Law change - Daytime headlights and ban on handheld devices

[StoneY]

My last input to this topic:

I was a truckie with 1.5 MILLION accident free KMs when Telecom went Digital to compete with Vodafones text deals

I had a 25 year old sales rep drive under my 38 ton truck,(on the Taka's no less) because he was reading a text his boss sent him- he now has permanent wheels- attached to his chair
He considered himself an excellent driver- with 5 hours practice every day he may have been


80 buck and 20 demerits - if it saves ONE of my 3 teenagers from injury, pain or death- its well worth the dented pride of all these fucktards who think it shouldnt apply to them

[Soul.Trader]

Hi, someone please show me where in the legislation it says that if you're involved in a crash, your headlight is the defining factor in determining fault? That's what a lot of people here seem to think, but I see no reason to believe this is true.

The scenario being thrown around of drivers getting off a traffic offense for failing to give way/other offense because the rider can't prove he had his headlight on is totally unrealistic. The new law simply says it's a requirement to have your light on, as some bureaucrat has decided this is an important safety feature. No where does the law state that this will override existing legislation with regard to determining fault.

[Usarka]

A piece of spineless legislation. I thought we voted Labour out last year????

Yes texting is bad, ban it. But talking on the phone can be dangerous hands free or not. The only reason I can see apart from bribery & corruption for not banning all telephone calls while driving is that those with hands free kits are more likely to be business people.

ie. we're happy to compromise on road safety if it's done by people who might be on the phone for work purposes.

(before you have a whinge read the research)

[Usarka]

Exactly. Now, cellphones that explode when you travel faster than 25 km/hr would be a start!

Cellphones that just randomly explode would be even more fun!

[Beeza]

I own a number of older classic bikes where the charging system is simply not designed to keep the battery charged at low-speed stop-start city running if the headlight is on. It works as designed out on the open road at a decent speed, but in town it runs the battery down so badly the bike won't start. So it is IMPERATIVE that all older bikes (say over 25 years) are exempt from the proposed all-day headlight law. That way, if your old bike has a charging system that can cope, you can run with the light on. If it is doubtful, you run with the light off. It's your choice.

[MikeL]

to make it an OFFENCE punishable by way of fine is just another nail in the coffin of civil liberties

Quite right. Too many Nanny-State regulations brought in by liberal lefty tree-hugging politicians. Oh wait, that can't be right. This is a National government. What on earth are they thinking of? Next they'll be telling us we can't have the tax cuts we were promised...

[PrincessBandit]

But, then again, I my young, nubile body has 20/20 vision, maybe it's an old person's thing?

I'm still trying to bring my bpm down after that comment!! don't be such a tease.

I'm trying to pretend I'm not getting wrinkles, here and am still in my teenage years!
Carver can look, but he can't touch.

Maybe he won't be able to help himself though...

Hi, someone please show me where in the legislation it says that if you're involved in a crash, your headlight is the defining factor in determining fault? That's what a lot of people here seem to think, but I see no reason to believe this is true.

The scenario being thrown around of drivers getting off a traffic offense for failing to give way/other offense because the rider can't prove he had his headlight on is totally unrealistic.

Seems to be a typical knee jerk reaction, assuming the worst. I'd have thought that riders would be amenable to doing anything at all to visibly highlight their presence on the road, regardless of whether it was a commonsense thing or pissy rule that we now have to follow. The fact that we currently have drivers who are blind as a bat to other cars etc. as well as motorbikes who already travel with headlamps on during daylight hours means that in reality nothing much will change. The 'no headlight' excuse to get out of fault would be a pretty weak attempt at blame shifting. The only road users, other motorcyclists included, likely to come at it are probably ones who'd use any little technicality to save their own skins even if they knew they were entirely to blame for an accident.

[Swoop]

This morning's Harold states the following:

Transport Ministry figures show the number of motorcyclists killed or injured rose 48 per cent in two years, from 896 in 2005 to 1328 in 2007.

1328 MOTORCYCLISTS killed in 2007??????? Just motorcyclists?

I think a statistician has been holding a key down on his calculator.

New Zealand is choked with infective laws,

I was enjoying the very subtle methods being used in this campaign. The radio station has been inserting a campaign of "distracted drivers are dangerous drivers", obviously coming from the "pre-legislation" phase of implementation. They have to soften us up and have us all "thinking right" when the law is announced...

[CookMySock]

if it saves ONE of my 3 teenagers from injury, pain or death- its well worth the dented pride of all these fucktards who think it shouldnt apply to them

Yup.

Cmon you biker idiots, why they hell is "all the cagers putting their cellphones down" a bad thing for bikers ?

It's not is it. It's a fucking good idea, and you are far better off for it.


Steve

[PrincessBandit]

Why don't we just have a chip put into people's brains which activates once they sit in the drivers seat of any vehicle. It turns off all ability to do anything other than look at the road and operate vehicle controls. No speaking, no reaching for anything outside the limit for handbrake (not even radio control knobs...). From the time the ignition switch activates our brains go into "drive mode" and we are incapable of doing any other small task.

Somehow I think there'd still be accidents!

People are designed to multitask, some better than others. FFS, the rate we're going we will have robots to drive all our vehicles.

[Laava]

Ooooooooh! Lots of unhappy people in here innit? Wouldn't like to be the cops having one more responsibility tacked on to their list! I bet none of them are looking forward to ticketing people for this.

[ready4whatever]

that means insurance wont pay out if your headlight is off in an accident

[PrincessBandit]

And yes, I am aware of accidents caused by people texting while they've been behind the wheel of a car. People are also killed though by drivers who run up onto footpaths while they grope around for their bottle of L&P and take their eyes off the road while doing it.

[skidMark]

Not good for people with anything 85 ish or earlier, the charging circuit is often not up to it...

Now al we need is mandatory riding gear... for ALL riders, including scooter riders....

Helmet Jacket gloves pants and boots.

Most of you will have a cry going ohhh but it will steer new riders away rider choice, 250's are to expensive to afford gear as well etc etc...

well im sick of my ACC levi through the roof and squids riding like fuckwits with nothing but a lid.

Skid.

[Soul.Trader]

[QUOTE=PrincessBandit;1129353657]I'd have thought that riders would be amenable to doing anything at all to visibly highlight their presence on the road, regardless of whether it was a commonsense thing or pissy rule that we now have to follow. [QUOTE]

You would be wrong. One of my first posts on this forum was to query why almost all motorcycle gear is black, being the same colour as the road and the most difficult colour to discern at any distance. The thread went for many pages, most of which was post after post vilifying me for making such an assertion that, as much as everyone here likes to bitch about not being seen by other motorists, most don’t do what they should be doing to make themselves more visible.

Then again I’ve come to expect such idiocy from this forum, hence I rarely visit any more.