Letters
Your thoughts, opinions & adventures
Lights lunacy
I would imagine that an 'improved form of motorcycle lighting' would likely translate into even greater brightness and glare among the road-using population, as one faction tries to out-do the other with even brighter more glaring, more obnoxious lighting for motorcycles, in their attempt to out-do automobiles.
Here in the USA motorcycles are allowed full intenesity HIGH-BEAM headlights (usually two of them) as a form of day time running lights. And if that is not enough to fry the receptors in the backs of your eyes, now motorcycles are getting equipped with 'pulsating' headlights, modulating back and forth inbetween lo-beam and HIGH-BEAM. Most people, on seeing this kind of lighting, would think it must inidicate an emergency vehicle, enroute to a disaster.
Good luck in keeping the insanity of glaring lights off of motor-vehicles.
Steve
USA
As a motorcyclist, a long standing MAG member, a member of the IAM (motorcycle), holder of the BMF blue ribbon, a former motorcycle instructor and a despatch rider covering 60,000+ miles a year, I DID NOT sign the petition on headlights. I also drive my car with deep beam during the day as do I my motorcycles.
I feel more endangered by drivers not using lights when they should. I do not expect car drivers to see me or even acknowledge my right of way if they do. However, I do want every oppotunity to see them. Too often on dull or dim mornings or evenings I see an oncoming car brightly lit in the distance and decide it is safe to make an overtake. I do my 'life saver' behind and look forward only to then notice a closer on-coming car with only side lights on or less. Yes, I have had my eyes checked recently.
I do appreciate, that to a good number of day time weekend summer riders, a small advantage may be lost, but to those of us who ride in all weathers, all day, all times of day, every day, all year round, I feel an oppotunity has been missed.
Further, pedestrians crossing the road or cyclists emerging from a junction would also then have a common format to look for, rather then the varity of illuminations or not that there is now.
Like it or not, when a lot of drivers get in their cars they feel safe, secure, comfortable, warm, dry and cocooned from the world, and will blissfully whiz through situations and no matter how high you make your visual presence, until you intrude their personnel space, they won't see you, so I would rather have a better more reliable way of seeing them.
Kevin Gladstone
Ed: What !?
Three wheeled challenge
A couple of weeks ago a rider was miffed to find that the tariff for using the Dartford Crossing was not free for a Piaggio MP3 (bike with 2 wheels close together at back). Their rules state very clearly that any vehicle with three wheels has to pay.
After phoning the Services Manager at Le Crossing and explaining the problem, I sent him an email containing all relevant EU type approvals etc for the MP3, and explained how stopping an MP3 rider would be just as queue-frustrating as stopping any other biker. He took the point very readily.
I then had a phone call from him saying that there was now an interim order setting the tariff for MP3s to zero, just like other bikes, and that from January 2008 it was probable that all trikes and small quadricycles would also be zero rated.
He does know that I'm the West London MAG rep, but I made it clear I was communicating in a personal capacity, certainly in this first instance. However if it wasn't knowing I could probably call on MAG to back me up, I doubt I'd have made that call. :)
See you soon.
Jim Crowther
Death by careless
Just read the comments about this new charge of 'Causing death by careless driving' and have a couple of points to make. In July 2006 I got taken off my Ducati 916 by a driver pulling out of a side road without looking. The police attended and advised me that they were going to report the driver for 'consideration' of a charge of 'driving without due care and attention.' I was later advised that the police had decided not to prosecute the driver as the police were using a new benchmark and they now ask if they could see themselves making the same error? If they can then they will not prosecute! This should be good news as now none of us will get prosecuted for speeding!
My question is, what is the difference between a driver who takes out a bike and the rider is able to get up and walk away and a driver who takes out a biker who lands badly and is killed in the accident? The driver is no more careless, therefore his offence is no more serious. The only difference is pure chance. I cannot see how this can be served by any justice system and legislation brought in to cover these circumstances has to be doomed to failure.
On another point, instead of bringing in road charging, chase up the 2,000,000 drivers who do not have road tax. It is probably a fair bet that they won't have insurance or MOT either. Current fines for uninsured drivers are around £200 against an insurance premium in excess of £1000 so the fine is cheaper.
