Our greenslips.com.au poll, Is common courtesy lacking on our roads?, received a resounding 88% Yes. But the poll didn’t ask about incidents of road rage. Anecdotal evidence suggests drivers everywhere are becoming increasingly less patient and a lot more aggressive.
There’s a new word for people using smart phones without looking up to see where they’re going – smombies.
The Germans coined the word to combine “smart phone” and “zombie”. One enterprising German city in Bavaria has introduced in-ground traffic lights so texters don’t even have to look up.
New South Wales has the most expensive CTP insurance in Australia but, during 2014-15, South Australia had the highest average traffic fine of $410. A report by Australia Institute claims traffic fines hit low income earners too hard and proposes Australia adopt the Finnish method of basing fines on income.
More people are riding bikes these days and, without dedicated bike tracks, have to share the roads with motor vehicles. This can be dangerous, as an average of 11 riders are killed and 1,500 seriously injured in NSW every year.
Minister for Roads, Duncan Gay, has introduced Minimum Passing Distance legislation from 1 March 2016 to help make NSW roads safer.
While delayed response times, drowsiness, and general grogginess could sound like the end of a night out on the town, it could just as easily describe the symptoms for fatigue. When we aren’t well rested, our bodies and minds must bear the burden, which is similar to driving with alcohol in the blood.
As driving is an activity which requires us being alert and responsive, substances that could impair our judgement such as alcohol are restricted or prohibited, depending on a driver’s age and licence. However, research has come to suggest that a lack of sleep could have just as dramatic an effect on our ability to control a vehicle as alcohol.
Driver fatigue is one of the top three contributors to fatalities on NSW roads, according to Transport for NSW.
In addition, crashes caused by fatigue are twice as likely to be fatal than other accidents. Approximately three in 10 road crashes in Australia that result in death or serious trauma are a result of driver fatigue.
Not driving while fatigued may seem like a no-brainer, but the New South Wales government is still concerned about the number of people who are threatening safety on the state’s roads by driving whilst fatigued and drowsy. According to Transport for New South Wales, fatigue is one of the main causes of road fatality, with research suggesting it is just as dangerous as drink driving.
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