Drivers still don't get it!
My wife and I spent last weekend in Newcastle doing the granny thing for our kids, and while driving home I made an interesting observation, one that I felt warranted one of my comments in OC Life.
We'd all be aware of the high number of road deaths that have been reported on local roads over the last 12 months or so. It may just be me, but it feels to me like that number may be higher than what we're used to hearing about.
We're also aware of the constant reminders we are given about speeding, driver fatigue, drink driving and everything else every holiday period, and to be totally honest, I sometimes get sick of hearing the same messages over and over again. That's why our drive back from Newcastle last weekend was so revealing. It really made me think, and in doing so, I started to appreciate those repetitive road safety messages a lot more. Fact is, despite everything we hear, see and know about road safety, it seems that the great majority of drivers still don't get it. Let me explain.
I've been driving a long time and have an excellent driving record, probably the result of not being stupid when driving, being a patient and responsible driver and having a good measure of luck somewhere in the mix. Being lucky may seem a strange thing to say but I make no bones about it, there have been accidents that I've passed over the last 55 years where I've often wondered "if I'd been in this place a few seconds sooner, could that be me?" I'm sure other drivers can relate to that.
Driving between Wallsend near Newcastle and Orange last Sunday, I took a lot of care to drive to the speed limit. My wife was with me and just having her in the car is like having a traffic cop, speed camera and GPS system all keeping an eye on you at the same time.
The result was I sat right on the speed limit on all the highway and freeway sections. On the Hunter Expressway I sat on 110ks where appropriate and on the Golden Highway and road through Ulan, Gulgong etc. I sat on the limit of 100ks where it was safe and responsible to do so. I tell the truth when I say I do not recall passing one car while travelling on the expressway or on the open highway.
In the meantime, any number of cars passed me! By any number of cars, I mean one after another, cars came up behind me from who knows where and without exception, all seemed hellbent on passing me, even though I was travelling at the speed limit and using cruise control. Even a cement truck was lining up to pass but before he got the opportunity, we turned off to Gulgong and he kept going straight ahead to Mudgee.
The startling point I want to make is that although I drove that entire distance safely and on the speed limit, a great number of drivers, let's say around 40 for the sake of a number, still felt the need to overtake me. If this was official research, the experts would have a field day with headlines something like "40 out of 41 drivers speed or drive too fast!"
Not sure about you, but I think that's something for us all to think about, especially with the Christmas holidays coming up soon. It certainly made me think.