Road to Zero road safety campaign

[Kenj]

I don't know what the answer is, but throwing money at a problem obviously doesn't help.

Multi-million dollar road to zero: Govt cops criticism for 'extraordinary' ad spending - NZ Herald

The 2022 road death toll increased by 60 from 2021 total. Very sad.

Ken 

[CliveM]

If they spent their money on maintaining the roads instead of bike lanes, road cones, over the top traffic control and ludicrous add campaigns it would help.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

I am completely and utterly biased, having paid the road toll with my beloved back at Easter, in 1986.

Anything, anything at all that is paid, done, made effort, successful or not, is worth it if it helps save a single life being lost, and paid for with a lifetime of grief. You can absolutely trust me on that score.

[king1]

road conditions are what they are, some better some worse - you could spend billions upgrading the road network, but some people will still drive like idiots, drink drive, fall asleep at the wheel, use cell phones, drive too fast for the conditions.

The driver (at least one in a multiple) is the only person who has any real control and ultimate responsibility for, the outcome of a road accident.  You are trying to change human behaviour...

Would be interesting to know of those 378 deaths how many were directly attributable to lack of road maintenance and other causes.

[piroska]

If they spent their money on maintaining the roads instead of bike lanes, road cones, over the top traffic control and ludicrous add campaigns it would help.

My son used to bike to work. Nearly got wiped out by some car on a roundabout.
Bike lanes are a good thing.

And reminding people not to drive like idiots is a good thing. Already the road toll has shown same old, people driving tired, people overtaking on bends and yellow lines, crossing centre lines, all the usual.

They love to blame the road What about back when cars were new and roads were dirt or gravel goat tracks? What we have now is far better. It's just the humans behind the wheel.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Aside from all the ruined families, the everlasting trauma and grief, the cancelling and loss of potential, there is a financial cost per death on our road toll, without even thinking about the maiming and injuries and property damage.

Ours cost ACC alone, around1.5 mil. Just that one statistic.

We cannot afford NOT to reduce the toll, by whatever means.

[Paul.C]

I have an uncle who has lost a daughter and two sons-in-law on the roads. All due to driver error (their fault), and this is from a fairly responsible bunch of educated middle class folk, all well into their adult years. Road conditions and other drivers were clearly and distinctly not factors in each case, and neither was speed. They simply made mistakes / lapses in concentration / distraction.
We all need to be careful out there.

[Kenj]

We folk here in Hawke's Bay have suffered having the speed limit on Highway 5 Napier to Taupo section, officially reduced to 80KPH. Reason being, to many accidents, so cutting the speed limit will solve the problem. People say how terrible the road is to drive on. I first drove it in 1960 in a side valve Morris Minor. I must say it was not the best of roads then. The Napier/Taupo road was reconstructed from the early 60's onwards and from memory the M.O.W. said it was designed for an 80K average speed. It has deteriorated somewhat but that's the way with roads. The last time we went to Taupo it didn't seem too bad. Definitely not justifying the speed reduction.

However, it seems to me that very few people stick to the 80K limit and there seemed to be some crazy bar stewards the time we used it. No problem, even SWMBO who drives now got up around 100K when coming up to one of the steep climbs. Then one gets passed by someone going at 120K.

Ken

[R2x1]

Driving at 120K plus has not often been a problem; but rapidly reducing the speed frequently invokes serious problems

[zkted]

I was bought up driving on gravel roads in Pokororo and not even well maintained ones to boot. No problem we drove to the conditions.
People who blame the roads are complete retards, the roads are fine. The problem is speeding, tailgating, failure to keep left, pissed/drugged, not giving way, running stop signs and retarded overtaking. All the orange cones in the world are not going to save us.
Zero road deaths is like rooting for virginity its not possible. Its like a war out there driving, you dont know if there is a car with your name on it. If you cant handle the prosepect of getting killed or injured stay off the roads.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

I was bought up driving on gravel roads in Pokororo and not even well maintained ones to boot. No problem we drove to the conditions.
People who blame the roads are complete retards, the roads are fine. The problem is speeding, tailgating, failure to keep left, pissed/drugged, not giving way, running stop signs and retarded overtaking. All the orange cones in the world are not going to save us.
Zero road deaths is like rooting for virginity its not possible. Its like a war out there driving, you dont know if there is a car with your name on it. If you cant handle the prosepect of getting killed or injured stay off the roads.