I suggest that the court should estimate how much would have been paid in tax and insurance etc over the period since last insured (if ever) then double it and apply that as a fine. A 25 year old who has never had insurance would be assumed to have been driving since 17, therefore would be fined £16,000. Now that would be a deterrent...
Dave Dibble
Ed: Spot on with the insurance issue Dave. Regarding the unfairness of the causing death by . . . rule. You've hit the nail on its head. This is one of those cases where public expectation and the execution of justice are incompatible. The common cry, and this is often from bikers, is, 'someone got killed so how can that motorist get away with points and a fine.' I don't know what the answer is.
A bridge too far
Having been present at the editor's incident upon the Severn Bridge (he was prosecuted for lying on the hard shoulder photographing a charity ride) way back in 2005, and still hearing him harping on about it, I felt the evidence needed to be brought to light. Now once and for all he can see just how dangerously he was acting. Although I'm sure common decency and his innate modesty will prevent him from publishing this, I still feel moved to supply it so that readers can take the position of 'judge and jury' and also condemn Mutchy for his errant behaviour.
Why didn't I get the same treatment from the police, given proximity? I wasn't pig-headed enough to hang around and argue with the plod, on this occasion. Others who lingered in the name of the 'media' were the HTV camerman, a dozen or so walkers and myself, none of whom were so cruelly dealt with. Seriously though, I know how it feels to get the punishment when all around get off Scott-Free, but then my bike was taxed.
Name evaporated
Ed: Thanks for the pic, I've used it in my court case. For the record, I did pack up as soon as I was told to, I didn't argue, and my bike was taxed, but someone had nicked the disc. The case aint dead yet and may provide an entry for a new book I'm planning. Coming sometime - The Vendetta Files!
Reverse Spin
I'm a great fan of The ROAD, and all the silly jokes and stuff that gets put between the serious articles. Normally I wouldn't complain about something that is obviously untrue or that I disagree with, but I feel I have to complain about an article in the 'Strange but curiously true' section of issue 9. The 'SOS' by PIN number item is a hoax, and while this is obvious to me, it's possible that someone might actually believe it and wait in vain for police assistance. Verification is easy, just enter 'reverse pin' into Google to get a page of links describing the hoax. Please keep putting in the silly stuff, stories about people having sex with traffic cones whether they are true or not.
Howard Peters
Ed: My apologies Howard, it had the smell of a hoax about it, I should have spotted that. Traffic cone man is kosher.
Secure Parking
We had a nice little victory we had a few months ago. Someone asked if we could have better more secure bike parking , as at the time our best option was to chain our bikes to a lamp post on the other side of the road.
Well it took us a few months to convince them that it was worth doing and finally they agreed. Now we have an option. We can park in our own marked bike bays with CCTV watching over them, and we have a separate bit that cyclists can chain their bikes to, also covered by CCTV.
Michelle Birbeck
Thieves rule
I recently had my Honda CG 125cc stolen from Middlesbrough. I had it chained to a metal fence with a disk lock on and I was checking on it every 15 minutes while I was having band practise.
It just goes to show you that sometimes it doesn't matter what you do there will always be someone who will go that one step further to have a couple of hours of fun and cause someone a lot of upset and inconvenience. My bike is my only mode of transport and without it I am lost, not to mention the sentimental value.
Just as I had realised that my bike had been stolen, two Street Wardens where passing and they helped me report it, but it didn't bring the bike back. Whilst sat waiting for the police to show up, the two Wardens gave me and my band mates cups of tea and biscuits. They where really nice and helpful and kept me company for two hours until the police came who then told me not to get my hopes up about seeing my bike again. I was also told that Cleveland Police do not chase stolen motorbikes, but forces in the surrounding areas did. I was upset about this and asked why. The oficer said it was because someone had been knocked off a stolen bike and sadly they had died.
