Anyone see this item on the TV3 news tonight? (17/03/14)

**Ulsterkiwi** · 17th March 2014, 20:22

Am sure someone on here was watching the item about "middle aged men on high powered bikes" tonight on the TV3 6pm news. I fit the middle aged bit of their demographic.
They seemed to make a big fuss about wearing protective clothing, which is not a bad thing, the item was also focusing on the number of serious injuries and fatalities since the start of the year involving motorcycles, especially in the Waikato. Were they linking this high number to NOT wearing appropriate gear?
Anyway, I suppose at least they weren't portraying all people on motorcycles as riding Harleys, so they have that in their favour.......

For those who missed it....

http://www.3news.co.nz/Middle-aged-m...1/Default.aspx

**jellywrestler** · 17th March 2014, 21:01

yeah wearing shit work site gloves and claiming to be an expert!!!
they'll stay on the hands for a split second during a crash

**skippa1** · 17th March 2014, 21:08

I liked the bit about how his Kevlar jeans absorbed the impact

**Kornholio** · 17th March 2014, 21:08

Nope but my best mate's Mrs put this in the Harold today... http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=11220810

**george formby** · 17th March 2014, 21:39

BABS, born again biker syndrome, has been news for at least 2 decades. Appropriate riding gear is only relevant to your attitude.
Don't care what your gear is but a telegraph pole will not move much if you hit it at 150kmh.
If your not riding tits oot & can scrub off speed in an "incident" then, yeah, your gear will help a lot.
Didn't read the links, soz. It is what it is.

**Big Dog** · 18th March 2014, 00:03

When it stops being true they will stop reporting it.

I do find it interesting that all of the bike parts I was able to identify in that clip were all Suzuki. Is that maybe an insight for the marketing machine at Suzuki?

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**Mike.Gayner** · 18th March 2014, 07:15

Originally Posted by Big Dog

I do find it interesting that all of the bike parts I was able to identify in that clip were all Suzuki. Is that maybe an insight for the marketing machine at Suzuki?

Yeah there's nothing a brand wants to be associated with more than death on the road.

**Paul in NZ** · 18th March 2014, 08:15

So here is the article...

t has been another bad weekend for motorbike riders in the Waikato. Yesterday a middle-aged man and his passenger were critically injured in an accident, while two people on a motorbike were seriously injured after crashing into a car on Friday night.

It is a trend which is worrying the region's police and it seems the victims are often middle-aged men.

PiNZ comment - well d'uh - if you look at the demographics middle aged men are strongly represented in motoercycle ownership full stop. It stands to reason that if they are the biggest group of owners then they are likely to be strongly represented in accident stats.

Police say a growing number of middle-aged men are buying high-powered motorbikes and riding them on the weekends and killing themselves – there have been five such deaths in the Waikato this year.

PiNZ comment - well d'uh - again. ALL bikes and cars and trucks have become more powerful. Middle aged men have more disposable income and are thus more likely to own such a vehicle. Whats relevant is is the high power availiable being used and did it contribute to the accident..

"We urge them to undertake some of the courses that are available because if you are returning and you haven't ridden for a long time, the bike's more powerful, there are different road rules, different CC ratings to what they may have ridden previously," says Inspector Freda Grace.

PiNZ comment - well fair enough.

Senior Sergeant Peter van de Wetering recently came off his motorbike, travelling at 70km/h on a country road. He says wearing proper motorcycle pants saved him.

PiNZ comment - He says proper pants...Yup....

He says all riders should wear boots, leather pants or Kevlar jeans, a leather jacket, gloves and a helmet. He has seen first-hand what happens when they do not.

"It's a very simple no-brainer," says Mr Van de Wetering. "Some people have needlessly suffered when they really didn't have to."

At least four other riders have been killed and another 24 seriously injured on New Zealand roads in the past 10 weeks. Police say the next few weeks will be the most dangerous, with riders keen to have a last blast before winter.

