You may recall from the TO forum how I went down kicking and screaming before installing a UHF, GME from TJM.
Along with rear suspension airbags, this was the best investment we made for the BF11 Falcon. This was some years ago and we have had many good chats with the truckies, helping each other.
The UHF is a definite safety device, maybe one day they will become law for all caravanners, but we find some Nomads need to respect the use of ch.40 and not go on gas bagging, boy have we heard a few truckies slipping into them for cluttering that vital channel.
Yesterday there was a fatal at Matilda Glasshouse road house intersection. A side road with a give way sign connects to Steve Irwin Way, which has a 80k speed limit. A main road.
An elderly couple, in their 80's apparently attempted to turn onto Steve Irwin, in front of a B double. The poor truckie took drastic action, rolled the rig over, but thankfully was OK, several other cars crashed taking evasive action, the oldies were killed, the truckie was praised as a hero, which he surely was, he avoided hitting the road house.
So of course the outcry is now that it is a dangerous intersection, which it isn't, (no more than any other) and we await all the hue and cry against older drivers, may be justified in this case, but not just applicable to oldies, every day we go down to the coast we have idiots who can't wait for us to get past, they pull out in front of fast moving traffic, they seem to have the inability to process the fact that traffic on a straight stretch is doing 80/100 depending on the speed limit.
An issue one should probably point out to the police, they must be tearing their hair out trying to control these disasters, and this is another issue to be made public, don't pull out in front of fast moving traffic on a main road. A little patience and common sense is good, but not always seen.
Sad to see so many preventable accidents and loss of life.
Yeah the radio in the car is a good idea without doubt. Certainly been a big help to me over the years.
Ref oldies driving. The driving ability varies so much as age creep up on us and to find a constant is nearly impossible when it comes to aged driving assessment.
I have tested some oldies whose driving ability was as good as you get and others, well there comes a time when most of us should recognise it is time to give it away.
Usually most people as they age give driving away of their own volition, just not comfortable with it any more.
It is an area where this is no real answers.
Drivers in general, young and old are not good at self assessment. Experienced drivers have often acquired bad habits and are totally unaware of it. Only a test with an experienced and qualified assessor will reveal any deficiencies. I sit in with an assessor on a regular basis and get the the message as to where I am going wrong.
Having been an assessor and a trainer of assessors in not so distant times I have no problems with being assessed and as I am now getting on a bit myself I see it as good insurance.
I will post a dashcam video clip tonight........to youtube.....which shows another potential disaster similar circumstances. Don't have time now.
You don't stop riding because you get old, you get old because you stop riding! If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. When the last tree has been cut down, when the last stream is poisoned, only then will mankind realise that we can not eat money! Some don't understand why I let my dogs sleep on my bed. That's OK, my dogs understand! I'm Larry the Spook and I'm ALMOST NORMAL!
Post by frankandbrenda on Apr 5, 2013 16:38:45 GMT 9.5
Bevan, as a heavy vehicle driver I too get those idiots pull out in front of me, not so bad now the kiddies have seat belts to hold them in but many a time I had kids plonk on the floor when a Richard cranium pulled out because he thought I was a big slow heavy vehicle, the nub skulls don't seem to understand that even though we are big and slow up the hills we are still capable of doing 100 in a 100 zone.
Steve, NO ONE will ever bring in yearly testing, it would not be practical to test everyone on a yearly basis, BUT what they could do, they still wont, here in SA the speed camera operators used to put out a sign "SPEED CAMERAS SAVE LIVES" this was of course about 200m AFTER you had been pinged, I wrote a letter to the then minister for transport suggesting that if the government was serious about those signs, then they should use all the revenue for driver education, and bring in a defensive drivers course at high school level, before the kids got out on the road and also repeat offenders would have to attend hat course at their own cost. I sent a copy of the letter to the local rag and also the RAA magazine, the local rag printed it, and that was all the action I got it was not long after and I'm sure coincidental that the government decided that those signs would no longer be used . Frank
LIFE IS LIKE A COIN YOU CAN CHOOSE TO SPEND IT ANYWAY YOU WISH BUT YOU CAN ONLY SPEND IT ONCE. MAKE YOUR CHOICES WISELY
Couldn't agree more about the advanced driver/ rider education Frank, I've done both and it's an eye opener. Mores the pity the gov don't feel the same way should be mandatory prior to P plates. Only my opinion though.
Steve.
They say "life is short"
Bull dust it's the longest thing you'll ever do.
Post by Miss Honey Nose on Apr 6, 2013 12:11:52 GMT 9.5
when my youngest grand daughter gets her p's we are getting her a defensive driving course ,after looking at them I think they have to have a licence first ,Aimee herself said its a good idea
of course her old man who is a sod rubbished it but from him its what we expected
we also offered it to our elder grand daughter when she got her licence but she poo paahed it and said nan I am a good driver, yeah right
we have a uhf ,and stii have our old 27megs too and yep both know how to use them
many many years ago I belonged to an emergency radio organisation
When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
I am not too sure whether an annual test is a good thing, as Frank says it would never happen anyway for political reasons for one.
Advanced drivers courses are good but only if what is learned is practiced. Many people can be taught how to handle a vehicle travelling sideways on a wet road but if the next event of that type is 10 years hence the skill learned way back when will be all but worthless.
The ability to drive varies tremendously across the whole gamut of licensed drivers. Most people can pass a test but there are few really good drivers amongst them. As the experience of a driver builds up so does their ability to avoid accidents, in general terms anyway but this does not mean they are actually a good driver.
The light which experience gives us is the lantern on the stern, it shines only on the waves behind us. It is how we handle things we haven't experienced which is important.
The biggest factor is the individuals situational awareness. This cannot be taught as such, it is an innate ability we have in varying degrees and defines the good from the bad driver.
None of the above is about cog swapping, hill starts etc. It is about the rolling and ever changing scenario we experience as we drive down the road and how we relate and respond to it. As an assessor you can see this ability quite clearly, it is some times there amongst brand new drivers and often totally missing from many experienced drivers.
An interesting subject that has much money thrown at it, there is only so much a government can do as driving is such an individual activity and on a busy road that means there is a lot of people reacting in different ways to a variety of situations depending on their ability and experience.
I did an assessment on the weekend,the assessor who has known me for some time described me as very safe, very aware but my style of driving had softened some and I was more cautious than previous. I guess the latter is old age showing its effects.
Personally once past 65 I would suggest drivers have an assessment every couple of years. You could be loosing your edge without being aware of it. A quality driving school will do it for you. Cheap insurance.
Just a quick thought. I was watching an advert tonight on Tv for the new Ford Fiesta, you know , the one with all the digital displays .................. the same ones No Body would take their attention from the road to fiddle with would they ...................?
Yep vehicles are getting smarter, shame about the designers and drivers.
that the government decided that those signs would no longer be used .
