Is bad driving compulsory?

[nzspokes]

If YOU were coming the other way on your bike and got pwned by that n00b, what would YOU say?

I wouldnt say anything as I would be to busy shitting myself.

And in this situation nobody was hurt.

[SMOKEU]

I wouldnt say anything as I would be to busy shitting myself.

And in this situation nobody was hurt.

So is it OK if I take pot shots with a gun in a residential area, as long as no one gets hurt?

[nosebleed]

I wouldnt say anything as I would be to busy shitting myself.

And in this situation nobody was hurt.

Nobody lost their job, nor any of that other stuff either.
That was just a scenario you made up all on your own.

[nzspokes]

So is it OK if I take pot shots with a gun in a residential area, as long as no one gets hurt?

I didnt say what he was doing is not safe. Its dumb driving. My point is does the punishment fit the crime?

Would a discussion with a Police officer not have a better outcome than losing his job due to the OP getting out of hand with retribution?

[nzspokes]

Nobody lost their job, nor any of that other stuff either.
That was just a scenario you made up all on your own.

Exactly. But it is a potential outcome.

[Madness]

Exactly. But it is a potential outcome.

Just as injuring or killing an innocent road user was a potential outcome of the drivers actions. In driving a signwritten work vehicle one should accept that they are liable to have any bad driving being reported to their employers. It happens all the time without people losing their jobs, marriages and families. Stop being a drama queen.

[98tls]

Exactly. But it is a potential outcome.

I remember years back holding my 21 year old cousins hand,cold as fuck it was as she was lying on a hospital bed only alive because of the machine going up n down beside her,she was offically braindead and all because some clown not paying attention when driving knocked her off her motorcycle.The guy that hit her was beside himself with grief etc etc and his life wasnt ever going to be quite the same but compared to Julie for all intent and purpose he was a lotto winner.That said we all make mistakes eh.

[caseye]

Yes it's a scenario that could happen spokes, but as SmokeU said , does that make it OK to take pot shots in a residential area, as long as no one gets hit?
Could not have put it better myself, well done that man.
I've driven company vehicles for over thirty years, in all that time I can't recall a time I crossed a centre line without knowing I was doing it and doing it safely.
For me, having seen first hand the results of this particularly lazy form of driving, quite honestly I'd not give a damn if that is what happened to this particular driver.
Remember the Op said he had followed this person for some time and they had consistently cut almost every corner in this manner.
Please, when is enough enough?
Get the barstard off the road by any means, before it is you, not a friend of a friend who is hurt or worse killed by this sort of neanderthal driver.
I was reported by another motorist for the first time that I've ever known about, just last year,. my employer took me aside and asked me if I could recall doing anything dumb while on the road that day. I could not, I said so and that was the end of it, they trusted me to do my job properly and without causing accidents, turns out the gentleman who rang in had apparently seen me driving up a dead end residential street using my cell phone and eating lunch at the same time and he got a bit concerned in case I had driven upon the footpath and knocked down his equally elderly lady neighbour.
A grain of salt is required on all sides.
No I had not been eating my lunch using a cell phone and driving on a footpath that day, for the record.

[nzspokes]

Yes it's a scenario that could happen spokes, but as SmokeU said , does that make it OK to take pot shots in a residential area, as long as no one gets hit?
Could not have put it better myself, well done that man.
I've driven company vehicles for over thirty years, in all that time I can't recall a time I crossed a centre line without knowing I was doing it and doing it safely.
For me, having seen first hand the results of this particularly lazy form of driving, quite honestly I'd not give a damn if that is what happened to this particular driver.
Remember the Op said he had followed this person for some time and they had consistently cut almost every corner in this manner.
Please, when is enough enough?
Get the barstard off the road by any means, before it is you, not a friend of a friend who is hurt or worse killed by this sort of neanderthal driver.
I was reported by another motorist for the first time that I've ever known about, just last year,. my employer took me aside and asked me if I could recall doing anything dumb while on the road that day. I could not, I said so and that was the end of it, they trusted me to do my job properly and without causing accidents, turns out the gentleman who rang in had apparently seen me driving up a dead end residential street using my cell phone and eating lunch at the same time and he got a bit concerned in case I had driven upon the footpath and knocked down his equally elderly lady neighbour.
A grain of salt is required on all sides.
No I had not been eating my lunch using a cell phone and driving on a footpath that day, for the record.

I dont disagree with the points made. Yes the driver should be punished for his driving. Dont disagree with that. As should the guy shooting in a public place. Which is why it should be dealt with by the Police. Does it really need to be public is more my point? I would say a good number of us have had tickets for doing stupid things (wheelies, speeding etc) on the road but do we need to make it a public event?

So i guess then you all are of the opinion that the punishment fits the crime then. Fair enough then.

[98tls]

I dont disagree with the points made. Yes the driver should be punished for his driving. Dont disagree with that. As should the guy shooting in a public place. Which is why it should be dealt with by the Police. Does it really need to be public is more my point? I would say a good number of us have had tickets for doing stupid things (wheelies, speeding etc) on the road but do we need to make it a public event?

So i guess then you all are of the opinion that the punishment fits the crime then. Fair enough then.

Just had to mention wheelies didnt ya.I see your point fella but made public or not it may just make the guy think next time hes out driving eh,as i think every time i want to jump in the ute and head down to the shop.

[Road kill]

Exactly. But it is a potential outcome.

