NT speed limits, have your say....

[Outbackjack]

Interesting read.....

http://www.no-speedlimit.com/No-Spee...aveYourSay.php

[fmc351]

I hate to say it. But some of those arguments seem poorly thought out. Policing the speed limits is costing the government money. Well duhhhh! They could always put cameras in, careful what you ask for.

I did like this one. Although it follows with an argument against itself. The last part making sense again.

Penalties and punishment for driving under the influence of alcohol in the NT are a joke. We continually have the nations highest blood/alcohol readings and the most repeat offenders on earth. The government wants to confiscate the cars of hoons but drunks will get to keep their keys.

Wonder what the stats on income are from this. In perspective of the overall economy of the territory.

Nearly all the global car manufacturers come to the Northern Territory every year to test prototype vehicles purely because there are no speed limits. Companies such as Porsche, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Mercedes Honda, Range Rover, Hyundai, Sang Yong, Proton and a huge contingent of burgeoning Chinese car manufacturers have been and injected a lot of cash into the NT economy in recent years. The logistics involved to bring cars and teams of engineers from the other side of the planet is huge. These companies have budgets in the millions of dollars to undertake this type of work. Their drivers are all professional and often test at speeds greater than 200km/h. There has never been a fatal accident in the 25 years that they have been coming to the NT. Speed limits on our highways would wipe this industry out in one hit.

They sound like their stretching to make an argument.

NT has the highest incidence of unlicensed drivers in the world. There will be more with the introduction of demerit points.

The law will create an offence, and people will break the law, so lets not have laws, problem solved. Logical???!!???

[MO]

The problem is caused by a very,very small minority of abos who don't care about anything.

An example just came in regarding alcohol...you cannot purchase anything bigger than a 2 ltr cask before 1800,nor can you purchase wine ,fortified wine etc.

Light beer can only be served in pubs upto midday.

so what has happened in this totally misguided attempt to curb the grog problem amongst the few hundred abos who can't help themselves...they now buy cartons of jim beam and cola in cans.

This prohibition is not just on the abos its on the whites as well...isn't this discrimination in reverse.

I have spoken to some mates back in the N.T. they WILL NOT adhere to any speed limits imposed out of hand and they include the fairer sex...as I said in another thread I will still do my 180 to 220 when I go back...they have'nt got the resources to do the job.

[Outbackjack]

This web site only came out yesterday. We all get on these type of forums and ***** about the government and how we are being screwed. How the cops are a form of revenue raisers. I look at this web site as a form of democracy. At least we (most Teritorians) are not just going to hand the Territory Government and hand full of vaseline, bend over, and holler, go for it big fella. The ground swell of resentment towards these laws is palpable. Clare may well introduce these dumb laws, but the electorate will remember her every time they are chugging up the highway at 110. She will not survive the next election. Jodeen Carney would be a formidable opponent even if these laws were never even mentioned.

And its not just the speed laws. Clare martins handling of other issues in the territory will also help drop her from government. But these dont need to be aired here. MO touched on them. But it is true to say that certain members of our society need to be protected from themselves.

As I said, at least we are not just sitting back and having a whinge.

Cheers all.

PS if you agree that these laws are draconian, leave a comment there.

[Kryton]

Originally Posted by Outbackjack

Clare may well introduce these dumb laws, but the electorate will remember her every time they are chugging up the highway at 110. She will not survive the next election.

once the laws are introduced they will never be changed back.
it doesnt matter if she doesnt get re-elected, the damage is done.
as soon as the word SAFETY is associated with anything to do with traffic, there is no hope of reversing a policy.

ive never driven in NT and i doubt i will, but i would at least like to know i can drive at any speed i am confident that my car will do if im ever up that way.

surely there are bigger issues in NT that need attention other than speed restrictions.....i think you know what i mean.

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by davway

.

surely there are bigger issues in NT that need attention other than speed restrictions.....i think you know what i mean.

I know exactly what you mean. Not too many people outside of the Territory know that Clare is also the minister for Aboriginal affairs. That particular port folio has never been in worse shape.

