Category: Opinion

A recent report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the USA has found that “Fatigued (sleepy) drivers kill more people [16.5%] than all of the drivers exceeding the speed limit [7%] or running a red light [2%].” Inattention is by far the biggest cause of road fatalities, unfortunately the technology companies that manufacture speed and red light cameras cannot supply camera technology to detect inattentive drivers. So there is no revenue in detecting fatigued drivers and inattentive drivers. Roadside cameras are being used by some Australian police… Read more

You would think that drivers would take extra care as they entered their home area. Sadly, my experience shows exactly the opposite takes. The closer they are to home the more likely they are to drive dangerously. That disturbing fact dawned on me the other day when I was waiting outside my home for someone to arrive. My place is near the entrance to a suburban area that probably houses a couple of hundred homes. So there’s a reasonable number of cars travelling past most of the time. A large… Read more

I still continue to hear criticism of spacesaver spare wheels from many people. Much of it is unjustified and ill-considered in my opinion. Spacesaver wheel/tyre combinations are significantly narrower and slightly smaller in diameter than standard units. Their main reason for existing is to give more room in the boot. This is firstly, because of the increasingly large tyres being fitted to modern cars and secondly because, as people move down to smaller cars to save fuel and reduce emissions, they like to retain as much interior space as possible…. Read more

This is the full press release just published by the National Motorists Association of Australia (NMAA). I feel it backs up the Opinion piece I wrote last week: The recent study from the University of Western Australia has highlighted the danger of excessive speed enforcement by showing that drivers are less likely to identify hazards if they are complying too closely with the speed limits, and demonstrated the contradiction between official road safety campaigns and real life. The study used a driving simulator to test the effects on concentration and… Read more

I’m going to sound like a stuck record yet again on the subject of safe holiday driving. But so is everyone else when talking about road deaths and speed limits, so why should I be any different? These depressing thoughts struck me yet again as the Christmas / New Year period began and my local Queensland police force proudly unveiled new speed cameras, promoting them as the way to reduce the road toll. A toll that’s risen in many places Australian-wide despite the introduction of dozens of extra so-called safety… Read more

I recently wrote a comment piece bemoaning the fact that cars are getting boring. Boring because less and less skill is required to get the best from them. Acceleration testing on a hot Jeep SRT had just been completed and I bemoaned the fact that all that was required only that you push the right buttons on the computer and it will get maximum response from the engine, tyres and transmission – no skill required. The BMW M2 is a full-on sports machine. We road tested the manual version the… Read more

There has been a lot of criticism of space-saver spare wheels in some quarters. Much of it unjustified and ill-considered in my opinion. Space-savers are wheel/tyre combinations that are significantly narrower and slightly smaller in diameter than standard units. Their main reason for existing is to give more room in the boot. Firstly, because of the increasingly large tyres being fitted to modern cars. Secondly, as people move down to smaller cars to save fuel and reduce emissions they like to retain as much interior space as possible. Space-saver tyres… Read more