Gorie,
depends on what, where, and when.
There's very strong evidence (that has arisen from pilot's training) that on some stretches of road, there should be increased speed limits. A dead straight section of road doesn't stimulate the drive enough at 100km/hr to keep their mind on the job.
There's irrefutible evidence that with divided road you eliminate head on accidents in their entirety. However, governments (in spite of the bicentenial road tax of 2 cents per litre that we are still paying) still have us "jousting" at a closing speed of 200km/hr on undivided road with heavy vehicles on major interstate routes.
A guy I know was very lucky to have a stroke on the Hume Highway between Canberra and Sydney. He didn't head on a truck or bus, and failed to bounce of any immovable roadside objects. If he was driving between Lithgow and Mudgee, he would have been history (and so would another family of people in all likelihood).
A local teacher is in jail for cresting rise, and finding a car parked in the rmiddle of the road, turning right. He swerved (unfortunately INTO the oncoming traffic). Killed people. At the inquest, a local resident produced copies of the numerous letters to the RTA requesting that the intersection be fixed. It was, but he's still got weekend detention, and lost his family. A mate of mine was Liberaced at that same spot 5 years previously.
A lot could be done with the money that we are ALREADY paying for the roads. Fuck, with the taxes they get, we could have pinball machine style bump guards along every bit of road in the country.
We are starting to come to terms with fatigue. It's a real killer. As a kid, Dad would pick us up from school Friday night, drive to Melbourne, we'd arrive at 3AM. we'd have 7 allotments with relatives (morning tea with one, lunch with another, afternoon tea with another, then dinner with another), before leaving Melbourne at 4P.M. Sunday for the drive back to Adelaide. That was bullshit, and I still have troubles convincing my Dad that he should not drive interstate after work on a Friday afternoon.
BTW, I've got a Dr. Karl "clock" shirt that I wear at holiday time.
But the road toll simply provides an excuse to raise revenue, speed cameras, radar traps etc, when every day I see at least two semi traliers plough through red lights at 80km/hr, and cars fly through pedestrian crossings with pedestrians on them (Twice, I've been the pedestrian, and the cops have been within two car lengths of the arseholes, and I've later seen the same cop cars trolling for speeding tickets on the highway).
Actually, I think I better get off the soapbox.
You're right, it's a two way street.
But as a former victorian, I visit family regularly. It continues to amaze me how the goat tracks suddenly become roads when I hit the Murray River.
