People never cease to amaze: Roads, crashes and the whole darn mess

Call me insensitive. Call me biased. Call me mean. But call me a realist.

On Thursday 25 March 2010, those of us living in Melbourne may very well remember the somewhat horrific crash at St. Kilda junction between a motorbike an a motor car. A terrifying scene on all accounts and one that I happened to be driving past - on my way to the Grand Prix - enough to see the damage that people, regardless of their intentions or capabilities are able to cause.

In a way, this thought is a follow-on from my previous post on the Melbourne Easternat riot and has forced me to make the conclusion that people, I think at time, underestimate their - as I mentioned before - capabilities.

My rough understanding of the incident is that a man in his 50s (name omitted) was involved in a  fatal collision with a car and its driver (names omitted). The details, I will leave you to analyse yourselves.

As unfortunate as these accidents are, and as often as they seem to happen, regardless of Victoria and Australia's increasingly tightening road and traffic safety laws, they still conjure two or three main thoughts in my mind: 1) how unfortunate - both for the victim and their families and friends, and 2) how stupid - on account of all parties involved, and 3) why? or how?



As I said, call me insensitive, but it strikes me as somewhat incredible that people are able to - whether it be through a total lack of concentration, an over-dose of cockiness or an ever-present sense of 'I'm better on the road than you'-ness - still manage these types of accidents that nearly shut a whole portion of one of the busiest areas of the outer Melbourne suburbs.

Being a frequent road user of relative infancy, I have admittedly had my own fair share of accidents, run-ins and dings, but that doesn't take away the fact I am forever vigilant, forever wary and forever aware of what every other 'responsible driver' on the road is doing around me.

Not that I'm a psychologist, or have any qualification to make such a judgement, but I think common understanding would be that speed, combined with loud music and a fast or 'sexy' car gives people, both young and old, male and female the allusion of superiority and excellent driving finesse that allows them to use the road in ways that are irresponsible - and thus, result in what I came close to witnessing last Thursday.

I recently returned from a three week trip to central India (a phenomenal country and culture, but that's for another day). I managed the whole three weeks with - and keeping in mind how those people drive over there. Wow! - witnessing only one accident that involved a person stepping-out in front of a car, which resulted in a fractured arm. In comparison, nothing to what we seem to manage frequently in Melbourne.

If in three weeks of cruising around one of the biggest central cities in one of the biggest nations both in geography and population in the world, I managed to only witness one accident, how is it that we in this country manage so many? It begs an answer that no one politician, driver, pedestrian or general road user can seem to address.

I do wonder what's goes on, sometimes.