MSAC - Two new members wanted

[Berries]

Two days later I hear via the grapevine that he regularly tops 200 up the Culverdon straights. I feel really conflicted, this 45 year old company executive high flyer taking that risk apparently frequently.

I smile and cringe when I think of him. And how he'll react if he gets caught or bins at that speed.

So what is the conflict? That here is someone who regularly breaks the speed limit yet has not crashed and died? A 45 year old must have gained a bit of life experience and learnt to do his own risk assessment. Perhaps he thinks the time and the place to give it a squirt is ok? I am sure he is well aware that if things go wrong at that speed he will have less time to react, and if he bins it it will be messy and if he gets caught he'll be in bother and could lose his job. Is this not what riding a bike is about? Why would you buy a Panigale and do 100km/h everywhere? What exactly is the point of a Hyabusa? Comfortable two up touring my arse. The elephant in the room that was mentioned earlier is not wire rope barriers, it is that some motorbikes are very very fast and attract people who get a buzz from riding them at high speed. Not everyone for sure, but a significant number. Shit happens, some of them will crash and some of them will die. Most won't. Most will get away with it and therein lies your problem with speed enforcement.

Cue someone to say a sheep could jump out or his tyre blow out.

Good luck with the application.

[Zedder]

I've stuck my hat in the ring due to wanting to do more about the problem than I currently can.

Joined the job 25 years ago as I wanted to get paid to ride a motorbike. Hey, I was 22, gimme a break!! I've endured the Popo culture since, and finally weaseled myself my dream job. Ride a bike, and my boss lets me run my own little interests. I get to advocate on motorcycle safety wearing the uniform so that people listen. I attend meetings with NZTA, ACC, IAM, and a pile of other acronyms. We get to engage with riders who are more likely to want to chat to us than a car Popo.

I just see MSAC as a chance to do more about rider safety.

And yes, the rebellious nature of motorcyclists means it's a confrontational relationship at times. E.g. met a real decent bloke in a ssocial situation couple of weeks back. I pissed Mrs Cat off coz I spent an hour talking bike's to this friend of a friend. He has a Panigale. Two days later I hear via the grapevine that he regularly tops 200 up the Culverdon straights. I feel really conflicted, this 45 year old company executive high flyer taking that risk apparently frequently.

I smile and cringe when I think of him. And how he'll react if he getd caught or bins at that speed.

We own a lot of the solutions.

I'm certainly not having a go at your career choice Rtc, truth be known, my interest in science was only part of the picture.

Anyway, the owning of the solutions concept I fully understand. Some people seems to be just bad drivers/riders and all the legislation, speeding tickets, ACC sponsored training etc doesn't appear to have the required effect for TPTB in bringing the road toll down enough for their liking at present. Only time will tell but how far do you go before it becomes too much of a control?

Ultimately though, the extra $30 shouldn't be a cost to us for something the LTSA and Police should be doing anyway.

[Katman]

I'd like to see funding go to educating car and truck drivers to watch out for and appreciate motorcycles!!

Oh!!! Maybe car and truck drivers should pay a levy so this education can be funded???

As I've always said, greater change can be effected by looking at ourselves rather than trying to change the habits of others.

[Murray]

As I've always said, greater change can be effected by looking at ourselves rather than trying to change the habits of others.

Quite right - but does that mean we have to pay a levy for it and they don't?

[Grashopper]

ACC is paying a big chunk of the fees for my bike training courses and I'm quite happy with that. These course otherwise would cost a couple of hundred bucks per person for the day and we only have to pay $30 to $50. There is courses for experienced riders, too. No one is stopping you from signing up for it and voila you get something for those 30 buck extra you pay per year and you might even still learn something.

I did a day's training with RoadSafe on the weekend. The ABS bike was repeatedly outbreaked by non-ABS ones.

In our course that only happened if the people without ABS actually knew what they were doing. They had learned and practised their ermergency braking skills. If everybody did that, and those 'little' things like human error and panic not existed, we might not need ABS. As it stands though, we do.

Personally, I'd like to see a sizable chunk go toward setting up Gymkhana events around the country.

Where do I sign up for this?

[swbarnett]

In our course that only happened if the people without ABS actually knew what they were doing.

Of course I didn't mean everybody, mostly the trainers and a few of the students.

They had learned and practised their ermergency braking skills. If everybody did that, and those 'little' things like human error and panic not existed, we might not need ABS.

Which is, of course, the point. Those of us that are willing to invest time and money in training learn to do better without it.

As it stands though, we do.

As long as it remains an option I don't have a problem with a rider deciding for themselves that they need it.

[R650R]

I've stuck my hat in the ring due to wanting to do more about the problem than I currently can.


We own a lot of the solutions.

Yep the nut behind the wheel is usually the only one that knew what went wrong...

I commend your good intentions but this group has already been running a couple of years and what magic have they produced?
Here's whats going to happen at your meetings:
1-Member A motions an idea that might have merit
2-The idea is debated for awhile before the experts decide more info/research is needed from other experts.
3-The idea comes back as maybe being a good idea and is forwarded to govt to act on and.................
4-A new fancy safety idea emerges overseas that supercedes the original. Shred papers and go back to step one.
Democracy in action.

One thing that might work is to do away with these fancy ads they keep coming up with that we all switch off to as we know its not real.
Substitute them for Russian dashcam vids, the knarly stuff, not the weak nearmiss stuff filmed from trucks on theat tv show with the westie guy.
Those Russian vids really show what and how things go wrong in a million different ways and how fast it all happens.

[Kickaha]

Two days later I hear via the grapevine that he regularly tops 200 up the Culverdon straights. I feel really conflicted, this 45 year old company executive high flyer taking that risk apparently frequently.

The risk doing 200kmh on a straight well maintained road with good visibility isn't that high, dumb place to be doing it though if that area is still patrolled as much as it used to be

[The Reibz]

Can I have a couple of bucks back from my 30? Need to buy a loaf of bread so I can make a shit sandwich and force feed it to Gareth Morgan. Churr

[Swoop]

Actual first action will be introduction of donut stops for bikers countrywide at long weekends.

I may even staff them myself.

Add the magic ingredient of "pies" and you could be onto a winner!