Why are there accidents?

[flappist]

Sometimes I wonderf at the stupidity of some people.

Yesterday I drove from sunny coast to hervey vegas and witness two of the most insane acts I have seen in a long time.

The runner up:

Moron in.......wait for it....a COMMODORE with a CR2 bodykit and all the doof pulls out to overtake on a 3 lane section, accellerates to about 110 in a 100 zone spots an ambulance ahead in the distance and brakes heavily causing chaos in two lanes.

But the winner:

Moron in.......wait for it.....a bloody big 4WD with a trailer does a U turn on the freeway near Forest Glen (110 zone separated lanes) then crosses to the other lanes( south bound) and accellerates like a snail with a sorel foot causing chaos as two lanes in the 110 zone have to combine into one to not hit him. Now I understand why this is a designated black spot.

But I felt safe after that because there was a speed camera up the road a bit........................

[Mr Hardware]

Yeah, when i was on the north coast it amazed me the amount of people who simply didn't seem to get how the highway works and what to do and what not to do.
The only people who ever overtook me whilst i was on the Bruce were the V8 boys (usually XR8 and SSes, usually in ute form too) and late model Camrys. Why camrys? I couldn't work it out? Aren't they supposed to be safe granny cars?

[Fev]

It's only bad driving if they werent wearing High visibility vests.. Were they?
hehe

[ILLaViTaR]

Because people are too stupid and never see the bigger picture.

They think they're driving safe by driving slow. Which is a real stupid assumption to make.

[Dezza]

I thought all accidents were caused by people driving 105 in a 100 zone. If you go 5 over, you will instantly crash and die.

[SNB05T]

hehe its good to see the morons aren't just confined to the sydney areas.

got a couple of good ones,

last night coming home from a mates house down henry lawson drive, two b double trucks in front of me, the second truck doesn't want to sit behind the first one so he over takes him on the crest of a hill! ( sydneysiders that drive this road from the mecano set to bankstown airport will know the area i'm talking about)

but instead of pulling back in, he continues on the wrong side of the road beside the other truck going over hills etc and cut the other truck off nearly causing a 7 car pile up. .

i really love the drivers in my area, 98% of the drivers can't stick the posted speed limit (as a minumum), can't use their indicators to trun or merge, can't use their mirrors or their manners when someone does let them in.

what happened to the driver training of 10 years ago? don't you have to drive around the block anymore or am i just getting old (im 32 btw )

:

[GT69]

They always go on about 'to many accidents' or 'to many deaths on our roads' well, im simply amazed there isnt more. It literally scares me seeing the actions of some people.

My sister is a 'good' driver. Sure she touch parks everywhere, and her kia looks like someones taken to it with a baseball bat. But she is a 'good' driver. Never had a serious accident, doesn't speed or drink drive.

Im a 'hoon', i only just turned 25, drive a turbo sports utility, have lost my licence, average 30,000 odd KM a year. All the cars I've ever owned are flawless, not a mark, dint or scratch.

How can this be? I'm young, i've been known to speed on occasion, should i not be dead already?

You can't 'police' short attention span, easily distracted idiots with a camera, thats the problem.

The answer?

Accidents happen, Crashes do not. Most incidents involving a motor vehicle can be avoided. And the ANSWER to this is 9 times out of 10........

ACCELERATOR!

Before you flame, think about it. Read all the examples posted and you'll find there are 2 things to fix all those situations.

1) Attention, look before you pull out

2) Accelerate!

[The G6ET Spot]

Originally Posted by Dezza!

I thought all accidents were caused by people driving 105 in a 100 zone. If you go 5 over, you will instantly crash and die.

I was told this at my last work course, had the whole room in laughter.

You would have loved to been there

The police pulled over a driver for doing 85 in an 80 zone, gets the drivers licence and goes and writes the ticket. When he returns to the car he hands the ticket to the driver and informs him how to dispose of it.

The officer is going to return to his car when the driver (who just happens to be a workcover inspector) hands the officer a ticket for not wearing his safety vest when on the roadway and then gave him another for $ 20,000 to give to his employer. : Deja Vu at it's best.

[Scott]

It's only bad if you get caught isn't it?

