Next time you are stopped at an intersection and waiting for the lights to change, you may be approached by a windscreen washer wielding a squeegee. Yet, walking into the road to wash somebody’s windscreen is an offence everywhere in Australia – except in Canberra.
Speed cameras and red light cameras are a fact of life in Australia. It’s hard to remember a time when you could go on a trip without seeing one. Currently speed and red light cameras in NSW raise around $532,000 a day from unsuspecting motorists.
Considering diesel cars have been the most affected by the global Volkswagen scandal, this particular type of fuel might not be right to buy. However, assuming other diesel cars in Australia are fine, there are many pros and cons for making the switch.
If you’ve been paying any attention to automotive news this year, you will know about the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Numerous news outlets have been reporting on the case, which involves millions of cars the world over – both diesel and petrol – and has not only caused former CEO and chair of Audi Martin Winterkorn to step down, but the company to report a loss for the first time in years.
We’ll get to the specifics of the story in a moment, and why you should pay attention, but first let’s put the whole thing into perspective.
For many Australians, car safety is one of the most important factors to research when buying a new car. With driverless vehicles taking to our local roads and questions of safety arising as a result, now is perhaps also a perfect time to consider what advanced systems are making the cars we pilot ourselves safer for the community.
This is especially crucial considering the recent news headlines made by popular Korean marque Hyundai.
As part of the ongoing mission to reduce driver distraction and make New South Wales’ streets a safer place for all road users, Transport for NSW has launched a new campaign to focus attention on the dangers of mobile phone use behind the wheel.
Earlier this month Minister for Roads Duncan Gay announced the new ‘Don’t Drive Blind, Get Your Hand Off It’ ad campaign in an October 12 media release.
“The key message we’re spreading is that if you look away from the road to read or touch your phone, even for two seconds, you’re driving blind,” said Mr Gay.
Road fatalities are a tragic occurrence for those involved, affecting drivers, passengers and their loved ones. There are a number of road safety strategies in place that aim to reduce the road toll across Australia, such as the independent ANCAP ratings to inform consumers on vehicle safety.
The Australian Government’s National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) is another such effort. Inaugurated in 2011, it aims to see a decrease of at least 30 per cent in national road fatalities by 2020.
Now the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) is weighing in with a state-by-state progress report on the NRSS, to see whether the country as a whole is on track to achieve its goals within the timeframe of the decade-long strategy.
Cars are a lot more capable than they were even a decade ago. This isn’t just referring to speed, handling and other elements of the driving experience, either. In recent years, the focus of car manufacturers around the world has been to develop a suite of safety features to better protect drivers and passengers.
Vehicle safety technology has moved past simply acting post-collision, as is the case with passive features such as airbags. Now, cars are coming equipped with sensory equipment that can detect oncoming hazards and act to prevent injury either independently or through assisting the driver.
Young drivers across New South Wales are to be the focus of ‘bstreetsmart’, a new on-road safety campaign.
Sydney’s Allphones Arena welcomed more than 22,000 NSW students hailing from 183 different schools from August 24-27 for an immersive, educational demonstration highlighting the importance of safe driving.
Safety technology in motor vehicles has evolved greatly since the first car came off the production line in 1908.
As new technology is developed we have seen the bar raised in terms of the safety standard for new cars.
This is monitored by independent auto watchdog organisations such as the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), which provides a star rating for cars based on the results of rigorous safety testing.