"Ride so you can afford to make an error without it becoming a tragedy," advises Mr Grace.

PiNZ comment - This is sound advice....

The risk of a motorcyclist being killed or seriously injured in a crash is 22 times greater than for a car driver. Sixty-nine percent of fatal motorbike accidents involve larger bikes of 500cc or more out on the open road.

PiNZ comment - irrelevant unless you have full access to the stats. I doubt you would find many bikes under 500cc on the open road..

Men aged 40 and over are most likely to be killed or seriously injured in a motorcycle crash, and it is not just in the Waikato; it is all over New Zealand.

PiNZ comment - well d'uh - Men over 40 make up the biggest group of riders...

3 News

**Big Dog** · 18th March 2014, 09:52

Originally Posted by Mike.Gayner

Yeah there's nothing a brand wants to be associated with more than death on the road.

Sarchasm, more pointing out perhaps they should look to including subsidised or free upskilling for returning riders to improve this image.

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**Ulsterkiwi** · 18th March 2014, 10:06

Originally Posted by Big Dog

Sarchasm, more pointing out perhaps they should look to including subsidised or free upskilling for returning riders to improve this image.

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Isnt that what is already available from ACC? Then the problem is uptake. $20 for a full days training is pretty cheap I reckon.
I cannot see one manufacturer taking on the responsibility of training riders.

Some professions have requirements to prove a maintenance of skills and knowledge on an ongoing basis so that they can retain a licence or registration they require to practice that profession. Anyone with a period away from practice will have a more stringent set of requirements to satisfy to ensure they are "up to speed" Should driving/riding licences be like that?

**george formby** · 18th March 2014, 10:26

Originally Posted by Ulsterkiwi

Isnt that what is already available from ACC? Then the problem is uptake. $20 for a full days training is pretty cheap I reckon.
I cannot see one manufacturer taking on the responsibility of training riders.

Some professions have requirements to prove a maintenance of skills and knowledge on an ongoing basis so that they can retain a licence or registration they require to practice that profession. Anyone with a period away from practice will have a more stringent set of requirements to satisfy to ensure they are "up to speed" Should driving/riding licences be like that?

Putting aside the cost & inconvenience it makes sense to me. With car drivers, jumping into a sim every 5 or 10 years would be easy, bike not so. Would have to be an on road assessment. Greater cost to us, but. Achieving a high standard, costs could be off set with a reduction in levies, can,t see it happening but I'm an eternal optimist. The infrastructure for re testing motorists would become a big industry, employment, particularly for motorcyclists.
Lots of pros & cons but ultimately if TPTB really want safer roads it's the way forward.
One would hope that the cost of the re testing would be heavily subsidised by the savings from ACC and become part of our insurance packages. Insurers want safer motorists, too.

**Big Dog** · 18th March 2014, 11:41

I am a strong advocate if training. Seen to many skilled riders with little or no training come a cropper. Me? I have no discernible skill or talent. Just years of training and practice.

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**swbarnett** · 18th March 2014, 16:06

Originally Posted by Big Dog

When it starts being true they will stop reporting it.

Fixed that for ya.

**swbarnett** · 18th March 2014, 16:12

Originally Posted by Paul in NZ

Men aged 40 and over are most likely to be killed or seriously injured in a motorcycle crash, and it is not just in the Waikato; it is all over New Zealand.

PiNZ comment - well d'uh - Men over 40 make up the biggest group of riders...

There was another thread on here in the last few days that talked about what a crock of shit this is. Comparing small age ranges in the lower number (something like 21-30, etc.) with the bigger range 40+. A complete fail of statistical know how and very misleading.

**skippa1** · 18th March 2014, 18:16

Originally Posted by Big Dog

When it stops being true they will stop reporting it.

I do find it interesting that all of the bike parts I was able to identify in that clip were all Suzuki. Is that maybe an insight for the marketing machine at Suzuki?

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Yeah,
....sort of fucks the old harley cliche aye