I don't think that this should stop the police from chasing stolen bikes. I think that this is just the same as telling them to go ahead and do it. In fact you might as well put up signs reading 'Steal here you won't be chased.' I understand that there is a danger to the public but is that not the same as some scumbag tearing around a childrens' playing field. Surely there must be something else that can be done to deter motorbike thieves. I definitely think that the police not giving chase isn't helping the situation and is certainly not the answer.
Rachel Leonard
Ed, Another argument in favour of the 'campaign for real justice' Rachel. Doubtless the thieves who stole your bike had to do this as there obviously isn't enough investment in youth schemes in your neighbourhood and the poor lambs have been 'failed' by society. There will be no improvement in this situation until those who apologise for criminals are shown the door and criminals have to start understanding us rather than us being told we have to understand them. Frankly I'm happy to understand them but from this side of a set of bars.
Who's that girl?
Who is that gorgeous girl in the white hat on your standing order page? Is she the one you pictured at Sturgis, draped over a cooling fan and wearing a painted snake? I think I'm in love?
John Osborn, Bristol.
Ed. No that was a different one. This is one of my groupies who I bought back from the USA last year. She now lives in an apartment within the giant Chelsea riverside residential complex I have purchased to accommodate such treasures. I employ her to sit in a pinewood summerhouse in my grounds where she makes daisy chains and greets visitors with the words, "howdee stranger." Now then, did she encourage you to fill out a standing order?
Gaffers' Run
Lawyer and long term MAG member Nigel Winter will be riding his modern Triumph Thunderbird in June of this year to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Lands End to John O Groats...hardly original. True, but Winter's route recreates a 1953 journey made by the 'Gaffers' of the old Triumph motorcycle factory.
To donate or find out more visit www.gaffersgallop.com
Robot drivers
I'm worried, are all drivers turing into unthinking robots?
A year ago a friend of mine bought a super tiny new black sports car. Among its features are 'intelligent' wipers and headlights. Sensors detect when they are needed and switch them on for you. Fantastic! NOT.
One dark winter's evening when she was driving home along a well lit main road, she had no clue whatsoever that she didnt have her lights on. She could see where she was going as the streetlights lit the road ahead but she couldn't be seen clearly by others. Unbeknown to her, the button had been pressed restoring control of the lights to manual by her 5 year old son. She didnt turn her lights on because she hadn't had to think about light or dark for a year and switching them on and off was now alien to her. She narrowly missed an accident when a car pulled out in front of her because she was driving along in the dark in a dark car with no lights on!
Now I know there could be many things said about her failure to notice but the point is this; she has been deprogrammed to operate even the most simple and obvious controls in her car. Scary to think how easy it is to switch off the brain when you think your machine can think for you. It can't - a false but deadly sense of security springs to mind.
Anji
Worriedsville, East Yorks
Tactics that work
I recently had occasion to cross swords with North East Lincolnshire Council over the state of the southbound carriageway of the A16 road, known locally as Peakes Parkway. The road was built about 10 years ago and is the main route into Grimsby from the South. The surfacing of the southbound carriageway has recently deteriorated at an alarming rate; oddly enough, the northbound side is not too bad. Whether this merely means that people are in much more of a hurry to leave Grimsby than to arrive there, is a moot point.
Having negotiated this cratered surface yet again, I was moved to report things to the council. At this point, we are talking of holes 1 to 2 feet in length, 6 to 12 inches wide and 2 to 3 inches deep. And on a stretch of road with 50 and 60mph speed limits. Potentially a bit lethal on 2 wheels, thought I. I dialled in and spoke to the nice lady who is there to stop you talking to anyone who can actually do something about your problem.
"Oh, yes," says she, "we have had quite a lot of complaints about that over the last few weeks." At that point I felt the word 'complacent' slipping unbidden into my mind. People have been calling in to report a dangerous road surface for weeks, and nothing has been done? You lot are happy that a motorcyclist could get injured or killed? You don't seem in a hurry to do anything about it! Having been told that I could not speak to anyone in the Highways Department, but that she would 'pass on' my complaint, I asked if I could write to anyone; I was given the address of the Director of Highways. Anyway, now the clever bit, for which I can claim no credit at all. Having been a member of the CTC (Cyclists Touring Club) many years ago, I adapted one of their schemes. I wrote my letter of complaint about the road, and finished with a paragraph stating that I was a member of the local MAG branch, I explained that I was forwarding a copy of my letter to the branch to be kept on file so that in the event of any member being injured or having their bike damaged, said letter would be produced in court as prima facie evidence that, as of the date of their receipt of the letter, they were in full knowledge of the facts about the road surface. Then off I went down to the Post Office for a quid's worth of Recorded Delivery. They got my letter on a Wednesday.
