How the NSW RTA Manages Your Life - A Lesson in Just How Lost They Really Are

So, all those wonderful government public servants raking in big dollars and telling YOU how you should drive. How you don't have any right to earn a living holding a drivers licence.

Well, it's time you knew how these people make decisions that affect your every day life.

I refer you to the Staysafe Committee website which can be found under committees at www.parliamant.nsw.gov.au - just so happens there's an enquiry on the management of road safety and you can have a say.

I'll concentrate on one example to show you how bad things are. The NSW RTA says it uses statistics to determine black spot locations and conveniently make decisions on where to place things like speeding countermeasures. But here's a bit of info: since 1994 the RTA has blown out the lag times for studying crash statistics from a then standard 6 months, to a staggering 25 months in 1998 (oh, that would be 4+ years) and 21 months in 2002. The only reason they got the reports out for 2002 was that Staysafe asked them about it and in particular Paul Gibson asked the following of Mr Forward (Snr Road Safety entity at RTA):

Mr Gibson:
How do you know where the blackspots are if you are three (or more) years behind?

Mr Forward:
...our local people are on top of the issues in terms of accidents.

Mr Gibson:
How can you...plan to achieve the best results in road safety if your statistics are three years behind?

Mr Forward:
...We do not need the statistics to plan for the future.


Why then do these statistics seem to magically appear in a timely fashion when they want to deploy 80 more fixed speed cameras (circa 2003 when in fact their only available completed statistical report was pre-2001)?

And to make you realise just how bad things are the RTA has STOPPED making road safety statistical reports publically available. To humiliate these people and highlight just how poor this is the Staysafe Committee has had to take the reports and publish them under the Parliament Reporting system as reports of the Staysafe Committee in order to make them public.

These people are responsible for our safety. Our livelihoods. Our families and friends. Ask yourself what they have to hide.

The only things we see from these people are the crack pot punitive increases in fines and demerit points dreamed up by their closed shop and their crony allies such as Harold Scruby. Ask why The Pedestrian Council (a fancy title for a front of one single person) has more say in Road safety policy than motorists.

Please, if you are going to do something, take a day off AFF and spend that time writing a submission on what you think of Road Safety management in NSW. You can find the submission details at http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/pro...19038A#Reports - they close end of May 2005.

AP says get to it!