Do we have an excess of road policing in New Zealand?

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#1407104 15-Oct-2015 10:36

Jase2985: you are assuming that every truck driver out there is dishonest

Nope. I am assuming that (a) some (inevitably) are and that (b) some employers will place undue pressure on them to break rules in order to deliver quicker or whatever.

trig42

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#1407111 15-Oct-2015 10:49

The penalties for logbook violations are quite severe (compared with penalties car drivers get).
I drove a truck here for a while, and when you were stopped for weighing, or just inspection, they looked very hard at the logbook, and were pretty good at picking up irregularities.

Sure, you can fake it, but like with telling fibs, you can easily get caught in your own lies. I never drove more than allocated hours, and my log book was always OK, but I know of others where they had fudged their logbook, but got caught out by hubo readings or other irregularities that proved they were fudging and they got healthy fines (always $1000+) and suspensions, which when it is your job costs a lot more. Truck drivers, generally, see it as something not worth risking I think. Of course there will always be outliers, and those determined to get one over the Man (keeping dual log books for example).

MikeB4

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#1407115 15-Oct-2015 11:05

My car will bring up a message on the driver management display telling me it's time for a rest which is good and I always stop for a rest. What would be better is all vehicles fitted with a device that will reduce the power output of the vehicle if the rest brake is not taken
and progressively reduces the power until complied with.

JimmyH

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#1407398 15-Oct-2015 18:55

MikeB4: My car will bring up a message on the driver management display telling me it's time for a rest which is good and I always stop for a rest. What would be better is all vehicles fitted with a device that will reduce the power output of the vehicle if the rest brake is not taken
and progressively reduces the power until complied with.

Providing that the vehicles are heavily advertised as such, so I can make sure I never buy one.

Life is full of annoyances, without having my car nag me as well.

I don't tend to drive long distances, and when I do it's for a reason. The last thing I want is to be miles from anywhere, in deteriorating weather, possibly rushing someone to hospital, and have my car decide to shut itself down because some software engineer thinks they know better than me.

bmt

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#1407432 15-Oct-2015 20:09

Got a ticket for 115kph on the Waikato Expressway a few weeks ago. Cop was parked up sideways with his radar gun in between the two opposing traffic lanes:

https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/Waikato+Expy,+Waikato/

And his view would have been:

https://www.google.co.nz/maps/

There was one other car I could see in front or behind me. Two lanes, large grass median between opposing traffic. I'm such a reckless menace to society :')

Jase2985

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#1407441 15-Oct-2015 20:34

but you were speeding? same as i ran a red light cause no one was there, or i was hungry so i took that loaf of bread/chocolate bar. clear road is no excuse

scuwp

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#1407530 15-Oct-2015 22:43

bmt: Got a ticket for 115kph on the Waikato Expressway a few weeks ago. Cop was parked up sideways with his radar gun in between the two opposing traffic lanes:

https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/Waikato+Expy,+Waikato/

And his view would have been:

https://www.google.co.nz/maps/

There was one other car I could see in front or behind me. Two lanes, large grass median between opposing traffic. I'm such a reckless menace to society :')

Actually yes. Statistically speaking you double your risk for every 5km/h over the speed limit. Even though a crash may not be your fault your additional speed contributes to a more severe outcome for everyone.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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ScuL

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#1407539 15-Oct-2015 23:48

Don't get me started on that. I'm used to driving 130km/h on a daily basis and have been doing so for the last 15 years (which is the recommended maximum speed limit in nearly all of the EU).
115km/h is perfectly safe on a dual carriageway with road conditions like that. Sometimes I have to nudge myself not to fall asleep with the low limits in this country, but I manage because I am a strong believer in sticking to road laws. It's just taking a while for NZ to upgrade parts of its key infrastructure to 2x2 120km/h standards. The cars are more than capable of doing so, it's just about filling the gaps in the infrastructure before policy can change. I suspect (and hope) that once the Waikato Expressway is complete past Hamilton we will see an increase to 110km/h if not 120km/h on that road.

Haere taka mua, taka muri; kaua e wha.

MikeB4

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#1407553 16-Oct-2015 07:31

JimmyH:
MikeB4: My car will bring up a message on the driver management display telling me it's time for a rest which is good and I always stop for a rest. What would be better is all vehicles fitted with a device that will reduce the power output of the vehicle if the rest brake is not taken
and progressively reduces the power until complied with.

Providing that the vehicles are heavily advertised as such, so I can make sure I never buy one.

Life is full of annoyances, without having my car nag me as well.

I don't tend to drive long distances, and when I do it's for a reason. The last thing I want is to be miles from anywhere, in deteriorating weather, possibly rushing someone to hospital, and have my car decide to shut itself down because some software engineer thinks they know better than me.

