Oh those naughty motorcyclists

[Jdogg]

Motorcyclists Police alert out today – Wow look at those damming stats that have lead to this targeted campaign – Not to mention the well proven * Tui Ad* cause of the accidents which also encourage extra attention from the police.....



A new news release is available for you to view on the Police website:

Title: Return of campaign to encourage safe riding

Motorcycle safety will be at the heart of a month long campaign which starts in Central District on Monday (14 November).

The campaign was run for the first time last year and was met with a very positive response from riders, who in the main were demonstrating responsibility on the roads.

The officer in charge of Highway Patrol for Central District, Senior Sergeant Kris Burbery said: "We were really encouraged by the response we received last year and feel it is a worthy initiative to repeat. It is important to stress that this is not about targeting motorcyclists to issue infringement notices. Although we will deal with offences that we identify, the focus is to engage with riders to raise awareness and remind them of their vulnerability.

"It is also about encouraging both car drivers and motorcycle riders to respect each other; they each have responsibilities that they need to uphold."

In 2010 seven motorcyclists were killed on Central District roads with speed identified as a contributing factor in three of those crashes. So far this year five motorcyclists have died. Those cases are still under investigation but speed and alcohol are suspected as being a contributor in some of the crashes

During last year's campaign 747 motorcyclists were spoken to. 49 offences of speed were detected, 35 riders were in breach of their licences, 9 had vehicle faults and there was one drink-driver identified.

The 2011 Month of Motorcycles will run from 14 November to 11 December.
Police will be proactively speaking to motorcycle and moped riders. They will be focusing on vehicle conditions, safety equipment, clothing, licences, rider behaviour and legal compliance. Checkpoints will also be a part of the campaign with the support of partners agencies such as ACC.

Some key safety tips are as follows:

• Make sure you have appropriate licence for the size of motorcycle.
• Ensure the vehicle is safe, registered and warranted.
• Make sure you wear the appropriate safety clothing and footwear. No bare
skin and jandals!
• Make sure you wear an approved safety helmet.
• If you are riding a motorcycle that was manufactured on or after 1
January, 1980, the headlight must be switched on at all times when on the road.
• Ensure you comply with any conditions of a graduated (learner or
restricted) drivers' licence.

Media enquiries should be referred to Communications Manager Kim Perks on 027
234 8256.

[steve_t]

Haha. Rego checks disguised as a safety campaign :clap::Pokey::innocent:

[Tigadee]

• If you are riding a motorcycle that was manufactured on or after 1
January, 1980, the headlight must be switched on at all times when on the road.

I don't understand this one - shouldn't the headlight of any motorcycle be switched on, regardless of year of manufacture?

[sarcasm mode on] And gosh, ONE drink rider identified! That's -200,000 more than other motor vehicles!

[Devil]

I don't understand this one - shouldn't the headlight of any motorcycle be switched on, regardless of year of manufacture?


It is now law.

[bogan]

• If you are riding a motorcycle that was manufactured on or after 1
January, 1980, the headlight must be switched on at all times when on the road.


Never seen that law, the 'headlight' law actually refers to running lights, so a park light, or dim both on front indicators count too! More light from a headlight obviously, but some have reasons not to want to use that.

[Pampera]

I don't understand this one - shouldn't the headlight of any motorcycle be switched on, regardless of year of manufacture?

[sarcasm mode on] And gosh, ONE drink rider identified! That's -200,000 more than other motor vehicles!

The law that makes it an offence to forget to switch your light during the day on or have a bulb blow during the day only applies to motorcycles manufactured after the stated date. If you are on a 1979 or older motorcycle you cannot be ticketed for lights off during the day. Presumably neither can a motorist who pulls out on a motorcyclist riding an older bike claim (to a court) that the accident was the motorcyclists fault because their headlight was not on!

