Motorcycles are a "Legitimate form of transport"!

[oldrider]

One of the misconceptions that has been formulated in many of the general public's thinking process is that:

"Motorcycles are not a legitimate and necessary form of transport"

IMHO This is one of the points we must raise and repeat every time our case is represented publicly.

We have every right to expect to find the same consideration and courtesy that other motoring members of the public expect on our roads.

The worst aspect of road use IMHO is failure to keep left!

The next worst is the pollution of the highway by other ignorant road users and the general public at large!

All of these contribute to increasing the hazards faced by a motorcyclists every day!

The list is huge:I.E.

Cigarettes, food, bottles and other junk thrown from car windows.
Plastic bags.
Firewood.
Ground water pumped out of heavy traffic tyres.
De-laminated rubber peeling off tyres.
loose gravel left by contractors on completion of repairs, not swept off!
Diesel spills not cleaned off the road surface.
Cow shit and mud left by farmers.
Stock effluent dropped by truckers.

Just to name a few, maybe others would like to add their pets to the list.

I am a venture bike rider and expect to confront hazards at any time but road bike riders face hazards that just should not be there!

These offenders of road pollution and road hazard creation are seldom ever apprehended or identified but they are often contributors to the accidents and injuries sustained by motorcyclists!

What ACC are insisting is, that the motorcyclist should now "subsidise" these bloody offenders as well! :doh:

Motorcyclists are legitimate road users and motorcycles are a legitimate form of transport!

Not some unnecessary form of personal "entertainment" that needs to be abolished from "their" roads!

[george formby]

Bikes are a solution not a problem.
Like you my nightie is regularly shredded by the 4 wheel hedgemony of our roads. I drove past the local quarry yesterday & for 4km's the road was littered with rocks which had bounced off an overloaded truck. Some of them would have been big enough to rip out the sump of my car. Drivers coming the other way seemed oblivious to the rocks, belting over them at 100kmh. The thought of copping a rock the size of a meat pie on my noggin doe's not bear thinking about. The road is still the same today, Puketona Rd for any riders up here who may read this.

[AllanB]

I hear you brother, praise be the motorcycle.

(apparently God rides a Harley - I've seen the bumper stickers)

[Mully]

Right, is the whole choir and congregation sitting comfortably?

Good.

Start preaching.

[Ronin]

Right, is the whole choir and congregation sitting comfortably?

Good.

Start preaching.

I'm just waiting for katman. This is like a red rag at a bull.


OTHH.. All good points. I guess my concern is that bringing all of these points up give ACC ammo to say "see we told you it was more dangerous". Any properly prepared rider is aware of all of this before they put their helmet on.

My 10 cents worth.

[McJim]

(apparently God rides a Harley - I've seen the bumper stickers)
Why does he ride a Harley? Doesn't he like motorcycles or somat? :Pokey: :rofl:

[Mully]

Why does he ride a Harley? Doesn't he like motorcycles or somat? :Pokey: :rofl:

Don't like corners :jerry: :girlfight:

[Katman]

I'm just waiting for katman. This is like a red rag at a bull.




Fuckin' hell - I've really gotten under your skin, haven't I?

[PrincessBandit]

I'm just waiting for katman. This is like a red rag at a bull.



Why? What do you think he would say about it? I don't think he'd find fault with what oldrider has said. Gee. Get a life.

[James Deuce]

Yes absolutely.

My only point in my Safer Tomorrow's submission was exactly that.

[sunhuntin]

Bikes are a solution not a problem.
Like you my nightie is regularly shredded by the 4 wheel hedgemony of our roads. I drove past the local quarry yesterday & for 4km's the road was littered with rocks which had bounced off an overloaded truck. Some of them would have been big enough to rip out the sump of my car. Drivers coming the other way seemed oblivious to the rocks, belting over them at 100kmh. The thought of copping a rock the size of a meat pie on my noggin doe's not bear thinking about. The road is still the same today, Puketona Rd for any riders up here who may read this.

theres a quarry just south of bulls, and the main road running next to it was often littered with rocks etc. one time, i was riding south, with a passing lane next to me going the same way, and a large rock got flicked up by on an oncoming vehicle. somehow, the rock made its way across the passing lane, through my bikes frame and struck me on my left leg, right on the scar tissue! i still dont know how it happened, but thank goodness for delayed reaction... by the time i realised and the pain had made itself known, i had already got over it. LOL.
i commented about it on here and one of the guys who works at ohakea rung the quarry and complained. its been spotless ever since. cant for the life of me remember who it was, but thanks!

[Pixie]

Just to name a few, maybe others would like to add their pets to the list.



Various "safety improvements" the roading authorities scatter around to maim and disfigure us

[Azi Dahaka]

Back when I first started riding I was chatting with one of the people at the Rotorua Suzuki bike shop bout cagers and the hazards we face. She said it should be a requirement of all car drivers to ride a motorbike for 2 years so they understand how to look out for hazards.

I completely agreed with it.

[klingon]

I started riding as a way of not adding to Auckland's parking and congestion problems, saving fossil fuels and reducing pollution.

The Govt says, "Thanks for all that. Now we're going to punish you for being socially responsible."

:mad:

I think I will compost the lot of them (MPs) and plant a garden on top. That is the only way they will ever make a useful contribution to the world.

[MSTRS]

Lemon trees do well planted on top of bodies. Only trouble is they produce more of the some. Lemons, that is...

[klingon]

Lemon trees do well planted on top of bodies. Only trouble is they produce more of the some. Lemons, that is...

Thanks for the advice. I thought you might be able to help me with info on disposing of dead bodies. <_<

Lemons do well in very sour soil so I imagine bitter and twisted politicians would be perfect for them. I will just have to make sure the lemons aren't poisonous before I eat them.

[Winston001]

We have every right to expect to find the same consideration and courtesy that other motoring members of the public expect on our roads.

The next worst is the pollution of the highway by other ignorant road users and the general public at large!

The list is huge:I.E.

Cigarettes, food, bottles and other junk thrown from car windows.
Plastic bags.
Firewood.
Ground water pumped out of heavy traffic tyres.
De-laminated rubber peeling off tyres.
loose gravel left by contractors on completion of repairs, not swept off!
Diesel spills not cleaned off the road surface.
Cow shit and mud left by farmers.
Stock effluent dropped by truckers.


Motorcyclists are legitimate road users and motorcycles are a legitimate form of transport!


Cheers John and you make a good point. Motorcycles are a green and efficient means of transport which I think is completely overlooked by the influential people on this ACC issue.

However we also have to recognise that our roads are lightyears better than they were 30 years ago. In fact our roading network is very high quality given our small economic base. Plus building roads on mountainous islands isn't easy for engineers.

Any of us who have travelled off the main highways in Australia will have seen the degraded single strip of bitumen which constitutes a road there. Not surprising given the size and distances involved - but we are well-off by comparison.

So far as the hazards motorcyclists face on roads, many of them I just accept. The exception is detritus lost from trucks - that is plain wrong. :confused: