The Road Safety Poll

prospect

Please vote for as many as you want, or list another seperately if you think of one:

1. Increased number Gardaí on the roads - Self explanatory
2. Zero Tolerance by Gardaí - Well there is no poit in paying for loads of Gardaí if they are gonna let you off cause you were ONLY 10Kms over the limit.
3. Improved roads - Resurfacing roads, clean visable road markings, clean visable signs, cats-eyes, lighting junctions
4. Better Legislation of driver training & testing centres - Self explanatory
5. Improved test - Include motorway and night time driving, more comprehensive.
6. Restrict provisional & newly licensed drivers - various restrictions including reduced speed limits, max cc of vehicle, etc.
7. More motorways & dualcarriage ways - Self explanatory
8. More, better located speed cameras - private or otherwise
9. Something else - Please specify
10. None of the above.

Vegeta

I think the top 5 are all great ideas and would give them my full support

when you consider that people are volunteering (i.e. no pay) to help the gardai out, some of them could be implemented, like more gardai on the roads. Zero tolerance while i support it can never really be achieved as cars speedos are only + or - 10% accurate, newer cars may be better. Bigger wheels make you go faster than the speedo says. I would like zero tolerance on drink drugs and other offences such as dangerous overtaking, incorrect use of roundabout etc

As a learner myself i'd like to see a more structured test, even if they thought driving in transition year in secondary schools and you were guranteed a chance to sit a test after the lessons and classes

Big Nelly

Just to follow up on other threads, I voted to restrict the Learner drivers. People can go on and on about how great Learner drivers are but we are one of the countrys where we allow someone to walk into an office, get a provisional license and then hop into a car and off down the road. Where is the sense in that?

Big Nelly

Vegeta wrote:

I think the top 5 are all great ideas and would give them my full support

You meant top 6 didnt you now? why everyone picking about he better ligislation on driver training and training centre's. Sure this was already announced this morning. That action has already been taken so no point voting for it

Vegeta

no because if there were more gardai on the roads and gardai imposed zero tolerance then I wouldn't be able to drive alone on my first provisional now would I.

Big Nelly

Vegeta wrote:

no because if there were more gardai on the roads and gardai imposed zero tolerance then I wouldn't be able to drive alone on my first provisional now would I.

Only joking man! take a chill pill.

Squirrel

Constant driver training is what's needed. I'm on a provisional myself, I drive with experienced drivers because my mam won't let me go out on my own in her car. The amount of people who seem to have forgotten how to drive is outstanding.

Interceptor

Squirrel wrote:

The amount of people who seem to have forgotten how to drive is outstanding.

I don't think they knew how in the first place. Five yearly re-tests for everyone once the current backlog is cleared and make it easier to ban dangerous drivers who consistantly pose an increased risk to themselves and others.

'cptr

prospect

Interceptor wrote:

I don't think they knew how in the first place. Five yearly re-tests for everyone once the current backlog is cleared and make it easier to ban dangerous drivers who consistantly pose an increased risk to themselves and others.

'cptr

Squirrel wrote:

Constant driver training is what's needed. I'm on a provisional myself, I drive with experienced drivers because my mam won't let me go out on my own in her car. The amount of people who seem to have forgotten how to drive is outstanding.

Both good points, and Squirrel I know exactly what you mean.
But, would a big increase in Gardai help reduce this problem, i.e. people woul dbe less likely to take risks, and also the real idiots have a greater chance of being caught and corrected?

el tel

I'd certainly support zero tolerance of driving without due care and attention, failure to signal and the use of mobile phones while driving. And a court system that can prosecute offenders effectively.

Improved roads - especially clean visable road markings would also be welcome. Take D'Olier Street onto College Street for example. That corner is the wacky races, I just close my eyes, turn the wheel and hope for the best. Everyone else seems to do it...

Juan Pablo

Vegeta wrote:

Bigger wheels make you go faster than the speedo says.

Is this true? How much of a difference would it make say for a car designed to be run on factory fitted 16" that has aftermarket 18" wheels?

mike65

The are two area to condiser - the short term and the long.

Immediatly law enforcement is the issue. Get the cops doing thier jobs to the maximum rather than being sat collecting revenue with a hairdrier or checking disks.

Then for the medium to long term, driving education is the big thing while better roads are safer roads better drivers are safer drivers and thats a lot cheaper.

Mike.

Stark

Juan Pablo wrote:

Is this true? How much of a difference would it make say for a car designed to be run on factory fitted 16" that has aftermarket 18" wheels?

Well 18" vs 16" means an 11% increase in the circumfurence of the tyres. That means you get 11% less revolutions for the same amount of road covered. ie: 11% error.

prospect

Better training & a better test seems to be the overwhelming choice.
Improved roads second.
And restricting provisional and newly licensed drivers third.

Funnily,
These seem to be 3 things the government are currently addressing.

kdevitt

Stark wrote:

Well 18" vs 16" means an 11% increase in the circumfurence of the tyres. That means you get 11% less revolutions for the same amount of road covered. ie: 11% error.

But the tyres for the larger diameter wheel will have a lower profile, hence the rolling radius of the wheel remains the same, not effecting your speedo calculation at all...

Vegeta

kdevitt wrote:

But the tyres for the larger diameter wheel will have a lower profile, hence the rolling radius of the wheel remains the same, not effecting your speedo calculation at all...

Am no, not everyone will put on lower profile tires. So if you assume that the tires are the same thickness on 16" and 18" then there is still the 11% difference

unkel

Stark wrote:

Well 18" vs 16" means an 11% increase in the circumfurence of the tyres. That means you get 11% less revolutions for the same amount of road covered. ie: 11% error.

Not if the tyres to go with 18" have a lower profile

kdevitt wrote:

But the tyres for the larger diameter wheel will have a lower profile

In most cases perhaps, but not in all cases, or not enough (or too much!) compared to the originals

kdevitt wrote:

hence the rolling radius of the wheel remains the same, not effecting your speedo calculation at all...

This is by no means always true although some car manufacturers would specify upgrade paths that leave the diameter of the complete wheel including tyre the same

Best to calculate it for yourself and if the mathematics are a bit rusty I'd recommend this tyre size calculator

Vegeta

prospect wrote:

Better training & a better test seems to be the overwhelming choice.
Improved roads second.
And restricting provisional and newly licensed drivers third.

Funnily,
These seem to be 3 things the government are currently addressing.

I think you'll find that more Gardai on the roads is higher than the restricting provisional drivers........as it should be if there are no Gardai on the roads then they cant stop people breaking any laws be it speeding, driving on a provisional alone or anything else