For whom the road tolls (probably an ongoing series…)

The road toll has always been a strange feature on the news landscape. Everyone likes to weigh in on the problems with driving on the roads, claiming that Government inaction is the leading cause for most fatalities, with the other thing being “revenue raising”, as though that is some kind of justified argument. Of course, such stories always give the reader the sense that because they are still alive, that they are the beacon of enlightenment and should therefore be listened to.

Recently there was a horrific crash down south of my home town. A young woman was killed and another driver seriously injured.

The original story of the crash is here, and it allowed the below comments.

First cab of the rank is this one.

Funnily enough, “Revenue Raising” has only been raised twice in this particular comments section. I’m guessing that speed hasn’t been revealed as a factor behind this horrible event. Or Hoons. The veil mentioned must refer to the following Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure document, titled “South Australian Road Safety Strategy 2003-2010.

In there, key strategies involve:

• Construction, upgrading and maintenance of our road systems to improve road conditions
• Legislation, education and enforcement to improve road user behaviour
• Improvements in vehicle design to aid drivers and protect occupants

The fact that the strategy outlines “legislation, education and enforcement” as a key point makes me argue that there’s a veil at all about hitting people’s hip pockets. However, when it’s coupled with the other points, the argument that it’s solely about getting money does seem a bit flimsy. Because this story outlines that two crashes happened at this spot only screams coincidence.

I would liken road maintenance in this state to trying to plug holes in a sinking ship with your fingers. Fix one spot, and you can be sure something bad will happen in another.

The housing boom has indeed increased development, and therefore traffic, to this part of the city. I don’t dispute that. However, I would argue that nothing has been done about the roads. The overtaking lanes, for one, being a major help when it comes to encouraging traffic flows. I understand that this accident occurred near one of these lanes, however I’m not going to jump to outrageous conclusions as a result of a single piece of evidence.

Post hoc, ergo propter hoc, anyone?

Um, they had? Link to story? Anything to back it up? I don’t believe any details have been released on the driver’s blood-alcohol level. I guess this is one that the moderators of AdelaideNow need to answer, seeing as their Terms and Conditions outline that they won’t publish anything that is blatantly false…

The fact is, no one can make any assertions on this crash until more is known. Such questions are, how fast was each car travelling, and how much alcohol was in the Celica driver’s system? Until this is answered, then nothing should be said.