In just the same way that his killing somebody could have a similar out come.
The problem here is that people demand justice after the fact,but seem unwilling to do or say much to stop it happening in the first place.
Almost like letting drink drivers walk because they haven't actually killed somebody yet.
I've read somewhere that drivers crossing the center line is one of our biggist killers,plus it is one of the main things I see it for myself on a regular basis while driving every day,so if somebody turns all soft cock and kills him self because he got caught doing it,then so be it.
It's probably saved somebody elses life because anybody that's that unbalanced was probably going to mess up sooner or later anyway.
The other thing is much like DIC,this type of driving is not an accident or a common mistake.
It's a direct result of simply not caring about others,so the sooner he's either off the road for good or re-educated the better.
One more thing,,,these guys see a 30 tonner coming,,they wake up an get the fuck out of the way because they know the truck can't,,,but when it's you on your bike,,tough luck mate I hope your funeral is a nice one for your familys sake,,,it won't make fuck all difference to you.
Fuck it,trhis is not about people making mistakes,we all do that,,this cunt needs to be removed from our roads because his actions are not a mistake.
Actually I'm begining to suspect he's somebody you know,,nobody else would defend his actions.

[nzspokes]

Actually I'm begining to suspect he's somebody you know,,nobody else would defend his actions.

No I dont know him. Where did I defend his driving champ?

[James Deuce]

Yes, by implication you defended his right to drive like a twat Mr Spokes.

It is with profound relief that I can sense that you've not been seriously injured and had to put up with being trapped and immobile and visited over and over by some fool who is both horrified at the ruin he has visited on another person and totally convinced that his inability to follow basic road rules doesn't in any way make him liable for what he's done to you or a mate.

Every time I've had an accident that has involved another road user, I've ended up having to prove, often from a hospital bed, that the story the other party relayed is bollocks. The hospital staff and the Police simply assume that because you were on a bike you were:

a. At fault
b. On the wrong side of the road
c. speeding
d. stupid
e. drunk or stoned.

In my case, my toxicology reports have always been the point where I've been able to put a case together. Never any alcohol in my blood, never any proscribed drugs. Not once have I been charged with dangerous or careless driving or misuse of a motor vehicle as a result of an accident, even when I could have done a shitload better at avoiding it in the first place, because the mitigating circumstances usually support my story, or in cases when I can't remember, the investigation clears me completely.

I'm sick to death of lazy driving, especially in NZ and on NZ roads. The repercussions for motorcyclists are always intense pain and lifelong complicated injuries that may not affect you that much when you're young but as you get older they contribute to an advanced rate of decay, reducing quality of life and making pain management key to successfully navigating a reduced quality of life.

If a driver is prepared to drive like that, you know that he will not ever own the outcome of his poor habits, should they intersect with another vehicle. Even if they are crushed by a B-Train and killed, the truck driver has to live with the poor decision making of the other "road users". Small-minded fuckwit more like.

I was riding back from Wellington yesterday, riding past landmarks and meeting places and thinking of all the people who are dead or so badly injured they can't ride or even work any more and they fall into two camps. Heroes who overestimated their riding abilities and victims who were mangled by people cutting corners or making stupid mistakes at intersections. I'm both, but by sheer happenstance, good fortune, and the generosity of others, am still riding.

I have no patience for the driving displayed in Geoff's photos. I don't care if these people or companies are publicly outed in an Internet forum, or whether that punishment fits the crime. It still won't get close to the punishment people like that driver visit on undeserving recipients, usually with a sense of entitlement and disbelief that anyone could possibly think they're a crap driver.

I know that it is unlikely that there will be any meaningful repercussions for these people and I personally think, after 30 years of pain and loss, that these incidents should be judged by the most extreme potential outcome with a specific set of charges and outcomes for that sentencing. If it is a company vehicle, the response from the company should always be suspension pending dismissal. That includes all forms of professional drivers, from Government employees to owner/operators. If the driver chooses the education process and pays for it, by all means rehabilitate. If they have to be "sentenced" for that to happen, that displays the type of attitude to driving that should have prevented the acquisition of a license in the first place.

[Road kill]

No I dont know him. Where did I defend his driving champ?

Ok that may of been a bit OTT,but The whole tone of your threads do defend the guy.

[Bass]

I have no patience for the driving displayed in Geoff's photos.
.

I agree with pretty much everything you say and your conviction is obvious, but that sort of crap is not limited to 4 wheels; the last 3 times I have been confronted with it, 2 of them were bikes.
Further, I'm guilty of it myself and willing to bet that most of us are. The thing is, that how dangerous it is, depends on how close to the vanishing point the driver is, before they get back on their own side of the road. If they are well back from the vanishing point, there is plenty of time to react if a vehicle appears round the bend and little danger, conversely and it's life threatening of course.
I do agree that it is lazy driving/riding, but I doubt that I have ever ridden with anyone who has not been guilty of it to some degree. Almost all fall into the "well back" category I describe above - the others I don't ride with any more. My point is that it's a judgement call and so there will be as many opinions as there are drivers. Some of those opinions are right out in La La land.
Lastly, a camera can make things look a great deal closer than they really are and create a completely false impression of the field depth. I am not saying it's the case in this instance. I wasn't there and so I don't know. I am saying that it's a factor to take into consideration.

I guess that this will be seen as defending the driver pictured. It's not.
If his actions are as portrayed, they are criminal. He won't see it like that in the least however and I'm saying that it's not always cut and dried.

I know that my opinion here will be thoroughly unpopular, so why do I bother? I do it because this forum always, repeat always, tries and hangs someone on the basis of a single accusation.
I have been in middle management for nearly 40 years and very frequently involved in dispute resolution. If it has taught me anything, it is that until you have both sides of the story, you have nothing at all. I have had several instances where it was difficult to tell that both parties were talking about the same incident and yet neither party was lying.