Suicidal Motorcyclists

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networkn

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#119519 4-Jun-2013 14:58

I took my 3 year old down to Whangamata over the long weekend.

I couldn't believe some of the incredibly risky STUPID STUPID things I saw bikers do when I was driving.

The worst was (Though there was plenty to see) ;

The road to Whangamata is windy, has tight corners with little visibility, and these 5 bikers in particular were passing cars, on the wrong side of the road, around the corners (Double yellow lines), or pressed HARD against the car they were passing the whole way around the corner, and they did it about 5 times. When they were behind me (and I was driving plenty fast enough) they were SO close, if I had even tapped my brakes the front rider almost certainly would have hit me.

If a car had been coming in the opposite direction, I can't see how they wouldn't have been hit. The worst thing is that the biker likely would have died, and the driver in the car, probably would survive, being emotionally scarred for life, even though it wasn't their fault.

I can't recall being more angry on the roads in recent times.

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#830518 4-Jun-2013 15:08

Nothing irritates me more than this. Drive a motor vehicle on the road, act like the other motor vehicles.
Just like when they go in the narrow gaps between cars and 18wheel trucks on motorways.

I feel bad for the driver of the bike as well as their families, because they'll be affecting a lot of people if they get hurt.

surfisup1000

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#830521 4-Jun-2013 15:10

Angry enough to run over a biker?

jaymz

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#830523 4-Jun-2013 15:11

Although I don't agree with dangerous road use, the following springs to mind:

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/about/advertising/drive-social/index.html

Mark

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#830560 4-Jun-2013 16:19

I love riding my bike, it's awesome fun and gets me to work and home in a 1/4 of the time thatn by car or bus!

But I hate it when you see muppets on bikes being complete tw@ts! All they are doing is putting people at risk and dragging the biker image through the mud (I couldn't care less if they mangle themselves as it would be their own fault ... not keen on the hike in ACC though)

There is a time and place for fun and games ... shared roads are not the place.

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#830562 4-Jun-2013 16:21

As a motorcyclist, I agree and see this kind of riding fairly regularly and it makes me sad. A a biker, you are so vulnerable and there is just no need to take such stupid risks.

Even worse than motorcyclists are push cyclists tho. Every day I see almost suicidal behaviours by cyclists on the road. Pulling out in front of cars, weaving across lanes, failing to indicate, failing to look before moving out etc etc. And they whinge in the newspaper that they have every right to be on the road and cars need to slow down, be more careful around them etc, when they choose between pedestrian and road rules (Often on a whim) and expect motorists to mind read when they want to pull out at 30kms into heavy traffic doing 60kms. Ahhhhh

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jeffnz

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#830565 4-Jun-2013 16:28

Luckily its a minority that do these sort of things unfortunately people just them all by the few they see as they only recall the bad things. Same goes for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists these is a minority that give the rest a bad name.

I cycle a bit and sometimes you here the group i'm with getting upset about maybe one or two motorists that do something wrong so i remind them that on the ride over a 4 hour period we had probably hundreds of motorists that went passed that were perfectly fine.

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networkn

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#830566 4-Jun-2013 16:33

jeffnz: Luckily its a minority that do these sort of things unfortunately people just them all by the few they see as they only recall the bad things. Same goes for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists these is a minority that give the rest a bad name.

I cycle a bit and sometimes you here the group i'm with getting upset about maybe one or two motorists that do something wrong so i remind them that on the ride over a 4 hour period we had probably hundreds of motorists that went passed that were perfectly fine.

Actually to be fair I don't find its a minority when it comes to motorcyclists, I would say the number of times I see a motorcyclists do something stupid or dangerous intentionally or unintentionally (In my experience) is quite high.

plod

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#830601 4-Jun-2013 17:28

networkn:
jeffnz: Luckily its a minority that do these sort of things unfortunately people just them all by the few they see as they only recall the bad things. Same goes for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists these is a minority that give the rest a bad name.

I cycle a bit and sometimes you here the group i'm with getting upset about maybe one or two motorists that do something wrong so i remind them that on the ride over a 4 hour period we had probably hundreds of motorists that went passed that were perfectly fine.

