Australia To Fight iPod Use By Pedestrians 450
Kilrah_il writes "In recent years the number of people killed on roads in New South Wales, Australia has dropped, but strangely enough, the number of pedestrians killed has risen. Some think it's because of the use of iPods and other music players making people not attentive to road dangers (the so-called 'iPod Zombie Trance'). Based on this (unproven) assumption, the Pedestrian Council has started a campaign in an effort to educate the people, but apparently it isn't enough. Now, some are pushing for the government to enact laws to help eradicate the problem. 'The government is quite happy to legislate that people can lose two demerit points for having music up too loud in their cars, but is apparently unconcerned that listening devices now appear to have become lethal pieces of entertainment,' [Harold Scruby of the Pedestrian Council of Australia] said. 'They should legislate appropriate penalties for people acting so carelessly towards their own welfare and that of others. ... Manufacturers should be made to [warn] consumers of the risks they run.'"
What the.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Who is RUNNING Australia?
I mean seriously, this is STUPID
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
It is a penal colony. You have to expect that the rules and regulations are going to be stronger.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
It is a penal colony. You have to expect that the rules and regulations are going to be stronger.
Yeah, and the USA is still a British colony that answers to the King George III.
Really, who modded this "Informative"?
Re:What the.... (Score:5, Funny)
New Zealanders
Re:What the.... (Score:5, Funny)
True, from Christchurch.
They were actually aiming for a "Funny" mod, but the mouse pointer was bouncing all over the screen.
Re:What the.... (Score:5, Funny)
They were actually aiming for a "Funny" mod, but the mouse pointer was bouncing all over the screen.
Hard to hold it steady when the sheep keeps moving.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
We voted them out,
Pfft, wars are for the insecure, we just told them to leave.
Re:What the.... (Score:5, Insightful)
I have some British ancestry. Feel free to tell me I drink too much tea, my wife's hideous, and I'm probably a repressed homosexual. Our chief Empire export was hypocrisy.
I have some Spanish ancestry. We're a bunch of sadistic bullfighters, overly macho (or balls-chopped feminist, depending on how recently you visited Spain), horribly greasy and... oh, it's too hot, the rest of the sentence can wait 'til tomorrow.
Casual racism/nationalism/whatever sometimes has elements of truth, and just as often conceals another truth or still relevant historical nugget: maybe some of your country's authoritarianism does come from its penal history? maybe USA/Puritanism similar? For both reasons, don't try too hard to oppress it. Even when the denigration (omg is that like apartheid?) has no basis, you are probably going to get by better tolerating a certain amount of teasing or engaging in proud word appropriation, as the whole world won't change for you - at least not when you're not looking. It's better if they say the same thing in good humour to your face than bitterly behind your back.
tl;dr Solve problems in the current world, not an idealised version.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
>we stopped giggling at penal because it sounds like penis.
Speak for yourself...
Re:What the.... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:What the.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Apparently in about 30 minutes, Australians will find out who's going to run their country.
Re:What the.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Yup - and guess what? It'll be a politician.
Where are my mod points when I need them?
Too many people miss the obvious point that no matter what you vote for the top jobs always go to people schooled in lying.
Re:What the.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Who is RUNNING Australia?
I mean seriously, this is STUPID
What retard is WRITING these headlines? Some doucher from some independent organisation comes out with the idea that pedestrians should be penalised for ipod use and somehow this is representative of Australia and/or the Australian government?
harsh penalties (Score:3, Funny)
particularly when death is the penalty . darwin would be proud .
Re:What the.... (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:What the.... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:What the.... (Score:5, Insightful)
And therefore one of the most powerful and influential people in a modern democracy.
Re:What the.... (Score:4, Informative)
thanks for that information. Its a whole lot easier a pill to swallow that one elected nutjob is making outlandish remarks rather than having to swallow the entire country is bonkers and more than one elected nutjob has come up with this idea.
Who said he was elected? He's just a well-connected lobbyist who has a disproportionate influence on government policy, he's not and never has been (AFAIK) elected to any public office.
The organisation he runs is probably the closest thing to being extremists on road-safety that you can get. They don't just campaign against the usual (and quite real) problems on the roads - drunk driving, speeding, unlicenced drivers etc. They're against everything:
-They're against tow bars because pedestrians walking behind a car with a tow bar can hit their shins on them (open your bloody eyes and don't walk so close to the car!)
