SHOW COMMON SENSE ON THE ROADS OVER EASTER

There is a long weekend coming up again and no doubt more people will die on Western Australia’s roads, and no doubt politicians will blame police and police the government.

Since I arrived in WA in 1984 I have been aware that very many drivers here are not very good and not very considerate and that far too many have no sense of awareness and anticipation. They would not last half an hour on a German Autobahn.

The problem on our roads is not with the police or government or lack of signage, but with inconsiderate motorists who drink and drive, exceed the speed limits and basically don’t care a bit about other road users. They sit in their little castles on wheels, like kings who care little about those peasants who share the roads with them and are just a nuisance that stop them driving from A to B very fast and in the most reckless way.

When did WA allow people to drive cars without knowing the road rules? When did using indicators go out of fashion and when were speed limits just something that made you go faster instead of slowing down?

I drive my car every day and have near misses at least twice a week with people who ignore road rules. They speed through roundabouts and orange and red traffic lights, they ignore stop signs and have no idea how to merge, or they do but don’t care because it is more important to get one car space ahead in the traffic jam.

On Fremantle social media people complain how unfair it is that they have received speeding fines and lament the 50kmh limit is not signed and that it is all about revenue raising. It should not have to be signed because the road rules are clear, so learn the rules or get off the road and out of your car, because not knowing the rules makes you a danger on our roads and you’ll kill other people!

I know many people who drink and drive at least once a week and who believe there is nothing wrong with it, and I witness the aggression on the road daily with people yelling and screaming in outrage with pumping fists because someone sticks to the speed limit.

In WA it is a sport to make sure one gets ahead of the car in front when lanes merge, and no one gives a XXXX about giving way to pedestrians when they round a corner with their car.

The photo-mad egotistic selfie society turns into a selfish society when people get into their car. It’s all about me and I don’t care if that endangers other motorists, cyclists, bike riders or pedestrians

Why are we in such a mad hurry, why do we need to communicate every second of the day and can’t wait to read text messages till we have reached the end of our road trip? Why do we take unacceptable risks and don’t think about the consequences. What is wrong with us?!

It’s double demerit points, so use your brain and common sense and show some consideration on the roads this Easter weekend!

Roel Loopers

FREO NEEDS TO GET REAL ABOUT ROAD SHARING

With all the hype at Fremantle Council about traffic calming, road sharing and making the city more cyclist and pedestrian friendly, it is quite remarkable that there is still no shared/naked road in the entire city, unless one counts the 50 metres of Market Street behind Gino’s as one. Riding a bicycle in the High Street Mall is a big no-no.

Professor Peter Newman, of the Curtin University of Sustainable Policy, lauded his friend Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt on ABC radio last week for having doubled twice in two years funding for cycling, but what is the City of Fremantle doing with it?

A perfect share street project would be Adelaide Street west from Queens Street and following that through into William Street to Henderson Street, but it appears nothing will happen there unless Kings Square is being developed. We are waiting in high anticipation to see if Sirona Capital will actually start the project there this year or if there will be further delays. Why a shared road can’t be implemented along the Town Hall anyway is something I don’t understand. Waiting for Godot and a Kings Square development that might not happen for a long time-if at all-is not good city planning.

The Cappuccino Strip could become another good share road if one-way traffic was introduced there and busses and trucks banned, so pedestrians, cyclists and cars could equally share that street.

If High Street west was anywhere in Europe it would be a wonderful example of shared space with cobblestones, alfresco coming out further and a narrow all share street winding through it, making a real feature out of Freo’s most gorgeous heritage street.

Spin and hoohaa and painting pictures of bikes on green parts of some roads won’t do and real action and real road sharing should become a priority in Fremantle this year, anything less will be seen as hubris.

Roel Loopers