Opinion

Freeway mesmerisation

The road toll will always vary, of course, and even the trend will not always be consistent, but a NSW toll more than 90 over last year's with three dangerous weeks to go is not good.

The order of fatal accident causes is likely to have changed over the years, and I expect that the contribution to the toll of overtaking head-ons has decreased in proportion. Still, bad driving is dangerous driving on any day on any road, and aggressive driving is probably as dangerous and as frequent as ever.

I believe, though, that there is a new contributor to the road toll. As I write in my column in The Herald today, that is the armchair ride that is a combination of a modern car and the freeway. Finger-pressure steering, cruise control, climate-control air cond whispering, CD playing, feet splayed comfortably, the external world just a tarred ribbon disappearing under the bonnet - mesmerisation, and all in a chair as snug as any armchair at home. There's even a certain switch-off in being guided by a GPS.

I suspect the freeway or highway trance may be a contributor to accidents some time after the driver has turned off onto a rural or urban road.

You may be interested in reading an RTA analysis of the road toll over a number of years - Google RTA preliminary traffic crash data and it should be at the top.

Have you experienced the freeway mesmerisation I describe? What can be done about it?

Posted By: Jeff Corbett on 7/12/2009 4:56:00 PM | Comments (30)

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Easy solution - increase speeds. Nothing focusses attention on the road like doing 180km/h on the autobahnen or autostrada networks. Speed kills (fatigue, that is). Increase open road speeds to 130km/h where appropriate (particularly Western NSW and rural areas of other states), motorway speeds such as the F3/ Qld M1/ etc up to either 130km/h or no absolute restriction. German autobahnen are the safest roads on the planet - fewest fatalities per passenger kilometres. And don't give me any of this rubbish about that just being because Germans are all uber-drivers - there are plenty of Czechs, Poles, Turks, Italians, Ukranians, Tunisian Refugees, etc on those roads.

Posted by Scott Hillard, 8/12/2009 9:22:03 AM, on The Herald

I can still remember my father, whenever we as a family were going to Sydney, spending weeks getting car serviced (by himself, no Servos around in those days) washing outside the car, cleaning inside the car, spare tyres and fan belts with large assortment of tools and then to follow the old Pacific highway into Sydney. If you were lucky a four hour trip was the norm. No A/C apart from the 430 variety. ( 4 windows down @ 30 mph, dodging potholes, listening to bell birds south of Wyong, big drop overs around Hawksbury (cars very prone to overheat especially following trucks - no overtaking lanes in those days) Not many incidents of mesmerisation on these trips. But to go back to this era for the sake of a few who cannot concentrate - no thanks.

Posted by MizJasper, 8/12/2009 9:22:45 AM, on The Herald

As a young P-Plater, inexperience and mesmerisation nearly led to into a head on crash. I'd just driven from Newcastle to Townsville arriving after dark and was that used to pulling out and overtaking slower traffic on the highway I did so on a main road without even thinking and discovered myself on the wrong side of the road facing oncoming traffic. Scared me a bit because I did it without realising. Bloody P-Platers.

Posted by G, 8/12/2009 9:24:29 AM, on The Herald

P-Platers are rubbish drivers. I can prove it and show my working. Find a lane - stay in the ****ing lane - do not weave in and out or accelerate to get to a red light to brake heavily behind me. Yes, we all your your pee-pee size is inversely correlated to the amount of grunt in your engine when overtaking my Kia Rio. Bravo. NO ONE THINKS BIG OF YOU - P Platers ... *spit*

Posted by Jaded, 8/12/2009 9:45:46 AM, on The Herald

I agree with Scott Hillard that on our freeways and highways a higher speed limit does work. If you drive along in a stream of traffic all doing about the speed limit not only is it boring and mesmerising but the concentration level is down. However if you are a bit over the speed limit you are concentrating, looking out for the occassional Highway Patrol Car and avoiding a freight train effect of being with a group of zombyfied motorists all doing the "right" thing. Also avoid driving at Christmas time.

Posted by Pedal to the Metal, 8/12/2009 9:56:22 AM, on The Herald

Scott - I agree in theory with the autobahn approach, but I suspect our roads are not up to scratch. I suppose the F3 and M2 might be ok.....

Posted by Abundance, 8/12/2009 10:10:50 AM, on The Herald

On the higher speed limits I agree too, as long as the road is built for it. The autobahns have lanes that are at least double the width of ours, so there's room for minor driver error without sideswiping the vehicle beside you. They also slow you down (to 120km/h) when there is a bend of greater than an acceptable angle. Are our roads built for that? In some cases "yes", but in many i fear not. I do around 65000kms p.a., and a fair amount of that is on the F3 (not for much longer !!). People think about driver fatigue as being a bit tired when you're driving. It's not. It really is a completely different feeling. On the rare occasions i've had driver fatigue (and thankfully recognised it for what it is) i was amazed that even in my awareness how difficult it was to keep my eyes open. In each case i just pulled over for a 15min nap, which did the trick. It's mindsnapping how overpowering the genuine driver fatigue is. I tried everything, but just could not keep focussed. It's no wonder people get killed when they don't recognise it and take action.

Posted by Perspective, 8/12/2009 10:15:47 AM, on The Herald

To avoid the monotony of driving I like to sing interesting songs to myself: "99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer..."

Posted by Full As A Boot, 8/12/2009 10:25:03 AM, on The Herald

What's behind the impending reduction in travel, Perspective?

Posted by Abundance, 8/12/2009 10:28:52 AM, on The Herald

I have wondered if there is a connection between power steering and ending up facing on-coming traffic. It only takes a small bit of movement to alter the cars position. Inattention or a mico sleep and a slight downward movement on the steering wheel takes you to the right. The older large vehicles without the power steering needed driving. Maybe the new cars are abit too comfortable.

Posted by Buell, 8/12/2009 10:34:46 AM, on The Herald

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