Over the following weekend, a crew were working on the road, stuffing tarmac into the holes to make temporary repairs. And the whole carriageway is being replaced in stages starting, well, now actually. Obviously a total coincidence.
Maybe, if the yellow MAG report cards don't work with your local council, it might be time to borrow this brilliantly simple cycling idea on a permanent basis?
Martyn Gaunt
Political Officer North East Lincolnshire MAG
Dear All
I have been a MAG life member for what seems like forever, since my first demo to Southampton XXX years ago on my little old DT50M.
I've come a long way since then, written many a letter to my MP, and had many a reply as well. My first reply in a House of Commons Envelope caused some interest with the postman. Every little helps though.
I read one of them when I was last back home, and the layout leaves a lot to be desired, but I still had a full page answer from my MP. I am currently living and working in Hong Kong but still have the magazine shipped over by my mum. It keeps me in touch with what's going on in Britain.
I'm without a bike at the moment which comes from having an efficient public transport system here and working long days, although it doesn't seem to keep the cars off the road. Everyone seems to want to have a car here, and the bigger the better. Seven million people in an area about the size of the Isle of Wight doesn't make for the best biking roads.
Bikers here have a hard time of it, as it seems to be open season for everyone on the road, why consider other road users, when you have yourself to think about! And when it rains, any driving skills that anyone ever learned, are immediately forgotten. And don't get me started on Red top minibus drivers, 16 seater buses being driven by boy racers, whose only criteria is that they have a schedule to beat!
Very impressed with the ROAD format, it gets passed around a large group of people here, mostly former British bikers, to catch up on what new rules and regulations are being thrown at the Easy targets that road users still seem to be in the UK.
A few things went astray moving out to Asia, but I would like to get back into things when I do eventually return to the UK. Keep up the good work. Keep spreading the word.
Ride free
David Carter
Ed: Would you get those people you pass this mag around to to join please David.
Filtering
I was travelling through Kingskerswell towards Newton Abbot at the beginning of this year, the traffic going towards Torquay was light, the traffic in the direction I was going was stop & go so i poodling down the middle of the road taking in every thing going on when this twat came from out of my line of vision between the traffic into the side of me, trying to amputate my left leg.
The police arrived but all they seemed worried about was, had I been drinking? NO not since O ctober (doctors orders). It was obvious from where the bike ended up & the position of the car what had happened. According to his statement I had gone into the side of him and in landing, had broke my leg. To add to my problems there am I in a state of shock with the coppers wanting a statement. I could not think straight so I cut my statement short by saying a car went into the side of me. Why can't they come back after you have got over the shock and you can think straight to get a more accurate statement? The police report indicates 'No action will be taken'. How do car drivers get away with it?
Mike Brown (slips) Totnes
The Weardale Inn
I have been doing bike rallies for over 20 years now and had some wonderful times but I would like to give a mention to a very friendly bikers' pub in my neck of the woods called The Weardale Inn.
It's situated in a beautiful part of the country near St John's Chapel. There is a small bike rally here every year with around 150 limit. It may be a small rally but you can expect a big welcome. It is a family run business and the hosts are Sandra and Philip. Nothing is too much trouble for them and this year there was a bikers' wedding at the rally site. All were welcome to witness the event and I had to get a few shots of the happy couple, Keith and Sue. They put on a large spread for everyone and even put money behind the bar for all to have a drink on them. It would be nice to say 'all the best for the future to the happy couple, and thanks again for the hospitality and warm welcome from all at the Weardale Inn.
Bary Leonard Maltas
Sunderland Tyne & Wear
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