Cut down tree's to save lives

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

do you see the black stuff in between the tree's?..........stay on that and you'll be okay.

As long as the idiot coming towards you doesn't cross to your side and force you to take evasive action. I drive on country roads a bit and have seen some dodgy driving. On country road with no centre line idiots love cutting across to the wrong side on the bends.

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by Ben73

As long as the idiot coming towards you doesn't cross to your side and force you to take evasive action. I drive on country roads a bit and have seen some dodgy driving. On country road with no centre line idiots love cutting across to the wrong side on the bends.

planting trees in the middle of roads would fix these corner cutting idiots

[The Stylist]

Originally Posted by CoupeKing

Tragic I know. But you make it sound like the tree jumped out and attacked the car with battle-axes attached to each branch.

What happens when they start removing the trees, and someone on their phone leaves the road and pancakes the Lumberjacks?

The point I was making is that more work needs to be done with barriers and run-off areas. Having trees hard up against the road is a recipe for disaster - most new vehicles aren't crash-tested for high speed impacts (higher than the 64km/h test average) that replicate a tree or similar solid object. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has brought in the small overlap crash test, which uses a rigid pole for high-load frontal impacts - which is a step in the right direction, however it doesn't account for high open road speed (70-110km/h) impacts.

Sadly roading design needs to take into consideration some of the lowest common denominators out there - distracted, drunk and fatigued drivers. Yes it's nanny state and costly, but even small improvements can help prevent some pretty nasty scenarios where vehicles are compacted into trees.

[jpblue1000]

I would prefer my tax dollars educate the many rather than save the few...especially at the expense of trees.

JP

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by Ben73

As long as the idiot coming towards you doesn't cross to your side and force you to take evasive action. I drive on country roads a bit and have seen some dodgy driving. On country road with no centre line idiots love cutting across to the wrong side on the bends.

happening more and more on the bitumen now as well, far too many folks use the centre line as a guide for their drivers side wheel.

we can't, but somehow we must, allow for the "idiot factor" anywhere or any time.

most of my daily driving is on narrow country roads, grew up on them and now I follow them all over our fantastic land dragging our sharabang behind.......too many **** clowns and cowboy truckies on main roads.

[pottery beige]

^^^ cool stereotype o truckies bro ^^^

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

^^^ cool stereotype o truckies bro ^^^

not a stereotype "bro"........everyday experience.

Try travelling a little bit with a caravan and you will learn.

[MercurySilver]

id rather they pruned the trees that hang over the road
where i am it is terrible and everywhere
council as usual does **** all on the matter
which is weird because they usually do stuff and then up your rates again
so i dunno what the excuse is

[ILLaViTaR]

Yeah... I don't see a problem with it in places like Adelaide and Melbourne's Western suburbs. It's not like there's meant to be any green in those places anyway.

Just keep yo tree hating agenda out of the east. People like their green ;)

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

not a stereotype "bro"........everyday experience.

Try travelling a little bit with a caravan and you will learn.

is that cos youre sitting well under the speed limit nose to tail with other grey people annoying other road users that you notice these things

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

is that cos youre sitting well under the speed limit nose to tail with other grey people annoying other road users that you notice these things

ah! the voice of inexperience and ignorance.......you seem to have a great grasp for that don't you, speaking about things you know nothing about.....perhaps less bong, trolling or booze and more life experience may help.

for your information, just so you can draw on a little bit of actual knowledge in the future and not rely entirely on stupidity, I sit on the speed limit allowable for heavy vehicles which is 100 kph.

my vehicle manufacturer has designated this as my LEGALLY allowable speed limit for my tow weight.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

is that cos youre sitting well under the speed limit nose to tail with other grey people annoying other road users that you notice these things

You have no idea pottery with that comment, you can sit on the speed as mentioned by poppa smurf & you will still have some brain dead fool complaining!

[MercurySilver]

ohhhh
this could get good

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

ah! the voice of inexperience and ignorance.......you seem to have a great grasp for that don't you, speaking about things you know nothing about.....perhaps less bong, trolling or booze and more life experience may help.

for your information, just so you can draw on a little bit of actual knowledge in the future and not rely entirely on stupidity, I sit on the speed limit allowable for heavy vehicles which is 100 kph.

my vehicle manufacturer has designated this as my LEGALLY allowable speed limit for my tow weight.

I humbly apologize, towing 1200kg of viscount once or twice a year has obviously blessed you with 'king of the road status'

irony is / irony as.. little less stereotyping you may not be as offended being as much

now back to yelling at clouds

[poppa smurf]

well Mr Beige once more your total ignorance is astounding.......my van weighs in at around 3,000 kilo's loaded, I take off 4 times a year, on average a month at a time. averaging around 400 - 600 kilometres per day depending on where I have to get to. my last trip was Darwin and back in two weeks.

