Last month, I took the family on a driving holiday to Mount Gambier, in SA, via the NSW South Coast and Victoria. Within a week of returning home, I received two infringement notices for "speeding" while travelling through Victoria. The first was for doing 68 in a 60 zone on the Great Ocean Road (I'm sorry but with a view like that, I admit that I was not watching the road signs and speedo as diligently as possible but it was still a long way from hooning) and the second was for doing 106 in a 100 zone (this was just inside the Victorian border after the 110 zones of SA).This is in stark contrast to last year's holiday in Phuket where even the buses were travelling at 110 in 60 zones in heavy traffic. When we first arrived and were picked up at the airport to be shuttled 50 km to the hotel in Karon, we nearly shit ourselves as the driver hurtled through the streets. I not only left finger imprints in the upholstery from gripping so hard, I also left arse cheek imprints. The thing is, the entire time we were there, we never saw an accident. Everyone knew what to expect of other drivers as they all drove the same way. Drivers would frequently sound their horns, not in anger but to say, "...Just in case you haven't noticed, I'm over here".I think that over here, we have become so brow beaten by a heavy handed government into believing their claptrap about "There is no such thing as safe speeding" and become so regimented in our fashion of driving, that we have become less aware of what is happening around us. We know what is expected of us and so we expect the same of the drivers around us and as a result, we are less responsive. We have all become drones, worker bees in a structured society rather than individuals.It has actually been shown that street machiners are usually better and more alert drivers than your average commuter motorist. I find the statement, "There's no such thing as safe speeding", as being spurious as the simple act of driving an automobile has inherent hazards at any speed. Further, these rules are enforced by Police officers who show little regard for the road rules themselves. Police officers are just people. They have been given authority over us but they are not superior to us even though many of them (if not all) seem to believe that they are.I can't be the only one who has been aware of how our Governments, especially Liberal Governments, strive to make Australia a financial power in the world economy, making policy to benefit big business at the expense of the workers. They tell us that anything that benefits big business, benefits the country but all I see in the expanse between the rich and the poor becoming ever wider.A wise and sensitive sage once said, words to the effect, that you should never trust anyone who wants to be a politician or a policeman. The desire to become one should automatically disqualify them from ever being one. I think his name was Billy or Willy or something. Anyway, while I definitely agree with this, where does it leave us? How do we achieve benevolent leadership and break the yoke of oppression???(Just in case this subject matter is not sexual enough in nature for some to feel like commenting, please note the tag line.)
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