Complacency is our biggest killer, always has been, always will be. People seemingly think they'll be fine (and will preach their virtue to all) because they wear a seatbelt and don't speed.

Add up accidents from hoons, drunks and speedsters then compare the number to homebrand brainfarts and I think we'd get a better picture of what really causes the problems on our roads.

The problem is, you can't tax stupidity.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Hows that saying go?? If I had a dollar for every foolish act I saw on the road I would be able to buy the Playboy empire and buy out Microsoft and Virgin with the change.

Just today... Hmmm lets see... Some fool turns across my path, as there was a long row of cars behind me and he was obviously too busy to wait. I had to slam the anchors and let him have his way. Had I maintained my legal speed and right of way I would now have a Hiace van as a hood ornament...

EVERY morning on the M5 going city bound there are fools casually cruising in the right lane at the posted limit (thinking it's their job to control and monitor the speed for everyone else), and as always, just past the tolls where the road goes from 5 toll lanes to 2 lanes there are people who jump the line by staying in the left breakdown lane and passing 10 or so cars to get in front of them...

The police know where these regular events happen.. if they targeted one location hard for a day randomly and nab EVERYONE who goes against the rules it would whip many into line who get away with it on a daily basis..

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by RAPID XR8

I was told this at my last work course, had the whole room in laughter.

You would have loved to been there

The police pulled over a driver for doing 85 in an 80 zone, gets the drivers licence and goes and writes the ticket. When he returns to the car he hands the ticket to the driver and informs him how to dispose of it.

The officer is going to return to his car when the driver (who just happens to be a workcover inspector) hands the officer a ticket for not wearing his safety vest when on the roadway and then gave him another for $ 20,000 to give to his employer. : Deja Vu at it's best.

Don’t go believing everything you hear.

[platinumXR]

Originally Posted by flappist

Sometimes I wonderf at the stupidity of some people.

Yesterday I drove from sunny coast to hervey vegas and witness two of the most insane acts I have seen in a long time.

The runner up:

Moron in.......wait for it....a COMMODORE with a CR2 bodykit and all the doof pulls out to overtake on a 3 lane section, accellerates to about 110 in a 100 zone spots an ambulance ahead in the distance and brakes heavily causing chaos in two lanes.

But the winner:

Moron in.......wait for it.....a bloody big 4WD with a trailer does a U turn on the freeway near Forest Glen (110 zone separated lanes) then crosses to the other lanes( south bound) and accellerates like a snail with a sorel foot causing chaos as two lanes in the 110 zone have to combine into one to not hit him. Now I understand why this is a designated black spot.

But I felt safe after that because there was a speed camera up the road a bit........................

People cause collisions because they drive with no consideration toward other road users. They may know what they want to do - but cannot telepathically get their message out quick enough...the Force is not strong in these ones.

What some forget (not aimed at anyone specifically) is that having a licence and being allowed to drive on the roads is a privilege not a right. By law; the average person has a right (with a few exceptions) to apply for both but it is taken for granted that everyone is competent enough to negotiate these roads that are spoken of.

However - this is not so as almost all driving school instructors can attest to. Man or woman, young or old: some just do not possess the motor skills, timing and foresight to be let loose on our roads.

I feel your frustration.

[Mr Hardware]

Yeah full noise is right, that's the most overtold fallacy known to man.
Also GT69 is right too. The career cabbies (the good ones, the ones who do 100,000k's a year and haven't had an at fault accident in a decade) used to tell me the accellerator is there to get yourself out of trouble.

[Daymoe]

Number one pet peeve for me is when I'm driving into my town, its a 100km/h road and there is a t-intersection and cars are obviously supposed to give way to the cars on the main road, but 90% of them just come out and slowly putt along up to the 100km/h limit, in the mean time the person behind them has to slam on their brakes to avoid rear ending them.

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

...late model Camrys. Why camrys? I couldn't work it out? Aren't they supposed to be safe granny cars?

Hire cars mate. It's not how fast they can go, it's how fast they can go in reverse.

[LowEL2XR8]

According to experts accidents are caused by.....Commodores and wait for it....... Bloody big 4wds

I know if I were dictator I would ban those two types of vehicles and hey presto the road toll is 0.

