lose their licences last year for running out of points. By contrast, his hero is Soames Job, director of the RTA's Centre for Road Safety, who has a PhD in psychology and also happens to be a keen cyclist, according to Costa.

Scruby is pleased that, in his view, the RTA has "changed from an engineering to more psychology focus".

Job drives the RTA's "speed kills" philosophy, and is trialling satellite devices which will send an alarm to speeding drivers and can slow down their cars by choking off the amount of fuel that gets to the engine.

Talk about Big Brother.

Scruby is also pleased the NRMA has a new president, the former Nationals MP Wendy Machin, regarded by cyclists as more amenable than her predecessor, Alan Evans. Scruby yesterday derided Evans as being about "more bitumen and cheaper petrol for motorists" whereas Machin is more "balanced".

Last time I looked, the M in NRMA stood for Motorists. Perhaps Scruby should call his organisation the Pedestrian and Motorists Council and Bicycle NSW could become Bicycles and Cars NSW. That's balance.

[Tuddy200]

Change to better reflect the Victorian system? Oh dear, then you'd be in real trouble.

It doesn't matter how many points, or how much a fine is, the point has to be, how do we prevent this behaviour from even happening, and no amounts of points or money will do that simply because there is no flooded presence of police on our roads.

a) there isn't enough police and police resources
b) for those police & resources we do have they are being tied up with petty crap issues or dealing with the increase in violence which then comes back to point A.

Scruby by the sounds of it is doing what he is paid to do the easiest way possible, and that is to change a speed limit sign. No construction costs, no responibilities on pedistians or cyclists. Can only be the motorists fault and fault is speed speed speed!!!

I do agree though that 3 dermit points for 3 km/h over the limit is just plain stupid.

[Daymoe]

Originally Posted by merlin

...except Michael Costa, who called him "Harold Screwball" and banned him from his office.

...not the totalitarian tinkering of the RTA and its speed Nazis.

I like this guy already.

[azaxr8]

Originally Posted by Tuddy200

Change to better reflect the Victorian system? Oh dear, then you'd be in real trouble.

It doesn't matter how many points, or how much a fine is, the point has to be, how do we prevent this behaviour from even happening, and no amounts of points or money will do that simply because there is no flooded presence of police on our roads.

a) there isn't enough police and police resources
b) for those police & resources we do have they are being tied up with petty crap issues or dealing with the increase in violence which then comes back to point A.

Scruby by the sounds of it is doing what he is paid to do the easiest way possible, and that is to change a speed limit sign. No construction costs, no responibilities on pedistians or cyclists. Can only be the motorists fault and fault is speed speed speed!!!

I do agree though that 3 dermit points for 3 km/h over the limit is just plain stupid.

I do prefer police to attended more serious crimes such as robberys. bashing of elderly and violence before picking a speeder up for doing 53 in a 50. Someone's seen the light.

[zetec]

Originally Posted by Daymoe

I like this guy already.

Umm... you're a little too late unfortunately out:

[Bill M]

Looks like Michael Costa is more intelligent and forthright than given credit for. Its a pity that major government policy that affects all levels of the community is hijacked by "single issue zealots"

[bathurst77]

HAng on. Didnt the NSW Minister announce the new points system a fortnight ago? He said it will take a few months to reprogam all teh computers and get it thru, but it WILL happened the legislation is written.
From now on 1-10KMH over limit is one point i think
but the more than 20 over is even harsher.

[Paxton]

Removed.

I don't want to make this political.