Interesting article in the Jimboomba Times a couple of weeks ago where where driver error (rather than speed) caused a accident where are car ran up the rear of another car, pushing it off the road in to a ditch.
One resident along with his neighbour has decided that the road that they've lived on for all of these years now needs the speed limit dropped from 100km/h to 80km/h, and that will supposedly stop all the driver error accidents ?
Excerpts from my letter in the Jimboomba Times :-
Clearly this accident that occurred outside of Mr Power's property had nothing at all to do with the speed limit currently enforced on Camp Cable Road, but quite simply driver error/stupidity/inattention, and would've occurred whether the speed limit was 100km/h or 60km/h.
Until we can legislate against driver stupidity, we will continue to have road accidents. At a National TravelSafe convention in Brisbane it was shown that in the Top Five causes of accidents, driver error/stupidity/lack of skills is number one on the list, well ahead of other traditionally seen causes, with speeding coming in at number FIVE on that list.
I think what Mr Power's and Mrs Lyons need to remember is that they chose to live on a main arterial road and that means they'll see a lot more traffic and resultant 'driver errors' than what those who live on a quiet residential street. Having the speed limit dropped for their own peace of mind means nothing in the scale of things to come, history has proven time and time again when road has an acceptable speed limit means that most people will obey it, but when the speed limit is patently too low, most people will not only ignore it, but drive faster than they used to on it, as a way of thumbing their noses at what they see as a ridiculous reduction it.
This can be seen time and time again, with roads like Hein Road which after a major upgrade to make the road vastly safer, was dropped from 80km/h to 60km/h. You only need to spend 5 minutes there to see the contempt most motorists have of that reduced speed limit, and all it then becomes is a easy way to boost the government coffers with speeding fines, which is exactly what Camp Cable Road will become if Mr Power and his neighbour get their way.
I would like to know what Mr Power and his neighbour are planning to demand the speed limit be dropped again, when they find that a 80km/h speed limit is "too fast" for their liking. Are they going to push for a 60km/h limit a year or two after they get their first wish ?
I would suggest that those who use Camp Cable Road and are otherwise safe drivers, don't sit back and think that it won't happen, because it will happen if you don't make it known that you disagree with this short sighted demand. If you have internet access, you might like to discuss this in the forums at
www.loganvillage.net and agree or disagree with this particular issue, and if need be discuss it more fully than you can in this newspaper.
I welcome your comments, as like many of you out there I see the actions of the minority taking over the wishes of the majority, as through the many years I've lived here, roads that have needed a slow down have been ignored, yet key roads have not only had the speed limit dropped, but have had solid no-overtaking white lines down stretches of straight roadway for reasons no greater than "because we can".