-they're against the expansion of cycle paths and cycling in general because they believe it hostile to pedestrians
- they're against segways (they might be wanky but there's nothing really dangerous about them)
- they want to put completely unreasonable restrictions on young drivers such as not allowing them to take passengers at night (great way to increase the numbers of drunk drivers when everyone needs to drive themselves).
what is with the Aussies (Score:3, Insightful)
Darn - Australia has gone to goodie two shoes fascists. Seems like all the news coming from there is about less freedom.
Re:what is with the Aussies (Score:5, Funny)
Darn - Australia has gone to goodie two shoes fascists. Seems like all the news coming from there is about less freedom.
They are either following America's example, or they are showing America how to do it right.
The reason why (Score:5, Informative)
It's largely because all the news is bullshit.
Australia does not have an internet filter.
Nothing is happening in regards to this story
Somebody making a noise about something, even if that person is a politician in government, is not the same as them actually doing something.
Re:The reason why (Score:5, Insightful)
It's largely because all the news is bullshit. Australia does not have an internet filter. Nothing is happening in regards to this story Somebody making a noise about something, even if that person is a politician in government, is not the same as them actually doing something.
The fact that Australia has politicians who are even willing to test the waters by floating such ideas says a lot by itself. It's how they wet their finger to feel which way the wind is blowing. If the idea shows support they run with it. If not, they distance themselves from it and the impression they leave is the one you express there.
Re:The reason why (Score:5, Informative)
Far be it for me to defend politicians, but this little bit of "policy" as you'd like to call it has come from a not-for-profit group that pretty much amounts to a "Club for Pedestrians".
To wit: [walk.com.au]
Re:The reason why (Score:4, Insightful)
Far be it for me to defend politicians, but this little bit of "policy" as you'd like to call it has come from a not-for-profit group that pretty much amounts to a "Club for Pedestrians".
To wit: [walk.com.au]
Sounds a lot like the Women's Christian Temperence Union. So perhaps I jumped the gun a bit; the politicians are the ones who follow shortly after.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Reading further it seems to be one guy with an agenda and too much free time!
Re:The reason why (Score:5, Insightful)
Go read aggregated local news anywhere in the US. Make sure you pay attention to actions by school boards.
The world has no lack of abject morons, sanctimonious hypocrites, lawsuit-happy soccer moms, and pointy-haired bosses. And it's nothing new.
Re: (Score:2)
We need 2 points of informative and 3 of insightful stat!
And as someone who has spent upward of 10 years walking to work either reading a book or listening with headphones, I can say that yes, doing either is dangerous unless you use common sense and your other senses. Of course doing both at once is suicidal.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Wait what? (Score:3, Informative)
Despit the above rant, the greens have the balance of power in the senate and would block any filter.
The NBN will be run by a private company NOT the government.
The poster also has no idea about how the NBN will owrk, it is wholesale and backbone only-any services sold will be by private ISP, all of whom will be able to acess the NBN at the same price.
All in all there was not a correct single fact in the whole post!
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They know the tech works and will just wait to re introduce it under a left or right gov.
It was tested, great interest was shown and much political capitol spent on it.
I expect ID for ISP use to move in, IP tracking to a home address without court order might gain traction too.
Re:what is with the Aussies (Score:4, Insightful)
Everything that's wrong about nanny state in one sentence.
Re:what is with the Aussies (Score:5, Insightful)
They should legislate appropriate penalties for people acting so carelessly towards their own welfare
Everything that's wrong about nanny state in one sentence.
Ever bought a cigarette or alcohol?
You've paid "appropriate penalties for people acting so carelessly towards their own welfare" in the form of taxes.
Ever see a home that's so run down it gets condemned?
That's "appropriate penalties for people acting so carelessly towards their own welfare."
I could go on and on, but I hope you get the point.
Society has many laws designed specifically to 'nanny' people for either their individual or the public good.
Re:what is with the Aussies (Score:4, Interesting)
They should legislate appropriate penalties for people acting so carelessly towards their own welfare
Everything that's wrong about nanny state in one sentence.
Why do some people feel the need to interfere with natural selection?
1) Because they have fevered egos that really get off on finding ways to control people that they don't feel guilty about ("it's for their own good!"). It gives them an excuse to pat themselves on the back and celebrate their own good intentions, further exaggerating their own self-importance and rationalizing their exercise of power. It also lets them portray you as a bad guy if you oppose them, at which point they gain an opportunity to climb up on their high horse and further exaggerate their own self-importance in a different way. Prohibition in the USA was started and (with substances other than alcohol) continues because of people like this.