My driving experience over the years has been, B model and superliner Mack with low loader and gooseneck, haulpak dump trucks, wabco twin power scrapers, graders, various bulldozers, loaders and such, we did two years solid travelling around australia in a 28' motorhome, many treks over the deserts and the Kimberly and a little track called the telegraph track and the Gibb river road, (if you do a little research you may find out where they are) with 4wd Toyota traytop and camper trailer.

we downsized for a little while with a Toyota Hi_-ace camper van and did "the big one" again as well as a lot of short hauls like the great ocean road, Katoomba, Alpine road, Tasmania for six months (twice).

we are about to set off, once the cyclone season is over, to Port Douglas again.

so rather than drag a little van around a couple times a year I think i am well established as a "seasoned traveller" with more than a little knowledge on wandering this great land.

trucking has changed, there are a lot of good drivers out there, I give them a lot of respect and I feel sorry for them, deadlines, rates, charges, time schedule, when on the road I help them in every way I can.

but from every 10 good ones there will be one absolute a-sshole, who will tailgate, intimidate and overtake belligerently. these need to be weeded out.

trouble is I tend to remember the bad ones over the good ones.

I used to do 85 - 90 but I've altered the vans suspension and tyres and did a little work to the car and now I regularly sit at 100 kph.

[ILLaViTaR]

Originally Posted by trublu

You have no idea pottery with that comment, you can sit on the speed as mentioned by poppa smurf & you will still have some brain dead fool complaining!

Or even non brain-dead people if you're sitting in the right lane. That is not permissible! And probably the only thing that puts me in any real danger on the road when I'm out there. As I do not have the tolerance to wait for rude people to do the right thing and move over I usually jump in front boot to front bumper and they get the message to be polite and get out the way pretty quick.

The most outrageous and self absorbed thing I see with people hugging the overtaking lane is it's always more than one person in the car... and you see them exchanging body language with their spouse as you're abusing them to move over. They're only half focused on the road, that's the problem and they rudely slow down to compensate instead of stop talking and 100% focusing on driving their vehicle.

It's like how you back off a bit to concentrate changing your stereo. Except these rude pieces of **** do it for an entire trip in front of you with sheer disregard, their own rude social leisure at everyones expense instead of solely concentrating on the damn road like I manage to every day.

They just chatter like rude assholes holding up traffic as though it's appropriate.

What is it with rude people blocking the right lane? Do they not know of etiquette and road rules?

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

well Mr Beige once more your total ignorance is astounding.......my van weighs in at around 3,000 kilo's loaded, I take off 4 times a year, on average a month at a time. averaging around 400 - 600 kilometres per day depending on where I have to get to. my last trip was Darwin and back in two weeks.

My driving experience over the years has been, B model and superliner Mack with low loader and gooseneck, haulpak dump trucks, wabco twin power scrapers, graders, various bulldozers, loaders and such, we did two years solid travelling around australia in a 28' motorhome, many treks over the deserts and the Kimberly and a little track called the telegraph track and the Gibb river road, (if you do a little research you may find out where they are) with 4wd Toyota traytop and camper trailer.

we downsized for a little while with a Toyota Hi_-ace camper van and did "the big one" again as well as a lot of short hauls like the great ocean road, Katoomba, Alpine road, Tasmania for six months (twice).

we are about to set off, once the cyclone season is over, to Port Douglas again.

so rather than drag a little van around a couple times a year I think i am well established as a "seasoned traveller" with more than a little knowledge on wandering this great land.

trucking has changed, there are a lot of good drivers out there, I give them a lot of respect and I feel sorry for them, deadlines, rates, charges, time schedule, when on the road I help them in every way I can.

but from every 10 good ones there will be one absolute a-sshole, who will tailgate, intimidate and overtake belligerently. these need to be weeded out.

trouble is I tend to remember the bad ones over the good ones.

I used to do 85 - 90 but I've altered the vans suspension and tyres and did a little work to the car and now I regularly sit at 100 kph.

Good god I hope you don't pull that 3000kg van with your BA Fairmont...

As for caravan drivers, for every 10 I pass about 3 of them know what they are doing, the rest are either out of the depth and are inexperienced, tow with the wrong vehicle, or are just arrogant dicks...

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit

Good god I hope you don't pull that 3000kg van with your BA Fairmont...

As for caravan drivers, for every 10 I pass about 3 of them know what they are doing, the rest are either out of the depth and are inexperienced, tow with the wrong vehicle, or are just arrogant dicks...

Granted there are some arrogant dicks towing caravans but there are more arrogant dicks driving other vehicles other than cars which you cannot deny.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit

Good god I hope you don't pull that 3000kg van with your BA Fairmont...

...

2 vans, a camper trailer as well as swags and a tent somewhere......try to pull the big van with the falcon and it would give her a hernia, she's limited to 2300 KG tow capacity.....the van I use for the coon is around the 2000 KG mark loaded.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by trublu

Granted there are some arrogant dicks towing caravans but there are more arrogant dicks driving other vehicles other than cars which you cannot deny.

Sure, but as for nuisance value, caravan drivers always win, from traveling too slow on the highway, to getting in the road at road houses, most of them are useless geriatrics that should spend their retirement on cruise ships, not national highways.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by trublu

You have no idea pottery with that comment, you can sit on the speed as mentioned by poppa smurf & you will still have some brain dead fool complaining!

