4 ms·

My state in Australia have heavy, heavy fines, even compared to the rest of Aus. It doesn't reduce the amount of poor driving but speeding at least is unambiguo

by ehnto 6y ago

My state in Australia have heavy, heavy fines, even compared to the rest of Aus. It doesn't reduce the amount of poor driving but speeding at least is unambiguous. There is no grey area. If the speed limit is 60kmph then you will get booked for exceeding it by 5kmph, and the only reason you get that 5kmph leeway is to account for camera calibration and some grace for speedometer calibration. They would ping you at 61kmph if they could We also have demerit points, so if you get caught speeding say three times in a row you will most likely have ran out of points on your license and automatically get a 3 to 6 month license suspension. Most of this is automated, so you may find out you were suspended by getting pulled over before the letter arrives. It's all very strict.

sjwright 6y ago
In Victoria they’ll ping you for going 62 km/h in a 60 zone.
- oh_sigh 6y ago
  It's almost as if the speed limit is the speed limit!
- viraptor 6y ago
  Are you sure? I got a ticket in Victoria 2 years ago from an standalone camera and it explicitly included a few % grace. The sample image includes it too: https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/Assets/Images/refNo-mail.jpg https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/Assets/Images/refNo-mail.jpg > "The alleged speed is lower than the detected speed to allow for tolerance in detection equipment"
- ehnto 6y ago
  The fines are at least a bit more reasonable there. Do you find them reasonable or are they different for locals?
- intellirogue 6y ago
  In NZ, which generally copy-pastes VIC's traffic laws, the tolerance is only applied to automated systems like speed cameras. A cop can ticket you in-person when you're 1km/h over.
- alkonaut 6y ago
  Then they have already subtracted their margin of error, which is definitely above 2km/h. More likely they saw e.g 66km/h in a speed gun with 4km/h error, so they know you did at least 62, and can book you stating 62. But most likely you were doing 66 or even 70 then.
jazoom 6y ago
South Australia?
- ehnto 6y ago
  Yep! I got a fine for 15 over in Vic in an 80 to 60km zone transition and I was absolutely delighted by the fine. Only $230! Would have been $700ish in SA if I am not mistaken. That is ~$550 USD and 9mph over for anyone curious.
01100011 6y ago
I think that's stupid for one reason. As an engineer I often considered 10% tolerance to be sufficient. I think enforcing speed limits to anything greater than 10% is just silly. I often drift +/- more than 10% of my intended speed. It's just human nature. I pay more attention to potential dangers and obstacles, and less on whether I am within a % of the speed limit, and I really hope other drivers do as well.
- brewdad 6y ago
  This tends to be my rule of thumb. Speed Limit +10% assuming good conditions. It keeps me from being a hazard when other drivers wish to go faster while pretty closely adhering to the whole point of speed limits. 7 mph over the limit on the freeway is still pretty safe. 7 mph over on a narrow residential street can be quite dangerous. This rule of thumb means I really don't have to waste any mental energy keeping an eye out for police, since someone else is almost always going faster and I find it doesn't significantly impact my trip times since traffic and stop lights tend to cancel out most potential gains from driving any faster.
- viraptor 6y ago
  Speed limiters and cruise control are pretty common in modern cars. You can set your mental intended speed lower and won't drift as much. This is from experience of switching to a car with speed notification beeper (very low tech) - it took maybe 2 weeks to stop drifting over almost completely without paying extra attention. We ended up treating it as a game with gf - shortest time for a 300km drive with no beeps.
  - 01100011 6y ago
    You set your cruise control when driving on city streets? Sure, I use it on the freeway, but only on long drives. I've never seen anyone use it in the city.
    - viraptor 6y ago
      Adaptive CC - yes, pretty much all the time. I understand it would be super annoying to use basic CC in the city. But that's where you can set the limiter instead (they often come together with CC).
ununoctium87 6y ago
QLD?
yakshaving_jgt 6y ago
Australia is the most nanny state country that I know of. The driving rules are absolutely draconian. In fact when I was growing up there, I was baffled at how aggressive the enforcement was, while at the same time the general level of driving ability was so low. Would you like to be responsible and have a designated driver to drive your inebriated friends home safely? Nope. Not allowed. Drivers on their L or P plates are not allowed to have other people in the car at night. It's ridiculous.
- jen729w 6y ago
  Indeed — Brit-turned-Aussie here — the drivers here are absolutely atrocious. I often say that Brits can be pretty rude until they get behind the wheel, whereupon they turn in to gracious, giving angels. Australians directly mirror this: in person, they’re adorable, yet behind the wheel they’re selfish monsters. I hate driving in this country. So much so that I don’t own a car.
  - ehnto 6y ago
    Cars are truly transformative. Some of the smartest and nicest people I know are just the worst to drive with. On top of that they are just not very good at it. I have been in 4 accidents, none of them my fault.
    - jen729w 6y ago
      I hire one when I need one, but living a ten minute walk from my city centre is more transformative to me than the car would be. :-)
      - ehnto 6y ago
        Oh sorry, I meant in that they transform people's personalities. I am a low car use enthusiast as well, although I do own one it is mostly for motorsport.
  - muro 6y ago
    I had the exact opposite experience with Aussie drivers - with the exceptions of taxi drivers, who were the absolute worst, it was always easy to merge lanes, noone driving too dangerous or fast.
DarthGhandi 6y ago
> We also have demerit points > Most of this is automated, so you may find out you were suspended by getting pulled over before the letter arrives. It's all very strict. Amusingly naive, everyone with a company car isn't fussed in the slightest. You can speed all you want and it will never get pinned on a single person, accounting pays the fee and that's it. Ever wonder why tradies speed so much? Even for the rest of us demerit point sharing is rampant and commonplace, there's people on gumtree selling this as a service. It's how it is mate.