I have now twice been inconvenienced by the harrassment campaign referred to in the press release. I can assure you at the second stop, (same place and time on my commute) that the crew at the checkpoint did not meet with the Police spokespersons claimed "very positive response" from me. You don't see every passing motorist or cyclist stopped during peak hour traffic for this sort of harrassment.

Exactly how does repeatedly pulling a 50 year old licenced rider, dressed properly for riding, with 33 years riding experience on a registered, warranted Vespa out of a busy peak hour traffic flow "encouraging both car drivers and motorcycle riders to respect each other"?

You said it - "Yeah right".

Michael

[The Pastor]

yeah im a little bit worried about this, wonder if i should get a wof and take the rego off hold :S

[Duke girl]

I don't understand this one - shouldn't the headlight of any motorcycle be switched on, regardless of year of manufacture?

[sarcasm mode on] And gosh, ONE drink rider identified! That's -200,000 more than other motor vehicles!

All Motorcyclists regardless of age of bike should ride with their headlight on as its better to be seen out there even if some car drivers for some reason dont see you cos they dont look before pulling out in froint of you.
If all road users concentrated more on their surroundings and abide by the road rules our roads would be much safer and enjoyable to use.
Awareness as we all know is our survival when using our roads.
Stay safe and ride for tomorrow.

[short shins]

From AMCN 25 Oct - 8 Nov Issue
" The Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce has called for the Motorcycle Safety levy to be scrapped.
The VACC addressed the Road Safety Committee (RSC) Parliamentary Inquiry into Motorcycle safety in Victoria, claiming the levy is an unfair impost on riders. The $63.80 charge is allocated for motorcycle safety projects on top of annual vehicle registration."

Who do we ask about doing the same here?

I'm not sure but I think Victoria also repealed their lights on law.

Rode my bike to work today with no lights on and no safety checks.

[pritch]

All Motorcyclists regardless of age of bike should ride with their headlight on .

Some of the bikes made in the UK when Joseph Lucas ruled as "the Prince of Darkness" might not respond too well to that treatment.
Then there's the small matter of Italian electrics...

There is a reason for having a qualifying date in the law.

[Pampera]

All Motorcyclists regardless of age of bike should ride with their headlight on as its better to be seen out there even if some car drivers for some reason dont see you cos they dont look before pulling out in froint of you.


Unfortunately this is not really the point. Having the choice and then choosing to have lights on is good, the point is even if you believe that lights on during daytime is a good thing to do (and I do) if;

you forget one day
a bulb blows
you have an electrical system fault

and your light is out, you will be ticketed and fined, along with the other ~ 100 motorcyclists ticketed for this so far this year. Today, if your light stops working during daytime you are supposed to park the bike at the side of the road and walk home.

Because light use is compulsory, a motorist who pulls out on a motorcyclist can now claim to the court that the motorcycle lights were not lit and the motorcyclist has to share the blame, with the hope and likelihood that the severity of any sanction against them will be reduced by the judge during sentencing. Prove your lights were on and working immediately before the impact!

My view is it is the compulsion that is the problem, not the having lights on. No other road users have this requirement imposed on them. Another new way for Police to meet ticket and revenue quotas and harrass motorcyclists (as per their press release). I sometimes wonder now why I still ride... that's right, it used to be enjoyable!


Michael

[blackdog]

From AMCN 25 Oct - 8 Nov Issue
" The Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce has called for the Motorcycle Safety levy to be scrapped.
The VACC addressed the Road Safety Committee (RSC) Parliamentary Inquiry into Motorcycle safety in Victoria, claiming the levy is an unfair impost on riders. The $63.80 charge is allocated for motorcycle safety projects on top of annual vehicle registration."

Who do we ask about doing the same here?

I'm not sure but I think Victoria also repealed their lights on law.

Rode my bike to work today with no lights on and no safety checks.

Cheers. Reposted in the McSAC thread.

