Letters
Your thoughts, opinions & adventures
Intelligent Speed Adaption
As a motorcyclist of 30 years experience I was very disappointed to read of your opposition to the introduction of Intelligent Speed Adaption (ISA).
This is something I have been campaigning for for many years to end the carnage caused by speeding vehicles.
We are constantly hearing of people moaning about speed cameras, unrealistic speed limits and traffic calming. These could all be things of the past if ISA were introduced. Our insurance premiums would drop, fuel consumption improve and the police could prosecute the idiot drivers who tailgate, don't indicate, use mobile phones, fail to use lights in poor visibility etc. Many speed limits could be increased and adjusted in poor weather or when there is an incident ahead.
Your position on this gives gives more ammunition to the people who think of bikers as hooligans who travel at excess speed rather than the decent considerate riders that most of us are.
You would also be well advised to oppose mini indicators, mini number plates and loud exhausts for the very same reason.
I enjoy riding my motorcycle but it is also my means of getting to work all year round. Any negative attitude towards motorcyclists makes my journey more dangerous as jealous drivers deliberately block my way.
I hope you will take a fresh look at ISA and other important issues and help save some lives.
Mark Thompson
Ed: Member's views do not necessarily reflect MAG policy! Other members' views on this are welcomed.
Speed Cameras A452
Take a road with a poor safety record, the A452 between Stonebridge and Balsall Common in the West Midlands for example. This was a dual carriageway subject to a 70mph speed limit with four cross-overs which were the cause of many accidents. So the authorities decided to close three of the cross-overs and lay acres of red tarmac at the fourth. At the same time they reduced the speed limit to an absurdly low 50mph. By taking all these actions at the same time it will be impossible to establish which measure contributed to the probable reduction in accidents that will occur in the future and I suspect there is a reason for this.
Most drivers/riders now exceed the ridiculous speed limit, so those guardians of our safety install speed cameras - this is the really smart move. Firstly these will raise a great deal of revenue, secondly, in a few years time the authorities can claim that the cameras have reduced accidents by x%: without mentioning the other safety measures. This move will justify the installation of more cameras.
An object lesson in deceiving by telling the truth - well some of it.
We are told that serious accidents at speed camera locations have reduced by 42%. Is this because they have been installed at the same time as other safety measures as in this case? I have been riding motorcycles for 51 years, driving other vehicles for 50 years, cycling for 62 years. I have ridden/driven over 2 million miles and have a clean licence. I am convinced speed cameras do not contribute one jot to safety, they probably increase danger, it has to be safer to be looking where you are going than constantly looking for cameras and at the speedometer.
Money for safety improvements should be raised by taxation, not speed cameras.
Neville Riley
Fen End, Kenilworth
Kearney's right on mpg
Everything Stephen Kearney says about the fuel economy of bikes is right. I know you'll get a load of responses saying he should shut up, global warming is a myth, blah blah blah, from the sort of people who put the 'mental' into 'environmental', so I just want to say I agree with him totally.
In some ways bikes are quite environmentally friendly, but the public perception could be improved so much with just a small effort from manufacturers and legislators. Why do so many people with the power to influence things have so little commonsense?
Phil Wall
Herts.
Ed, I agree with you Phil but the industry gives the market what it wants which is high power so the common sense for them is what makes money.
Take more responsibility
Roy Buchanan wonders why people have such a hostile attitude to bikers and Doc gives the answer. By all means let's all stand up for bikers' rights and try to correct other people's perceived concept of bikers, but let's not do it in a way that gives ammunition to the anti-bike brigade.
You can't have rights without responsibilities. I agree we all bend the rules and the speed limits at times in the name of freedom or enjoyment- but surely within sensible limits and when it's safe to do so. You can't ride or drive at twice the posted speed limit then be surprised or aggrieved when the law intervenes.
Perhaps if we all took a bit more responsibility for our performance on the road we wouldn't meet so much hostility from outside the biking community.
Pete the Elder
Get a Quaser
Stephen Kearney's views in Soap Box (Road No. 6) are right on the money.
I expect to read well argued views in The Road, but this makes so much sense it CANNOT be ignored.
Fashion and advertising seem to drive most of the decisions that most people make, including motorcycle purchase. The mainstream bike press has completely forgotten about practicality and economy.
