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Thursday, January 23, 2020

On the Road: 23 January 2020 at 8:08

This has been a wild and difficult morning ... Especially when a driver with interlock device decides to drive into you when you are driving on the green light ...

Remember,  just because you are careful does not mean that you can assure that all other drivers on the road will do the same thing. . . Memories of losing a grandmother and aunt who were killed in the car accident when a trailer hit their car came rushing in to us this morning ...

Sadly, stories about road accidents have become very common nowadays.Not many people follow the traffic rules. Especially in big cities like Sydney, the roads are becoming narrower and the cities have become more populated. Dangerous behaviour like carjacking are also on the rise in some parts of the city ...



  • Nearly 1.25 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day.
  • An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled.
  • More than half of all road traffic deaths occur among young adults ages 15-44.

Latest Annual Global Road Crash Statistics



Four children killed, one injured in Sydney crash, police say


The father of three children killed by an alleged high-range drink driver on Saturday night said he is "numb" from the loss of his children.





View Sobering Graphs - the WHO’s infographics on road safety facts. 

Car Insurance Claims

Complaints 

Something shitty just happened to me. (Don’t worry, I’m alright!) But after it happened, I was pretty preoccupied by the whole thing: feeling victimized, rehashing the stupid mistake I’d made in my mind, wondering what I should have done differently, feeling shame about it all. This incident was on its way to ruining my day and perhaps even my next few days. Then I remembered one of the stories from the lovely Zen Shorts, a book I used to read with the kids.  
The tale of two monks and a woman is a well-known Buddhist parable. The story goes that two monks were traveling together, a senior and a junior. They came to a river with a strong current where a young woman was waiting, unable to cross alone. She asks the monks if they would help her across the river. Without a word and in spite of the sacred vow he’d taken not to touch women, the older monk picks her up, crosses, and sets her down on the other side. 
The younger monk joins them across the river and is aghast that the older monk has broken his vow but doesn’t say anything. An hour passes as they travel on. Then two hours. Then three. Finally, the now quite agitated younger monk can stand it no longer: “Why did you carry that women when we took a vow as monks not to touch women?” 
The older monk replies, “I set her down hours ago by the side of the river. Why are you still carrying her?”
The story is a reminder to not dwell on the past in a way that interferes with living in the present moment. I’m glad to have remembered it today — I’m feeling much better now. 

The strange world of insurance ...  


Is software making car repairs more expensive?

The Australian Road Deaths Database provides basic details of road transport crash fatalities in Australia as ... crash type, day of week, time. some details regarding the persons killed, for example, age, gender and ...
 This bulletin contains current counts and summaries of road crash deaths and fatal road crashes in Australia. ... Data are sourced from the road traffic or police authorities in each jurisdiction. ... A table providing monthly fatalities for the last 5 years is included in the Excel file.
 The NSW Road Toll - Daily and NSW Road Toll - Monthly documents contain detailed information on ... about 30 people are hospitalised by crashes on NSW roads each day; Reports and publications ...

Wentworth Avenue accidents take my mind to political analysts such as my former chair Andrew Tink's book on William Charles WENTWORTH  as well as P.J. O’Rourke’s immortal phrase in Parliament of Whores, the silly buggers stepped on the gas instead of the brake.


What to do if your car needs towing after an accident 

Mean Streets: The Global Traffic Death Crisis

Some causes of death have little trouble catching the public’s attention. Avian flu, Ebola, and Zika have dominated news cycles and prompted international travel advisories. Plane crashes interrupt broadcasts and lead to thorough government investigations. Cancer, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS now attract billions of dollars of research. But one of the biggest killers of all gets little attention from governments, the media, or the general public. Car crashes killed 1.35 million people in 2016—the last year for which World Health Organization data are available—a grisly 3,698 deaths a day. Traffic injuries are now the top killer of people aged five to 29 globally, outpacing any illness and exceeding the combined annual casualties of all of the world’s armed conflicts. And the toll continues to rise: it grew by 100,000 in just three years, from 2013 to 2016. This does not include the up to 50 million people who are hit and injured by motor vehicles each year, some grievously, but who nonetheless survive. The economic losses are estimated at three percent of global GDP.


The Zebra – Car insurance rates across the U.S. are higher than ever. “The Zebra reveals the latest data, trends impacting rates, and which drivers pay the most, based on an analysis of 73 million rates...Since 2011, rates have skyrocketed 29.6% nationally, though the impacts differ across the U.S. Seven states have seen small rate decreases since 2011, while 44 states and Washington D.C. experienced increases (up to 86%)…Via Wired – “…That’s because the sensors that power those systems make cars much more expensive to fix when they do crash. Dent a steel bumper, and a few hammer blows gets you back on the road. Smash one on a new car, and it could mean replacing a radar, a camera, and ultrasonic sensors, then calibrating them so they work properly


More information and help


Call 1300 888 529 (1300 889 529 TTY) for legal information, referral or in some cases advice.


LawAssist  has more information about car accidents and property damage, eg. sample letters, assistance with writing court documents.

Community Justice Centres www.cjc.nsw.gov.au

Provide neutral mediators to help both parties find a solution to a conflict.  Call 1800 990 777 to find your closest centre.

Community Legal Centres www.clcnsw.org.au

Provide free legal advice and information. Call LawAccess NSW on1300 888 529 to locate the centre closest to you.

National Debt Helpline www.ndh.org.au

Call 1800 007 007 for information about your nearest financial counsellor and advice on negotiating with creditors.

Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) www.afca.org.au Resolves disputes between people and their insurers, and disputes between third party uninsured drivers and insured drivers. Lodge a complaint online or by phone on 1800 931 678.
Insurance Law Service (ILS) www.insurancelaw.org.au

Call 1300 663 464 for help with insurance disputes.

Law Society of NSW www.lawsociety.com.au
Call 9926 0300 for information or referral to a private lawyer.


Legal advice is free from all our offices. Contact your nearest Legal Aid office to make an appointment or call 1300 888 529.

State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) www.sira.nsw.gov.au

Call the SIRA on 1300 656 919 for advice on how to make a claim for personal injuries compensation or to obtain the name of the other driver’s Greenslip insurance company.

NSW Police Force www.police.nsw.gov.au

Police Assistance Line (PAL)To report non-emergencies call 131 444

Insurance Services Unit For copies of police incident report: 8835 8377.

Roads and Maritime Services (NSW) www.rms.nsw.gov.au. For information about registration and  licensing of cars and insurer details call 13 22 13.

For more information, contact:

LawAccess NSW on 1300 888 529.
Produced by the Publications Unit of Legal Aid NSW.

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or email: publications@legalaid.nsw.gov.au or call: 9219 5028.