[Maha]

During last year's campaign 747 motorcyclists were spoken to. 49 offences of speed were detected, 35 riders were in breach of their licences, 9 had vehicle faults and there was one drink-driver identified.

These stats dont even comes close to a regular nights policing of cars in Reefton...:cool:

[Bald Eagle]

reefton has car ????????????

[Maha]

reefton has car ????????????

136...most are stopped at least twice.:niceone:

[Usarka]

reefton has car ????????????

They stopped it at the traffic light.

[cheshirecat]

Some of the bikes made in the UK when Joseph Lucas ruled as "the Prince of Darkness" might not respond too well to that treatment.
Then there's the small matter of Italian electrics...

There is a reason for having a qualifying date in the law.
And the one make worse than Lucas if that were possible - Miller.

As a matter of interest, when I changed from riding a darkish bike not using headlights (as is or was my habit) to a bright red bike with twin headlights I noticed little if any change to vehicles pulling out, indeed there have been a few instances of cars, having seen you, making an extra effort to pull out. In addition having spent some years DRing in London I never used headlights (unless dark) and never had a collision, but then I rode as being invisible plus a few other tricks.

[jellywrestler]

All Motorcyclists regardless of age of bike should ride with their headlight on as its better to be seen out there even if some car drivers for some reason dont see you cos they dont look before pulling out in froint of you.

thats BULLSHIT
This means they won't look for anything else except a headlight, you've simple read too much propaganda.

[davereid]

All Motorcyclists regardless of age of bike should ride with their headlight on as its better to be seen out there even if some car drivers for some reason dont see you cos they dont look before pulling out in froint of you.

Do you have any evidence that riding with a headlight on makes you safer ?

Drivers regularly pull out in front of trains which have very bright headlights.

There is significant evidence that suggests that while a headlight may make you more visible, that it may destroy depth perception. This is due to the way the human eye, and depth perception works.

It uses shape, binocular vision, and memory of the objects expected shape and size to determine distance.

A single light source destroys the ability of the brain to determine distance.

In WW1 (No I wasn't there) ships used dazzle camouflage. Instead of hiding the ship, it was painted in dazzling bright striped colours, and particularly on a moonlit night was well lit with a single bright light.

This was done to confuse the gunners attempting to hit it, by ruining their range estimations.

It worked really well.

Headlights on is just more drivel from the uneducated we love you lot at the MOT.

[StoneY]

I am very interested in knowing if this campaign uses the flyer they handed out last year.
My face was used on that flyer without my legal consent (they used the images off www.rideforever.co.nz)

If it has been I will be very happy to totally discredit this so called safety campaign, s I have :
Been suspended for speeding related offences twice in the last 24 months, and am paying off a huge pile of speeding fines!

Thats so ironic ... aint it????
:confused:

[Pogo2]

They stopped it at the traffic light.

Reefton has a traffic light - surely you jest!

[bsasuper]

I was "asked to stop" at one of these, they were only interested in getting the point accross that "you are the problem".When I talked about educating non motorcycle persons to be aware, and the condition of our poorly designed, constructed and maintained roads, I was asked to move on.

[Murray]

Look forward to this - heading to Palmie Friday back Sunday - hope they have a hot cuppa ready and waiting for me:argue:

[jellywrestler]

Reefton has a traffic light - surely you jest!
reefton was in fact the first place in new zealand to get electricity

[rastuscat]

Exactly how does repeatedly pulling a 50 year old licenced rider, dressed properly for riding, with 33 years riding experience on a registered, warranted Vespa out of a busy peak hour traffic flow "encouraging both car drivers and motorcycle riders to respect each other"?


How can they check your licence status without stopping you and requiring you to produce it?

The guy or girl Popo who stopped you the second time, did they stop you the first time? If not, how could they have known you had already been stopped.

What if you had been disqualified? How could they check without stopping you to see who you are?

Don't be so bloody precious.

[rastuscat]

When I talked about educating non motorcycle persons to be aware, and the condition of our poorly designed, constructed and maintained roads, I was asked to move on.