Fortunately a small number of innovators are trying to build bikes that are economical, practical and are still enjoyable to ride (unless you LIKE aching wrists, back, knees and getting soaked through).
Have a look at the Quasar (http://www.bikeweb.com/node/425), comforT-Max 1065) to see how 70mpg @ 70mph is already possible!
Sadly, I expect a lot of blinkered "That's not a real bike!" type replies from the Luddites and macho types out there.
Dominic Lowe
NotAvon MAG
Fuel consumption
Mike Mason asks why fuel consumption figures for bikes are not advertised. Thanks be they are not. My Suzuki TL 1000S needs to be in third gear or lower around town, so I dread to think how much fuel it then uses. On the motorway at near legal speed, it does about thirty five mpg. Most bikes do about the same, although BMWs tend to do better. But most small cars today will get upwards of 45mpg if petrol, and about 60mpg if diesel. Even large Volvo estates exceed 45 mpg!
Mike Baker
St Austell
Ed: Sounds a bit extreme Mike. My 1450cc Harley-Davidson gets almost 50mpg
Better Regulation Commission
Would it not be more effective if MAG changed tack and asked the Better Regulation Commission to examine whether laws are good in the sense of being effective across the board instead of biased against one section of the community?
Loud pipes- OK, so apply noise regulations to loud music in cars with open windows and, more often than not, exhausts the size of drainpipes.
Helmets - OK, but apply the law to vulnerable pedal cyclists too. Maybe if we forgot about not alienating other groups, and fought our own corner, the powers that be might be made to see that one-sided legislation does not achieve its own underlying objective.
Fat old man
Ed, Examining the application of law for consistency is certainly a powerful way of exposing prejudice. MAG has for a long time employed this tack though I see its value in liberating us from onerous obligations. There is little consolation to be drawn from simply making others suffer.
The green eyed monster
In response to Roy Buchanan's question (what do we do that provokes such evil in our fellow road users?)
Here is my theory: It's not actually about bikes - it's about what our choice of transport represents to them. We're not afraid to break away from the herd and do our own thing. It's resentment my friend; that, and the unhappy knowledge that they'll never have the courage to break away themselves, resulting in jealousy and impotent rage.
Jane Carrott
Mid Lincs MAG
Alpha males
Ref. The First Minister (Transport?) quoted in The Road, on speed, motorcycles and accidents:
"I wish it did not happen, but unfortunately it seems to be part of alpha male behaviour in trying things out on a bike."
Does this mean that Biological Imperative can now be used as a defence? What about the women?
Chris
Lincolnshire
Rider's rights
So Doc is complaining about being caned by les gendarmes after being caught doing 175kph in a 90kph limit. All I can say is ha ha ha ha ha! So... whining after being caught doing the equivalent of 105 in a 50? What do you expect... sympathy? Riders rights doesn't mean the right to behave like a twat and expect to get away with it!
Brigadier Goring-Madd
(Actually, Paul from Sussex)
Fundamental Liberty
Interesting quote from Sir John Stuart Mill in 'On Liberty.'
"... the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community against his will is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or to forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because in the opinions of others to do so would be wise or even right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning with him, or persuading him, or entreating him, but not for compelling him, or visiting him with any evil in case he do otherwise. To justify that, the conduct from which it is desired to deter him must be calculated to produce evil to someone else."
Richard Huddleston
Car promotion plot
I think the just-received campaign update on motorcycle licensing proves my claim that the motivation behind these measures comes from officials sympathetic to, acting in the interests of (and very likely receiving backhanders from) the beleagured EU car makers.
The car industry and its hangers-on know the writing's on the wall. Record oil prices reinforce the theory that we've already reached peak oil production. Meanwhile apologists for the car have now to acknowledge that global warming is a reality, although they still try to shift the blame to civil aviation.
So, they intend to close the option of riding motorcycles to create millions more car buyers in order to stave off the inevitable.
Time we showed them we know their little game and they're not going to get away with it.
Pete Roberts
Ed: Hmm sounds a bit paranoid Pete. I think it's just the rabid safety lobbyists but as Bob in the off licence says, "Of course I might be wrong."
