The (newly) Hon Steven Joyce is the new Transport Minister. Get him while he's fresh.
Deus ex ukulele
The (newly) Hon Steven Joyce is the new Transport Minister. Get him while he's fresh.
"Standing on your mother's corpse you told me that you'd wait forever." [Bryan Adams: Summer of 69]
Forum whore
Yes they hate them to. So did the cops that I talked to in Taupo when we started our protest ride. They even moved outa the way of our ride so as not to disrupt it. We have plenty of support on the ground. We gota get the message out or live with them.Originally Posted by sunhuntin
Whip it, whip it good!
Flick me his email address Hitcher, I may as well welcome him to his new portfolio.
LOOK.. ZOMBIES!
phil goff is a former biker and a good bastard
Deus ex ukulele
Try steven.joyce@ministers.govt.nz
"Standing on your mother's corpse you told me that you'd wait forever." [Bryan Adams: Summer of 69]
Hardcore Biker
Once again the WRB's fail
http://www.3news.co.nz/News/Region/A...8/Default.aspx
Fri, 21 Nov 2008 7:00a.m.
UPDATED AT 8:00AM
An accident involving a truck and a car on the southern motorway is causing traffic chaos and several hours of delays are expected.
One person is injured after the truck crashed into the back of their Mazda hatchback.
The truck, heading south, went through the median barrier near Conifer Grove in South Auckland, before colliding with the hatchback.
The car's driver was trapped beneath the truck, but has now been freed and taken to Middlemore hospital.
Transit NZ have told 3 News that the crash will take longer than 6 hours to clear.
One northbound lane and two southbound lanes are currently open.
3 News Video link
http://www.3news.co.nz/Video/Nationa...ult.aspx#video
Watch the video on this websitehttp://www.concretebarrier.org.uk/
Support http://www.cheesecutter.co.nz/
Whip it, whip it good!
Imagine that, they dont stop trucks!
Mad nagging bitch!
Time for some more action, I think.
While I have sympathies for those involved in today's accident, it seems wrong to not use this opportunity to make some headway on this issue.
Diarrhoea is hereditary - it runs in your jeans
If my nose was running money, I'd blow it all on you...
Forum whore
So what are we going to do. More to the point have we got any support left? Are there any riders that would ride to Wellington and take action to hold the traffic up and make a point? We could hold traffic up on both sides of the hills going in to Wellington and it would have to be rush hour and on a week day. We would need to have a group who speak well and have all the facts to meet with the minister to present our case and remind him/her that we have had enough. We could spend time holding traffic up in Wellington city and then head for home. I have no idea if anyone wants to do this but if we only have 20 bikes it is a waste of time. I see a heap of threads on here with WRB in them but as I am on dial up and working less than 28800 I just can’t spend the time to see what is in them. Can we work in this thread or are we going to start another?
What the fuck happened to the petition ? More to the point, what did BRONZ do about this? And we were told to back off cos a “Special group” within KB were working on this and they would keep us informed. By Christmas we were told. Last fucken year….. So what happened to that special group?
Or, and I wonder if this is the case, should we let this go and accept that shit happens and hope it doesn’t happen to us? Ie me and you. If most riders don’t care should we just accept it and live with it. Look it is no use chasing something for the masses if the masses don’t want or don’t care about it. Just maybe we are barking up the wrong tree and we should just let it go. Enjoy the riding and be aware of the WRB’s. Fucked if I know…………………
Kiwi back at home!
On the northern this afternoon I witnessed some plonker slam into the concrete median barrier, just slid along for a bit ...... if it had of been a WRB it would of been much like the Southern incident/
Whip it, whip it good!
I have the petition at the moment mate, read the forum!
What the fuck happened is that a bunch of people gave a shit load of time they did not have to spare to get the initial campaign started. I gave a shit load of time and money to the cause a few months ago. I am resting atm. Though, an email and phone call today means I am sort of onto it!
BRONZ have supported (I think) our campaign, their name is on www.cheesecutter.co.nz as supporting it. They do what they can as we all do.
What special group? When were we told to back off? Where did this Christmas deadline come from?
Things stagnated for ages I agree, I was part of the mouthy group demanding to know what the hell was happening! Instead of continuing to bleat, I got off my bum and actually did something. Not everyone agreed with what I did, too bad.