Yeah good idea, lets just keep riding any way we want while we wait for everyone else to change.

:confused:

[StoneY]

Yeah good idea, lets just keep riding any way we want while we wait for everyone else to change.

:confused:

I'll agree with that!
Laws??? What laws?

[rastuscat]

reefton was in fact the first place in new zealand to get electricity

Yeah, it's also got one of those anti-christ intersections with a stop sign on one side and a give way sign opposing it. Recipe for confusion.

[rastuscat]

Remember everyone. Whatever goes wrong, it's someone else's fault.

Blame SOE. SomeOne Else.

[steve_t]

Do you have any evidence that riding with a headlight on makes you safer ?


Are we allowed to extrapolate from studies about DRLs (Daytime Running Lights) on cars?



Nearly all published reports indicate DRLs reduce multiple-vehicle daytime crashes. A study examining the effect of Norway's DRL law from 1980 to 1990 found a 10 percent decline in daytime multiple-vehicle crashes.1 A Danish study reported a 7 percent reduction in DRL-relevant crashes in the first 15 months after DRL use was required and a 37 percent decline in left-turn crashes.2 In a second study covering 2 years and 9 months of Denmark's law, there was a 6 percent reduction in daytime multiple-vehicle crashes and a 34 percent reduction in left-turn crashes.3 A 1994 Transport Canada study comparing 1990 model year vehicles with DRLs to 1989 vehicles without them found that DRLs reduced relevant daytime multiple-vehicle crashes by 11 percent.4

In the United States, a 1985 Institute study determined that commercial fleet passenger vehicles modified to operate with DRLs were involved in 7 percent fewer daytime multiple-vehicle crashes than similar vehicles without DRLs.5 A small-scale fleet study conducted in the 1960s found an 18 percent lower daytime multiple-vehicle crash rate for DRL-equipped vehicles.6 Multiple-vehicle daytime crashes account for about half of all police-reported crashes in the United States. A 2002 Institute study reported a 3 percent decline in daytime multiple-vehicle crash risk in nine US states concurrent with the introduction of DRLs.7

Federal researchers, using data collected nationwide from 1995-2001, concluded that there was a 5 percent decline in daytime, two-vehicle, opposite-direction crashes and a 12 percent decline in fatal crashes with pedestrians and bicyclists.8 However, a 2008 federal study concluded that DRLs have no significant effect on either of these crash types.9


Also: http://www.landesverkehrswacht.de/fileadmin/downloads/Tagfahrlicht/Studie_Niederlande_Tagfahrlicht.pdf

Also : A European Commission study in 2006 suggested that a substantial number of casualties could be prevented across the EU with a positive benefit-to-cost ratio when the costs of fitting lamps and the environmental cost of running them was taken into account.


I personally wouldn't mandate for cars having DRL's cos they could make motorcycles less conspicuous. I also believe the 'propaganda' that mandatory headlight use for motorcycles is a good thing :drinknsin

[jellywrestler]

How can they check your licence status without stopping you and requiring you to produce it?

number plate recognition cameras will give a good indication, yep I know it might not be the registered owner...

[Ocean1]

Are we allowed to extrapolate from studies about DRLs (Daytime Running Lights) on cars?

Yes.

Except these ones:


A study examining the effect of Norway's DRL law .... A Danish study reported.... Denmark's law.... A 1994 Transport Canada study ....

Where "Daytime" doesn't mean much in terms of "Daylight" for a significant part of the year.

[Berries]

Don't be so bloody precious.


Yeah good idea, lets just keep riding any way we want while we wait for everyone else to change.


Remember everyone. Whatever goes wrong, it's someone else's fault.Blame SOE. SomeOne Else.
Did someone get out of the wrong side of bed this morning?

[rastuscat]

Did someone get out of the wrong side of bed this morning?

Yes. Me. Now sod off.