Invasion of the Gazza strip
I was most disturbed to read Mr Hipkins' closing statement in his write-up on this year's Farmyard Party (The Road, Issue 6) wherein he proposes the building of a bridge between the Nort East and Yorkshire. Is he mad? Hadrian didn't devote his life to the building of that wall for no good reason you know. Imagine the carnage as thousands of football shirt wearing Geordies pour over the proposed bridge looking to de-flower our virgins, drink all of our beer and deep-fry our Yorkshire puddings! The resultant pie shortage alone would be enough to cause mass rioting in the streets! This is an ill thought-out idea and I call upon all sane members of Yorkshire MAG to oppose this proposal.
Dave Rickel
Parliamentary Candidate for United Yorkshire Independance Party (UYIP)
Rebel envy
Whilst reading the latest edition of your excellent magazine I noticed one of your contributors asking what motorcyclists have done to upset car drivers. Well, the answer is really quite simple, it all comes down to envy.
Think, a hot sunny day. Mr Poser is sitting in his top-down sports car, music blaring, and going - nowhere. Why? Because everyone else had the same idea for a great day out. Then along breezes Mr and Mrs Motorcyclist. They take the legal option of moving down between, or around the traffic thus moving to the front of the queue.
My work colleagues admit that they find it galling that motorcyclists don't have to sit in queues and what really gets them mad is that they want to do it, but can't.
We are generally doing something that they only dream about. We are the public face of private wishes to be doing something different. We are the people who have dared to fulfil our wishes, who have decided to show that we don't mind being different, who are carrying out our rebel dreams, and as such we are the target of every suppressed wish to be anti-establishment.
We are perceived as running outside the pack, as being somehow outside the law, and as doing something different. As a result, pack instinct takes over, and the ones who run outside the pack are the victims of the majority. So much for 25,000 years of civilization!
Anne Boyce
Halifax
Light ain't always right
John L Broad (The ROAD 6), has got his facts totally wrong and is giving dangerous advice. If a driver is coming towards you with the sun in his eyes, putting your headlights on does not make you stand out from the glare but makes you blend in and become virtually invisible.
This has been proven by the military in combat situations where a tank on the skyline can, from the perspective of its enemy, be made to disappear by having bright spotlights mounted on it shining in the direction they are attacking.
In the equivalent road situation it is probably best to switch your headlights off so that you stand out as a moving black blob against a bright background.
John also mentions riding through dark forests. I would usually ride on dipped headlights in these conditions so daylight running lights would make no difference.
Lastly, strobe lights on aircraft are visible in the sky because they are moving and flash on and off to distinguish them from static stars, so I doubt if they will be considered in any way for the road as they could be mistaken for indicators and so misinterpreted as suggesting an intention to change direction.
Alec Butler
(Life Member, Liverpool)
Taken from the Sunday Telegraph 22/07/06.
On May 13 you advised C.C. of Reading to write to the Minister for Road Safety about accidents involving foreign trucks with inadequate mirrors. As a civil servant who has spent more than 30 years in Whitehall, I felt my heart sink when I saw that advice. If members of the public write directly to a Government minister, he or she never sees the letter and will never know about it. Such mail is simply sent to a junior clerk and, after about six weeks, you will get a response that is full of reasons (excuses) why your particular point is not going to be dealt with. But there is a simple method that will guarantee ministerial attention. Write to your local MP at the House of Commons, London SW1P 0AA and ask him or her to take the point up with the minister. The MP will send a copy of your letter to the minister, whose private office will send it to a senior civil servant for a draft reply within 10 days. Parliamentary rules demand that an MP should receive a response from the minister.
Richard Huddleston
Ilegal Gloves ?
I see congratulations are in order, for gaining the Freedom of the City of London, now you can really pee from on high.
As to the question of the rider told he would be reported for wearing illegal gloves. I brought this up with the "Bike Safe" officers at Paddock Wood.
They apologised profusely for having such an issue to deal with, as in their opinion, gloves formed no part of the requirements for motorcyclists' protective clothing.
The message is, don't believe Policemen tell the truth all the time, they are guardians of the peace, not self appointed judge & jury. If you think you are right, offer to see them in court but be prepared for plenty of homework to support any case you might have. Something like photography from motorway hard shoulders!
