Two new measures announced in the NSW Budget 2023/24 today
Around 720,000 motorists will share in $561 million over two years to cap road tolls to $60 a week.
Drivers spending more than that can claim back the extra via a quarterly refund from Service NSW, starting on January 1, 2024.
According to the government, the scheme was originally expected to benefit 51,000 motorists when it was announced before the March election.
The government has cut the stamp duty exemption and the $3,000 rebate for electric vehicle purchases, to take effect from January 1.
Electric vehicle uptake will be given a boost with $260 million for extra charging capacity in commuter car parks, apartment buildings and other places where people who donāt have access to home charging.
My car (Mazda6) must have one of THE most inaccurate sat nav systems EVER.
To get from Horsham to Albury, it wanted me to drive to Melbourne and then take the Ring Road and then the Humeā¦ā¦
Not a chance, Google Maps suggested via Bendigo instead, so I took that route, a whole 100 kms shorter. I could still go 100 km/h on all the roads on that route too so it would have been quicker as well.
Yeah the satnavs are essentially useless as soon as they are setup because roads change and close and exist now compared with how it was when it was programmed.
True, but because the Mazda MZD system doesnāt have dedicated radio controls, it makes changing radio stations a real pain if you are using Google or Apple Maps.
Why though? I used to say this but it was basically just so I didnāt have to agree with my brother lol. The truth is that Google maps and Waz are now the logical choices as they have so much better functionality and they are updated basically every day. Funny story I bought a Sat nav many years ago thinking it was the greatest thing ever. At the time I thought 6 months map updates were great but not so much now.
Yeah I just find it way easier. No need to have the phone paired or have mobile coverage. Itās just an easier interface with voice control and the screen display is way better than Google maps. Also the next move (i.e. turn left in 2km on whatever street) also comes up on the dashboard between the speedo and tacho, in addition to the centre screen. Great zoom in/out and easier to control the radio etc. while still getting the sat nav screen and directions. The screen display even automatically splits into different displays at freeway exits and major intersections to guide you as to which lanes are turning etc. E.g. if 2 lanes are exiting the freeway rather than just 1 then it shows you that.
Iāll use the Mazda navigation system if Iām ever anywhere where thereās poor mobile phone coverage.it works properly, I have tried it out,also the directions show up on the heads up display,itās easier to see on there,turn left in one kilometre,etc ,as well as the spoken directions
To be honest, i only really use my sat nav as a trip computer when driving longer distances eg. so that I can see how much further I have to go, it helps me to manage fatigue, work out when to take a stop etc.
On the audio system I have, the radio presets can be accessed while using Carplay. You can āswipeā then up from the bottom of the screen and scroll through them.
One other advantage of Google or Maps is that they have updated emergency info. On one occasion we were surprised at the directions given by Google when it turned out that there was flooding blocking one of the more direct routes.
Yes there are definitely downsides to using in built sat nav mapsā¦ they donāt all get TA announcements from the FM radio text feed and of course the maps can be out of date.
E-Scooters (most of the newer ones) have a top speed of 25 km/h, so 30km/h would be on par with one of them. Law wise (at least in QLD), it is restricted to 15km/h, and in NSW privately-owned ones are banned from use on public roads/pathways.
I think their true intention is to artificially encourage using other methods of transportation rather than a car, and masking it behind ākeep kids safe in school zonesā. Just my two cents.
A blanket 30km/h wouldnāt make sense - but lots of drivers take the attitude that they must drive the speed limit whenever they can, not driving to conditions. Thereās plenty of places in the inner city and dense suburbs where even 40 feels way too quick, and at time of the day with high pedestrian and especially kids, reducing those make sense.
The school zones would do better to be studied individually. Thereās some where you could just remove them, or have limited hours of the day, and others which need lower limits.