Actually to be fair I don't find its a minority when it comes to motorcyclists, I would say the number of times I see a motorcyclists do something stupid or dangerous intentionally or unintentionally (In my experience) is quite high.

what a driver in a car considers stupid or dangerous on bike, can actually be not so stupid and quite safe when actually on the bike. Although this is not always the case ;)

networkn

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#830619 4-Jun-2013 18:20

plod:
networkn:
jeffnz: Luckily its a minority that do these sort of things unfortunately people just them all by the few they see as they only recall the bad things. Same goes for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists these is a minority that give the rest a bad name.

I cycle a bit and sometimes you here the group i'm with getting upset about maybe one or two motorists that do something wrong so i remind them that on the ride over a 4 hour period we had probably hundreds of motorists that went passed that were perfectly fine.

Actually to be fair I don't find its a minority when it comes to motorcyclists, I would say the number of times I see a motorcyclists do something stupid or dangerous intentionally or unintentionally (In my experience) is quite high.
what a driver in a car considers stupid or dangerous on bike, can actually be not so stupid and quite safe when actually on the bike. Although this is not always the case ;)

Well if I wouldn't do it in a car when I am protected considerably more, then I wouldn't do it on a bike.

I see a lot of marginal calls made weekly and what I don't get, is that if the rider gets those wrong, the consequences are so much worse than they would be in a car.

Mark

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#830626 4-Jun-2013 18:39

networkn:

Well if I wouldn't do it in a car when I am protected considerably more, then I wouldn't do it on a bike.

I see a lot of marginal calls made weekly and what I don't get, is that if the rider gets those wrong, the consequences are so much worse than they would be in a car.

Remember that bikes are a lot easier to skid when braking than cars (less braking surface combined with not being able to steer very well while emergency braking unless you have godlike skills!) so when we see something happening in front that requires braking or evasion, we usually take evasion, and this is usually in the form of making use of acceleration and small size to get past whatever is going to splatter us ... which is why you sometimes see bikes zoom through gaps or around cars .. from the perspective of the drivers it does look a bit like "OMFG!!" :-)

That said ... speed freaks do tend to get bikes (cause for pocket change you can have a machine that'll leave all but the best super cars standing at the lights!) and silly riders tend to stick in the mind more than the dozens of other riders you pass through the day.

gzt

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#830720 4-Jun-2013 21:22

I see this kind of thing at least once in a day almost every time I get out on the open road to somewhere, which tends to be a weekend or holiday period.

I completely agree. What you saw was a bunch of ####### risking the lives of others as well as their own.

All motorcyclists are not like that. We don't see so much the motorcyclists that are keeping pace with the traffic so the sample tends to be biased. No point getting angry at every motorcyclist who creeps up to get pole position at the lights.

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ajobbins

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#830755 4-Jun-2013 23:14

gzt: No point getting angry at every motorcyclist who creeps up to get pole position at the lights.

This is called filtering and is not only safe (but safer!) and also aids traffic congestion. Bikes are quicker off at the lights, and being between cars means they help with traffic queuing. It's also a much safer placer for a rider to be when someone gets tail ended (or the rider ends up sandwiched between two cars). That said, I see plenty of riders hoon down between stopped traffic at dangers speed (negating any safety benefit).

Filtering is not only legal, but encouraged in many places (Not sure about NZ). Doing it in moving traffic on the other hand is asking to get hurt.

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networkn

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#830757 4-Jun-2013 23:17

To be clear, I am not trying to start a flame war against all motorcyclists, I am sure there are lots of safety concious responsible riders around.

ajobbins

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#830759 4-Jun-2013 23:24

networkn: To be clear, I am not trying to start a flame war against all motorcyclists, I am sure there are lots of safety concious responsible riders around.

I know :) And agree with you. Like many things, there are often a few making the majority look bad.

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networkn

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#830762 4-Jun-2013 23:29

ajobbins:
networkn: To be clear, I am not trying to start a flame war against all motorcyclists, I am sure there are lots of safety concious responsible riders around.

I know :) And agree with you. Like many things, there are often a few making the majority look bad.

Well as I have said earlier, I would say it's more than a few. It would need to be 25% at least of the riders I see in my driving times.

You mentioned filtering, and that it's a good idea for bikes to be at the front of cars at the lights, though I don't agree if those bikes are scooters which seem to take off about the same speed as bicycles, those are just a menace.

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