2) Because they are selfish bastards who have no illusions whatsoever about what they are doing and simply find it to be profitable. If this idea eventually becomes law, then the fines and fees from any citations issued will have to be collected. It certainly wouldn't be the first time state revenues were raised for the supposed purpose of protecting someone or another. Speeding violations generate lots of ticket revenues in the name of safety despite most accidents not being caused by speeding and that's because of people like this.
Most of the people like this have tunnel vision to begin with. For them, there's no worries about natural selection because most of them won't be around anyway to see what happens when another generation or three grows up accepting this as a norm. These are not people who want to take a hard look at the damage they do except in the most minimal way possible and only when it directly affects them.
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Speeding violations generate lots of ticket revenues in the name of safety despite most accidents not being caused by speeding and that's because of people like this.
Whenever the police minister pulls out the 'the fact is speed cameras save lives', it really begs for the [citation needed] because it sounds like absolute bullshit to me.
Re:what is with the Aussies (Score:5, Insightful)
No, it hasn't.
Slashdot constantly keeps reporting about every little stupid idea that any Australian politician, local council member, random uninfluential lobby group or guy off the street comes up with. And reports it as if it were a) a done deal; or b) imminent and unavoidable. See also: mandatory Internet filter (Slashdot ~seems~ to think we have one, or that one is coming Real Soon Now. It's not. The proposal is essentially dead and buried).
Some random person's ideas/proposals for new 'facist' laws does not mean those laws exist, or will ever exist.
Most Slashdot headlines about countries outside the US are poorly researched, inflammatory, and in many cases, completely wrong. (This is probably also true about many headlines concerning the US too!)
Selection (Score:4, Funny)
As long as they're eradicated before they breed I see no reason to interfere in this natural and culturally benevolent phenomenon.
Re:Selection (Score:5, Funny)
As long as they're eradicated before they breed I see no reason to interfere in this natural and culturally benevolent phenomenon.
The downside is all the perfectly good cars that might get damaged. I guess failing to account for that is why you were marked "Troll".
Re: (Score:2)
The downside is all the perfectly good cars that might get damaged. I guess failing to account for that is why you were marked "Troll".
I doubt it. It's probably his "my shit don't stink" mentality. It's easy to imagine he has, or will, at some point in his life, have an avoidable close call.
Put another way: There is not a statistic out there that says nobody who knows how to configure a web-server has ever been hit by a car.
Re:Selection (Score:4, Insightful)
Why can't he believe that stupidity has a price even if he has done something stupid? Is there no room in your worldview for someone to have a belief and recognize that it applies to themselves as much as it applies to anyone else?
You automatically assume blatant hypocrisy before anything like this occurs to you. I wonder if you appreciate what that means.
Web servers have nothing to do with it, which must be why you're the first to mention them. There's only one kind of contrast here whether it comes from observing the world around you or having your own personal near-miss. One person thinks this is a product of chance or luck if they think about it at all. They are the higher-risk category. Another takes a look at the behaviors and decisions made that contributed to the event and made it more likely than necessary. They are the lower-risk category. This is straight observation. There is no claim of perfection in any of it.
Back to the topic, this means that ever since some pedestrians have gotten killed this way, anyone who didn' t already know can learn, from their example, that paying attention is important when interacting with traffic.
Now, you mentioned a "my shit don't stink" mentality. I'm reluctant to say it but you produced a bit of shit there yourself. It smells like someone who cannot understand a viewpoint that isn't his own, not because he has found a serious flaw in it, but because he doesn't like it. So you argue against an imaginary claim to personal perfection that no one was making. Does anyone see how that works? It's usually unintentional but unfortunately it's a common pattern in discussions everywhere.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Sufficient robustness to retain sexual appeal after being hit by a fast moving vehicle is a definite positive selection trait...
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Duhh... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Duhh... (Score:5, Funny)
Reminds me of the best warning label I think I’ve ever seen:
Caution: Any activity involving motion or height involves the possibility of accidental injury.
It then went on to say something more, but I stopped reading there. Really, that’s classic. They should put that label on EVERYTHING. By law!
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Caution: Any activity involving motion or height involves the possibility of accidental injury.
