Australia flooded with incompetant drivers??

I recon what Superlizard is saying, is make driving the focus of what your doing when you get behind the wheel, not talking on your phone,not texting, not zoning out , concentrating. My truck driving tester said to me make every kilometer you drive be the best kilometer you've ever driven. For me, people that say relax, don't stress, we're all going to get to our destination in the end are menaces to society. what they're in effect saying is "hey everybody drive to my standards" and "I can't be bothered thinking on the road ......but will you think for me?". When I first came to melbourne years ago the driving was excellent, fast , decisive, purposeful, almost aggressive. People let you in but if you missed your opportunity, well, tough, pay attention. People wouldn't stand dawdling,aimless,"i'm just looking in the shops" driving. They would honk like hell. Now drivers have "wiped off 25" and everyone now has more time to text

^^^^ Gorgo, i couldn't agree more with most of your statements...

Superlizard dude

A good driver is in large part determined by their attitude on the road.

Your attitude is you are complaining about people who are driving in a more safe manner than you. And you somehow think that makes them a worse driver, go figure???

Not everyone has the same level of experience, capability or equipment. They may be a new parent with a new born and are being extra cautious or a senior citizen whose relexes aren't as fast as a 30yr old and hence drive accordingly. They maybe going to a dinner party and their wife next to them is gingerly holding a bowl of vindaloo curry. There are many reasons why people don't necessarily travel at the MAXIMUM speed limit, and not just a wet freeway.

You seriously need to get of your high horse, stop thinking about just yourself and be more considerate. You'll drive/ride safer, you'll be less stressed out and your kids will see the example you set and learn to be better drivers too.

Mind you, we do agree on some points, accelerating hard-ish I certainly don't have a problem with after owning both sports bikes and cars. I also own a 2tonne landcruiser that accelerates slower than a snail up a hill.

Correct, it is relative. The sports bike example is not correct. Acceleration has nothing to do with hooning and everything about consistency.

I think the real problem is that there is a fundamental attitude problem with drivers.

Many drivers think in terms of getting from A to B as quickly as possible. They have an expectation of a right to use the road in a way that gets them around quickly. That leads to all the bad stuff.

I think the responsibility of the driver is to get from A to B as safely and smoothly as possible. Speed and travel time is completely irrelevant. This means avoiding bad behaviours, not doing stupid stuff, not taking the bait when dick heads do stupid things, not stressing out. Arriving places relaxed and comfortable.

I've been doing this for the past few years and it works a treat. Long trips are effortless. The morning commute is easy. Traffic jams are a chance to listen podcasts and stuff.

I'm not a paragon by any means. I still want a death ray to blast all the road hogs and overly aggressive drivers. It's just I try to be calm and relaxed and generally success.

anny one who uses the line ..... speed cameras are just to raise $$$$ is a tool
speed cameras are only used to prevent speeding. (or punish them)if no on speed then they would be around .. .. slowing down when thiers a ton of glare or the road is wet ..isnt that the right thing to do ... drive to the conditions. if you speed u run the risk of being caught or crashing..eh

The single most anoying and dangerous thing today on the roads in Victoria is. Drivers that do not dip their Head lights early enough ,or at all in some cases.

This is brought about by the current Law which is something like " must dip lights within 150 mtrs of another car "

This law is crap!

When I was taught to drive , as soon as you could see the glow of a tail light , or head light even if it was miles ahead of you.. you would dip the headlights.

There.... been wanting to broadcast that for a long time.

When conditions are that simple you're absolutely correct.

On my trips down the coast the freeway is often full but moving well.

You have the left lane sitting on 95 and the right lane sitting on 100. There's a fairly sold stream of traffic ahead.

A car pulls in close behind me close on my tail. I maintain my speed, passing the slower cars and pull over at the first sizable gap.

The other guy accelerates up to the car in front and continues pushing. Meanwhile, I'm stuck in the slow lane with no real chance to get back into the right lane.

That situation happens all the time. The guy in the right lane is the road hog and indulging in all sorts of anti-social and illegal behaviour.

The road system is exactly that, a system. Nobody has any rights, only responsibilities.

(Actually we do have one right. The right to be able to travel without being harassed by thugs armed with offensive weapons. It's odd that there are people who think intimidation and harassment is ok on the road, and in surf breaks.)

I agree FormulaNova, single lanes, take away any thoughts of lane changing altogether.

They had one in Canberra - the GDE - A single lane each way for a couple of kilometers. Concrete barrier separating oncoming traffic the whole way, no prospect of overtaking at all . You could rightfully sit on the 80kph limit and nobody could pass.
Everybody except me hated it, I think they've recently widened it.

A pity concrete has such a carbon footprint, otherwise those barriers could solve most of the traffic problems.