Sorry, getting cheesed of with the blame-everyone-else-brigade.

Things have improved though, just hugged a tree.

:baby::baby:

[bluninja]

Are we allowed to extrapolate from studies about DRLs (Daytime Running Lights) on cars?



Nearly all published reports indicate DRLs reduce multiple-vehicle daytime crashes. (edited for brevity by bluninja)

Figures look great, but I would want to compare crash figures on a bright clear day for those with lights on and those off. I would suggest that the reduction is down to the drongos who don't bother turning on their lights when visibility reduces, and are involved in a collision where other road users haven't seen them.

[pritch]

Things have improved though, just hugged a tree.


If you lived in the North Island you could hug Katman.

[Berries]

But would you get wood?

[rastuscat]

Figures look great, but I would want to compare crash figures on a bright clear day for those with lights on and those off. I would suggest that the reduction is down to the drongos who don't bother turning on their lights when visibility reduces, and are involved in a collision where other road users haven't seen them.

I've been banging on about this for months..........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inattentional_blindness

It's hard to imagine, but once you understand it, you'll wonder how to solve it.

Donuts.

[Ocean1]

I've been banging on about this for months..........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inattentional_blindness

It's hard to imagine, but once you understand it, you'll wonder how to solve it.

Donuts.

So. You missed the gorilla, and an ancient piece of trivia is suddenly inspiration for a crusade.




:yawn:

[rastuscat]

If you lived in the North Island you could hug Katman.

Does he discriminate against mainlanders?

Scum.

[bluninja]

I've been banging on about this for months..........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inattentional_blindness

It's hard to imagine, but once you understand it, you'll wonder how to solve it.

Donuts.

I can't think why I haven't seen any of your posts about this before :bleh:

[rastuscat]

So. You missed the gorilla, and an ancient piece of trivia is suddenly inspiration for a crusade.
:yawn:

Sorry to bore you.

We attend hundreds of crashes each month where the offending driver says he/she didn't see the other vehicle.

I guess it could all just be a coincidence.

But I think not.

I dealt with a young guy who U-turned across the path of a red XR6 this week. He wasn't blind, just blind to something he didn't expect to see.

[Ocean1]

We attend hundreds of crashes each month where the offending driver says he/she didn't see the other vehicle.

I don't doubt it, but it's hardly news to motorcyclists.

How about you suggest some proven strategies for dealing with it, or are they not officially sanctioned?

[chasio]

Are we allowed to extrapolate from studies about DRLs (Daytime Running Lights) on cars?

I vote no.

This next is only my vague recollections and crackpot rambling so if you want some facts, do some Google-fu. But anyway...

A significant part of our depth perception and therefore our perception of whether the distance to an object is increasing or decreasing and at what rate comes from having binocular vision.

It is rather difficult to accurately estimate the distance to a single bright object (e.g. a bike headlight, especially on high beam), particularly if the brightness of the object overwhelms the other visual information that we may receive about its source (e.g. it overwhelms the fairly small front profile of a bike). Basically our binocular vision cannot provide enough information about the bright light for the brain to figure out what is happening unless it has other information to mitigate the 'shiny thing with no distinct edges' effect.

If there are two bright lights approaching us on a single object that are arranged on a plane at right angles to where we are looking, our eyes provide information that our brain can process much better in terms of inferring how quickly the object is moving, even though our binocular vision has been compromised. E.g. two lights slowly seeming to become further apart may be interpreted as a slow moving pair of car headlights, while two lights more rapidly appearing to be further apart means warp factor 9, Mr Sulu. (And for last second "looming" effects: the effect is dramatically more noticeable as long to medium range becomes short range, of course).

So while a pair of DRL's on a car may provide information that is useful in terms of speed and distance, a single headlight does not do this for motorbikes. Perhaps it might catch the attention of someone who is looking for it. But "bright thing" is not as compelling a message as "rapidly approaching object", and so the "bright thing" is assigned a lower priority.

