Road safety data shows pedestrian deaths have increased by almost 50 per cent since 2021

Comments

• Taleya@aussie.zone ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Christ aand they’re on the E-bikes again.

  It’s not fucking Ebikes and scooters killing 44 people.

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• Longmactoppedup@aussie.zone ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I’m sure someone will be along to argue that correlation is not causation on this, but I’ll be surprised if it’s not mostly due to the average vehicle’s front height now being above the average persons chest.

  The other day on my bike ride in to the Perth CBD I encountered 3 separate pairs of motorcycle police with radar guns on the PSP (PSP= principal shared path, a completely separated bike / pedestrian path with no car traffic for those abroad). Presumably they were on the lookout for people on e-scooters exceeding 25km/h, which if caught get fine and their scooter confiscated permanently with no recourse.

  Meanwhile in the middle of the CBD where there are lots of pedestrians we have vehicles running red lights, failing to give way to pedestrians when turning at intersections, ballbags in a jacked up 4WDs complete with 5 post bullbars and all of the emissions controls removed running around with complete impunity.

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• Salvo@aussie.zone ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  After COVID-19 lockdowns, Drivers have become more self-righteous and militant. People have also purchased 4WDs so we can get away from all the other self-righteous and militant arseholes on the road.

  At the same time, their cars have received “Advanced Driver Assistance Systems” that are a gimmick at best and a false security blanket at worse.

  Finally, due to our quirky Tax benefits and ANCAP ratings system, a 3495kg Light Truck has a cheaper TCO and better safety rating than a 700kg subcompact hatch or 1100kg compact 4WD.

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  • Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    And don’t forget everyone seems to be on their phone while driving now.

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• Ilandar@lemmy.today ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Bloody cyclists at it again!

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• shirro@aussie.zone ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  As usual follow the money. The automotive lobby keeps killing people to make profits. They control the flow of information and public policy. People die for profits. That is all there is to it. If we wanted to cut pedestrian deaths all it takes is for people to shake off the influence and care about their families and community instead of swallow the mindless shit fed to them by paid influencers and media and then hold politicians accountable.

  To many huge trucks on the road and I don’t just mean the taxpayer subsidized yank tanks. Hugely profitable private logistics companies got public rail defunded over decades to the point it is unusable. Can’t walk to schools or shops without having to cross unsignalled intersections crossed by huge road trains all day and night. Successive governments have pushed heavy vehicle traffic onto B roads through small town centers and roads never designed for it and off the major highways with their bypasses and safety upgrades. All because they are too cheap to fund the necessary infrastructure upgrades at a small number of choke points. One day a double tanker of dangerous chemicals isn’t going to make a turn with the shops on one side and kindy and childcare on the other. It will make the headlines for a couple of days and then it will be back to heads in the sand.

  This country has some excellent institutions and people but fundamentally the media and politics is controlled by a small corrupt elite regardless of which party governs.

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  • indomara@lemmy.world ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Absolutely this. I live in Brisbane, where Gympie Rd is also the major North/South highway. In order to drive from Gold Coast to Sunshine Coast, you end up taking Gympie Rd or pay to take the detour across the toll bridge to the East.

    If you want to go from the city to the Northern Suburbs you pay the toll or take Gympie Rd. (Some suburbs have no choice of a toll road and simply must take Gympie.)

    This road was never designed to be a major highway. It has schools on it, it has houses that face it. People die because this one road takes all the traffic.

    On a smaller scale, take the large roundabout near my house at the intersection of Webster Rd and Hamilton Rd in Chermside. Just 350m West of that roundabout is Craigslea Primary School, and just past that, the high school.

    The cachement for these schools extends East across that roundabout into the neighbourhood on the East side of Webster Rd. Every morning and afternoon on schooldays I see children lining up to try to cross the roundabout during rush hour.

    This roundabout is right in front of a major hospital and right next to the fire and ambulance stations. It is very unsafe, and there is no safe way for children to cross. Lots of parents drive their kids, or the kids will take longer routes home to walk to a street with a crossing light.

    Here is a snapshot of a kid crossing the roundabout on google maps: maps.app.goo.gl/5AW57JS8KDgvS4RS6

    Gympie Rd magically turns from a highway into a proper freeway just 4.5km North of that roundabout, no on ramps or off ramps, you just cross the final light at Beams Rd and you are on a freeway North to Sunshine Coast.

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