Bikers on the Rimutaka Hill

[Rhys]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9627...e-hill-drivers

interesting article



"The agency was also looking at a speed-limit reduction for the hill."
What is it about always lowering the speed limit ?


"The Automobile Association said Bronz was right to denounce car drivers cutting corners on the hill."
I have never seen any one have a head on crash when the drivers are on the correct side of the road, I wish they would look at bad driving, crossing double yellow lines, holding up traffic, speeding up on passing lanes instead of always pointing the finger at speed

[James Deuce]

"The Automobile Association said Bronz was right to denounce car drivers cutting corners on the hill."
I have never seen any one have a head on crash when the drivers are on the correct side of the road,

Same goes for riders. If the traffic is heavy and the weather good, there will be a morotcyclists making daft overtakes on the wrong side of the road on the approach to blind corners. It's a given.

It's also nerve wracking. I don't want to have a head-on with a motorcyclist in any event, but especially when I'm in the car because I'll probably have to live with the aftermath of hurting or killing someone I'm seperated from by only one-degree.

I have no sympathy for motorcyclists in this instance. You've all (me too) shit in your own nest on the Rimutakas far too often.

[Ocean1]

I rode over the hill soon after the application of all that yellow paint on the feathers side. There can't have been more than a few metres of unmolested paint on the whole descent, there was yellow from arsehole to breakfast where cars had driven over it.

Which sorta demonstrates how effective they are at preventing the likelihood of head-ons. Probably better to have left well enough alone.

I have no sympathy for motorcyclists in this instance. You've all (me too) shit in your own nest on the Rimutakas far too often.

And yes bikers behave badly over there, but most non-riders would consider both my weekly pootle and your commute ride as bad behaviour, and report it accordingly.

[James Deuce]

And yes bikers behave badly over there, but most non-riders would consider both my weekly pootle and your commute ride as bad behaviour, and report it accordingly.

Most of the commuting car drivers travel at velocities I don't try to attempt. They can be truly insane. I tend to travel with the traffic flow as it's 80-100 km/hr (+/-20km/hr) usually and I don't have any strong desire to win the race to work. Commuting times are a very different proposition to the evening weekday rides and weekend riding habits. The only commuting "issues" are the logging trucks and they are brilliant at getting out of the way without really slowing down. They ain't the logging trucks of yore either, maintaining average speeds higher than most weekend car drivers would ever attempt.

I'm not talking about making progress like you and I like to do. I'm talking balls to the wall overtakes past a line of traffic into a blind corner with your upper body occupying half the opposing lane. I hate driving over the hill on the weekend if the weather's good because you will meet at least one person on a bike doing that. I take that into account and drive with that in mind. Most people wouldn't.

BRONZ are not arguing from a position of power, especially when they try to inflate the dangers of barrier impacts that don't happen and reporting anecdotal near misses. If I reported every person crossing the centre line on the Rimutakas, every car driver who blocks an overtaking lane by driving along the dashed line separating the two lanes, every angry geriatric who brake tests me, every menopausal woman driving at 20 km/hr while vomiting out the window of their Qashqai, I'd never get from A to B. I think bikers need to be very careful about ratting out other road users.

[Dogboy900]

Over the 20 odd years I have been riding over the hill for weekend fun I have had a few close encounters with cars or trucks encroaching into my lane. I have also had cars swerve out at me while being overtaken. But by the same token I have witnessed some truly awful and downright obnoxious and dangerous riding by motorcyclists up there.
I am sure some drivers may consider my riding dangerous up on the hill, but I always try to be safe and courteous while riding.

I can understand non riders thinking bikes are dangerous up there. People from work always tell me about how they were overtaken on double yellows by a bike that came out of nowhere!
One who is a bit of a hoon himself *555'd a bike that he reckoned was totally out of order causing cars to swerve or brake to miss hitting him.

It only takes one or two bad experiences for car drivers to tar us all with the same brush!

[caspernz]

Behaviour on the Rimutaka Hill is dodgy across the spectrum of road users. Bikers seem to be rather risk tolerant, if my personal experiences by bike/car/truck over the last ten years are anything to go by.

Brings to mind the old saying about people in glass houses not throwing stones...

Still, double yellow lines all the way across don't help. Enough places to overtake on a bike, safely. Now it's either put up with the tailgating cager or overtake on a double yellow line.

[cxy]

Behaviour on the Rimutaka Hill is dodgy across the spectrum of road users. Bikers seem to be rather risk tolerant, if my personal experiences by bike/car/truck over the last ten years are anything to go by.

