Another fatality

[MikeL]

Bad weekend on the roads. Biker killed north of Auckland in collision with car. Does anyone know who the poor guy was?

[aff-man]

Was that near orewa my folks said they were stuck there for almost 2 hours anyone know what happened???

[jrandom]

Originally posted by kiwistorm
"Around 8.30pm a motorcyclist was killed in Kumeu after a collision with a car, police said."

Sooner or later, everyone dies, one way or another.

We *know* that bikes offer less protection to the operator than cages, although we all do our best to manage the associated risk. It's just a choice one makes.

TBH, when I hear stuff like this on the news, I just imagine some fool running wide around a corner, or blowing past T-junctions without checking for turning traffic, and pasting himself across the side of a car. I suspect that more serious injuries and fatalities than many would care to admit are caused by poor or stupid riding, and/or failure to wear proper gear. More fuel for the bleating 'save the bikers from themselves' brigade.

And I have *so* many things that I would rather devote my emotional energy to than worrying about the (presumably) unfortunate demise of someone I've never met.

[jrandom]

Hmmm.

OK, now you can all have a go at me for being a cold-hearted bastard...

[Slim]

Originally posted by jrandom
Hmmm.

OK, now you can all have a go at me for being a cold-hearted bastard...
Why, when you're just talking sense???

[jrandom]

Originally posted by Slim
Why, when you're just talking sense???

I had a sudden twinge of guilt over my sensibleness, just in case someone actually *knew* the guy, knew that he was a responsible father of two killed by a drunk driver or summat, read my post, and thought 'you cold-hearted bastard' :o

[SPman]

But.......

Such is life...........

 

Or death........:(

[SpankMe]

Courner of Old Railway Rd and the Clevdon/Riverhead Rd at about 18:00 hours.

[RiceBurner]

Like Jrandom says - not all bikers are angels.

I had at least 2 close calls just yesterday that would have been totally my fault if something slightly different had happened.



My condolences to the riders family. :(

[twistymover]

Driving any vehicle around the Kumeu /Riverhead area calls for extra care. I lived in that area for many years, and there are many danger spots. Despite being a country area, there are quite a few people living there. There are lots of twists and turns and hidden corners, and combined with commuter and other traffic coming and going just about all the time nowadays, I consider the Kumeu/Riverhead area not a safe place to do any sports or fast riding. I'm not suggesting that the motorcyclist that was killed was speeding or driving dangerously,as I don't know the circumstances of the accident. I just feel the need to warn people who want to ride in the area to watch out more. There have been too many accidents round there.

[Duke of Rogan]

its alway sad to hear of these things, but its the risk we take, and if it was 100% safe it wouldn't be half as fun riding a bike.

I ride the roads around that area a bit, still learning the best routes, but notice a lot of horse floats and 4x4 etc (those type of people live out there).
On my last ride I ventured further north and found the roads less cluttered than the Kumeu area. Theres some very good tracks if you go inland from Silverdale on either Wainui or Pine Valley Road to Kaukapakapa

[Marmoot]

Cruising can be done anywhere.
Sportriding can only be done from Auckland City southward.
Northland is not worth it.

[Lou Girardin]

Marmoot, please explain 'Northland is not worth it' A lot of Northlands roads are superb. Try Dargaville to Whangarei, Oponone to Kaikohe, Twin Bridges, Kerikeri to Kaikohe, Waipu to Mangawhai coast rd, etc etc etc.
Lou

[georgedubyabush]

One problem up here that's gonna get a whole lot worse is with logging trucks. Not so much the trucks themselves but what they are doing to the surfaces. On my home road (narrow, windy 10km stretch) , a largish forest has been felled for the last few months. Its unbelievable how badly ruined my personal race track now is.

Potholes on EVERY single corner where the trailers slide around. Dips where there never used to be dips as the base just cant hack it. Fulton Hogan come round every so often and shovel a bit of sloppy tar & gravel in the holes so the next truck can come along and smear it everywhere. (they run 24/7).

The big forests havent even started yet:argh:

[Marmoot]

Lou: in the Nth Island, there are 2 areas with overzealous cops who (compared to other areas) are very active in pursuing speeding-ticket quotas: Northlands, and Central (around Taupo and Waiouru).

The most relaxed areas are Waikato/BoP.

[What?]

Originally posted by Marmoot
Lou: in the Nth Island, there are 2 areas with overzealous cops who (compared to other areas) are very active in pursuing speeding-ticket quotas: Northlands, and Central (around Taupo and Waiouru).

The most relaxed areas are Waikato/BoP.

???????

Ya coulda fooled me!!!!:gob:

[bikerboy]

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda, :beer:

[Coldkiwi]

yeah.. I understood the Waikato piggies were amoung the most revenue hungry of the lot of them? They were the ones pressing for a ticket quota a few months back

 

[Marmoot]

U talking 'bout backroads or SH1 lah????
I'm talking 'bout backroads.

The olde saying goes: Thou shalt not have fun on Queen's Highway!

[What?]

yeah, I will give you that, Marmoot. SH's 1, 2, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 all policed like Nazi Germany was. Fortunately, most of these are dead boring at any speed, so going legal(ish) is not such an ordeal. The exceptions are bits of 25 and 29 where just getting near the legal limit could be considered seriously fast.

But the back roads... well, there's just too many of them with too little traffic for them to worry about.:rockon:

[Marmoot]

SH22 Waingaro route
Cambridge-Teawamutu-Tekuiti-and back
Cambridge-Teawamutu-Rotorua
Hamilton-Pirongia-Kawhia-andback
Hamilton-Pirongia-Kawhia-Teanga-loop
Teawamutu-Mangakino-Rotorua-Taupo forrest loop
Morrinsville-Orina-Meremere through eastern side of SH1
Glen Murray 25km piece of road
Orina-Whangamata

BoP bike heavens

:done: :done: :done: :done: :done: :done:

[Lou Girardin]

I travel the North Island for work and I've found the worst place for feral cops has to be Taranaki. The best seems to be around Gisborne, Waioeka Gorge, Wairoa, etc. But 'best' is relative, the fleas of the highway, as Michael Laws calls them, can be anywhere.
Lou

[Marmoot]

anybody have tried Hamilton-Cambridge-Arapuni-Arohena-Mangakino-Benneydale-Kuratau Junction-Turangi?

It's a beauty

[Coldkiwi]

hmm, a distinct lack of bacon plauging the roads down (bombay, matamata, tokoroa, whakamaru(east of lake taupo), turangi, waiouru) to ColdKiwi this year when i travelled! (good thing too given the way I was riding). Only saw one cop on the way home too just pulling out of waiouru. I'm just glad I had the detector on board or I would've blitzed past that unmarked falcon near licence loosing territory!

well worth the price I paid for it already.

 

[SPman]

Nothing from Ohakune to Whata Whata, then 4 patrol cars between Te Kowhai and Huntly on the back route yesterday!! And an unmarked Black Commodore!

In Taranaki now they are using an old 626 and some other dunger, with radars in them, allied to marked cars hidden up the road!

Pricks!