Caution: sign has sharp edges [noarail.com]
What about cell phones? (Score:5, Interesting)
Just last week, a kid nearly killed himself on my car while texting on the phone and riding a bike going from the parking lot of a strip mall across a main street, with his free hand on the front brake lever.
It was a 45mph zone and most cars zip through at 55mph at that point and it's not a place to expect pedestrians (nor was there a light). Luckily, I saw him and screech to a stop 10 feet in front of him, but he looked up and was so surprised and hit his own brake so hard that he flipped forward and took a total spill.
He was cut up pretty good, could have been much worse, but hopefully his self-inflicted wounds cured him of his dumbassery. He looked 15 too, hope he remembers that lesson when he gets into a car.
Re:What about cell phones? (Score:5, Interesting)
Funny you say that. That happened to me the other day while driving a loaded van. The kid was around the same age, maybe as young as 13 and just blindly rode his bike across the road. I had the light and he did not. Although I probably had more time to stop then you. I leaned on the horn and the stupid kid just looks up and then back to his phone blissfully pedaling away.
I can easily see how all this electronic noise can be a danger. When I first bought my new multimedia phone (before smart phones) I tried walking to work with headphones on. After the first trip, I just couldn't do it again. I felt so cut off and not being able to hear my surroundings actually scared me. Save the headphones for the bus, train or killing time.
Re: (Score:2)
I usually mute the sound when crossing, even at a light; there are plenty of idiots who jump the gun when turning. But annoyingly on some headphones the volume doesn't go completely down to zero and there's no way to check before buying.
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You've done your part and the guy is alive, but not all drivers pay attention like you do, they expect pedestrians to behave like their counterparts from Carmageddon, and make way regardless. I know lots of drivers get pissed off when you pass on green and don't walk fast enough, or almost squish you on the crossing and scream their heads off that it's your fault.
That makes me re-appreciate the joys of not living in a densely populated area.
|Walkman has been around since the 80s (Score:5, Insightful)
Having music devices around isn't the problem. Stupid overprotective mollycoddling laws are the problem. What you're probably seeing is the result of lowering the speed limit to 40km/hr around school zones while cutting back on educating kids about the danger of cars. The number of kids who should be old enough - in late highschool - to behave at least somewhat sensibly and look both ways, but instead blindly walk out in front of oncoming traffic because they know they won't be blamed if they or someone else is hurt is mind boggling. It is now way too RARE to see kids actually look both ways crossing a road.
This is just a prime example of how badly the Australian political system has gone off the rails. In Australia we're happy to throw away freedoms left right and center, and if anyone else is doing well or having fun, we like to put a stop to it. It's sad, because I've lived here all my life and while there was always an element of Tall Poppy Syndrome [wikipedia.org] here it has gotten WAY out of hand. This country use to be a lovely place. In polite company manners counted. Now if you catch an (overcrowded hellish) Sydney train you're lucky not to get shoved out of the way or sworn at.
We don't need new laws. We need enforcement of the existing laws. There is already a law in NSW against pedestrians walking out in front of a car. My cousin while 12 was almost charged because he blindly stumbled out from behind a bus and was hit. I'm in 2 minds about this. On the one hand at least the driver wasn't penalised when he could have done nothing to prevent the accident. On the other, do you really think it is a good idea to charge the victim of an accident, who may have been mamed by it? Or penalise the parent who now has to look after a sick child? Is that really what a stretched police force should be out doing? And these are already existing laws. Do we really need more of the same? The "Pedestrian Council of Australia" needs to have it's head read. I can just see it now "Were you wearing headphones when you were hit ma'am?" "Ah yes but I..." "No buts ma'am. I'm afraid we're going to have to place you under arrest".
IDIOTS.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
The Walkman wasn't/isn't nearly as interactive as the iPod/iPhone. Much more random access storage and the ability to check e-mail and SMS and worse yet respond to such things is what trip people up.
Re:|Walkman has been around since the 80s (Score:4, Insightful)
The Walkman wasn't/isn't nearly as interactive as the iPod/iPhone. Much more random access storage and the ability to check e-mail and SMS and worse yet respond to such things is what trip people up.
Mobile phones have been around for some time too. So have books and newspapers. Do I need to mention billboards? They have definitely cost lives, especially where they are of scantily clad women. What about daydreaming? Perhaps we should legislate against that too? Anythign to avoid having to educate people to watch where they are going.