Name evaporated
A Rider's Prayer
May the sun rise in front of me, may the rain fall behind me and the wind follow me. May the angels of my brothers and sisters who have gone before me guard my travels, for they know the perils of the road ahead of me. Keep me safe through the rough city streets on my way to the land of the swirling turns and rolling hills. Let the turning colors of fall keep me warm. Let the eagle guide me to the mountain tops. Let the Moon's light guide me through the night. May my tyres not fail me, nor my engine grow old. May my bike draw life from the streams I pass. Keep my seat soft and my mind sharp. Let the air of spring breathe life into my soul, to journey to another adventure beside my brothers and sisters. AMEN
Another name evaporated
A critic's critic
Have a care Mr Tripp (critic of MAG's policy on helmets and daytime headlight use). You may yet asphixiate in the cotton wool you appear to be wrapped in. I should snuggle up to Nanny State if I were you - she'll take care of you. Pete Russel
If you want it, get it
When Fred Hill died in prison fighting the helmet law, it wasn't the law itself he was fighting, it was the fact that the single-minded determination of the Sikhs in this country had got them exemption from the helmet laws, and he, rightly in my opinion, felt that if it was okay for them to have choice we all should have choice.
The Government was confronted with the courts getting clogged up with determined Sikhs who claimed their religion was under attack. They got what they wanted because they were not prepared to be victims of badly thought out and unfair legislation and were prepared to take the consequences of their actions. If we were to put up a determined attack on the law and the faulty thinking behind it, we too could get back our choice. We would need to point out the unfairness of picking on bikers as opposed to those engaged in all the other potentially dangerous activities and occupations. I also think that given freedom of choice there would be some beneficial development of helmets, i.e. lighter weight, more pliable and energy absorbing designs with a good choice of sizes instead of the current three sizes adjusted by styrene.
If you want it you have to stand up and be counted, but I don't think I or MAG can advise people to break the law even though it is a bad one. It has to come from the individual bikers and be supported by MAG with excellent statistical backup which stands up to cross examination. We have to stop being victims and start to take control through MAG.
Mart
Ed: MAG did back Robert Quane's helmet court case last year. The nub of Quane's case was that the helmet legislation represented inconsistency in the application of law in that comparater groups (cyclists and horse riders) were not subject to the same requirement, though they are exposed to a comparable risk. The magistrates were impressed with Quane's case and extended the offer of legal aid to take the case further pending a favourable barrister's opinion.
MAG funded the barrister's opinion, at which point the case hit a brick wall since that opinion was not favourable. The situation remains on-going. MAG never gives up on significant issues of fundmental liberty like this.
Failing eyesight and licences
I was recently stopped by a police officer for doing 72 mph on a road with a 60 mph speed limit. He told me that the road was subject to a 40 mph limit and that I had passed five signs telling me so. Two large ones as I entered the 40 mph zone and three smaller ones over the mile that he had been following me.
"It used to be a 60." I spluttered, as my world fell apart. Had I really passed five 40 mph signs and had he really been following me in one of those hard to spot Police cars with a row of lights on the roof and POLI CE written in big blue letters across the bonnet, for a mile?
As we get older, it's not failing eyesight that worries me, it's a failing brain!
Glinch
Cumbria MAG & Lake-District HDRCGB
Live with it
In issue 6 you reported an item about cow pats and riders coming off their bike in Germany. I'm sorry, but if you ride a bike you must learn to look immediately ahead of you at the road conditions, as well as have eyes in the back of your head, and develop a sixth sense to anticipate any other God-forsaken event ever befalling you. Is everyone becoming as paranoid as the Americans or are there still true bikers out there any more?
Lynne Young
Witney
Join the club read the book
Before you ask, yes I have joined MAG -a great organisation.
I have just read Looking for America. What a great read. Just wanted to drop you a line and tell you so.Thought I'd better join MAG before
e-mailing you, I gather you get upset when bothered by non members! And quite rightly so.
Roy
A prophet
Settled down to read The ROAD. Read all the usual worthy stuff, noted the good times had by folks at various rallies, got depressed at the possible legislation, was pleased that owners were proud of their bikes, agreed yet again with our irascible editor. It was the usual good stuff, but I thought "yeah so what's new". Then I got to the last page and 'Soapbox.' (bikes need to be more fuel efficient).