It goes both ways though, the amount of caravan and horse owners who pull out in front of you on highways and slowly accelerate up to the limit or won't move over when they have the chance when they're doing 20+ under, has to be seen to be believed, then they wonder why people get aggro with them.

They're not entirely innocent.

Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit

Sure, but as for nuisance value, caravan drivers always win, from traveling too slow on the highway, to getting in the road at road houses, most of them are useless geriatrics that should spend their retirement on cruise ships, not national highways.

I got stuck behind someone towing a pop top caravan in their SUV, doing between 60-80km/h on the highway going to AFF drag day at Heathcote last year.

I was behind them for 30km. Between Lancefield and Tooborac.

P.S - Cruise ship is the way to go, forget hitting the road hit the ocean.

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit

Sure, but as for nuisance value, caravan drivers always win, from traveling too slow on the highway, to getting in the road at road houses, most of them are useless geriatrics that should spend their retirement on cruise ships, not national highways.

About this much

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

2 vans, a camper trailer as well as swags and a tent somewhere......try to pull the big van with the falcon and it would give her a hernia, she's limited to 2300 KG tow capacity.....the van I use for the coon is around the 2000 KG mark loaded.

So what do you pull the 3000kg van with, considering you've been in the market for a Prado for a few months now.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

It goes both ways though, the amount of caravan and horse owners who pull out in front of you on highways and slowly accelerate up to the limit or won't move over when they have the chance when they're doing 20+ under, has to be seen to be believed, then they wonder why people get aggro with them.

They're not entirely innocent.



I got stuck behind someone towing a pop top caravan in their SUV, doing between 60-80km/h on the highway going to AFF drag day at Heathcote last year.

I was behind them for 30km. Between Lancefield and Tooborac.

P.S - Cruise ship is the way to go, forget hitting the road hit the ocean.

Hahahaha you are so funny, how many times has trucks done this also, bloody more trucks to worry about than caravans but hey I can say the same for some car drivers too.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

2 vans, a camper trailer as well as swags and a tent somewhere......try to pull the big van with the falcon and it would give her a hernia, she's limited to 2300 KG tow capacity.....the van I use for the coon is around the 2000 KG mark loaded.

You must pull up at every town to keep the fuel up to a BA if you travel at 100...

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit

You must pull up at every town to keep the fuel up to a BA if you travel at 100...

Well there aren't too many I go past thats true, but I've increased the tyre pressures and a few other things, I get roughly 250 km's to 300 km's from, probably 50 - 55 litres......I tow the 18'6" van with the BA, she weighs in at around 2,000 kilo loaded and she is full size, not pop top, so that's almost tolerable.

trip computer regularly shows 15 L per 100 km combined ( towing and not towing).....the distance is a pain in the bum but I carry a couple of jerry cans when I'm away a little bit.

I back it off to 85 kph -90 kph when I'm out away from the yahoo's, near city's, main interstate highway's (which I avoid like the plague), hilly stuff,

funnily enough it doesn't make all that much difference fuel wise, but the vehicle is happier at that speed and so is the driver, more relaxed.

the <300 KM range also gives me time for a coffee and a walk anyway, that's roughly 2 - 3 hours of driving so I'm ready to stretch a little.

I'm looking for a good 120 Prado and a new off road van (if I can find a dealership that doesn't want to trade my van for nothing) at the moment for better economy and a larger fuel tank so I can get back into the deserts again.

Hate these caravan parks.......open space for me thanks.

Bent 8, landcruiser traytop, old but reliable, not used much now, getting a bit long in the tooth, I have never towed with a four cylinder before, hence the questions about the Prado.

[Sox]

Big snip...

Originally Posted by Big Damo

They're not entirely innocent.

Who is entirely innocent?

We all do dumb things from time to time, sometimes intentionally, sometimes by mistake.
We all have brain farts.

One thing's for certain, we're not alone on the road, and we all need to be more tolerant of what and who is around us and simply deal with it in a sensible and responsible way.

Getting agro about it helps no one.

(Not singling you out, just using your quote as a good starter to what I'm getting at)...


As for the thread topic, I'm still all for getting rid of trees too close to the road, we simply don't need yet another immovable object sitting on the shoulder.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

Hate these caravan parks.......open space for me thanks.

Got that right, only bush camping for me.
We're doing a 2 month jaunt 3/4 way around the block mid year...

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

I have never towed with a four cylinder before, hence the questions about the Prado.

Bit off topic but have you considered the 5 cyl for towing, these are proving themselves quite capable & economical, I certainly recommend since owning one.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by trublu

Bit off topic but have you considered the 5 cyl for towing, these are proving themselves quite capable & economical, I certainly recommend since owning one.

What vehicle, apart from Mercedes, carry the 5 cyl?........I'm still pretty well open for a capable, reliable, economical tow vehicle, even looked at a couple of Rangers, BIL has one and he swears by it, regularly tows 22 Ft van plus a work trailer.

speaking to a couple of folks In Gambier a little while back and they swear by the Hyundai Terracan, not convinced about those Chinese things.

I'm finding it Hard to beat the Toy though.