Posts by Russell Brown
-
Speaker: Sponsored post: Speed and Safety, in reply to Clarke,
In far too many cases, the news report of an entirely preventable crash has a description like “the car left the road and hit a power pole” … as though the car had some sort of independent agency, and the driver was a mere uninvolved spectator in the proceedings. It should say, “the driver failed to display suitable skills and drove his/her car into a power pole”.
Or … the driver was travelling too fast for the conditions, was unable to control the car and left the road. Perhaps the driver’s skill level was a factor too, or the weather or the state of the road. That seems to be the point here – that while speed in itself may be the sole cause of relatively few crashes, it’s a contributory factor in many more.
According to the MoT, speed (defined as "driving too fast for the conditions") was a contributory factor in 29% of fatal accidents from 2010-2012 and “the more serious the crash, the more likely it is that speed was a contributing factor.”
Enforcing good judgement is a somewhat more complex and fraught process, but one more likely to produce better long-term results.
Like, say, through public advisory campaigns on TV and the internet?
-
Speaker: Sponsored post: Speed and Safety, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
I always remember that monthly trip back from Warkworth with a van full of Rip It Ups (fresh of the press) and that fear of the sudden transition from being a ‘well engineered machine smoothly eating up the miles’
You know, I've never thought of the CF Bedford in quite that way ...
to a ‘hurtling mass of metal loaded with several trees worth of pulp weight going where ever momentum will take it’ – luckily I only ever had one blow out, and that was scary!
Yikes. I drove it the length of the island and never had one. I did once back into a Mercedes in Parnell ...
-
Hard News: Humour with heart, in reply to Ethan Tucker,
Looking forward to it, but rather nervous as we’re seated in the front row
We were in the front row for Jeremy Elwood. I was a little concerned we might be putting him off.
-
From a media-crit perspective, the "Mistakes" ad is very interesting. At the time of writing, it's closing in on nine million YouTube plays since January -- compared to "Ghost Chips", which was more part of the vernacular, but has managed only two million in two years. That's largely down to remarkable international attention, including being named by TED in its annual list of "10 ads worth watching".
Significantly, it doesn't dwell on carnage. There's evidence that people have begun to turn off the traditional shock PSA -- we know what's coming, it's a trope.
This one makes no attempt to get into the vernacular, but like "ghost chips", it deliberately makes room for contemplation and forward thought -- by halting time so the protagonists can reflect on their respective follies and what they are about to reap. We cut away from the actual collision the second it happens. Compare that to the notorious Welsh PSA, which is a full four minutes of horror.
-
Speaker: Sponsored post: Speed and Safety, in reply to Allan MacLachlan,
The primary responsibility is with the driver on the Give Way. The driver on the Give Way should not expect any other driver to allow for his errors at all.
Which is exactly the thinking the ad is getting at. Whoever bears "primary responsibility", there's going to be a bloody mess. Allowing for or anticipating the potential errors of others is the basis of defensive driving.
I think I've become more attuned to this as a cyclist, where it really doesn't matter if I'm in the right in an accident -- the main thing is that I'm going to be seriously injured.
-
From the Drug Fundation:
Amnesty period needed for ‘legal high’ possession
Police should hold off prosecuting people for possession of psychoactive products for the next six months, the New Zealand Drug Foundation urged today.Last night Parliament voted to amend the Psychoactive Substances Act to remove all products from sale from Thursday.
“We’re calling on the Police to press pause on their enforcement of possession of psychoactive products for the next six months,” said Drug Foundation Executive Director Ross Bell.
“One of the biggest barriers for people asking for help for themselves or others and getting into treatment is the fear of getting busted.
“A period where that barrier of fear is removed will allow people who need help to seek it.
“This would be a pragmatic and compassionate move which will assist people to access help services.”
Mr Bell said there is precedent for not prosecuting people for possession offences immediately after a product ban.
“When BZP was reclassified as a Class C drug in 2008, there was a six month grace period where police did not chase people for possession,” Mr Bell said.
“This worked well to allow people the space and time to figure out where and how to get help.
“The Government could further aide people looking for help by running a promotion campaign for the Alcohol and Drug Helpline.
“For many people looking for help the Alcohol and Drug Helpline is the first point of call. The Helpline does good work to immediately help people in crisis.”
People can call the Alcohol and Drug Helpline on 0800 787 797
ENDS
-
Hard News: The sphere of influence, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Well, surely that shouldn’t be too hard to corroborate and if it turned out Grant omitted (quite unintentionally, I’m sure) that non-trivial context he will stand up in the House and publicly retract and correct the very serious allegations he made under parliamentary privilege. Right?
Sure. Right after Judith Collins addresses the multiple contradictions between her statements in the House and the documentary evidence.
-
Hard News: The sphere of influence, in reply to Andrew C,
This doesn’t seem to be correct, at least not according to the GM of Green Valley Dairies anyway:
True, and having noted the flavourings issue first time round I should have remembered this time. But bear in mind that Oravida is Green Valley’s biggest customer – GV’s not going to drop them in it. Did the import clearance certificate that Oravida posted on social media still help its case?
But yeah, not so much a smoking gun.
Otoh, Rob Salmond’s timeline of Collins’ interventions, compiled from the OIA documents, seems utterly damning. It directly contradicts statements she made in the House yesterday.
-
Speaker: Sponsored post: Speed and Safety, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
NZ has a higher accident rate than many places with higher (and more leniently enforced) speed limits, like Germany, the US or the UK.
And rather different roads, too.
Then there is the factor that many drivers want to drive in an exuberant/stupid fashion, but know that speeding will likely get them tickets. So they engage in a bunch of substitution activity that's less likely to get them a ticket - wheel spins, dangerous overtaking, bad lane discipline, general aggression and lack of consideration for others.
So instead of speeding they do those other things (which by the way could also get them a ticket)? That seems a rather bold claim.
-
Hard News: A law gone awry, in reply to Stephen R,
Interesting discussion. I didn’t know that natural cannabis has anti-psychotic properties (that the synthetics appear to lack).
Yes. Notably in the form of cannabidiol (CBD). In Washington State, they're regulating a minimum content of CBD. In Colorado, the market is demanding it.