Open-face helmets?

[jim.cox]

Yay for twin plug heads :2thumbsup

Yup - one in each ear :)

[swbarnett]

No it doesn't,

It shows that bad accidents can happen at low speed and an accident can still be minor at high speed.

and an open face helmet would have made no difference in the accident I'm talking about.

Didn't really mean to hijack the thread but the same principles hold for gear. I wear good gear and think someone not doing so is asking for trouble. However, that is their choice and all power to them. All I'm asking for is the same pragmatism when it comes to a bit of extra speed in the right place and time.

All my response to your subjective point proves is some people are lucky and some aren't.

Exactly, irrespective of what speed they happen to be doing at the time.

Empirical data tends to be less equivocal and would indicate that risk increases in proportion to the forces involved in an accident. Velocity has a nasty tendency to make force increase dramatically.

Which will increase your chances of serious injury IF you crash but won't necessarily increase your chances of crashing in the first place. Bear in mind that I'm talking about Judicious use of speed, not the "screw the circumstances I'm going for it" testosterone fuelled mayhem.

Until the "driver training programme sponsored by Labour party voters" is in place and the majority of road users have been through it, the speed limit should be dropped to a blanket 50 km/hr. There will still be people that can't cope with 50 km/hr though.

If the cavemen took this attitude we'd still be living in caves. Life has risks attached. Note that I mean life, not survival.

[steveb64]

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The whole thing needs to start in school.

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You cannot leave something like this to politicians.

Hell YES! Bring on drivers ed. classes at high school (It's supposed to prepare the youf of today for life in the real world... - innit?). And not just driving theory, but basic automotive mechanics/engineering - you know, how an engine and gearbox works, how to do an oil and filter change, how to (safely) jack up a car and change a tyre, what a sparkplug is (yes - some people don't know what one is or does), and how to change one.
They could even get in some basic skid/slide control and braking training on the school rugby fields - (apparently rugby is going out of fashion...) All they'd need was an old banger or two - and some open face helmets, to keep on thread.

Sadly - the only way that something like this would happen is if the politicians DID get involved.