I am posting this for discussion at a few key sites;-
CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE
VIC Premier, Hon Mr Brumby was on that odd media 'television' today, announcing a range of new initiatives that will please many here. Take the link to read the full media release.
I remind folk here that WA 'went it alone' a few years ago, and created a unique state-based regulation that mandated 'Engine Immobilisers' on new market vehicles - that were to be registered in that jurisdiction. That action caught the FEDS off guard you might recall, forcing them to play catch-up which resulted in our delightful ADR82!
I 'know' NSW studies this VIC notification carefully, and *will* action a few 'extras' of its own. Note the BOLD.
VIC intent, a quote, see the link for the official media release:-
* Mandating the instalment of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) in all new cars built after 31 December 2010 (in the absence of an equivalent national requirement); * Mandating the instalment of head protection technology, such as side-curtain airbags in all new cars built after 31 December by 2011 (in the absence of an equivalent national requirement); Showing leadership by introducing ESC and head protection technology to the Government fleet over the next three years, thereby giving manufacturers an incentive to deploy ESC to all cars;
“Victoria has a proud track record of leading the nation in road safety, with the introduction of seatbelts, the roll out of drink driving technology and random drug testing,” he said.
“And we’re doing the same with this new life saving technology. From 2011 all new cars will have electronic stability control. From 2012 all new cars will have head technology.
“And I will write to all State and Territory Premiers and the Prime Minister, calling for a national mandate of this technology in the interest of saving lives.”
Minister for Roads and Ports, Tim Pallas said that the Government had undertaken extensive research and planning to develop its road safety strategy, consulting road safety experts and monitoring the success of strategies in other states.
LINK:-http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/News/MediaReleaseRoadSafetyStrategy/
Well, these ESC's aren't all they're cracked up to be but of course the Victorian government has spent millions on researching it and they would know right? Wrong!
From what I hear, and this is mostly hearsay I must admit, ESC and other electronic devices such as cruise control can actually cause crashes in the rain. If a car aquaplanes in the rain it causes havoc with ESC and cruise control, because the car senses the loss of speed, knocks the car into a lower gear if its an automatic and the back end of the car swings around.
But, what do I know. Of course the way I see it, and call me old fashioned, is that these ESC's have serious negative consequences for drivers.
Firstly, the more technical cars get with devices such as ESC the worse drivers become. How can you have a good "feel" of the road with ESC. People become complacent, they make mistakes, and crash.
Second, and this leads on from the first point, ESC means people believe they are actually better drivers than they actually are. This leads to more risk taking than they would normally, thereby leading to more crashes.
Now I suspect this would be the case but I cannot prove it and have no data to back me up, it's just a theory.
However, I am a huge formula 1 fan and I can tell you categorically that increased safety leads to increased risk taking. You only have to look at some of the dumb driving Michael Schumacher pulled during his career to see how far people will push the envelope when they firmly believe there is no chance of being killed. The same can be said about Ayrton Senna of whom I am a big fan, but Senna's moves on Prost in '89 & '90 are testament to the mentality a driver can take when they think they are indestructible.
Anyway, onto the real issue. If these devices are so great at saving lives does that mean they will do away with speed cameras? I mean surely they won't need them with these new initiatives!
Call me a cynic, but I reckon they will have their cake and eat it too. They will introduce these new initiatives and they will retain speed cameras.