ROFLMAO

[Jastel]

Unless a meteorite falls on your car out of the sky it is NOT an ACCIDENT, it is a CRASH caused by (at least one) persons mistake.

A policeman told me this one day at a Defensive Driving Course and I never forgot it.

Now I tell my taxi drivers.

[bloggs24]

Originally Posted by Jastel

Unless a meteorite falls on your car out of the sky it is NOT an ACCIDENT, it is a CRASH caused by (at least one) persons mistake.

A policeman told me this one day at a Defensive Driving Course and I never forgot it.

Now I tell my taxi drivers.

Its called a collision, an accident in infurs thats theres no one to blame

I learnt that from Hot Fuzz. :

[Jastel]

LOL

I remember that now, along with "You mean it's MURDER?"

Maybe the movie director went to the same course 20 years ago???

Was true then and still is now

[EF Futura 07]

Originally Posted by Dezza!

I thought all accidents were caused by people driving 105 in a 100 zone. If you go 5 over, you will instantly crash and die.

lol pure gold!!!

[ieatsports_cars]

Originally Posted by Dezza!

I thought all accidents were caused by people driving 105 in a 100 zone. If you go 5 over, you will instantly crash and die.

gees i used all my nine lives then in that case ! i must have a couple of cats controlling me :

[gz1]

Originally Posted by flappist

Sometimes I wonderf at the stupidity of some people.

accellerates to about 110 in a 100 zone spots an ambulance ahead in the distance and brakes heavily causing chaos in two lanes.

But I felt safe after that because there was a speed camera up the road a bit........................

Well you see there's the problem. It wasn't the ambulance, it was fear of the speed camera. Perhaps his GPS went off at the time with a speed camera warning.
Had he kept going at that speed to overtake, he would have been snapped and then branded as a hoon driver.
So he chose to brake hard and avoid the happy snap.
Had he crashed, or more likely caused a crash, at least he could not be accused of speeding. :evil3:

[flappist]

Originally Posted by gz1

Well you see there's the problem. It wasn't the ambulance, it was fear of the speed camera. Perhaps his GPS went off at the time with a speed camera warning.
Had he kept going at that speed to overtake, he would have been snapped and then branded as a hoon driver.
So he chose to brake hard and avoid the happy snap.
Had he crashed, or more likely caused a crash, at least he could not be accused of speeding. :evil3:

This is QLD, all of our speed cameras except for 3 are mobile and the nearest of the 3 fixed cameras was about 150km away. The speed camera was about 30km up the road from where this happened.

[cant]

so many people (moron STEERERS) are worried about losing a car space or two, run AMBER lights, cant merge or block intersections out of spite for the rest of us!

Yes STEERERS = the piece of behind the steering wheel !

[Geez Louise]

Why are there so many accidents? Thats what my dad said to mum after it was confirmed I was going to be thier 9th child. :P

[GT69]

Originally Posted by Geez Louise

Why are there so many accidents? Thats what my dad said to mum after it was confirmed I was going to be thier 9th child. :P

So its the rubber or lack there of that causes accidents? Quick someone get me the advertising mob the coppers use

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by Dezza!

I thought all accidents were caused by people driving 105 in a 100 zone. If you go 5 over, you will instantly crash and die.

Exactly, the general road user has it pumped into their head that they can drive how they like as long as they wipe of 5. It's pathetic!

I deal with these morons everyday, they just don't pay attention or even care! There is no respect for other road users and people think they are in the right as long as they are not speeding.

Me: "Sorry but you are responsible for not giving way"
Claimant: "But I wasn't speeding"
Me: "Speed wasn't a factor in this incident, but you need to give way to oncoming traffic"
Claimant: "He must have been speeding then"
It's apparent that as the damage is minimal, speed is not a factor
Me: "No we find it unlikely that they were speeding, however you did not give way"

People just wont get it, they never will as long as the 'Speed kills' campaign continues.

[uranium_death]

The fundamental problem is decision making.

People don't think much nowadays. I've had my plethora of a particular demographic in the past week who crawl in the right hand lane and block traffic. They have no intention of turning right. They usually drive Camrys, and have absolutely no idea that they're even doing anything wrong.

Others don't indicate, and will cut across lanes without a signal.

