Polak hit by tram

[Twodogs]

Re: Polak hit by tram

When you think about it trams are a pretty stupid idea. Train crossings are bad enough but fixed wheel vehicles trying to deal with cars driving all over the place is a recipe for disaster. Having said that though, I wish more than one in ten drivers understood that when the doors close, the little stop signs disappear and the bloody thing starts moving it means you can overtake.

Originally Posted by Lantern
It's quite an accident prone corner too, with hoons up and down Dandenong Road etc... Graham could have been trying to run across the road and just not made it. I'm sure the blame lies a little bit on both sides.. although there has been a rise in psycho tram drivers recently.

A tram driver got booked for speeding in Chapel st. last year.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Polak hit by tram

When you think about it trams are a pretty stupid idea. Train crossings are bad enough but fixed wheel vehicles trying to deal with cars driving all over the place is a recipe for disaster. Having said that though, I wish more than one in ten drivers understood that when the doors close, the little stop signs disappear and the bloody thing starts moving it means you can overtake.


A tram driver got booked for speeding in Chapel st. last year.

Probably trying to catch up with the two in front of him

[LostDoggy]

Re: Polak hit by tram

For more public transport stupidity:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/screams-and-panic-passengers-tell-of--connex-hell-ride-20080704-31ip.html

I love how in every instance a 'Connex spokeswoman' tells us that nothing actually happened and everything was actually fine, even though hundreds of people see otherwise. It's like the commuters of Melbourne are hallucinating and Connex knows the truth: That our trains and trams really do run on time, that there is always plenty of space on them, that there are never any cancellations, and that the rides are as safe and comfortable as in a concorde. Sound more and more like the Bush Administration every day.

Get rid of the buggers. Don't get me started, really. I worked closely with the urban planning commission, and in the next office to Paul Mees, then urban design professor at Melbourne University and scourge of the state government, so I've seen all the numbers. It's quite shocking how much money we've -- yes, you and I -- thrown at the system. It is absolutely no exaggeration to say that if we had free public transport and not thrown millions at two dysfunctional ticketing systems, and not given money over to Connex to run it (yes we're paying them to run it -- check the sums), over the last ten years the state's coffers (our money) would be better off to the tune of more than $100 million dollars.

Talk about throwing good money after bad -- it's just ridiculous.

(And I don't buy the arguments that we're bursting at the seams and it's hard to manage etc. Are we that stupid? Berlin/Singapore/Tokyo are far, far, far more dense and complex than Melbourne is, but their trains all run to the minute on time -- which is another joke, when our 'on time' is actually up to six minutes after the stated time of arrival and we can't even achieve that regularly. We've only got less than 4 million people here, for heaven's sakes.)

[ledge]

Re: Polak hit by tram

Lets look at the real problem here, the doors are not so much the problem but the "packed carriage" why is no other vehicle allowed to be overloaded but trains can have people hanging out of them and packed like sardines?
It costs nothing to add another carriage, from platforms i have seen over the years its not like they arent long enough and why doesnt this imaginary Connex spokeswoman ride one for a change in peak hour and see for herself.
Then again why dont the transport minister and the Connex hierachy ride the trains into work everyday seeings as they think everything is perfect.

[1eyedog]

Re: Polak hit by tram

Lets look at the real problem here, the doors are not so much the problem but the "packed carriage" why is no other vehicle allowed to be overloaded but trains can have people hanging out of them and packed like sardines?
It costs nothing to add another carriage, from platforms i have seen over the years its not like they arent long enough and why doesnt this imaginary Connex spokeswoman ride one for a change in peak hour and see for herself.
Then again why dont the transport minister and the Connex hierachy ride the trains into work everyday seeings as they think everything is perfect.

You think Melbourne's bad try catching a train in Nagasaki or even London through peak time.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Polak hit by tram

I have, both. And they are bad, no doubt. But are we now measuring ourselves against the worst barometers in the developed world?

London has between 12 - 15 million people and a population density on a scale unimaginable to most Melbournians, and Nagasaki, with only 450,000 people, is hardly a city in the same sense as Melbourne, almost para-urban, in a sense.

Melbourne on the other hand tries to boast world's best practice and liveability. I'm not even against paying for public transport, if there are real improvements. But all indicators show that we're going backwards, and at an incredible rate. We are subsidising a private operator (!), losing millions upon millions of public dollars annually, and have shitty standards -- by developed standards, I'm not talking about Sudan or Bali here -- that are getting worse. The only action of our past few state administrations on both sides have just been fiddling at the margins, or ideological mischief. Myki is already a farce, and it hasn't even come into operation yet.

As the world comes to the realisation that oil isn't going to last forever (what is it up to now per barrel?), and as Melbourne bursts at the seams trying to fit in one of the biggest population migratory booms in Australian history, things are only going to get worse, not better, if we keep down this path of fudging the numbers and PR campaigns instead of real change. There has been a fundamental lack of true vision, with bad management and ideology substituting for leadership at all levels of government (on both sides) in this country for a very long time, and this is just another example of it. As Aker would say -- "they stick their heads in the sand" (sic) and wish it would all just go away if they ignore it long enough.

[Scraggers]

Re: Polak hit by tram

Tigers name Polak



By Luke Holmesby
3:38 PM Wed 04 March, 2009

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/72847/default.aspx

GRAHAM Polak will play for Richmond this week in his first serious game since his near-fatal collision with a tram last year.

Polak has been named in the team to take on St Kilda at Shepparton on Friday night and is expected to play about 60 per cent of the match.

The24-year-old had a brief run in the Richmond intra-club match in February and has had some game time for Coburg, but has not played a game since he sustained brain injuries when he was hit by a tram in June last year.

Richmond football operations manager Ross Monaghan said Polak’s recovery from the injury had been quicker than hoped and he was ready for competitive football.

“It’s much sooner than expected,” Monaghan said.

“He’s moving okay, he’s feeling okay and he’s recovering from training sessions much better.

“He’s been playing bits of VFL practice matches that they’ve had in the last couple of weeks.

“We think it’s a good opportunity for him to have a run around and enjoy himself because he’s come a long way from what was a pretty serious injury.”

Polak had been training with the club for much of the pre-season but had struggled to complete sessions and recover from them.

But Monaghan said his progress over the last few weeks had been astounding.

“The main issue he had for some time before Christmas and immediately after Christmas was his fatigue levels. He trained a fair bit at sessions but would get really fatigued,” he said.

“He really progressed through that in late January and early February to the point where he could do most things that the other players were doing. Now he’s got to the stage where he seems to be getting through most days pretty well.

“He’s not entirely back to being 100 per cent by no means. He’s at the stage where everyone’s quite comfortable for him to have a run around against quality opposition.”

[The Coon Dog]

Re: Polak hit by tram

Is this the same Graham Polak that Richmond said was so unwell they sought to put him on the long term injury list to secure an additional draft pick?

Aside from that I hope he's fully recovered & I wish him well.

[Scraggers]

Re: Polak hit by tram

Is this the same Graham Polak that Richmond said was so unwell they sought to put him on the long term injury list to secure an additional draft pick?

Aside from that I hope he's fully recovered & I wish him well.

It's a miracle !!! ... but as you say good to see him back

[Remi Moses]

Re: Polak hit by tram

What a joke! Wasn't this the club who asked the AFL for special dispensation to place polak on the rookie list?Just a sneaky furfy from Richmond.