I've started to create Practical Driving Test videos and audio guides. Practical Driving Tests start at a VicRoads customer service centre, so I thought I'd provide a map of the VicRoads' customer service centres.
You can find the VicRoads Near Me map at https://www.Mapz.com.au/vicroadsnearme.
I hope you find the map useful.
Kelvin Eldridge
VicRoads Near Me
Two changes today.
Today I was able to find the speed camera located on the Great Northern Highway, Bullsbrook, WA. The location of the camera has now been added to the map. This camera's location has eluded me for some time and was the last camera in WA where the location wasn't known.
NSW have issued a press release for a new red light speed camera in Bankstown NSW at the intersection of Rickard Road and Lady Cutler Avenue. As per new cameras I don't know which part of the intersection is located or the direction of the camera so the middle of the intersection is used until additional information on the location is found.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.SpeedCameraLocations.com.au
The freeRadio web app was created as part of an evolving process. I create videos for YouTube which are driving videos, however I don't include sound, just the visual component. Why? Generally because of privacy of others in the car.
I also don't add music to the videos for a couple of reasons. If I add music before uploading YouTube often marks the music as a copyright strike even though I've used Microsoft's provided music. I also find I don't like the music choice of others so I'm sure others may not like my choice, but more importantly it is very time consuming and if I had to spend that time I couldn't justify making the videos. The return simply isn't there.
My original thought was it was easy for people to put on their favourite music as they watched my videos.
Over time however I found with websites I was developing I could include YouTube videos in my own web pages for my own sites such as www.SpeedCameraLocations.com.au. As my knowledge evolved I worked out I could zoom in on YouTube videos which isn't a feature provided by YouTube and sometimes that was important to me. Next I worked out I could add streaming radio to my web pages. I now had all the techniques I needed and created the freeRadio site www.freeRadio.com.au so people could play radio streams as they watched my videos or videos from others. I then added the option to freeRadio so people can enter the YouTube video's unique identifier to provide zooming and radio streaming in the background all within the one web page.
If you'd like to play a radio stream in the background of a YouTube video then give freeRadio a try.
Kelvin
I create videos of my drives and upload them to YouTube. I produce the videos without sound to ensure I don't breach copyright and respect the privacy of passengers in the car. My aim was for people to play their own radio or music in the background whilst watching the videos.
Here's a link to my YouTube channel.
Ride, Drive, Walk by Kelvin - YouTube
Feel free to subscribe using the following link.
https://www.youtube.com/user/kelvineldridge?sub_confirmation=1
I could add music to my videos whilst creating them but unfortunately I never know if YouTube are going to mark the music copyright, which they have in the past, even though the music is supposedly copyright free. I could also add free music to the video using the YouTube editor but frankly it's hard to go through all the music to find something I like, let alone what other people will like. Frankly I can't stand the music many people add to their videos on YouTube.
I decided perhaps a good way around this problem was to create my own freeRadio web app. On a desktop computer if freeRadio is opened in one tab and YouTube in another freeRadio will keep playing. Whilst this is possible on Apple iPads, it's too clumsy and on Apple iPhone the YouTube app cuts off the freeRadio sound. That's OK because most people have an older phone they can connect to their network or hotspot and use that phone as a radio.
I've put in a selection of internet radio streams for people to choose from. If you want nothing more than to listen to radio whilst travelling on the train, bus, or even at home or work, freeRadio can be used for that too.
You can find freeRadio at www.freeRadio.com.au.
Kelvin
On YouTube a number of people uploaded their actual driving test showing the route they took and you're able to hear the instructions they were given by the tester. This is great information for someone about to take their practical driving test. Whilst you may get another route and examiner, at least you can still see what the general process is and that's a great help in calming the nerves.
When watching the videos I thought one things was missing. I really couldn't tell where the person drove. I decided to create a map of the route taken and also link the map back to the video. Now people could easily see the route and also check out particular parts of the route very easily. You can find Practical Driving Test at https://www.PracticalDrivingTest.com.au.
Then I thought if you want to do the actual route yourself for practise, you really need to hear the instructions as the person did as they drove. I decided to add an Audio Guide to Practical Driving Test.
To see and hear the Audio Guide for Practical Driving Test in action I've created the following video which is available on YouTube. In the video I drove the same route taken by a person taking their Practical Driving Test at VicRoads Ringwood. VicRoads Ringwood has now closed but following the audio guide is still excellent practise.