Re:|Walkman has been around since the 80s (Score:4, Interesting)
I have a nephew who, with his group of emo friends, walks out in front of cars intentionally and laughs when they have to swerve and veer off-course.
Of course, there is going to be a driver that isn't paying attention and one of those little emos are going to get hit. Whether or not they get the blame won't be the point. The point will be if they'll ever get to walk again and whether the guy is really covered insurance-wise. The minimum coverage a ton of people have in this country isn't going to cover shit when it comes to an extensive hospital stay, nevermind if you're crippled for life. And many people don't have enough assets to sue for. All those kids would likely end up doing it drive their own parents to the poor house or extended legal battles.
It's shit like this that makes me want to put multipe cameras on my car just in case I do have an accident.
Re:|Walkman has been around since the 80s (Score:5, Insightful)
In an ideal world you'd be referring to the parents of the little bastards who actually walk out in front of cars on purpose. In the event that something happened, the driver should be able to successfully sue them for damage to his/her vehicle, any medical bills (for any occupants of the car), and emotional harm from having to find the best way to remove blood and brains from clear coat. They so clearly failed their duty as parents to instill any degree of sense into their children that they should be liable for all such damages.
And don't give me that "how can anyone sue grieving parents" crap. The time to care about them is when they're still alive and can be taught better than that. It shouldn't take a smaller-than-standard coffin to make them wake up and realize that the TV wasn't such a great babysitter. Really, I'm tired of shitty parenting and the society of broken, whimpering, dependent, passive, shallow, childish, impatient people it's been producing.
Some of you bleeding-heart types may think that's inflammatory. I'm not going to make you feel better. I'm going to tell you to get over it because it's the fuckin' truth. All I'm saying is this: if your kids think that deliberately walking out into traffic and scaring the hell out of drivers or maybe making them have an accident is great fun, while risking their own lives to do it, then yeah you've failed as a parent. That's exactly the sort of stupidity and bad decision-making you're supposed to have equipped them to identify. Really the whole immediate-self-preservation thing is one of the more obvious ones.
Re:|Walkman has been around since the 80s (Score:5, Insightful)
In an ideal world you'd be referring to the parents of the little bastards who actually walk out in front of cars on purpose.
As I teacher, I've seen more than my fair share of siblings where the one is a goody-two-shoes straight-A student, and the other was the classic problem child who didn't care about failing as they were too busy learning to light fires, etc etc etc.
Would you praise the parents for the one child while condemning them for the other? They were raised in the same environment, came from the same set of genes.
Parents can have an influence on how a child turns out, but they do not have the last say.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
No, in the US.
It varies state by state, but for example, I looked it up and Florida's minimum injury protection is like 10k. Bodily injury limits to other people paid by insurance are the same limits as the insurance coverage. And property damage for an entire accident can be 10K as well. IIRC, that's for an ENTIRE accident, not per person injured or each car destroyed, etc.
Being underinsured or uninsured, both medically and with car insurance, is a major problem in the USA.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
You know what would be great? Allowing kids to use their cellphones during gym. More specifically, dodgeball. Just amend the rules that as long as they use the phone, they can't go out and remain a viable target.
I don't think it would take very long to catch on but then I'd be one of the ones more interested in throwing the balls.
Harold Scruby (Score:5, Informative)
That was not whacky at all. (Score:5, Insightful)
The best thing we ever did in .au was get rid of most semi automatic guns.
It seems only the US has the bizarro love of the gun.
I have lived here for 40 years and have not even once felt the need to own a gun, and have never even seen one in the hands of a private citizen on the streets. As they are extremely rare, only the worst criminals carry them, and usually only use them on other criminals-shootings involving innocents are virtually unknown. Possesion is treated very seriously.
To quote Yes Minister.
"We are not entirely convinced having loads of armed people on the streets make anyone safer".
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The best thing we ever did in .au was get rid of most semi automatic guns.
Yep, legislation induced by blind, irrational panic is always a good thing. I mean, sure, you're restricting the rights of all citizens for no reason whatsoever, but it just feels so good, doesn't it?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You're begging the question. To you it's "blind, irrational panic [...with...] no reason whatsoever."
Other people look at, for example, the fact that the US has more gun deaths (per 100,000 people, so let's please not bother with the standard "ZOMG BIG COUNTRY!" claims) than any other nation in the world with available data[1], including Mexico where roving gangs of drug lords meet out vigilante justice on anybody they please. We have more than five times more gun deaths (per 100k) than our cousins in A
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I never quoted ANY statistics, nice try at a strawman though-FAIL.
