Careless / distracted driving to cop big penalties in WA?

[Timeonabike]

Just heard something on the radio about new road safety laws including jail time for fatalities caused by distracted driving to be debated in WA...

I hope we get something good out of this - something practical, fair, just and without enormous loopholes.

Cheers,

Time

[Timeonabike]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-20/c ... ws/6407262" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[biker jk]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-20/c ... ws/6407262

Moron lawyer opposes it of course because she will find it harder to get moron motorists off doing appropriate gaol time.

[Thoglette]

Moron lawyer

has a mailbox and needs to be reminded of the people who died because "SMIDSY" this year

See also
Distracted Drivers that Kill Proposed New Law WA

[CXCommuter]

But, but how will they prove it since they cannot agree on safe overtaking distances of cyclists, even with video evidence

[NASHIE]

Laws, Laws, laws......they just need to get tougher on the distractions. Ban mobil phones in cars, and any other screen device, other than the speedo etc. Just so many drivers with satnav, phones, popup stereo screens etc etc. So sad to see were we heading with all this gadget crap. Give it a few months and they will all have their wrists in front of their faces trying to text on their watches

[Mediocratus]

The lawyer in the ABC article says that she could be switching off her radio and look up and bang she has hit another car. That is why she shouldn't have been looking down. She should have been looking where she was going. Most people are perfectly capable of switching on and off their car radios without taking their eyes off the road because they know where the on off button is and can press it without looking down at it.

New cars fitted with touch screen devices are accidents waiting to happen. How can you operate a touch screen without looking at it? The touch screen needs to be disabled while the car is in gear and only operable when in Neutral or Park.

[wellington_street]

New cars fitted with touch screen devices are accidents waiting to happen. How can you operate a touch screen without looking at it? The touch screen needs to be disabled while the car is in gear and only operable when in Neutral or Park.

+ 1,000,000!!!!!!
I drive a lot of different cars and absolutely hate the new cars with touch screen controls for the radio, air con etc. Who thought it would be safe to move from buttons you can know by touch to a screen you need to look at sometimes press the buttons several times due to hand/eye coordination issues with touch screens. Madness. Plenty of crashes waiting to happen.

[roller]

New cars fitted with touch screen devices are accidents waiting to happen. How can you operate a touch screen without looking at it? The touch screen needs to be disabled while the car is in gear and only operable when in Neutral or Park.

It's a new feature introduced by the motor vehicle industry to assist motorists in crashing, more crashes lead to more write-offs, lead to more demand for new cars, with more features.

[CycleSnail]

Our letter to Lisa Harvey:

" People riding bicycles are weary of distracted drivers, and supportive of measures to educate them.

Jailing them might be effective, but not easy to legislate and implement.

Currently when somebody has accumulated enough demerit points, their licence is suspended. We suggest that it should be taken away, and the driver would need to get a new licence with all the same conditions than any other novice driver, including supervised driving and zero alcohol. This would enable targeted education for dangerous drivers, something not provided by jail.

In addition having to display “P” plates might be a good reminder on why the licence was lost in the first place.

Thanks for tackling the thorny issue of careless driving."

[NASHIE]

HMM ........I just got a 4 demerit $200 fine (Easter double demerit points) for doing 91kph in a 80kph zone at Livesey crossing. For those that don't know livesey crossing is a rail crossing about 200km East on Great Eastern Hwy. Basically they want you to slow to 80 from 110 for the rail crossing, hence a very good revenue raising spot. Anyway will cop it sweet, but my point is 2 more times doing same i could be a suspended driver. There are levels of distraction and careless and to lump all drivers in the same basket is wrong. Unfortunately a large number of drivers that are suspended don't care and continue driving and no amount of education will help.

[wellington_street]

^ Another great example of how terribly targeted road safety enforcement is.