LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Sir – Recently I witnessed a lady coming out of the Alice Plaza with her lunch and she was struck down by a young lad on his pushbike on the footpath. Two ambulances attended and she now requires chiropractic sessions.
Today I had a tourist from Tully, QLD, horrified at the number of bikes and skate boards ridden on the footpaths and going down the road on the wrong side of the road.
He said don’t they take any notice of the signs, this would not happen in Queensland as they would be severely fined.
He also commented cars driving on the wrong side and parking in non valid areas such as clear lanes, disabled areas and areas specifically for designated for police. This clearly shows there is no law.
Also I spoke to a man today who went to Adelaide where petrol was $1.10, medical prescription is $20 in Alice Springs and $9.00 in Adelaide. So why would you want to live here?
The business here are just ripping people off. You cannot blame transport costs, that’s just an excuse.
Bronte Zadow
Alice Springs
Friday, December 20, 2024
The freedom of the press still furnishes that check upon government which no constitution has ever been able to provide – Chicago Tribune.
There’s law here. Just that nothing happens when / if it goes to court.
You only need to see elsewhere the sometimes abhorrent crimes committed with very little punishment.
If feel sorry for the police here, they do their job only to see the offenders get a slap on the wrist.
“Oh, I had a bad childhood,” is my excuse.
What needs to happen it people need to take responsibility for their OWN actions. Then the Judicial system needs to treat the crime seriously.
It makes me think of something stupid I did many years ago (1984).
I was speeding to excess … I wasn’t drunk or drugged or didn’t hit or nearly hit anybody, but when it went to court, I was told the punishment would have been less if I was drunk because I could claim that I was incapacitated by the drink!
So I got a heavy fine and lost my license for six months, whilst the previous offender, Tow truck Driver, 5th DUI and was caught racing another tow truck both with vehicles in tow, was granted an extraordinary license because he needed to drive to protect his income.
So Bronte, it hasn’t changed, UNFORTUNATELY.
Dear Bronte … I feel very sorry for the woman injured in the bicycle accident and hope she gets better soon.
FYI, one of the reasons I ride on the footpaths in Alice is because the concrete intrusions into the roads near pedestrian crossings and corners put there by council a couple of years ago have made cyclists in this town more prone to being hit by cars.
I understand that the local walking and cycling group has informed council of this danger but nothing has been done to remove it.
The absence of law and its increased enforcement is not the only cause or solution for all our social problems.
Sometimes simple non-punitive structural changes can also reduce everyone’s risk of accident just as ill-informed structural changes to our roads – like those concrete “improvements” which focussed on pedestrian safety without thinking about cyclists – can also cause.
This is not to suggest that the accident you saw was a direct result of this … sounds like speed might have been involved? It is however just to suggest a non-punitive approach to the problem.
Driving down the road at 40 when an Aboriginal man stepped out onto the road without looking. Two Aboriginal women tried to stop him but he just ambled out. Typical of what happens many times.
Going through a traffic light with its signal on green when a tourist started walking over the road when the crossing light said don’t walk.
Driving across the causeway near the Todd Tavern when a woman on a bicycle decided to cross the road at the T-juction with the signal. She was on the footpath and went diagonally across the road without looking. I mean the lights were green for cars turning right but it did not bother her.
Your right – there are no enforceable laws here but there are plenty of concrete obstacles on the road supposedly to help traffic control but all they do is make it harder to drive.
Bicycles on the road are forced into the traffic and it is probably the car driver that gets the blame if the bike is hit.
Also on dark nights street lighting is not good and sometimes only one side has lights but many cyclists are out on the roads without helmets and wearing dark clothes and some without lights.
They are hard to see and don’t give warning when crossing from one side of the road to the other then start crying if they get hurt.