Bikers getting pulled over at Battle Hill & Featherston (15 February)

**Usarka** · 16th February 2009, 17:32

Originally Posted by Flossi

Usarka, I take offence to that.

I don't want to kiss your ass

And it wasn't just ACC there, it was also local Road Safety Coordinators, out doing their job and endeavoring to keep our roads safer. (I was one of the 'ladies in orange hi-viz vests' ... but I didn't give any lectures

... and I'm not from ACC

)

A spanking is acceptable too

Of course you're not ACC, you sound like you have a personality......

**cliffy** · 16th February 2009, 18:35

Originally Posted by James Deuce

You have to be smoking something if you think any of the information collected will be interpreted and presented in anything other than negative terms in regard to motorcycling.

Question 6 in particular is an obvious stitch up.

if I had been smoking something I'd be as paranoid as everyone else, worried about getting shafted by 'the man'

**Flossi** · 16th February 2009, 18:54

Originally Posted by Max Preload

Given that, what was the point of that post?

What does a Road Safety Co-ordinator do, exactly, in order to co-ordinate road safety?

the point of my post was that everyone else here just assumed the 'other' party was ACC.. and therefore the 'kiss my ass' comment which was aimed at 'them' was kind of aimed at me too?

My point I guess was just to let you know that there were other real people there too, gosh even ones who like riding bikes! (well, I only get to ride pillion at this stage.... one day I might learn to do more than ride a TS185 up and down Foxton Beach)

Anyhoo, where was I? ... a Road Safety Coordinator attempts to educate the community about road safety issues and tries to find ways to reduce the road toll. Well, that's a part of my job anyway.

The purpose of yesterday's exercise was NOT to find an excuse to raise ACC levies for bikers (my hubby would NOT be impressed with that either!

) None of it was meant to be a negative experience, but how else are we meant to get info out to you guys? Can you tell me a better way? (and ya did get free choccy

)

**snuffles** · 16th February 2009, 18:58

Originally Posted by James Deuce

So it was a compulsory stop?

I'd be willing to contest that in court. They have NO business segregating part of the community based on a mode of transport. They should have been in Whiteman's Valley demanding that the pushies stay on their side of the road.

Isuppose you could call being motrist

**Flossi** · 16th February 2009, 19:28

Originally Posted by Usarka

A spanking is acceptable too

Of course you're not ACC, you sound like you have a personality......

I try

**twotyred** · 16th February 2009, 19:41

Originally Posted by Madness

Seriously though, Innit a good thing that ACC have gone to the effort to make contact with us, a group within society that's over-indexed in road carnage?. They even went to the trouble to do it on a Sunday, on roads that are heavily frequented by us, the target group.

by forcing you to stop by misusing the police (who should be out busting criminals)and then placating the little kids with their 'boys-toys' by giving them a little chocolate bar?...

**Flossi** · 16th February 2009, 19:51

wow, are you guys always this negative?!

you do realise that police have different roles within the force?
Like, Road Police are meant to be doing exactly that, policing the roads... yep, that does sometimes include pulling people over and checking their licences

no one was being forced to stop after their licences were checked, and I heard no complaints either, as far as I know everyone was perfectly okay about it and quite happy to head on up the road afterwards to go have a coffee and read their newly aqcuired mag...

**Fatjim** · 16th February 2009, 20:02

Originally Posted by Flossi

but how else are we meant to get info out to you guys? Can you tell me a better way? (and ya did get free choccy

)

Lass, when they avoid the obvious like cheese cutters, gravel and desiel spills then how are they gonna get the subtle stuff. This IS a waste of time. Just like the cock of a cop this morning who told me to stop riding on the hard shoulder, when within 100 metres of me returning to the flow I had to take evasive action on a partially aware lane changer. I wonder if I started riding on the hard shoulder as soon as I was out of site of the copper?

Lets face it, the people in charge are beaurocrats, and are more intereted in looking like they care than actually caring. They really have very little clue about what apart from riders themselves are killing riders.

Originally Posted by Flossi

wow, are you guys always this negative?!

Because people are free to do stupid shit on the road everyday and get away with it, unless your in a purple car with a 4 inch exhaust pipe. I'd farking trust a boyracer more than hilda in her volva or mohamid in his taxi, or Trev in his truck, or Rangi in his bus anyday. Talk about the police having it arse about backwards.

**RT527** · 16th February 2009, 20:02

Originally Posted by James Deuce

So it was a compulsory stop?