I hope others find the maps and audio guide interesting and useful.
Kelvin
Foote Street in Templestowe at Williamsons Road is closed in both directions due to roadworks from the 26th of June until the 7th of August.
I took the following two videos today so that locals can check out access to local roads affected by the closure.
Foote Street heading west to east
Foote Street/Reynolds Road heading east to west
Kelvin
Recently Alphington Grammar School was in the news because people have petitioned for the gates to be left open since Alphington Grammar School has built access over Old Heidelberg Road. I wondering if Alphington Grammar School was closed off from the Darebin Creek Trail and it certainly looks like it is with quite a high fence.
I found Ben O'Shea's article in Perth Now interesting as Ben saw a mobile speed camera set up about 50m before the speed limit sign on a Mitchell Freeway onramp. Unfortunately I don't know which onramp which would have been good to know.
I was under the understanding the guidelines in Victoria stated mobile speed cameras shouldn't be set up within 200m of a change of speed limit sign and thought the same may apply across Australia.
However there's two things to note here. First, there's the law and there's guidelines. If I'm correct, basically the law states we can't exceed the speed limit and that's all we can rely on if we went to court. You're at the mercy of the court and I wouldn't be too confident. I did have a parking fine dismissed before getting to court for the third time because the distance between signs didn't meet the Australian Standard, but that's only because the Whitehorse Council withdrew the fine (after nearly two years).
When we see a speed sign ahead we all speed up. Strictly speaking we'll often be breaking the law and if you do that you can expect to get fined. It's weird how you can't be at the speed limit when you're speeding up approaching the sign but you have to be at the speed limit when slowing down approaching a sign. Although what is reasonable to some would be taken advantage of by others. Some people would speed up just as they approach the sign and others would speed up hundreds of metres before the sign.
More and more the government is tightening down and things we used to do (or still do now) can potentially end up getting us a fine. Remember the good old days when you'd use the momentum of the hill going down to help you go up. Environmentally friendly but now we have to brake continuously to make sure we don't exceed the speed limit and accelerate as the hill rises again, only to have slowed even further due to gravity and friction before the acceleration kicks in. It really is all very petty but that's the way it is.
You know the law and whilst you may not be happy with some of the laws, stick to the laws and stop donating to the government's coffers. Ultimately it's your choice.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.SpeedCameraLocations.com.au
I thought it would be a good a good idea to compile the top 10 Victorian red light speed camera locations for 2020-2021. This is the most recent financial year's data provided by the Victorian government.
Why a top 10 compilation?
The top 10 red light speed camera locations catch a lot of people out. With 170,225 fines out of 1,216,979 these cameras represent around 14% or roughly one in six fines. Lots of people make the same mistake and if you don't know the area, you may make the same mistake too.
Half of the locations are 40 km/h speed zones for part of the day. People often don't expect 40km/h zones near schools to operate extended hours or even on weekends, so it's easy to make an error in judgement. Rosanna Road has a number of relatively recently installed cameras and whilst people who drive that way regularly, got a period of warning, if you don't regularly drive along Rosanna Road you may not be expecting the speed change. I know I've driven through areas and wondered when the speed limit changed. In fact I was completely unaware for quite a long time the entire central city area had become 40km/h. If you're driving according to the speeds you remember (as many of us do) and don't pay attention to the speed signs (called being change-unaware and it's very common) you will pay the price.
North Road is another major road where you really can't see there's a school coming up.
Warrigal Road and Batesford Road has extended 40km/h times Monday to Saturday (yet not Sunday) and up to 8pm at night. Personally I think the government should use some of the tens of millions of dollars raised in fines to improve the pedestrian infrastructure (car/pedestrian separation) to make this area better for drivers and pedestrians. There's a useless pedestrian overpass to the north of the train line (goes way to far east making it inconvenient) and a redundant pedestrian crossing to the south of the train line. Build a shorter/better pedestrian overpass to the south of the train line, get rid of the pedestrian crossing and provide barriers to stop pedestrians crossing at any other point. Perhaps even remove the car parking on Warrigal Road and provide better parking at the rear as most of the shops now are restaurants.
The Melbourne Airport red light speed camera is an interesting one. People come off a higher speed freeway and perhaps that affects their perception of speed. I know that's happened to me and resulted in a speed fine. Also there's a very high level of traffic, more cars generally means more fines.