by ehnto 6y ago

sjwright 6y ago

In Victoria they’ll ping you for going 62 km/h in a 60 zone.

oh_sigh 6y ago
It's almost as if the speed limit is the speed limit!
viraptor 6y ago
Are you sure? I got a ticket in Victoria 2 years ago from an standalone camera and it explicitly included a few % grace. The sample image includes it too: https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/Assets/Images/refNo-mail.jpg https://online.fines.vic.gov.au/Assets/Images/refNo-mail.jpg > "The alleged speed is lower than the detected speed to allow for tolerance in detection equipment"
ehnto 6y ago
The fines are at least a bit more reasonable there. Do you find them reasonable or are they different for locals?
intellirogue 6y ago
In NZ, which generally copy-pastes VIC's traffic laws, the tolerance is only applied to automated systems like speed cameras. A cop can ticket you in-person when you're 1km/h over.
alkonaut 6y ago
Then they have already subtracted their margin of error, which is definitely above 2km/h. More likely they saw e.g 66km/h in a speed gun with 4km/h error, so they know you did at least 62, and can book you stating 62. But most likely you were doing 66 or even 70 then.

jazoom 6y ago

South Australia?

ehnto 6y ago
Yep! I got a fine for 15 over in Vic in an 80 to 60km zone transition and I was absolutely delighted by the fine. Only $230! Would have been $700ish in SA if I am not mistaken. That is ~$550 USD and 9mph over for anyone curious.

01100011 6y ago

I think that's stupid for one reason. As an engineer I often considered 10% tolerance to be sufficient. I think enforcing speed limits to anything greater than 10% is just silly. I often drift +/- more than 10% of my intended speed. It's just human nature. I pay more attention to potential dangers and obstacles, and less on whether I am within a % of the speed limit, and I really hope other drivers do as well.

brewdad 6y ago
This tends to be my rule of thumb. Speed Limit +10% assuming good conditions. It keeps me from being a hazard when other drivers wish to go faster while pretty closely adhering to the whole point of speed limits. 7 mph over the limit on the freeway is still pretty safe. 7 mph over on a narrow residential street can be quite dangerous. This rule of thumb means I really don't have to waste any mental energy keeping an eye out for police, since someone else is almost always going faster and I find it doesn't significantly impact my trip times since traffic and stop lights tend to cancel out most potential gains from driving any faster.
viraptor 6y ago
Speed limiters and cruise control are pretty common in modern cars. You can set your mental intended speed lower and won't drift as much. This is from experience of switching to a car with speed notification beeper (very low tech) - it took maybe 2 weeks to stop drifting over almost completely without paying extra attention. We ended up treating it as a game with gf - shortest time for a 300km drive with no beeps.
- 01100011 6y ago
  You set your cruise control when driving on city streets? Sure, I use it on the freeway, but only on long drives. I've never seen anyone use it in the city.
  - viraptor 6y ago
    Adaptive CC - yes, pretty much all the time. I understand it would be super annoying to use basic CC in the city. But that's where you can set the limiter instead (they often come together with CC).

ununoctium87 6y ago

QLD?

yakshaving_jgt 6y ago

Australia is the most nanny state country that I know of. The driving rules are absolutely draconian. In fact when I was growing up there, I was baffled at how aggressive the enforcement was, while at the same time the general level of driving ability was so low. Would you like to be responsible and have a designated driver to drive your inebriated friends home safely? Nope. Not allowed. Drivers on their L or P plates are not allowed to have other people in the car at night. It's ridiculous.

jen729w 6y ago
Indeed — Brit-turned-Aussie here — the drivers here are absolutely atrocious. I often say that Brits can be pretty rude until they get behind the wheel, whereupon they turn in to gracious, giving angels. Australians directly mirror this: in person, they’re adorable, yet behind the wheel they’re selfish monsters. I hate driving in this country. So much so that I don’t own a car.
- ehnto 6y ago
  Cars are truly transformative. Some of the smartest and nicest people I know are just the worst to drive with. On top of that they are just not very good at it. I have been in 4 accidents, none of them my fault.
  - jen729w 6y ago
    I hire one when I need one, but living a ten minute walk from my city centre is more transformative to me than the car would be. :-)
    - ehnto 6y ago
      Oh sorry, I meant in that they transform people's personalities. I am a low car use enthusiast as well, although I do own one it is mostly for motorsport.
- muro 6y ago
  I had the exact opposite experience with Aussie drivers - with the exceptions of taxi drivers, who were the absolute worst, it was always easy to merge lanes, noone driving too dangerous or fast.

DarthGhandi 6y ago

> We also have demerit points > Most of this is automated, so you may find out you were suspended by getting pulled over before the letter arrives. It's all very strict. Amusingly naive, everyone with a company car isn't fussed in the slightest. You can speed all you want and it will never get pinned on a single person, accounting pays the fee and that's it. Ever wonder why tradies speed so much? Even for the rest of us demerit point sharing is rampant and commonplace, there's people on gumtree selling this as a service. It's how it is mate.