Driven to despair (The Age / David Morley)
From the article: “There’s an old saying that there are two things you can’t tell an Australian bloke. One, that he’s no good in bed; and two, that he can’t drive well. While we’ll draw the line at any assessment of prowess in the boudoir, we’ve some bad news on the latter front.
Australian men (and women; let’s not be sexist) in general, and Victorians in particular, are some of the world’s worst drivers. Unskilled, uncharitable and just plain uninterested, they adopt a standard of driving that falls well short of the mark.
[..]
According to the survey, one in five drivers believed that aggression made them better drivers. Forty-five per cent admitted to making illegal U-turns and right-hand turns when they thought it was safe to do so.”
I’ve only been driving in Melbourne for a few years and I’m amazed at the lack of regard for the road rules that most drivers display. It seems to be impossible to make even a short trip without witnessing drivers:
* Tailgating.
* Speeding.
* Changing lanes without signalling.
* Failing to stop at stop signs.
The motivation for the above seems to be to get from point A to point B quicker, even at the expense of other road users safety. While speeding is regularly targeted by the police I have rarely seen any of the other road rules being enforced. Perhaps if they were people would think twice before choosing to drive like a maniac.