It should be mandatory on all vehicles.

Jase2985

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#1407576 16-Oct-2015 08:07

MikeB4:
JimmyH:
MikeB4: My car will bring up a message on the driver management display telling me it's time for a rest which is good and I always stop for a rest. What would be better is all vehicles fitted with a device that will reduce the power output of the vehicle if the rest brake is not taken
and progressively reduces the power until complied with.

Providing that the vehicles are heavily advertised as such, so I can make sure I never buy one.

Life is full of annoyances, without having my car nag me as well.

I don't tend to drive long distances, and when I do it's for a reason. The last thing I want is to be miles from anywhere, in deteriorating weather, possibly rushing someone to hospital, and have my car decide to shut itself down because some software engineer thinks they know better than me.

It should be mandatory on all vehicles.

explain why, instead of just saying it should be

MikeB4

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#1407579 16-Oct-2015 08:11

Jase2985:
MikeB4:
JimmyH:
MikeB4: My car will bring up a message on the driver management display telling me it's time for a rest which is good and I always stop for a rest. What would be better is all vehicles fitted with a device that will reduce the power output of the vehicle if the rest brake is not taken
and progressively reduces the power until complied with.

Providing that the vehicles are heavily advertised as such, so I can make sure I never buy one.

Life is full of annoyances, without having my car nag me as well.

I don't tend to drive long distances, and when I do it's for a reason. The last thing I want is to be miles from anywhere, in deteriorating weather, possibly rushing someone to hospital, and have my car decide to shut itself down because some software engineer thinks they know better than me.

It should be mandatory on all vehicles.

explain why, instead of just saying it should be

Driver fatigue is a factor in road accidents, it can be as imparring as alcohol/drugs. A device that enforces rest breaks is a step to reduce our appalling accident and death rates.

Jase2985

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#1407582 16-Oct-2015 08:14

so is the weather, so is poor roads, so is distractions like cellphones, so is poorly maintained vehicles. whats your solutions that that?

do you have statitics on crashes caused by fatigue?

MikeB4

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#1407590 16-Oct-2015 08:48

Jase2985: so is the weather, so is poor roads, so is distractions like cellphones, so is poorly maintained vehicles. whats your solutions that that?

do you have statitics on crashes caused by fatigue?

Cellphones are being addressed, poor roads are being slowly addressed, the weather can be addressed by sensible actions by drivers, vehicle condition is addressed by the police.

As for statistics I am sure you know where these can be obtained.

Geektastic

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#1407623 16-Oct-2015 09:45

ScuL: Don't get me started on that. I'm used to driving 130km/h on a daily basis and have been doing so for the last 15 years (which is the recommended maximum speed limit in nearly all of the EU).
115km/h is perfectly safe on a dual carriageway with road conditions like that. Sometimes I have to nudge myself not to fall asleep with the low limits in this country, but I manage because I am a strong believer in sticking to road laws. It's just taking a while for NZ to upgrade parts of its key infrastructure to 2x2 120km/h standards. The cars are more than capable of doing so, it's just about filling the gaps in the infrastructure before policy can change. I suspect (and hope) that once the Waikato Expressway is complete past Hamilton we will see an increase to 110km/h if not 120km/h on that road.

Taking a while?!

The main routes on the NI SH1 and SH2 still have sections that qualify as "Goat Track Grade 1" just about!

If we were serious about improving road safety and reducing the time wasted moving things around by road, a new dual carriageway between Wellington and Auckland and Picton and Christchurch would be half done by now.

They could never do it though (even if they had the cash) because they have foolishly let everyone believe that their personal views on such projects actually matter and can stop/divert/delay such things more or less indefinitely.

Geektastic

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#1407625 16-Oct-2015 09:47

trig42: The penalties for logbook violations are quite severe (compared with penalties car drivers get).
I drove a truck here for a while, and when you were stopped for weighing, or just inspection, they looked very hard at the logbook, and were pretty good at picking up irregularities.

Sure, you can fake it, but like with telling fibs, you can easily get caught in your own lies. I never drove more than allocated hours, and my log book was always OK, but I know of others where they had fudged their logbook, but got caught out by hubo readings or other irregularities that proved they were fudging and they got healthy fines (always $1000+) and suspensions, which when it is your job costs a lot more. Truck drivers, generally, see it as something not worth risking I think. Of course there will always be outliers, and those determined to get one over the Man (keeping dual log books for example).

Penalties should be severe. A digital tachograph will ensure that they are issued automatically for all violations when the data is uploaded to the enforcement agency.

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