Fitzroy Street St Kilda is a nice big open road and it makes little sense for the lower speed limit quite a distance from pedestrian activity. Unfortunately, Victoria mainly has speed cameras at intersections so there's quite a distance where the speed limit doesn't make sense.
The Western Ring Road west of Sydney Road is bound to catch out many people due to the variable speed signs. A research article I read recently showed 58.3% of people who drive a road regularly where the speed signs are often the same, won't see one or more variable speed signs have changed. It would be interesting to see what percentage of people are caught out by variable speed sign changes. I can't help wonder perhaps if variable speed signs at the default speed of the freeway (in this case 100km/h) then when the speed is changed the annulus should always be flashing. Flashing does alert people to a change.
Geelong Road, Footscray goes from 80 km/h to 60km/h, 40km/h school zone then back up to 60km/h with a huge three lane highway so easy for people to creep up in speed with speed perception issues after a long drive along a major road.
Eastlink, Rowville is interesting as it is the only speed camera on Eastlink in the top 10. My guess is the long downward slope will catch many people out as cars speed up when there's a downward slope if people aren't proactive. Of course there's always going to be those travelling in the right lane who speed past the rest of the traffic as well. The right lane on major freeways nearly always catches more people than the other lanes.
Hopefully sharing these thoughts and the locations of the top 10 red light speed camera locations help people to adjust their driving for the benefit of everyone including their hip pocket.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.SpeedCameraLocations.com.au
A short while ago I read about a young man from Sydney, Beau Jackson, who regularly warns drivers of a mobile speed camera by displaying a sign before the mobile speed camera.
I couldn't help think at the time of reading the article that one of the lessons I've learnt in life is when you attack the system, the system will attack you back. It's a sad lesson as it's really a way to keep people in line and we shouldn't have to live in such a system. Perhaps it's just human nature. If someone attacks you would you attack them back? Probably. So why do we think the system should be any better than us since we are the system.
Now just a few weeks later we've found the "Aussie hero" has been hit with a fine for littering from the EPA.
Speed camera hero fined for bizarre reason | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site
The EPA wouldn't have issued such a notice without some cause. It may be as simple as someone going past, not agreeing with what Beau Jackson is doing, saw the sign and some drink cans on the ground whilst he was there and reported him for littering. Even though Beau could have cleaned up everything from the site when he left, a report could have been made. It may even be there's a regulation we wouldn't normally know about that could be used. For example is having a sign on a vehicle illegal in some way? Most people just wouldn't know.
The problem is Beau Jackson either pays the fine or fights it potentially in court. Having recently fought a parking ticket (signs were not seen as they exceeded the Australian standard for distance between signs) and had the parking ticket withdrawn, this was nearly a two year saga that created undue stress. The government losses nothing when they raise an infringement against you but you can lose a lot of sleep, get stressed and potentially be faced with a considerable increase in penalty if you're ruled against.
Sometimes I think the best thing Beau Jackson could do is provide a link for donations to pay the fine. Pay the fine from donations and move on. This isn't the right thing to do but sometimes it can be the prudent thing to do. As a council officer said to me when I was much younger when I questioned my fine, "you can take the fine to court and lose a day of work if you want". My car had broken down and I pushed it into the gutter by myself in front of my house, but that meant it was parked facing the wrong way so I was fined for parking on the wrong side of the road. I paid the fine. I've now learnt if you fight a fine it's not just one day. The recent fine was multiple visits to the council, multiple visits to the site gathering evidence, online hearing, in person hearing, telephone meeting where fine was dismissed, all over nearly a two year period. So it isn't just one day in court.
I wish Beau Jackson all the best and would be more than happy to chip in a 20 to help with the fine. We really need people who stand up for what they believe. We don't need to destroy the spirit of the young.
For those who think people shouldn't speed (and they shouldn't), I'm finding through my research, that a driver driving normally within the speed limit, when there's a small two degree decline in the road after a rise in the road can easily exceed the speed limit for a short period of time before readjusting their speed. Mobile speed cameras placed near or after a steeper decline is common and picks up people who are making a common mistake but often would not be deliberately speeding. Most of us would make the same mistake but we are lucky there's no speed camera when we do.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.SpeedCameraLocations.com.au
