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Unreasonable expectations

If you want to succeed in life you need to set yourself some goals.

However, setting goals is not always as easy as it might appear.

Make your goals too easily attainable and you'll never push yourself hard enough to realise your full potential.

Make them too hard and you'll rapidly become demotivated once you discover that you'll never achieve them no matter how hard you try.

Now it seems that one of our beloved government agencies clearly understands the power of goal-setting but has utterly failed when it comes to creating targets that are even remotely possible.

I am talking about the Road to Zero road safety goal announced by the NZ Transport Agency.

I mean, seriously, this is and always will be a completely unattainable goal -- to have a road toll of zero.

Now I'm sure some will call this an aspiration rather than a goal but the agency's website clearly states:

Yep, they've got a plan that will get us to a zero road-toll.

Overconfident much?

Completely out of touch with reality more likely.

And as if to demonstrate just how completely idiotic the bureaucrats behind this scheme really are, we've just seen two long weekends of utter disaster on the nation's roads.

Both Easter and ANZAC weekend saw a huge surge in road deaths, way above the normal figures.

So NZTA... how's your "plan" working then?

The whole concept is fatally flawed from numerous perspectives.

Firstly, where's the incentive for the public to buy into this initiative?

Sure, nobody wants to see anyone injured or killed on the road but there's no direct correlation between an individual's safer driving and some kind of benefit or reward.

Secondly, the goal is so outrageously unattainable that many will consider it a complete folley to even be involved at a personal level.

"It is better to have tried and failed..." is one famous saying but the reality is that when goals are clearly unattainable people just don't waste time trying at all.

This programme has all the hallmarks of something dreamed up by a group of disconnected bureaucrats who are simply searching for a way to justify their own existance and salaries.

It has all the "feelgood" and "look, we're working hard to protect you" elements but does absolutely nothing effective to address the issue at hand.

I'd much rather see a more direct reward that really could deliver improvements in safety.

How about allowing for cheaper regos and WOF charges when the registered owner of a vehicle has no demerit points on their license and/or has attended and passed a defensive driving course?

How about sending all licensed drivers a little "thank you for driving safely" note every year if they've not received any infringement notices?

Maybe even some further rewards if you manage 5, 10 or even 50 years of driving without getting a single ticket.

These are the things that the public will buy into because these *are* attainable goals and the rewards are very tangible, even if mainly symbolic.

It strikes me that we have a lot of dead wood in government departments and NZers could have their tax dollars spent on much more useful things than the "Road to Zero".

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