Annual road toll up 44

[Scuba_Steve]

Ohhh fuck off... whats next then compulsory anti wheelie, wheel spin, hell I rode a bike with all the above the other day V4 Prilla... didnt like it, felt well out of control of the bike as in in controled me.

Na next is compulsory self drive cars. Manual control cars & bikes will just be for us "criminal rebels"

[Brian d marge]

my enfield has anti lock brakes . . .so does me old bantam

[FJRider]

"sigh" and if the law was not imposed as such a bullying threat the 'one who was withen the law' would not have sat 10k less than the posted limit and the impatient would not have become impatient

Within the speed limits ... does not always equate to within the law. Impeding the flow of traffic is also a Traffic Infringement risk. *555 is your friend ...

did you actually ride or drive anywere over the xmas break?

I did ... and half the population of NZ (and a quarter of the known worlds drivers) were here in Paradise. Definitely not normal numbers by average year round figures. We expect such in ALL holiday seasons ... and get on with it ... but slower.

[haydes55]

my enfield has anti lock brakes . . .so does me old bantam

That reminds me, my old flatmate had a 919 hornet. I gave him shit about his anti lock brakes, under heavy braking, I could pull the lever hard against the throttle and the front wouldn't lock and it wouldn't do a stoppie...... He didn't believe me when I told him it was dangerous, nor did he let me adjust it... He bought an aftermarket CNC'd lever, left the adjustment to have the bar as close to the grip as possible.... ABS or not would make no difference to him.

[FJRider]

In some cases this approach has flaws though.

True ... the main flaw being that other motorists can be crossing into YOUR side ... without advising you of their intentions first.

Good luck with avoiding THEM ...

[swbarnett]

True ... the main flaw being that other motorists can be crossing into YOUR side ... without advising you of their intentions first.

Good luck with avoiding THEM ...

Easier said than done I'll agree but it can be done. My wife came across a black BMW fully on her side of the road on a blind corner. She had to use the grass verge to avoid them but avoid them she did.

And I've had idiots pull U-turns under similar circumstances and completely avoided a collision. And I wasn't exactly crawling either.

[FJRider]

Easier said than done I'll agree but it can be done. My wife came across a black BMW fully on her side of the road on a blind corner. She had to use the grass verge to avoid them but avoid them she did.

And I've had idiots pull U-turns under similar circumstances and completely avoided a collision. And I wasn't exactly crawling either.

It is good to hear there are still some that put their lives ahead of preserving (persevering with) their personal rights (of way) ..

[FJRider]

Again go read yourself some legislation... They quite often DO blame the bar/bar tender, it's old legislation that allows for this

"Drunk Drivers" are usually not "Drunk" as such ... just over the declared limit. As such ... to blame the guy/gal that served them their last drink ... is stupidity.

Quite often do ... ??? They DO blame said bar staff ... when it court they admit they DID know he was already drunk (slurred speech and staggering) and served them anyway. As such ... is contrary to the legislation in place NOW.

BOTH parties know (or should) the rules ... keeping to them is their choice. The possible result of NOT (by both parties) is ALSO known.


The belief (also by both parties) ... is it won't happen to me ...

[rustyrobot]

Na next is compulsory self drive cars. Manual control cars & bikes will just be for us "criminal rebels"

Scary thing is this is not far-fetched at all. A lot of people would prefer self-driving cars, and then it's us lot with 'human input' that are the risk factor. I imagine a severe increase in ACC levy for anyone that wants a human-driven vehicle.

[rustyrobot]

... to blame the guy/gal that served them their last drink ...

This idea has some merit. Perhaps I could send any speeding tickets to the person who sold me my bike? It's clearly their fault.

[swbarnett]

Scary thing is this is not far-fetched at all. A lot of people would prefer self-driving cars, and then it's us lot with 'human input' that are the risk factor.

There is one thing that will change this view in an instant - the first time that a self-drive car causes a fatality.

My assertion with self-drive cars is not that they will have more accidents than humans (or even the same number). It's that when they do they will be more catastrophic. Data corruption is a fact of the electronic age. Self-drive cars (or automated roads for that matter) will not be immune.

[swbarnett]

This idea has some merit. Perhaps I could send any speeding tickets to the person who sold me my bike? It's clearly their fault.

Or perhaps to the reprobate that had the gall to sell you your last tank of gas.

[cheshirecat]

my enfield has anti lock brakes . . .so does me old bantam

And very effective I seem to remember, along with the instant lock in the wet twin leading shoe on me CB160

[RDJ]

There is one thing that will change this view in an instant - the first time that a self-drive car causes a fatality.

My assertion with self-drive cars is not that they will have more accidents than humans (or even the same number). It's that when they do they will be more catastrophic. Data corruption is a fact of the electronic age. Self-drive cars (or automated roads for that matter) will not be immune.

Yeah, this. Especially if they're running on Microsoft Windows... the blue screen of death will become literal.

[swbarnett]

the blue screen of death will become literal.

Yes, having the software crash (no pun intended) is of concern. However, this is not the real danger. The real danger is when the software is still running and thinks all is fine but the information it's receiving is incorrect, leading to actions that are dangerous. It wouldn't take much dust and dirt on a few sensors (or simply being out of alignment or calibration) for this to happen.