I'd be willing to contest that in court. They have NO business segregating part of the community based on a mode of transport. They should have been in Whiteman's Valley demanding that the pushies stay on their side of the road.

happens to us truckies too, they are not compulsory stops you dont have to stop , but I would advise the officer that you are not stopping and would like to carry on as you are correct they have no rights to detain you, but you still must stop if he directs you to .if you just take off then they will assume you are guilty of something, like drug running.

I dont stop for the acc stops , I pull over but when I find out what it is depending on time frame I give it a miss.(or if I have a perishable load on )

I have a mate thats cviu and he will often text me in advance that the acc thing is happening at Stanly st in Auckland and Ill often make the time to go down then and do the form fill out thing, and also get to catch up with my mate.

**James Deuce** · 16th February 2009, 20:22

Originally Posted by cliffy

if I had been smoking something I'd be as paranoid as everyone else, worried about getting shafted by 'the man'

It's not paranoia. These two groups have repeatedly performed this particular process over the last 20 years and it invariably results in a huge amount of self-generated bad publicity for motorcycling.

These two groups have a very real desire to reduce motorcycle accidents by any means. Banning them outright is very close to the top of the list and admissions of guilt delivered via a "survey" are only providing ammunition.

If they're from the Government, and they say they're here to help you, you're already doomed.

**James Deuce** · 16th February 2009, 20:32

Originally Posted by Flossi

wow, are you guys always this negative?!

you do realise that police have different roles within the force?
Like, Road Police are meant to be doing exactly that, policing the roads... yep, that does sometimes include pulling people over and checking their licences

no one was being forced to stop after their licences were checked, and I heard no complaints either, as far as I know everyone was perfectly okay about it and quite happy to head on up the road afterwards to go have a coffee and read their newly aqcuired mag...

It comes with age and the repeated inability of the Government to do anything other than make it too expensive to continue doing the things you enjoy. Transparent attempts to gather statistics from people who will sign over their right to ride for a magazine and a chocolate bar and then construct survey results that make it look like we all admit to using the road as a race track and raping babies for our Summer job have happened before.

I'm not willing to swap (eventually) my bike and bike license for a magazine and a chocolate bar.

License checks are bollocks. You only get pulled if the Police person expects to be able to issue a ticket. If "they" were interested in reducing road fatalities then "they" would be looking at initiatives beyond crushing cars and making people walk home from the middle of nowhere. The big stick approach has failed.

Last year's fatality stats were all about the price of petrol. People didn't suddenly gain better skills, better awareness, and a more courteous approach to driving. Some of us simply stopped driving or riding anywhere near as much as we did in the previous 12 months. Milton Friedman saved more lives in NZ last year than any Minister of Transport did.

Btw, cheeky tag people, BRONZ have been talking about Government Strategy papers that call for the outright banning of motorcycles for years. Very few motorcyclists listen, mostly due to the good old Kiwi "it can't happen here" attitude.

**Flossi** · 16th February 2009, 20:49

was the raping babies comment really necessary?

**Ixion** · 16th February 2009, 20:51

Originally Posted by Flossi

..
Anyhoo, where was I? ... a Road Safety Coordinator attempts to educate the community about road safety issues and tries to find ways to reduce the road toll. Well, that's a part of my job anyway.

..

What about educating TPTB about road safety issues. We can give you a long list. Addressing any one of them would do more for motorcycle road safety than any roadside stopping exercise. A lot of the people here have been riding motorcycles for 20 30 40 50 years. And are still alive and in one piece. Do you not suppose they have learnt a thing or two about how to avoid being part of the road toll? And the sort of exercise this thread is about isn't part of that corpus of knowledge.

BTW, the similar thing in the Coromandel recently was called Operation Upright, if anyone is interested. And Inspector Dunbier's description of it was "not entirely an enforcement exercise".

**Ocean1** · 16th February 2009, 20:56

Originally Posted by Flossi

wow, are you guys always this negative?!

I'm afraid, m'dear, that history would indicate that the above grumpy old bastards are correct.

Personally I don't blame the roads, or the police. Even the occasional homicidally careless driving is statistically guaranteed, (although you'd halve the damage by limiting access to the roads to those who actually know some of the rules and how to actually operate a vehicle).

I blame the whole ACC thing. Who on earth thought that when government decided to pay for our collective cock-ups that they wouldn't eventually try to legislate to manage and control the higher cost groups?