Brings to mind the old saying about people in glass houses not throwing stones...

Still, double yellow lines all the way across don't help. Enough places to overtake on a bike, safely. Now it's either put up with the tailgating cager or overtake on a double yellow line.

Muppet bikers blaming other road users for bad behaviour......what a joke!
The recent fatility was entirely predictable

[caspernz]

I reckon BRONZ are proactive in general. Blaming other road users might be counter productive in this case though.

But hey, apart from improving my own behaviour by my own choice, does anyone have a magic solution to make dodgy riders see the error of their ways? I sure as heck don't....

[jellywrestler]

As far as bike riders go it is the group riders i feel are the most dangerous as the leader of the group will do an overtake pressuring all the followers to overtake to keep up with them.

what are these guys on a double dare or something; or is it who gets to the pub lasts has to shout?
so if there's no leader then there's no problem then?

[GingerMidget]

Muppet bikers blaming other road users for bad behaviour......what a joke!
The recent fatility was entirely predictable

As someone who knew the deceased, I find your comment very rude. You weren't there, nor I doubt have ever met him.
He was a friend of my parents, and I dealt with him through work as well.

That road is dangerous for all who use it, because of a minority group who treat it like a race track.

The last time I rode over there, I had an idiot on a gsxr1000 come screaming up the road behind me, only to haul up and narrowly avoid hitting me. I was doing near on 100kph at the time, so god knows what he was doing. Proceeded to take off at the first vaguely safe (aka double yellows tiny gap) he could find.
I no longer ride over there unless I really have to.

[James Deuce]

As someone who knew the deceased, I find your comment very rude. You weren't there, nor I doubt have ever met him.
He was a friend of my parents, and I dealt with him through work as well.

That road is dangerous for all who use it, because of a minority group who treat it like a race track.

The last time I rode over there, I had an idiot on a gsxr1000 come screaming up the road behind me, only to haul up and narrowly avoid hitting me. I was doing near on 100kph at the time, so god knows what he was doing. Proceeded to take off at the first vaguely safe (aka double yellows tiny gap) he could find.
I no longer ride over there unless I really have to.

Here we go...

[Crasherfromwayback]

The recent fatility was entirely predictable

That road is dangerous for all who use it, because of a minority group who treat it like a race track.

.

I'm gonna put my head on the chopping block with this one. I knew the poor chap that tragically lost his life. Not well by any stretch of the imagination...but I knew him. I also know a lot of the people he was riding with. I know a lot of riders funnily enough. But a 1000cc superbike ridden in anger is a formidable weapon best suited for a race track. There's a very good reason why I don't do such *group* rides or ride superbikes in anger on the street. My best wishes and condolences go out to the friends and family of the latest loss to motorcycling (many of whom I call friends), I mean no disrespect to him (RIP) or them...but it's time to reign it in guys. And I say guys cause it generally ain't the chicks.

[Smifffy]

BRONZ are saying that the statements made in the media are NOT the BRONZ party line on the matter, and that the statements were misattributed to their organisation.

[Str8 Jacket]

At the end of the day what does it matter? Some people will not be affected by the recent death, some will. Some riders will pull their heads in (even if it's for a V short time) and some riders won't. What is a certain is that no matter what, the general public do not like us and are intimidated in some form by "fast riders" or riders that ride like twats and whatever any governing authority says for or against the bikers will not please everyone. The other certain is, as others have eluded too that some riders have ruined it for the rest.
People will keep killing themselves on motorcycles and we will keep losing friends, shit happens but not one of us can stop someone from making a fatal mistake. What we can do is try and be a little more sensible cause it sucks losing mates.

[MD]

Oh dear. More attention we don't want.

It amazes me how good some truck drivers are on the hill actually. I find most do their best to keep a long behemoth on their side of the road and pull over when they can to let traffic pass. It's silly to expect them to be able to always stay on their side of the centreline on the tight corners. It's even sillier for riders to not be prepared for this. Allow for it. Not that hard really.

What does puzzle me is the worldwide design flaw with SUVs and 4WDs that seem to experience temporary steering failures whenever entering a bend? I feel sorry for these drivers being forced to cut ever corner they attempt. Imagine owning a vehicle that's near impossible to follow the curve of a road.

As for bikes that cut corners I can't comprehend that at all. Cornering is the reason most of us ride! Why would you try and avoid the very pleasure you are pursuing?

I applaud the times the Police have targeted people cutting corners on the hill.