Stephen Kearney you are a prophet in the wilderness, a man telling it like it is, we need you! How many other bike mags would give room to such views? Can you see the rags of Peterborough daring to air such heresy? The man is right, we are part of a very small planet and though we may be born to be wild and riding free, we only do so at a cost. We can lead the way in fuel-efficient transport that still knocks the socks off every other method of road travel.
Auldgadgey
Eco threat of DRL
I believe Day Riding Lights (DRL) are a marketing gimmick and so do our supporters in the USA where GM introduced them but not Ford. So GM vehicles now have a switch to turn them off as there is growing opposition to the glare in the USA.
My day job is energy auditor for the Carbon Trust (one of about 250). If DRL are introduced all the savings achieved by the Trust will be wiped out.
Roy Milnes
UK Co-ordinator
Drivers against Daytime Running Lights
Helmet-less thieves
Since helmet use became compulsory in 1973, usage has been almost universal. Exceptions being MAG protest runs, Fred Hill Day, riders attending various biking events, and when following funeral cortege for deceased bikers. In this time, none of the above exceptions has lead to the death of a biker. Almost, if not all bikers who have died while not wearing a helmet since compulsion, have been pursued by police at the time. So if helmet use was not compulsory, police would have no cause to pursue helmetless riders, saving several lives every year.
Secondly, police were recently criticised when they declined to pursue two helmetless youths who had stolen a bike, quoting health and safety regulations and fear of prosecution if an accident resulted.
I agree with the police. Such pursuits invariably end with a crashed bike, often with tragic results. Thirdly, this could be the 'green light' for those wishing to ride free to do so, as police cannot prosecute on speed camera evidence, few patrols now exist and these are unlikely to give chase if a rider does not stop.
Mike Baker
Cornwall
Ed Very interesting but what on earth is tragic about bike thieves crashing?
Don't open hard shoulders
Opening hard shoulders up to traffic is a ludicrous idea. As a lorry driver, I cover about 70,000 miles a year and see plenty of accidents. The worst kind are due to high speed vehicles hitting stationary vehicles, which is what will happen if hard shoulders are opened. What chance does a biker stand if he's chugging along the hard shoulder to try and reach a refuge cos his battery has packed in and he's got no lights and 42 tonnes of artic is approaching at 56mph?
Tony Mcnulty
Hard shoulder madness
What a monumentally stupid idea this is. For years we have been warned what a dangerous place the hard shoulder is. Now suddenly drivers are supposed to be able to cope with driving on it and dealing with breakdowns in their path. Perhaps it is not such an issue in Europe where lane discipline seems to be much better. They after all, seem to be able to cope with merging lanes of traffic and roadworks only need minimal warnings to alert drivers of their presence. Sadly, in this country a selfish pig-headed attitude seems to prevail, so where traffic is forced to merge, tailbacks are the norm and roadworks need miles of protective cones or ridiculous speed limits to provide adequate protection.
This is purely a quick fix cost saving scheme to try and address congestion without spending money. Lack of investment in roads and repairs which should be funded from the considerable amounts collected in road and fuel taxes is finally becoming painfully obvious.
Steve Wykes
RR Scotland
Tentspotter
I read the missive from 'The Tentspotter' with a growing sense of incredulity. I have accompanied Mr Edwards on numerous rallies and camping weekends. Not only can I confirm that he is active in this harmless if strange pastime, I have personally witnessed him noting details of tents on a recent holiday to the Norfolk coast.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Edwards
Intelligent speed control
I was taught years ago that any fool can open the throttle; it takes a good rider to know when to close it. Intelligent speed control will never be a good rider.
Road safety:
You have probably seen many safety signs put up around the country. A lot of these have been put up by the "Shiny Side Up" partnership. www.shinysideup.co.uk
The Shiny Side Up Partnership was formed in 2002 to respond to the increase in fatal crashes involving the riders of sports bikes. Do your part to highlight biker awareness by sending them your postal address. In return they'll send you a free "Think Bike" car window sticker which you can give to someone else if you don't have a car.
Dave Dibble
Ed, Names sometimes 'evaporate' because people fail to put them at the end of the letters as they are included in their email addresses. The Editor rushes things a lot and forgets to pull the names out of the address bar. He then becomes perplexed at a later date when he lays out the letters page, can't find the relevant emails and then he flies into a rage which is sad.
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