People are crap decision makers.
Not saying I'm perfect, but when I stuff up, I know when I've stuffed up.

I am convinced that people in this country do not know the road rules, after going to some particular driving schools where the instructors don't speak English, or know the road rules themselves.

God Bless Australia.

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by flappist

Sometimes I wonderf at the stupidity of some people.

Yesterday I drove from sunny coast to hervey vegas and witness two of the most insane acts I have seen in a long time.

The runner up:

Moron in.......wait for it....a COMMODORE with a CR2 bodykit and all the doof pulls out to overtake on a 3 lane section, accellerates to about 110 in a 100 zone spots an ambulance ahead in the distance and brakes heavily causing chaos in two lanes.

But the winner:

Moron in.......wait for it.....a bloody big 4WD with a trailer does a U turn on the freeway near Forest Glen (110 zone separated lanes) then crosses to the other lanes( south bound) and accellerates like a snail with a sorel foot causing chaos as two lanes in the 110 zone have to combine into one to not hit him. Now I understand why this is a designated black spot.

But I felt safe after that because there was a speed camera up the road a bit........................

Kind of answered your own question Flappist. There are very few "accidents" on the road. The overwhelming majority, into the high 90 percentile band are "collisions". That is to say there was nothing like a mechanical failure or something like that, where the driver lost the ability to control the car.

Instead they were 100% down to drive error and were thus completely avoidable and not in any way accidental. The car was mechanically sound and the road conditions capable of being dealt with safely. A disciplined driver who was controlling the vehicle in a safe and intelligent manner, would not have had an accident. In most accidents the car was in control right up to the point where the driver through bad choices and not leaving any safety margin, left the point of their own skills and used what safety margin was left and lost control and collided with something or someone.

Accidents imply the driver had no part in what happened - thats rarely the case. Even in cases where people are collided into, there are examples where more caution on the other drivers part, would have reduced the risk or severity of a crash. For example leaving a decent safety margin, both in front and behind their car and expecting the worst from drivers around them and anticipating that in how they drive their car around other road users.

Of course I appreciate some people have no choice, but to be the victims of someone elses "accident", when things go wrong suddenly.

The term "accident" is used by too many people as a way to avoid saying they just screwed up.

Pilots unfortunately for them cant just shrug their shoulders and exchange details like drivers seem to think is ok. When a pilot drives a two seat Cessna or a 300 seat 747 into the ground and is lucky enough to survive we kind of expect them to be accountable. Its either a mechanical fault or their fault. Pity we don't do the same on the road.

[gz1]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

Pilots unfortunately for them cant just shrug their shoulders and exchange details like drivers seem to think is ok. When a pilot drives a two seat Cessna or a 300 seat 747 into the ground and is lucky enough to survive we kind of expect them to be accountable. Its either a mechanical fault or their fault. Pity we don't do the same on the road.

Well you see before getting a pilots license you have to demonstrate that you can handle a plane. You need to know and demonstrate stall recovery, weight & balance, navigation, as well as a basic understanding of what makes it fly. You need to know how weather affects the plane, how to manage your fuel, and show that you can actually fly the thing without crashing it, i.e. more than go around the block. And you also need to get certified for different types of planes, i.e. tail wheel, twin engine, constant speed prop, retractable gear etc etc.
To get a drivers license there is none of that.
Only a very rudimentary multi-choice test on the very very basic road signs and if you can manage a trip around the block without crashing you have your license.
Whilst this attitude exists collisions will happen.
In NSW you now have to do 150hrs on L plates before you can sit for your round-the-block drive, but still no knowledge of car handling dynamics is required. You do not have to demonstrate emergency braking. You do not have to demonstrate collision evasion, or defensive driving. You do not even need to know where the fuel goes in the car or how to check the tyres.
doing 150hrs of driving without any sort of practice of the above is quite pointless.
And once you have passed your licence test on a 120Y auto, you can jump in a 3 ton off-road 4WD (so long as it's not a turbo V8) and take to the streets.
However if all drivers were trained/tested correctly we would not have the high road toll, we would not have the black spots and hence it would be much harder to justify the revenue-raising tactics currently in use.
Perhaps I am being too cynical, but I doubt it.