Clip description
Sir Laurence Hartnett is the former managing director of GMH. He comments that our roads are still a trap for drivers, with lanes suddenly merging without warning and inappropriate road signs that confuse and frustrate the driver, thus increasing the likelihood of road accidents occurring.
Curator’s notes
This clip from the first series of Torque is an excerpt from a panel discussion on the extremely high road casualty toll at the time. It is very simply produced, but this allows the importance of the content to come through. This speaker is very clear and forceful, and the point he is making comes across clearly and effectively. However, it’s tempting to say that Torque improved the further away it went from the studio setting.
Peter Wherrett is a natural television performer. The program always comes alive when he talks to someone out in the field about a motoring issue dear to his heart or is behind the wheel of a car explaining its good and bad qualities. Somehow a studio debate about the unacceptable level of Australia’s road toll, while absolutely worthy, might have had more impact if each of the participants had been interviewed separately in his own environment, preferably by Peter Wherrett, with searching follow-up questions.