Wire barriers TV3 NEWS TONIGHT

[ZeroIndex]

time and place for protest ride...i'm there and i can drag along some mates....

Do the Police reinstate your license for important protest rides?

[MSTRS:Me]

No. Can't see them doing licence checks tho.

[Scouse]

No. Can't see them doing licence checks tho.

Yup your right there you just become a face in the crowd

[Brett]

this is perhaps the only time i would say bugger the lack of licence and ride. We need numbers behind our voice big time!

[Swoop]

What did TV1 broadcast on this incident?

[RiderInBlack]

Please keep license comments away from here. Distracts from the whole look of the protest. You can bet we are being watched closely at the moment. We can not afford to encourage the view some have of Bikers being "Lawless".

[Skyryder]

Please keep license comments away from here. Distracts from the whole look of the protest. You can bet we are being watched closely at the moment. We can not afford to encourage the view some have of Bikers being "Lawless".

Yep good point RiB. All they need to do is a licence check en mass and you can guess the Headline.............it won't be about the protest or cheesecutters.

If you don't have a licence go pillion.

Skyryder

[RiderInBlack]

Have posted my view on Heralds "Your views: Should 'cheese-cutter' barriers be banned?", but have not seen them on that site yet. Are they just slow, or are they limiting the comments (promise I was being good, honest).

[Draco]

Hi All,
WOW! This is mind blowing! I wanted to take a moment to update you all as I am being inundated with PM's and I know you are all so keen to get behind this and quick.

Several senior kb members will be meeting shortly to decide on a plan of action. EVERY suggestion made by members has been read and will be carefully considered, your voices count guys.

I am concerned about the possibility of kbers getting carried away about the protest and losing sight of the ultimate goal of Dan's family and us bikers, that of getting cheese cutters banned/fixed.

To acheive this goal will take more than just a protest. We need to be looking at a petition and co-ordinated and constant "hounding" of the appropriate authorities to acheive our goal.

So please bear with us for a day or two while an action plan is established. A date for the protest ride will be set ASAP and members will be informed the second we have it. We do however want to get this right and believe taking a little extra time will be worth it in the end.

We have great interest from more than one media source and feel we will get the coverage we desire, so please don't panic about it.

In the meantime, keep collecting that data. Knowledge is power, and essential if we are to continue this fight with the respect of the public and the authorities involved. Keep responding to the questionaires, and keep those emails going to ministers etc. You guys are doing an awesome job of getting us heard. It's great to see everyone taking such affirmative action. Instead of sitting at your computers bleeting, your out there taking action and helping one another make a difference.

Watch this space for the protest details. Coming as fast as we can.
Regards, Jen

[MSTRS:Me]

According to TV3 News, police estimate this young man was traveling at 150KPH. The death is a tragedy for the victim and his family. But I'm fed up with motorcyclists who think they can operate outside the law. To those who are now grumbling about the safety of median barriers - how about focusing on your own safety and the cars around you. How about sticking to the speed limit. How about showing some responsibility instead of demanding that motorways be turned into drag strips. I'm quite happy with the present arrangement. If motorcyclists don't like the wire barrier, slow down or speed somewhere else.

This person had better never identify themselves. Education awaits.

[Draco]

Hi All,

Please please please please pleeeease be careful what you say on here. I have received calls from the media with regards to speed involved in the accident and the potential disruptive action planned by us during protests. Specific comments from kb were quoted to me by the media.

I have assured the media any action taken will be well planned and will not in any way be dangerous, illegal or overly disruptive to the public.

We are in constant danger of losing the respect we need to pull this off. Please think before posting folks, as even the most innocent of comments can be used to paint us as hoodlums with our own set of rules and our own agenda. Believe you me these threads are being watched!

[R6_kid:Me]

Contributors to the Kiwibiker internet forum accused Transit of considering only cars and trucks when installing the barriers and ignoring "an unacceptable risk to motorcyclists", a claim denied by the highways agency.

but

Transit's national operations manager, Dave Bates, denied there was much difference in cost between wire and steel barriers and said the main reason for using wire was its greater effectiveness in protecting most road users

Then who are 'the rest'? Do they not matter? And why are they not using the solution that has a greater effectiveness for ALL road users.

[RiderInBlack]

Believe you me these threads are being watched!

Aye. Thanks for all ya trying ta do.

[Unit:Me]

Have only just picked up on this thread and I havent had a chance to ready every post, but my thoughts regardless.
I think a well organised protest ride is a great idea and I would make every effort to attend and support the cause.
I would like to think that everyone who attends are people that should be there, and are genuine motorcyclists who constantly promote safe riding and care about their fellow bikers.
As tax payers, we pay a much higher premium in our rego's for RUC and ACC. That being the case, we have a right to protest against such a lethal piece of equipment being used.
I travel from Tauranga to Whangarei about every three weeks. There is a strip of these 'cheese-cutter' barriers on the way (Im sure those that do the coro loop know which one Im talking about). Every time I travel through there (often at night), it sincerely gives me the shudders. Yes its a straight bit of road, yes there are double lanes either side, but what I often notice is this gives cause for most motorist to speed up, not slow down, and that concerns me. There cars may nicely bounce off them, but if I get caught up in the moment of testosterone, I know I will be the one that comes off worst as an innocent motorist yet I might get the blame being the motorcyclist?
Dont know and only an opinion. As I do over some 20,000kms each year, I feel I am entitled to a voice, or show up as part of a contingent of riders who what to be heard.
This is a most serious matter, and not to loose sight of the most unfortunate event that brought these threads on.
Thank you to all those people working so hard to have our voice heard in the correct way it should be.

[Morcs]

Ditto to most of the thoughts being voiced here.

Another few of perspective:

Cyclists do not pay anything tax wise - they may 'save the environment' and cut down on traffic (ie. nothing beneficial to the government) but they get cycle lanes, and all sorts of facilities for them with their safety in mind.

On the other hand in comparison, we pay tax through fuel (less than cars) but more acc levies through regos.

So I think we do have a right - to demand (not just request) such safety measures. Its hardly going to be costly in comparision to covering auckland in cyclelanes.

Just my 0.02 from outside the box...