And you hit the nail on the head, there are far more important things that need fixing. But this little debate has shifted attention from that!! We may go down, but we will go down fighting.

[fmc351]

My point wasnt that the laws are right or wrong. Just that the arguments in the link need work.

Id suggest that while the laws wont go down well with everyone, they must feel there is enough support for them to take a stance. Politicians may be ignorant, but theyre not stupid. Those arguments preach to the converted. If you want it to work, you need to preach to the unconverted. Those arguments wont do it IMO.

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by fmc351

My point wasnt that the laws are right or wrong. Just that the arguments in the link need work.

Id suggest that while the laws wont go down well with everyone, they must feel there is enough support for them to take a stance. Politicians may be ignorant, but theyre not stupid. Those arguments preach to the converted. If you want it to work, you need to preach to the unconverted. Those arguments wont do it IMO.

True enough, that is why people are writing to the local news papers, emailing polititions from both sides of the house. The labour government here has been having commomwealth funding withheld until it complies with federal gov demands. One of these is the imposition of speed limits. NT people are geting sick and tired of having their rights stripped by the feds. We want who we voted for to make regs. Not Johnnies mob. It is not just anger at the current state government wanting to bring in low speed limits, it their gut less stance with the federal gov. We are suffering from a commonwealth dictator and spineless state pollies..

[Outbackjack]

Here is a web site with the NT stats. Conveniently they only do a "rural/urban" breakdown. The gov don't seem to want to tell us how many accidents occur on our un restricted roads.

http://www.ipe.nt.gov.au/whatwedo/ro...ter/index.html

[Outbackjack]

Hi all, I recieved this reply from the offices of the CLP today. I have not heard a word from the offices of the ALP ...... Sorry about the formatting of the paragraphs. Couldn't be bothered fixing it.

Thank you for taking the time to write to the CLP
We remain firmly opposed to a state wide speed limit because we are not
satisfied that the safety argument is entirely sustainable. Anyone who has
driven in the Territory knows that the open speed limit provides for the
opportunity to cover the vast distances of our jurisdiction in fair time.
As a regular commuter between Darwin and Alice Springs I generally do the
trip in a single day. An open speed limit gives me the capacity to leave
after sun rise and arrive before sun set. With a 110 speed limit I would
either have to do the trip in two days or drive at night. The former becomes
expensive and the latter is infinitely more dangerous than using higher
speeds.
Nevertheless we do believe that people should be punished for their motoring
sins. Nothing in the law prevents a person from being prosecuted for driving
dangerously now. An open speed limit is not a legal sanction for dangerous
driving. This means better policing. Where are the 200 promised police that
are meant to be on the beat?
Also we believe that habitual drunk drivers and habitual drivers of
unregistered vehicles should not be allowed to keep their cars. We are
currently working on a policy that will see both forms of offenders have
their cars impounded and ultimately sold if they are unable to do the right
thing by other road users.
The philosophy behind our approach is to punish the irresponsible without
making the general motoring public pay with excessive restrictions.
If you want to make any further comment please don’t hesitate to write back
or speak to me in my capacity as the acting director of the CLP, on 0418

XXXXXX.



John Elferink

A/Director CLP

[broken_suave]

Well I've never driven in NT, however I've driven from Brisbane to Roma several times. And there are (I would imagine) similar roads. All with 110km/h or in some rare cases 120km/h zones. I cant convey enough, how annoying and frustrating it is to keep at these speeds. I found that after an hour, I had to stop by the road side to have a break, which was very odd from my perspective. After that, I drove for a short while above 150km/h and the journey was a lot more comfortable, and that was backed up by my passengers.
I've also driven accross the Nullabor, and when you're driving at around 130km/h and you have trucks wanting to overtake you, it makes you think what it would be like in the NT with all the big rig drivers. How does that work for you guys? Is the 100km/h speed limiter disabled for some trips? Some classes of vehicle perhaps?
eitherway, I can see some big problems in these new laws.