Fact is no matter how you disemble, having more guns around makes a place more dangerous-only an overcompensating fool would claim otherwise.
You then go in even more silly territory by mentioning irrational fears. Is there some part of I have never needed to own a gun because in my society guns are extremely rare do you not undestand?
I have no irrational fear of guns in fact when I was younger I did some range shooting
when extemely bored duri
Re:That was not whacky at all. (Score:5, Insightful)
As long as we're quoting....
I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand. - Susan B Anthony
If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun. - Dalai Lama
A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity. - Sigmund Freud, General Introduction to Psychoanalysis
Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest. - Mohandas K. Gandhi
An armed society is a polite society. - Robert Heinlein
The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let's not have any native militia or native police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order throughout the occupied Russian territories, and a system of military strong-points must be evolved to cover the entire occupied country. - Adolf Hitler, dinner talk on April 11, 1942
He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. - Jesus, Luke 22:36
I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them. - George Mason, during Virginias Convention to Ratify the Constitution (1788)
Gun bans dont disarm criminals, gun bans attract them. - Walter Mondale
The right to life means nothing without the right to possess the means to protect and defend ones own life. - James Mullen
That rifle on the wall of the labourers cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It our job to see that it stays there. - George Orwell
We don't let them have ideas. Why would we let them have guns? - Joseph Stalin
All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. The communist party must command all the guns, that way, no guns can ever be used to command the party. - Mao Tze-Tung, Problems of War and Strategy, Nov 6 1938
It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks. It is legal and lawful to own a shotgun or a rifle. We believe in obeying the law. - Malcolm X, March 12, 1964
Really? (Score:2)
Here I was thinking it was all the bad drivers from Victoria moving up to NSW and Queensland. All this time it was the hordes of iPod Zombie Pedestrians.
demerits? (Score:4, Funny)
'The government is quite happy to legislate that people can lose two demerit points for having music .........
Demerits? Sounds rather childish. But at least you lose 2 demerits, which sounds much better to me than being given 2 demerits.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Translate that to the American "Points on your license" phrase. Doesn't sound so childish now.
Re: (Score:2)
"Hey man, I got more points on my license! I'm ahead of you!"
- American Teen
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Re: (Score:2)
They have a point (Score:5, Insightful)
If you ride a bike on a shared footpath in Victoria you are required to warn pedestrians before you approach them. You can do this with a bell or a verbal warning. But the vast majority of pedestrians wear earphones.
So whats the point requiring a warning if it is not going to be heard? The only problem I have with the proposed changes is that it won't be applied to the drivers of vehicles too. Headphones and telephone use should be outlawed entirely.
As a bike rider I don't want distracted pedestrians stepping into my path. Thats as dangerous for me as it is for them.
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If it's a safety issue, they should mandate
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
If you do not mind shelling out then this will wake them up Air Zound [airzound.co.uk] :-)
Re: (Score:2)
If you ride a bike on a shared footpath in Victoria you are required to warn pedestrians before you approach them. You can do this with a bell or a verbal warning. But the vast majority of pedestrians wear earphones.
So whats the point requiring a warning if it is not going to be heard? The only problem I have with the proposed changes is that it won't be applied to the drivers of vehicles too. Headphones and telephone use should be outlawed entirely.
As a bike rider I don't want distracted pedestrians stepping into my path. Thats as dangerous for me as it is for them.
As a pedestrian in Victoria I am miffed that bike riders typically use the pathways.
I'd support a law which stopped this.
You want to be single issue and intolerant about my iPod usage, then I want bicyclists back on the road where they belong.
Else ... get a damn grip.
Most of the money for shared footpaths comes from funding for bicycle commuting. I agree that it is misplaced there. Cycling on shared footpaths is dangerous for bicycle riders.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Clearly, the problem here is the bicycles. They are a nuisance to society and garner nothing but contempt from the rest of the civilized world. I would support legislation that outlawed bicycle riding on public streets. For first time offenders, they must install one of those nine foot orange flags things on the back of their bike. Second offense, their bike will be impounded and can only be retrieved from the impound lot, which sits at the bottom of a very steep hill. Third offense, the bike is confiscated
Re:They have a point (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually roads are designed for a range of different vehicles, travelling at different speeds and with different requirements. Some people drive tractors, others drive sports cars and some people drive bicycles. On my commute I travel at the same speed as other vehicles on the road more often than not.