I've thought about getting a pair of DRL's to assist with this, but I certainly wouldn't get a round pair and mount them low down, for fear that my bike at 50 metres could be mistaken for a car 200 metres away. I reckon bikes with two round headlights side by side would do better in this regard (on low beam).

By way of unscientific evidence, I used to cycle a lot at night (quite fast) and got fed up with people pulling out in front of me. My thinking was as above, so I mounted two 1W LED lights about 20cm apart on my bars and set them both to a steady beam (flashing is harder to judge speed), angled very slightly down so as not to dazzle. I reckon I had about an 80% reduction in emergencies as a result.

YMMV

Chasio

Edit: So I ride assuming that I have not been noticed until I see clear evidence to the contrary. And then I still don't actually trust them.

[caseye]

Sensible idea that Neil. Can't imagine why it wouldn't work, obviously it DID Work, %80 is damned impressive.
So does this mean that those pesky Hardly riders might be onto something in bolting on those hideous side lights?
Pin Lock works %100 mate, many thanks again.

[pete376403]

Sorry to bore you.

We attend hundreds of crashes each month where the offending driver says he/she didn't see the other vehicle.

I guess it could all just be a coincidence.

But I think not.

I dealt with a young guy who U-turned across the path of a red XR6 this week. He wasn't blind, just blind to something he didn't expect to see.

Well of course they all say that. You really expect the person who's *probably* at fault to say something like "yeah i saw it but it's only a motorbike and I''m in my car and fully insured so, what the hell"?

[caseye]

You really don't know HOW CLOSE TO THE ACTUAL TRUTH YOUR WORDS ARE DO YOU? They do see us, believe me, they simply don't perceive us as a big enough threat to stop, or give way to, for!

[warewolf]

Do you have any evidence that riding with a headlight on makes you safer ?
...
Headlights on is just more drivel from the uneducated we love you lot at the MOT.You are on the ball. There is no evidence. I was in Aussie when the lights-on thing went down. I paid for a copy of the Victorian's report into it, the most comprehensive one done on motorcycle safety and conspicuity done in this part of the world. Much of it is quite interesting reading on the matter. A few things to note from the report (which I've written before):

there is no evidence locally nor world-wide that lights-on improves motorcycle safety. None.
Let me clarify that by saying that there are as many indicators as there are contra-indicators, so it is a neutral result.
studies about DRLs are mostly non-transferable to Australasia because we are much closer to the equator and have much more intense ambient light
approaching lights ruin your distance and speed perception
with the sun low at your back, lights-off creates a visible shadow, lights-on hides you. A low-off-low flash can be much more effective than a low-high-low flash.
voluntary use of lights-on was at 80% and it would take 20+ years of fleet turnover of new hard-wired lights-on motorcycles to reach that same point
various jurisdictions world-wide prohibit daytime lights-on for motorcycles, for safety/conspicuity reasons
trains have 60,000 candlepower lights at the front and run on predictable tracks clearly marked where they cross roads. Lots of people die on level crossings each year...

As such, they strongly recommended against implementation of lights-on, instead backing an education campaign to encourage appropriate use.

[warewolf]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inattentional_blindness

It's hard to imagine, but once you understand it, you'll wonder how to solve it.And so, how the fcuk is hi-vis gear going to make a difference, if the problem is not visibility per se but perception? ACC and our $34.50 crew seem pretty convinced about that one - are you gonna push your barrow to them and tell them they're wrong?!

[warewolf]

By way of unscientific evidence, I used to cycle a lot at night (quite fast) and got fed up with people pulling out in front of me. My thinking was as above, so I mounted two 1W LED lights about 20cm apart on my bars and set them both to a steady beam (flashing is harder to judge speed), angled very slightly down so as not to dazzle. I reckon I had about an 80% reduction in emergencies as a result.At night I use a helmet-mounted HID 75W halogen equivalent - they see me alright!! :clap: If I think they are a risk to me I'll dazzle them until they aren't - usually they stop and shield their eyes :laugh: Quite some satisfaction in getting them to behave and change their 'you are little people' attitude, I must admit.


