tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34249799.post365834653954977212..comments2024-03-29T16:58:01.576+13:00Comments on AmeriNZ Blog: Testing dayArthur Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10568299067544221996noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34249799.post-59208385088313081362009-03-12T02:23:00.000+13:002009-03-12T02:23:00.000+13:00I agree with you on most points, and want to impla...I agree with you on most points, and want to implant a meme in your head.<BR/><BR/>Don't think of WoF as "Warrant of Fitness"<BR/><BR/>Think of it as "World of Fail"<BR/><BR/>"My car didn't pass it's [World of Fail] test"<BR/><BR/>Heee, I'm giggling.epilonioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05532230027733099956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34249799.post-67062567179140556022009-03-10T09:13:00.000+13:002009-03-10T09:13:00.000+13:00New Zealand is a libertarian's nightmare, with a h...<I>New Zealand</I> is a libertarian's nightmare, with a huge amount of government and social "control" not only accepted or assumed by the people, but actually demanded by them. This is a much more social-centric (not necessarily socialist) country than the US is.<BR/><BR/>I've advocated mandatory driver training because none at all is required right now. Most kids are taught by their parents or other family members and end up just learning their bad habits. Graduated licencing doesn't help that.<BR/><BR/>However, when I got my licence in Illinois, driver training wasn't technically required: You just had to wait two more years before you could get your licence. But insurance companies all offered discounts to people who'd gone through an approved course, and some in NZ do, too, but not many; sometimes it's only for fleet insurance for companies. But, then, insurance isn't mandatory in NZ, either.<BR/><BR/>The WoF system has been around for a long time now, so the rattle-traps get forced off the roads and have been for a long time. Used cars imported from Japan are cheap, good and not terribly old, so there's no reason—no economic incentive—to keep old beaters when a newer, better car is available at a reasonable price (well, until the recession this was a good option…). If people want to keep their old cars there's no reason they can't—as long as they can keep them roadworthy.<BR/><BR/>As a result of all this, the death rate from accidents caused by faulty/unsafe cars has dropped pretty dramatically over the years (leading cause of death from accidents is excessive speed followed by drink-driving). The cars most likely to have mechanical problems—especially poor brakes or bald tyres—belong to young drivers who are also the least experienced at driving. The WoF system catches the mechanical problems, better driver training would hep with the problem of inexperienced drivers.Arthur Schenckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10568299067544221996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34249799.post-38122208375728102962009-03-10T02:30:00.000+13:002009-03-10T02:30:00.000+13:00So basically, it's a libertarian's nightmare.I am ...So basically, it's a libertarian's nightmare.<BR/><BR/>I am very ambivalent about such rigorous car testing. <BR/><BR/>I know lots of people who drive 'beaters' who drive them safely and know how to keep them out of traffic and know their cars very well. I know lots of people who drive new cars who shouldn't be allowed out when it's raining because they won't put the cellphone down or stop going 80 on the onramp with a hairpin. <BR/><BR/>I consider SouthEastern US interstates in snow Darwin's playground ("Oh, it's not plowed, but I have a 4Runner with all-wheel-drive, so I can drive 60 MPH....")<BR/><BR/>I dunno. I feel like it needs to be split. Check the car to make sure it's not polluting horrendously or about to drop a control-arm... and then force every new driver to complete the week-long defensive-driving/skid-pad/slip-pad course. Nothing hammers into people's heads "and you want good tires because if you are sliding sideways and the tread comes off your gonna flip over and die" like a 180 in an old Taurus. <BR/><BR/>If you want old beater-cars off the road, instate one of those "hey, we'll give you $500 for the scrap metal and free haul-away" programs. Then the people who aren't particularly attached to their old 70's rust barges will line-up and suddenly steel will be a lot cheaper.epilonioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05532230027733099956noreply@blogger.com