The biggest failure of bicycle riders, in my view, is the failure to consider themselves a normal part of the traffic flow [wikipedia.org].
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Six months ago I gave up cycle commuting because I had medical problems. I am back commuting now. At the time I decided to keep fit by riding around a local velodrome at night. It got boring cycling in circles in the dark so I bought a cheap MP3 player and head phones. I tried it out a couple of times but the sensory deprivation got to me. I would imagine movement near me and stop the music to listen for a while. It was actually quite dangerous so I gave up on the music player idea.
Harold Scruby is a known nut-job (Score:5, Funny)
first result I got was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanker [wikipedia.org] !!!
iWalking (Score:5, Funny)
Electric Cars will make it worse (Score:4, Funny)
Electric cars emit much less noise. I think we will need to have a protocol whereby iPods can sense potential collisions and warn the listeners. Cars are getting anti-collision devices and software anyway in the coming years, they shoud expand the protocolls to iPods too. :).
Hmm - maybe I should patent that idea
Re:Electric Cars will make it worse (Score:5, Insightful)
Shit man, if we're not careful people may even have to start paying attention when dealing with potentially dangerous situations. That'd be a real bummer, as it would waste a little precious time that could be spent on texting, music, and games. Thank God people have their priorities straight!
It's also a great thing that laws could be made to sort this out. That would work like a charm, of course. It's only natural that people don't care if poor decision-making gets them killed, but they'll wise up really quick when it might get them fined.
There's no cure for stupidity (Score:4, Informative)
[This Darwin award candidate] was struck and killed by a southbound Caltrain while crossing the tracks [...] Witnesses said at the time [he] rode his skateboard around a lowered crossing arm and was listening to headphones when he was hit [mercurynews.com].
The maths of death (Score:2)
Vs the low donation rate
"Mr. Burns: I love children, particularly their young supple organs" (from FABF03 Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays)
Think of all the productive people who will miss out. With safe cars for young drivers, this ipod bounce is good news for some.
So much for personal responsibility... (Score:3, Interesting)
If you are watching TV or texting or screwing your girlfriend while you're driving, you risk hurting yourself AND innocent other people who are following the rules.
If you are listening to your ipod while you run across a street, you risk [mostly] hurting just yourself. I always thought it was my responsibility to look both ways and pay attention to what I'm doing. But I guess I need laws to remind me of that. This way, after I get hit by a car, I could get a ticket to boot. Sweet.
Will deaf people get punished too? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
How about people who are deaf like me? Will we get written up for walking around in a dangerous fashion and relying only upon our eyes to stay alive on the streets?
Where I live it is accepted that deaf people can be educated to help them work around their inability to hear, while people who choose to be deaf by listening to loud music are impossible to get through to.
My mother worked for her whole career teaching children with disabilities, BTW. He first job, before I was born, was teaching ballet to deaf girls.
While on bicycle... (Score:2)
For some reason, my earbud set came with only one earbud; annoying though this may be, as a side effect, it leaves the other ear open to hear normal environmental noise a bit better.
Screw Godwin! (Score:2)
If you're so completely retarded that you get yourself killed because you were listening to music/focussed on facebooking your ipod/updating your PING in iTunes - then SERIOUSLY YOU DESERVE TO DIE, the gene pool is better off without you.
Re:Screw Godwin! (Score:4, Insightful)
LAWS do not stop people doing things (see drugs, illegal, the continued use of).
LAWS just allow POLICE to arrest you, and LIFE INSURANCE people to reject your payout.
Let people be free (Score:2, Informative)
I saw the aftermath of what triggered this media coverage on Saturday night and it was not pretty, a 26 year old woman was jogging on Parramatta Road on the outskirts of the CBD with her headphones in her ears. An ambulance which had its sirens on was passing threough an intersection and she didnt notice it coming...she died at the scene despite the fact that she got instant attention from the occupants of the ambulance. For all the usual sardonic banter here on slashdot about natural selection et al it is
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Holy fuck how do you not notice an ambulance?!
Never mind how loud the music would have to be to drown out the siren but ffs, it was at night and she didn't notice the flashing lights? Was she blind and had severely impaired hearing?
And yeah, it is sad to die in such a preventable way and it's sad that the only words I can think of in response is "How do you fuck that up?"