If you really want to DO something PM me, I am full of bright ideas, with little time, and less money to put them into playWe do what we can. Do not sit on the sidelines complaining! DO SOMETHING if you nreally feel that strongly about it!
Whip it, whip it good!
So you are a starter for a bit of a push then? I cant drive this on my own, I dont have the resources.
Forum whore
My view on the matter.
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=76883
The instructions are simple...
Maybe this will help?
Dear Steven
Firstly, congratulations on your new position.
Now for the reason I write...
As a keen motorcyclist, I am amongst a large group who are gravely concerned at the amount and positioning of Wire Rope Barriers (WRB aka cheesecutters).
Many of us have made submissions/approaches to the previous government, in particular their Transport portfolio holders, but the responses were, not to put too fine a point on it, condescending and quite dismissive. There seems to be an increasing reliance on the use of this stuff to keep vehicles within their lane/s. No doubt, with a generally poor record of cross-over accidents (at least in some areas), some form of seperation is to be applauded. But the use of WRB is not much better than a bandaid. The stuff has a well-deserved reputation as a killer of motorcyclists all over the world, and is banned in many parts of Britain and Europe for this reason. It does not stop trucks. http://www.3news.co.nz/News/Region/A...8/Default.aspx being just the latest incident. It does not retain low-slung sportscars, which go under the wires, with predictable results. It does not retain larger SUV-type vehicles, particularly if they are travelling at excessive spped.
The argument has been used that they are cheap and effective. I can supply many references to their ineffectiveness. And as for being cheap...every strike requires repair (at a cost). In areas where this is common (around SH1, Te Kauwhata, for instance), some parts of the barrier have been repaired/replaced many times. Smooth concrete barriers cost more upfront, but are effective at retaining vehicles, do not kill the oocupants of low cars or motorcyclists when struck at a shallow angle (the normal type of strike), and do not require maintenance after a strike. Furthermore, concrete has a life of 50+ years.
The argument is also used that WRB has a smaller footprint than concrete (Paekakariki coast road being the reference, and also the site of a truck crossover recently). This is only true until a strike. WRB is designed to absorb impact by flexing up to 3 metres. Again, depending on circumstance, with predictable results.
Whilst I fully accept that motorcycling carries a greater risk to life and limb, I do not accept that a barrier for safety purposes should actually increase the danger to me. I am most uncomfortable in their presence and no matter how much care I take in this situation, there is always the chance of something I have no control over putting me into the posts and wire. With predictable results. At 70kph I will lose limb/s. At 95kph, my life. The problem is that no matter what angle I strike the WRB at, there is a part of it with a narrow cross-section ready to act as a blade on my body. This is why we call them 'cheesecutters'.
In the last year or so, these things have been installed on the road edge in many places, on straight sections and on righthand bends. This is presumably because hitting the WRB is more desirable than what is behind it. I can supply instances of places where this has been done and there is little of danger directly off the road. And in parts of the Waikato it is down both sides and the centre line. This has become known as a killing zone for motorcyclists.
The motorcycle lobby group BRONZ has been actively lobbying against this form of barrier since they were first introduced. To date, their concerns have been ignored, either by the government of the day, or Transit (now NZTA). Yes, there has been only one motorcyclist death due to WRB in NZ, but with the increasing number of motorcycles on the roads and as the amount of this stuff increases around the country, that will change. And with incidents of failure steadily mounting, how long before this stuff is seen for what it is?
Transit officials 'promised to do further study ' on the matter, but quite frankly none is needed. Studies are available from all over the world. I suspect that their 'promise' was merely a way to keep us quiet, at least for a while longer. With this change of government, I hope there will be a change of attitude or policy regarding these barriers. It will take a directive from goverment to change things.
Thank you for taking the time to read the above.
I look forward to your response
Yours
Do you realise how many holes there could be if people would just take the time to take the dirt out of them?
Mad nagging bitch!
G4E, I'm still here, I'm still passionate about making these things safer for all of us, I'm still willing to do my bit, I'm still adding signatures to the petition, and I'm still willing to ride to Welly, stop traffic, speak to Ministers and do what ever is necessary.
I am NOT willing to accept second rate safety barriers because "they" think that is all I am worth!
Diarrhoea is hereditary - it runs in your jeans
If my nose was running money, I'd blow it all on you...
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