Six doctors on accident spot

**mangell6** · 8th September 2003, 10:52

Check out this story in the NZHerald (online)

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/latestnews...ection=general

Such good fortune.

Mike

**Coldkiwi** · 8th September 2003, 13:05

A motorcyclist injured after hitting a tree was treated by a party of six doctors travelling on the same road. The motorcyclist, a middle-aged man, had ridden into a tree that had fallen on to the road in a slip near Te Pohue, 45km northwest of Napier. He was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. The doctors were travelling with ambulance staff and paramedics.

(and some people say God doesn't exist)

****

hmm, I guess that article is good reason to not follow someone too close (or go too fast) through corners. if only i would actually respond to painful stories like this (so that i slowed down to reduce some of the risk) instead of reading them and putting them out of my mind in place of happy thoughts of my next ride.

i guess it's a mental defence mechanism to stop me becoming a paranoid nancy flower boy in a 4x4 automatic cage.

thoughts?

**jrandom** · 8th September 2003, 13:41

Originally posted by Coldkiwi
hmm, I guess that article is good reason to not follow someone too close (or go too fast) through corners. if only i would actually respond to painful stories like this (so that i slowed down to reduce some of the risk) instead of reading them and putting them out of my mind in place of happy thoughts of my next ride.

Hmmm... I suppose it's just a good reminder not to take blind corners above a speed where you can do something about the inevitable stalled white van or felled tree lying in the middle of the road just beyond the apex. I must confess I have difficulty fanging it (for 150cc values of 'fang') round bends when I can't see what's there... can't get the paranoid visions of running smack into the back of a broken-down car out of my head.

Save the hooligan behaviour for when you can see where you're going, I reckon.

**Slim** · 8th September 2003, 14:58

I just drove the Napier-Taupo road twice last week and there had been a lot of slips (already cleaned up) but all were signposted with Orange exclamation points. By the time he got to Te Pohue, he should have realised what all those signs meant & slowed down a bit.

Mind you, I'm probably being a bit harsh - you'd have to be going pretty slow in wet conditions to stop in time to avoid a tree across the road!

He's a lucky barsteward, at any rate.

**MikeL** · 8th September 2003, 15:15

Just a thought:
Isn't it a general rule that you must drive/ride at a speed so as to be able to stop in half the clear distance ahead? Or something like that - the last time I had to know the road code was for my first and last licence test well over thirty years ago. But I vaguely recall something along those lines.

**jrandom** · 8th September 2003, 15:40

Originally posted by Slim
Mind you, I'm probably being a bit harsh - you'd have to be going pretty slow in wet conditions to stop in time to avoid a tree across the road!

Yeah, 'spose so. Difficult to swerve around, anyway

Still, he *was* a 'middle-aged man', according to the news article. And we all know about those doddering 40-something types, don't we? Bunch of uncoordinated shortsighted geriatrics.

**Coldkiwi** · 8th September 2003, 18:04

of course, we also know about the Youth of Today... all balls, no brains!

**SPman** · 8th September 2003, 18:25

Originally posted by jrandom
And we all know about those doddering 40-something types, don't we? Bunch of uncoordinated shortsighted geriatrics.

Someone talking about me..?????

**Slim** · 8th September 2003, 20:27

Originally posted by MikeL
Isn't it a general rule that you must drive/ride at a speed so as to be able to stop in half the clear distance ahead?

That's just about word for word from the Road Code, m8!

And it's worth 20points too!

http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/roadcode/dri...the-line1.html

**Redstar** · 8th September 2003, 21:02

Six nurses in mini skirts would have been even luckier

**MikeL** · 8th September 2003, 21:23

Originally posted by Slim
That's just about word for word from the Road Code, m8!

And it's worth 20points too!

http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/roadcode/dri...the-line1.html

Thanks Slim. Not bad for 30-odd years. Mind you, they say that one sign of senility is clear memory of the distant past while not being able to remember what you did this morning. Now where the hell did I leave my keys...

You prompted me to delve into the Road Code again - checked the on-line version. Omigod, when did they bring in all those demerit point regulations? By rights I ought to clocked up a zillion points by now. Ignorance is bliss.

Or was. It's got me worried. I'm gonna have to be more careful now. All the fun's gone.
At least until tomorrow. Thank God for the Alzheimers.

**Slim** · 8th September 2003, 22:41

I was most surprised to see all those other things you can get demerit points for!

But I'm not certain that the police actually apply most of them. I mean they could clear up the Auckland Motorway (& probably the Wellington ones too) in a week with the "Driving in a lane at such a speed as to be unable to stop in length of lane visible" option!

And I have yet to figure out the point of getting 50 demerit points for this: "Person under 20 driving or attempting to drive with excess breath or blood alcohol". I thought you just lost your licence pretty much straight away?!?!?

**jrandom** · 9th September 2003, 10:27

Originally posted by Slim
I have yet to figure out the point of getting 50 demerit points for this: "Person under 20 driving or attempting to drive with excess breath or blood alcohol". I thought you just lost your licence pretty much straight away?!?!?

Hmmm... looking further through the LTSA site - you get an automatic 28-day suspension for excess alcohol, apart from whatever penalty the courts impose. Exceeding 100 points gets you an automatic 3-month suspension, so those 50 points must be an extra whammy to make life difficult when the court goes easy on a first offender under 20 who already has some points on their license.

**Big Dog** · 9th September 2003, 12:19

This is my usual pathetic sounding excuse when people ten years my junior pass me on 250s. I simply refuse to ride beyond where I can stop.

Go on pour on the abuse about me slowing down the rest of the group. But that is the point to my avatar 105ps and still a snail!