If you can't hear, you look. You look left, you look right, and you look left again. You watch for headlights coming up ahead and from
Cause of Death: Sony Walkman (Score:5, Interesting)
Back in the late 90's it was Sony Walkmans -- Pretty much the same problems, except that the units were much bigger (just the batteries were bigger than an ipod nano), and a casette tape only held about 2 hours of music (non-random access.. although you could fast-forward at much peril to your batteries).
At the time a friend of my roommate volunteered for North Shore Search and Rescue, and a friend of his was a medical examiner who hated Walkman and like devices. He saw all too many fatal accidents, where the cause of the accident was a walkman preventing the victim from hearing the warning noises (horn, grinding machinery, evacuation siren and/or the desperate yells of onlookers, etc), but the official cause of death was always something else (smacked by a car, crushed by machinery, head ripped, suffocated, etc.).
Thus it was that the Sony Walkman was always the bridesmaid of death, but never on the certificate.
Then one day, a girl was hit by a train while walking on the train tracks, listening to a Walkman.
The interesting thing is that she wasn't actually run over by the train. She was bounced off the track by the 'cow catcher' on the front of the train doing it's job. The real problem was that she was wearing the Walkman on her belt around the back .. just over the spleen (a very normal place to wear a walkman, since they were a bit too large to fit in most pockets). As a result, when she was hit by the train, instead of the force of the impact being relatively evenly distributed over her body by the cow-catcher, a good bit of it was concentrated into the Walkman and directed into her internal organs. Much like is claimed to have recently happened to a girl in Crete [bbc.co.uk].
Although she seemed to (more or less) walk away from the accident, she soon collapsed and died from her internal injuries.
Since the Walkman was a major contributing cause of the accident, and effectively delivered the killing blow, the examiner was finally able to put on a death certificate:
in other news fun is deadly (Score:4, Funny)
in other news, the association of seeing danger everywhere (famous for pushing legislation against children running) has found that last year, about 45% of all deaths occurred while people had fun and therefore concluded all fun should be banned. "it's just too lethal", a spokesperson said, adding that 63% of all lethal accidents happened outdoors, while 36% occured within walls. Efforts by the organization now focus on determining what the fuck happened to the missing 1%, so finally action can be taken to remove the deadly housing from peoples lives.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Yeah I ride a bike to work and when I stop at traffic lights I have a nice high POV to look into the interior of cars. I see a lot of drivers fiddling with phones, playing games, etc.
Re: (Score:2)
Ummm... the law would apply to Zune drones and Android phone-Pandora-streamning-zelots as well.
Even if there are fewer of them.... (ducks)
Re:FACE IT! APPLE USERS ARE GAY TO START!! (Score:2)
Can you be eligible for a Darwin award if you're the kind of person who wouldn't breed anyway?
Re:Laws from Myths (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually, this has come about because a woman stepped out in front of a speeding ambulance - siren on, lights blaring - just last Friday.
No law has been passed as yet, but the NSW government is concerned the 25% increase in pedestrian fatalities this year is a bad trend, and is moving to be appear to be doing something.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
It would help if they didn't drive on the wrong side of the road here... (recent immigrant)
The bottom? (Northern hemisphere resident)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Please be aware that the pedestrian council is not a council at all. Its a Commercial Business owned (and ceo'd) by Harold Scruby. They have been sprouting anti car and anti driver bullshit for years. There is no real reason to listen to this mob, and Im unsure why anyone does.
I hear you, but its status as a corporation makes it even more likely to have some political clout.
Besides, dumb ideas like this need to be called out. Look at all the similar nanny-state laws on the books in many different countries. Mr. Scruby is definitely not the only person who adheres to this philosophy. The problem with people like him is that they don't recognize when they are trying to implement a fundamentally flawed idea. When it fails for any reason, they just assume they aren't trying ha
Every Aussie you know is a city dweller (Score:3, Interesting)
Is this what has become of the once proud Australians who live and thrive in the land of the Outback?
Just about anybody you talk to or hear about from Australia is from one of 5 very small cities. Very, very few people actually come from the outback that people like to romaticise about. None of the city folk have any idea about country life and I shit you not have seen Aussies (the city ones) go absolutely berserk when they see an insect.
When I moved to the city I couldn't believe the attitudes exhibited by the city dwellers. The general assumption is that those not from the city are redneck, dumb and i