Had to be a 6.9?!

[SELfor50]

An interesting story from today's Canberra Times:

New love makes speedy exit
Driving from Sydney to Canberra for a conference a week ago I arrived, for my first real visit in 20 years, at 1am.
I told my wife that the city looked wonderful late at night with the lights appearing through the trees in the sweep down to the city.
I have just received a speeding ticket for $133 for travelling at 69Km/h in a 60 zone on Northbourne Avenue near Antill Street.
With the relatively still unbuilt-up area, safe-speed hypnosis and only two cars seen on the whole Federal Highway, i find this excessive.
I was travelling safely in the 60s in an old Merc while checking direction signs, not car-racing, doing wheelies or burnouts, running red lights, drink driving etc.
I notice that there is a skills crisis in Canberra with the Tax and Immigration offices particularly seeking to get workers interstate.
Who would want to come to such a mean and retentive city?
I was going to bring my wife down in the spring for several days and would have spent 10 times as much as this fine.
I am not condoning speeding but we will go elsewhere.

Now he was doing 69Km/h so whadya reckon, was he driving a 6.9?? 

Secondly on this - the intersection where he claims he was done speeding is a SIGNPOSTED speed camera - if he was "checking direction signs" he bloody well should've seen the 5 signs that say "Speed Camera Ahead"!!!  Now, i do feel a little sympathy for him being the driver of an "old merc" - though that sympathy is lost upon the fact that he chose to call it an "old merc" as opposed to an "old CLASSIC merc".  There is a difference!

Finally, the fact that he was driving in different surroundings begs me to ask why he wasn't paying more attention???  When i drive in Sydney (and i've only driven in Syd City 4-5 times) I make a concerted effort to take in ALL of my surroundings so as not to fall into this trap and also increase my level of alert to avoid accidents etc.

That's all.. 

Cam.

[116Benz]

Thats alot of cash for a 9 km over fine, as much as its signposted, there could be aot of other factors. He could have been in the process of argueing with the said spouse in the car and wasnt paying attention, or some other reason, what dissapoints is the line about the shortage of workers etc etc then saying Canberra is a mean and retentive city, then having sour grapes about not wanting to come back to Canberra (it's written as if he is bitter about the fine and thinks punishing Canberra is going to help). Most people cop it sweet and deal with it...(Sydney, is actually not a bad place to drive, I dont mind driving there. And yes I appreciate their signposted "Speed Camera Ahead" alerts).
Could have been a 300D or a 280...

[crayford]

My take on it is that being in an old Merc makes you somewhat unaware of what speed you're doing. Not only are you thoroughly overjoyed to be in your outstanding piece of vehicular workmanship (particularly if there is even one car around to gloat over), but you feel so safe, it matters not one whit what speed you are going. I once drove from Sydney to Newcastle in my 114, in which the speedo had gone bung, and I was easily doing around 140kph most of the way up the highway, and it felt as though I was pootling along at 60. Silent and sturdy and straight, oh my!

[John Hubertz]

Again, (ahemm)  (speaking in his best Dr. Seuss voice) I take the Road less Travelled.

"I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees!"



Speed cameras, unmanned radars, intrusive full-coverage video in public places and cell phones have all essentially ruined the hedonistic pleasure of driving really really REALLY fast on public roads just because you had the right car and happen to know how.

(sigh)

I miss the old days, when men were men and steering columns were designed to break your breastbone instead of supporting a sissy air pillow.  A few unsolved crimes and hideous disfigurements per community seem a small price to pay for genuine privacy and free will.

[SELfor50]

Don't by any means get me wrong - i have a REALLY REALLY Heavy right foot!!!!  BUT - if a fine does eventuate from this, i will be the first to cop it on the chin and accept it!   

And yeah... i also don't realise at times exactly how fast i'm going - cause it's so easy to go well past the limit driving a 3 tonne tank down a hill.   However in the Dato - i always know exactly how fast i'm going...the rattling panels tell me!   

[oscar]

I was going to say it could've been a 350, but I didn't get caught whilst in Canberra.

I feel for the guy but I too would cop it on the chin.  Especially one can't complain how some cameras are signposted and usually planted in blackspots.  OTOH, I'm an advocate of safe speeding despite the adverts to the contrary.  There is such a thing as safe speeding and after a 400km round trip to Wagga and back today, I saw two unmarked and two highway patrol cars over the distance and all had pulled over a speeder.  What were they doing?  Who knows but all were late model cars, stock standard, probably doing 120km/hr on flat roads on straight sections that you can see for miles ahead and had clear sides with bugger all traffic.
The real factors affecting road tolls aren't being addressed IMO.