Riding a road bike teaches you that lesson, for sure. If you survive.

But one thing would really help - making drivers licences genuine privileges, hard won, easily lost. Tie defensive driver education into that process, make them five yearly expirable, renewable with testing and updated driver ed. Remove international transferables, make obtaining a licence something to be really proud of, instead of something anyone can get...

But of course it'll never happen. The people who could make it so, are already licenced drivers and not willing to fight for them.

[Kenj]

A few years back, I had 2 neighbours. One was 89 and had a license. She crashed into a tree on the 800M trip up to the local supermarket. She then quit driving.

Second one didn't think she would get hers renewed when she turned 80. She decided to just keep driving, but again just 800M to the local supermarket. Then she ran into a tree 50M from home. She then quit driving.

Over 11 years, I drove a school van of teen mums and their babies. Did a quarter million Km up till Mid 2019. Last 18 months, have not been to good to me and I rarely drove with SWMBO being the chauffer nowadays. When the time came to get my license recently at turning 80. I decided I was probably OK but then, reaction times not really good enough in an emergency. Thought about the trees on the 800M drive to the supermarket and decided to quit driving.

Ken

[CliveM]

1As long as there are humans involved there will be accidents. It doesn't matter what laws are imposed they are only followed by law abiding people anyway who are not usually the cause of accidents but they are not followed by the idiots that are the problem. There will always be a percentage of people who are just out of luck and for one reason or another are hurt by another.
Encourage your offspring to take a defensive driving course and keep your fingers crossed.

[Kenj]

Best advice ever Clive! Changed my driving habits in 1975 when our company ran them for all staff. Makes you think ahead and anticipate possibilities and how to avoid them. Must say, I never had an accident in a 4 wheel vehicle in 60 years of driving cars and trucks. Let's not talk about how I went on motorbikes after a few ales though.

Ken

[allblack]

1As long as there are humans involved there will be accidents. It doesn't matter what laws are imposed they are only followed by law abiding people anyway who are not usually the cause of accidents but they are not followed by the idiots that are the problem. There will always be a percentage of people who are just out of luck and for one reason or another are hurt by another.
Encourage your offspring to take a defensive driving course and keep your fingers crossed.

More sense from this fella. Nothing more to add.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

1As long as there are humans involved there will be accidents. It doesn't matter what laws are imposed they are only followed by law abiding people anyway who are not usually the cause of accidents but they are not followed by the idiots that are the problem. There will always be a percentage of people who are just out of luck and for one reason or another are hurt by another.
Encourage your offspring to take a defensive driving course and keep your fingers crossed.

More sense from this fella. Nothing more to add.

I agree.

I would still like to see all drunk drivers shot at the side of the road.

It might inspire a bit more restraint. And save more lives than it cost.

[allblack]

Yeah, maybe not. Whilst I don't condone it, nor have I done it because the fear of losing my licence is deterrent enough, I've know a few drunk drivers and these people are otherwise highly-functioning and contributing members of society who did a dumb thing.

Recidivist drink drivers, yeah I'm on board with that. I'll bring the snacks.

[Wainuitech]

The biggest problem is the actual Drivers. Many simply shouldn't be driving,  On the phones, driving like idiots and not paying attention.

Almost got taken out the other day, was driving out the Countdown carpark, saw one of these people movers coming from the side like a bat out of hell, had a hunch she wasn't going to stop and give way ( as she was meant to) so I slowed a little keeping an eye on her, Sure enough straight around only looked after she heard her passenger react -- Then the norm " he he Sorry with a smile"  As the Wife said I'll give you Bloody sorry you F***n B***H 

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Making a licence harder to get, dependent on defensive driver ed, and renewable by testing and updated education would help weed out idiots.

[zqwerty]

Given the complexity of the traffic system in an abstract form I think it is quite likely that there will always be a certain number of accidents etc everyday, no matter how careful everyone is being. In other words saying that one wants no accidents on the road is like asking for a form of perfection which is obviously unattainable in the real world.

I think it is probably mathematically provable that asking for no deaths on the road because drivers are always obeying the rules is an impossible expectation.

In other words believing that religious rule following will bring the expected result is another example of misguided/misinformed authority trying to push the proverbial uphill.

There is no merit in trying to attain impossible results through making others assiduously follow badly structured misguided rules.