To all the speeders, slow down. A police officer would prefer to see no speeding than me pulling out of the fast lane. Speeding makes for higher impact speeds and therefore worse crashes when the inevitable happens. So I will be helping the police from now on. After all, that is why we have limits on our roads.
True. Speeding fines though are ridiculous in most of Australia, $300 for doing 110 in a 100 zone on a quiet country road (that's what someone I know got done). I think SA is probably among the worst but all traffic laws are over-policed here. I think it's a $150+ fine for a defect (blown headlight/taillight) for instance and things such as P Plates falling down are way over policed. Sorry for going slightly off topic.
The laws that say you should limit your use of the 'fast' lane are simply there for the elected officials to get a few more votes. They don't save lives if everyone is observing the speed limit. If you are going 5 under the limit in the 'fast' lane, then you should get fined if traffic is clear enough to go faster. If your doing the limit, then no car should need to pass you. (Except emergency vehicles in the case of emergencies.) So before you fly up behind me, flash you lights, toot your horn, ride my bumper, remember that you are speeding and therefore breaking your laws to catch me.
I think even if you're going the speed limit, I don't see any need to sit in the fast lane unless you're overtaking. It probably shouldn't be a fine if you're doing the speed limit all the same, anyone trying to pass would obviously be speeding as you pointed out.
*On any unlimited speed road, stay out of the fast lane unless you can handle and do the speed required.
There are no unlimited speed roads in Australia anymore.
I was pretty surprised when we got into the NT and saw a 130 sign.
You've got your laws backwards. Speed limits have been shown to have no statistical effect on accidents. Most people will choose a speed that feels "natural" to them and stick to it. Speed limits are set lower than the median speed on the highway as a revenue generation measure.
Welcome to Australia. It's all about government revenue here (read my first quote on this post). All the open roads (very open, flat, straight and long) near where I live have recently been changed from 110 to 100 in the name of "reducing the road toll". Since that happened late last year there have been 2 fatal accidents already on one stretch.
So... why are the limits 55-65? Because that's a little slower than people feel comfortable going on the highway in the cars they feel comfortable driving, which guarantees speeding ticket revenues. They're set there arbitrarily... to generate cash. And that's why officers usually use a cushion (5-10 mph) when deciding which speeders to go after.
Repeat after me: SPEED LIMITS ARE ARBITRARY.
I repeat. The main highway for instance, between Adelaide and Pt. Wakefield down here, straight, flat dual carriageway through the plains and the limit is 110, the same as many very different roads. (There are no speed limits above 110 in this state, or any others except NT I think). Personally I think that road is safe at atleast 120, but it remains at 110 for some 2000km west to Perth and 1200 odd km north through the desert plains to the NT border. Having only visited once as soon as you cross the border the next 1800 odd km to Darwin is 130 (except a few towns of course), and that's how much more roads here should be.
I thought in the US some interstate highways have speed limits of 70+ or am I mistaken?
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Now, left lane laws. Wanna take a bet on how much revenue is generated via passing lane violations versus speeding tickets? How many states have set-up "left-lane" cameras to catch left-lane huggers?
Oh, the cameras are to catch speeders? There's more revenue that way? Whoops.
Hugging the left-lane and refusing to yield is an invitation to disaster, as I've already succinctly explained in my previous post.
Highway safety is about one thing: Staying as far the *censored* away from everyone else on the road as possible. Sitting in the left lane waiting for cars to come zooming up behind you isn't staying away from other people. It's like lying down on the floor of an ice rink on the outer perimeter, where all the faster skaters pass. Which is incredibly stupid.
Here I'm pretty sure it's illegal to sit in the right lane in speed limits over 80km/hr I think it is. But like over there there it is not policed much. They are just as worried about a blown headlight or empty windscreen washers (Yes, I have heard of a defect notice for this
). There are also some very technical laws that are occasionally enforced, such as your indicator having to blink 5 times to change lanes or something.
