It’s such a circuitous route to get into the City/Eastern Suburbs/North Sydney via the M8 that this isn’t that much of a surprise, the second harbour tunnel will provide some relief when it finally opens.
The M5 cashback has probably had some impact there too (although the new scheme is fairer)
The Eastern Distrbutor is still the best option to get to the city/north from the eastern end of the M5 imo.
I see your point with the new section opening soon. But living in the area, we have been heavily impacted by tolls introduced on the M5 between the Airport and Beverly Hills which was supposedly to fund the M8 which runs alongside that section.
That’s the last thing we need though. The M5 is often choked with traffic which impacts the Eastern Distributor and Qantas Drive around the airporst. Lets hope the M8 takes more of the load off the M5.
Driving the hybrid Corolla
today I really had to really watch my speed at it does accelerate quicker than my Mazda,hope I didn’t get caught by a speed camera.
Drove past my old family home,and did some shopping.
I don’t need Google maps here in Townsville because I know all the main roads and I don’t get lost
Monash Fwy closed after 5pm today following a motorcycle (reportedly seen earlier elsewhere in the city at high speed) heading outbound which has hit the centre concrete barrier, flipped into the inbound carriageway, struck vehicles, one of which burst into flames. All are okay, except the motorcyclist, treated by paramedics at the scene and transported to hospital.
Freeway is closed inbound, diversions at Heatherton Rd. Outbound 2 lanes are closed. Inbound delays at Belgrave Hallam Rd, also queuing the entire South Gippsland Freeway from Pound Rd, outbound at Ferntree Gully Rd.
https://x.com/9NewsMelb/status/1829067664565662105?t=1yIdEwSThrjIsAu9h6wW0w&s=19
https://x.com/VicTraffic/status/1829055878529482999?t=7xf5yqI0jkyueGJIOHwL1w&s=19
I went for a drive out to Charters Towers today,about 130 km South West from Townsville. I remember going on high school camps out this way (on someone’s property usually)in the 1970s. Us girls had to put up our tents .In the middle of winter it would be very cold at night,that was when we would go camping.
The road isn’t too bad(Flinders Highway )only 1 lane each way and there was some huge road trains and B Doubles travelling that way
As authorities continue to grapple with the skyrocketing rate of deaths on our roads, experts are again repeating their pleas to [lower the default speed limit, which remains in some jurisdictions a dizzying 110 kilometres per hour — among the highest default limits across the globe.
Earlier this year it was revealed 2023 was our deadliest year on the road in a decade. In some places, such as the Northern Territory, fatalities behind the wheel rose by a whopping 170 per cent in 12 months. In the Territory, and in Western Australia, the default speed — where there are no signs enforcing a limit — is 110 km/h. Everywhere else in the country the default limit is capped at 100km/h.
These rates are among the highest default speed limits in the world — and that’s something WA Centre for Road Safety Research director Teresa Senserrick hopes will soon change. Speaking to Yahoo News, the West Aussie says she’d like to see that figure drop in WA first and foremost, but thinks the rest of the country could benefit from reduced limits too.
Senserrick said since the 1970s, much has changed across the country, including technological advancements in cars and a huge increase in our population. “So it is really about adapting to changes over time, and saying that these speeds are no longer viable on the roads if we want to prioritise people’s lives and wellbeing,” she said.
Senserrick said WA and the NT must first fall in line with other jurisdictions in Australia, then we should be looking collectively at how to reduce the default speeds further. “Tasmania has been lowering some of their highways down to 90, and others actually down to 80,” she said. "
To apparently say nothing about the safety advancements of cars over the same 50-year period?
The Australian approach to road safety has become tediously asinine. Lowering speed limits and increasing fines is not a comprehensive solution. Until there is a serious commitment to upgrading road infrastructure and alignments, as well as a legitimate conversation about upskilling and retesting licensed drivers, nothing substantial is going to change.
A big factor in road speed is what speeds the road was engineered/designed for.
You can’t suddenly say that cars can now do 110 on a road designed for 90 just because the cars are safter now.
Better roads would help!
And one reason why there are more deaths is because there are more cars on the road too.
Rather than report on raw numbers, the death toll would be more meaningful for comparative purposes as a % of population or cars registered.
Yes, raw numbers are pointless without the context of vastly increased traffic numbers.
The final stage of Sydney Gateway was officially opened yesterday, before vehicles began to use the road this morning.
Livestock trucks will be able to travel through Melbourne’s two CityLink tunnels in a 12-month trial from early next year.
The move will take up to 600 heavy vehicles off City Rd, Southbank, every week.
The trial has been brokered by the state government, the freight industry, the city council and toll road operator Transurban in response to safety and hygiene concerns on local streets.
It also follows the horrific accident in late July when a dairy cattle truck slammed into a South Yarra bridge, resulting in the deaths of almost two dozen cows.
Livestock trucks have been banned from the tunnels because of the risk of hitting low-clearance infrastructure but recent improvements has increased the clearance.
UPDATE 4/9: official government announcement
I’m curious about how do you charge a hybrid vehicle? The Toyota Corolla I hired last week I couldn’t see where you would hook it up to a vehicle charging station
There’s no charging required for a “normal” hybrid like the Corolla. The electric motor is charged by the braking and the main internal combustion motor.
Some varieties called Plug In Hybrids have a separate charging for the electric motor, but not the Corolla’s we have. The Plug In Hybrids can usually run entirely on the electric motor for short trips (eg up to 50km or so), but the Corolla hybrid just uses the electric motor to assist with takeoff from standstill.
It had EV on its number plate as required by the QLD Government even though it’s not a plug in hybrid
The EV means it has batteries to power the car in some capacify.
Yeah they’re pretty loose with those EV number plates.
It is the latest automaker to pull back on electrification targets, as high tariffs, shifting demand to hybrids, and scant charging infrastructure prove challenging for the EV market.