Edit: So I ride assuming that I have not been noticed until I see clear evidence to the contrary. And then I still don't actually trust them.This. 100%

[pete376403]

You really don't know HOW CLOSE TO THE ACTUAL TRUTH YOUR WORDS ARE DO YOU? They do see us, believe me, they simply don't perceive us as a big enough threat to stop, or give way to, for!

Oh I believe it all right. Threat perception is the thing, after all how often will a car driver pull out in front of a group of patched gang members (with or without lights on)?

[chasio]

So does this mean that those pesky Hardly riders might be onto something in bolting on those hideous side lights?

I reckon they probably are. Plus there is the threat aspect: HD are associated with gangs and they won't know you're a friendly IT Manager (low priority) and not a dangerous Mongrel Mobster (high priority) until after you have ridden past them.

Now, where did I put my tassles?

Chasio

PS - You're most welcome :)

[Brian d marge]

The law that makes it an offence to forget to switch your light during the day on or have a bulb blow during the day only applies to motorcycles manufactured after the stated date. If you are on a 1979 or older motorcycle you cannot be ticketed for lights off during the day. Presumably neither can a motorist who pulls out on a motorcyclist riding an older bike claim (to a court) that the accident was the motorcyclists fault because their headlight was not on!

I have now twice been inconvenienced by the harrassment campaign referred to in the press release. I can assure you at the second stop, (same place and time on my commute) that the crew at the checkpoint did not meet with the Police spokespersons claimed "very positive response" from me. You don't see every passing motorist or cyclist stopped during peak hour traffic for this sort of harrassment.

Exactly how does repeatedly pulling a 50 year old licenced rider, dressed properly for riding, with 33 years riding experience on a registered, warranted Vespa out of a busy peak hour traffic flow "encouraging both car drivers and motorcycle riders to respect each other"?

You said it - "Yeah right".

Michael

Riding a Vespa, done deal right there , just lucky it wasn't a Honda ......


on a side note, 49 people ( out of 700 odd ) were naughty , of that ...35 were on the wrong bit of paper ???? oh and one was pissed ,

1, in 700 were pissed ,

terrible terrible crime on them streets , shocking , something should be done,

wonder how many suffer from poverty related illness......


Stephen

[Howie]

trains have 60,000 candlepower lights at the front and run on predictable tracks clearly marked where they cross roads. Lots of people die on level crossings each year...


Isn't candle power an older style measurement? and just measures the lights intensity? eg Candlepower is most useful as a measure of illumination in a particular direction, not the total illumination which would be better described in lumens.

Train Head/ and ditchlights(the low ones at sides on the lead end) are basiclly a headlight with a focused beam, which is same problem with the average bike headlight in that if you are directly in front of it it stands out quite bright, but once you are close and off to the side it won't be anywhere near as bright particually when dipped.

Incidently train headlights on the the mainline locos in NZ are 200 watt bulbs.

[warewolf]

Isn't candle power an older style measurement?Yes, but that's not the point.

[avgas]

yeah im a little bit worried about this, wonder if i should get a wof and take the rego off hold :S
My thoughts as well. But mine sounded more like "May be you should unbolt the plate, and run next time. Get busted for something decent".
I don't listen to that voice often......which is probably why I haven't been for a ride for a month. However if he (and they) win, I will be getting something that out runs the plod.

These are sad times for motorists in New Zealand. Will be like Diabetics in a candy store.

[avgas]

Isn't candle power an older style measurement?
Old is being nice. Its archaic. Like a thimble of sugar or eye-of-newt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candela

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumen_(unit)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt

Plenty of new stuff out there for those of you whom were born post 17th century.