Category: Responsibility

Nov 22

Cyclists, oh dear.

Sorry, been out of action for a while. Tired old brain misbehaving. All better now, nothing like a firing range pistol to the head, oh sorry, that was the twins. More on that soon.

Cyclists have been in the news lately. That and over bonnets, under trucks, and a variety of other vehicles. Even into a curb after sliding down a steep hill.

Cycling is dangerous. But so is driving. Do we need yet another taxpayer funded inquest into what to do about it?

I say not. We already know what to do about it. But the government(s) don’t want to. It’ll cost money. More than an inquest that they promptly ignore.

CYCLE LANES ON ALL MAIN ROADS AND STATE HIGHWAYS.

Pretty simple really. Resolve & prevent 90% of the incidents.

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Posted in New Zealand, Politicians, Responsibility, Transport

Jul 25

‘I’m forever damaged’

I truly do feel for 29 year old Matt Manion of Foxton Beach.

A lapse of judgement left him paralysed from the waist down. His job as a mechanic most likely over, and his time spent running and jumping with his 5 year old son a distant memory.

Of course, it was not Matt’s fault.

“I shouldn’t have let him drive, but I trusted him because I’d known him so long,” Matt said.

So, Paul Thomas Guidera, also 29, who was driving that night of the accident is solely to blame. He is serving 2 years for his lapse of judgement, and paying $25,000 in fines, and will likely be living with it the rest of his life as well. Especially if all his friends are like Matt Manion.

It’s a tragedy for sure. But the question I ask is who forced Matt into the car that night? He admits he shouldn’t have let Paul drive.

Placing the blame solely on Guidera is an underlying issue with modern society. We see it every day, the dumbing down of individual choice and responsibility.

How is it someone who got into a car voluntarily, knowing his friend had been drinking, can place so much blame on one person.

Just as well there are no law suits available to him, perhaps moving to America would suit his sense of responsibility better.

I wish Matt Manion well in his road to recovery, but do wonder if the wound that will take the longest to heal will be his friendship with Paul Guidera.

The lapse of judgement was mutual, and to believe anything else will simply cause ongoing bitterness.

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Posted in People, Responsibility

Jan 05

Karuun and the shirt…

His misery lay in a pool of vomit resembling porridge and diced carrot. His shirt was covered, wet with half digested alcohol. As he stirred, it was obvious he was coherent enough to know what had happen, but perhaps he was not quite so aware of the extent of the mess he was in.

As he walked through the kitchen towards the bathroom, people looked sideways. His glazed eyes focused on nothing in particular as he moved unsteadily towards his goal. Their faces were a mixture of disgust, concern and sympathy. Most had been as bad or worse at some stage in their young lives.

His intent was obvious as he weaved unsteadily towards the bathroom, but as most males know, the bathroom at a 20 something’s party is off-limits to males. The line of young women ensuring the fence out back is the best option for the guys. His addled mind had missed that detail.

As realization dawned on him, a young woman approached him. Although the crowd parted for his reeking presence, she was finding it much harder. He had almost reached the front door when she finally caught up.

“Jack? Are you alright?” Karen said with concern.

“Karuun? Oh, shit.”

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Posted in Culture, People, Responsibility

Dec 22

Fast drivers face fast licence loss

So, the government is pushing through more restrictive driving regulations to apparently try and reduce the road toll to 300 by 2010.

Good luck.

They are increasing demerit points. Banning radar detectors, and changing to a percentage scale for traffic violations (i.e. 20km/h over in a 50km zone is far more serious than in a 100km zone).

The last part I agree with.

But in my opinion it is a complete rort.

Where are the true statistics that say speeding contributes to a higher road toll? Back in the 70s we had a far higher toll, cars were slower and there were less of them.

Here are the initiatives they should introduce:

Drunk Driving

  • 1st offence: Lose license for 12 months, $5,000-25,000 fine based on how much over the limit.
  • 2nd offence: Lose license for 60 months, car is impounded and sold. $5,000-25,000 fine.
  • 3rd offence: Permanent ban from driving. 6 – 60 months incarceration; home detention primary method.

All fines and proceeds of sale should be put into a trust fund to assist organizations like Odyssey House.

Infringements
Sorry, driving at 80km/h past a school is far more serious than a driver that has driven the same stretch of open road between work and home 1000s of times. Doesn’t make sense to say they are the same offence.

Speed cameras need to be abolished. They are pointless revenue gathering devices.

All revenue should be put into a trust fund. That fund subsidises improved driver training, including a mandatory defensive driving course and refresher courses every 10 years for all drivers.

Vehicle Crashes
True data on the incident should be collected. e.g. Age of the vehicle, experience of the driver, condition of the road. Particular focus should be conditions of the tyres, brakes and most importantly shock absorbers.

Why the last one? Because shock absorbers should be replaced every 60,000 to 80,000 km. This should be mandatory as part of WoF. Shock absorbers are probably the biggest cause of minor incidents turning into disastrous one from an anecdotal perspective.

Statistics
As I have said in various forums before, the statistics model used by the LTSA and other government units are flawed.

A raw number is simply wrong, as is the use of deaths.

We have more vehicles on the road than the 70s, they drive far more that they did in the 70s. Our road toll is sitting around the 400 compared to 700-1000 in the 70s. The actual percentage of fatal incidents is tiny compared to the 70s. And guess what, our cars go much faster, the speed limit is 20km higher!

The statistics should be focused on the number of fatal incidents (not deaths), and be measured as a weighted value based on the number of km per annum driven by the NZ vehicle fleet.

This rant has been quite long, as I believe the government is not serious about reducing the road toll.

Four things affect the road toll:

  1. correct capture of statistics
  2. addressing lack of skill of drivers
  3. recidivist drunk drivers
  4. lack of focused vehicle safety

This is one subject I truly believe the public need to better understand, instead of taking at face value the flawed approach by government.

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Posted in Law and Order, New Zealand, Responsibility, Transport

Jun 09

Incarceration

Incarceration – it is something that I have thought of many times in my nearly 38 years on this planet.

Why? Because many years ago I learnt the difference between freedom and incarceration can be a single choice at a given moment in time.

I recently heard a story from someone who had gone along to see a woman called Celia Lashlie. Obviously, because of Chinese whispers it may not be 100% accurate, but it does cover the gist of the situation.

A young man was at a bar, he was a good young man. He had excellent school marks, and a great testimonial from his school. After a few drinks, an event occurred that was to change his life forever. He overheard a bouncer removing a patron for being disruptive, and the patron was verbally abusing the bouncer, including making racial comments. The young man, of the same race as the bouncer, took offence and hit the drunk patron, who fell, hit his head, and died. The young man is now in prison for a moments foolishness and bad luck.

Now, some would say he got what he deserved. But I have been that young man many times in my life. At parties, bars and pubs. Striking out in anger or stupidity or in the defence of a friend or even simply to try an impress a girl. I have done it sober and intoxicated.

Any one of those occasions could have resulted in me being in prison had fate decided to escalate the event.

As the father of a 2 year old, my greatest fear is for him to be involved in such a silly situation, either at the receiving end or the instigator.

The greatest challenge I see ahead is providing the environment that my son can develop the good sense and self esteem to never put himself in such a situation.

On a side note, I just found a blog of a guy who is about to go into prison. Very very bizarre, but also though provoking.

The Rabbit Hole

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Posted in Law and Order, Parenthood, Responsibility