Mini-rant

ChrisMClark

ChrisMClark

Suspended / Banned
Messages
3,822
Name
Chris
Edit My Images
No
It's nothing massive, but it really annoys me that there's all these ads aimed at car drivers saying look out for bikers. Where are the ads aimed at Bikers saying don't undertake on blind bends, don't weave in and out of 2 lanes of traffic, don't drive up the car in front's arse.

I know not all bikers are stupid, and I'm not saying that for a minute. But within the last year every single bike accident within a 3 mile radius of my house was proved to be the fault of the biker, either through speeding, taking stupid risks, or just generally riding like Terrence-****-wit.
 
Bikers are allowed to filter...it's the whole point of having a bike these days, especially in town...

It's up to car-drivers to be observant and to watch out for those with less protection...pedestrians, equestrians, cyclists and motor-cycles all have priority over cars as they will inevitable come off worse in any collision...
Yes, there are some bikers that act like fools, just as there are car-drivers that drive so badly I sometimes with I had executive powers enabling me to pull them over and drill 9-milly sized holes in the backs of their skulls...

Being on the lookout for hazards is part of driving...the car isn't somewhere to just sit and day-dream while listening to the stereo...
 
Arkady said:
Being on the lookout for hazards is part of driving...the car isn't somewhere to just sit and day-dream while listening to the stereo...
Click to expand...

I agree with that no problem, but and there is always a "but" :D
Other road users and pedestrians should also be aware of the traffic
and what is occurring around them.
Many seem to think that they are invincible or that the car / lorry ect will stop no mater what.
And if the "more vunerable" should get hurt or worse, they seem to have the
mentality that it would be the drivers fault so it doesn't matter.
Case in point only the other day I was approaching a Zebra crossing, so was obviously looking out for pedestrians, a young lady I would say early 20's
walking head down parallel to the road on the path busy texting suddenly cut 45degrees across the road
( sort of on the crossing sort of not, if you see what I mean) still head down and texting right into my path.

This is a 30 but none the less still quite a "fast" piece of road ( the boy racers love this strip)
had I been doing 30, I have no doubt I would be washing her blood off my car.
@ 20 mph and a blast of the hooter as warning whilst stamping on the middle
peddle was greeted with the middle finger!( I am surprised that she took the "time out from texting TBH)
"am I my brother keeper"?

Thats my rant done also
 
Cobra said:
a young lady I would say early 20's
walking head down parallel to the road on the path busy texting suddenly cut 45degrees across the road
( sort of on the crossing sort of not, if you see what I mean) still head down and texting right into my path.
Click to expand...

Exactly the same thing happened to me in oxford on Friday, i was bloody furious, it's incredible to watch people sometimes, i think the worse thing i ever seen was in Milton Keynes centre a few years ago crossing the busy rd over towards waitrose (Chris you will know where i mean) there was a blind guy with a walkman on :eek: happily bobbing his head to the music while trying to cross the rd, i couldn't believe my eyes.
 
Last edited:
I'm sure I remember reading in the Highway Code that the gap in between the white lines was a bike lane:D
 
I must disagree,motor bikes do not have priority over other road users & they are not allowed to undertake on any public highway.
I have nothing against bikers by the way as i used to be a biker.:)
 
Arkady said:
Bikers are allowed to filter...it's the whole point of having a bike these days, especially in town...

..
Click to expand...


I do not object to filtering and I will usually move to the side to give filtering motorbikes space. I do object to inappropriate filtering, e.g. near motorway / dual carriageway junctions.

Motorbike riders forget that drivers are trying to look 4 ways at once for traffic and looking for spaces to move into, the last thing they need is a bike filtering.
 
My favourite is mothers pushing the baby carriage/push-chair into the road while waiting to cross...lol
 
Arkady said:
My favourite is mothers pushing the baby carriage/push-chair into the road while waiting to cross...lol
Click to expand...

Yep we get a lot of that here also.
Push pram out in the
hope that the cars will stop :(
 
Darwinism at work...swerve over and even out the gene-pool...
 
I wouldn't for a minute suggest that drivers can switch off when driving, nor that I disagree with bikers filtering through queing traffic, necky though it is IMO. I'm talking about bikers on a motorway of dual carriageway weaving between traffic at speed.

I don't argue you should always be alert, but some biekrs just take the ****. And the ads wind me up, as it seems the authorities think it's all us car drivers' fault.
 
Some Bikers (like all road users) are complete ******, however I *think* the statistics show that 60-70% of all Bike accidents are the complete fault of a third party.

So when you spend cash on adverts it's better value to target the culprits :shrug:
 
Arkady said:
Bikers are allowed to filter...it's the whole point of having a bike these days, especially in town...

It's up to car-drivers to be observant and to watch out for those with less protection...pedestrians, equestrians, cyclists and motor-cycles all have priority over cars as they will inevitable come off worse in any collision...
Yes, there are some bikers that act like fools, just as there are car-drivers that drive so badly I sometimes with I had executive powers enabling me to pull them over and drill 9-milly sized holes in the backs of their skulls...

Being on the lookout for hazards is part of driving...the car isn't somewhere to just sit and day-dream while listening to the stereo...
Click to expand...

Yes but weaving across all lanes on the M1 at 80MPH + like I witnessed this afternoon is not
 
It still riles me! There's a great many idiots on bikes down here, and that includes police bikers. one of which undertook me on a 60 road (I was doing 60, he must have been doing 80 easily as he passed me) on a blind bend. No lights, not siren.

I know it's a slightly-larger-than-small proportion of bikers that cause issues, but they should be targeted too.

A quick check of opinions on a common problem:

I'm driving at 60 in a 60 area. Mr biker comes flying up behind flashing his lights and pulling so close he's virtually up my tailpipe. I have to brake to avoid a hazard. That idiot goes flying over the top. My fault? Because I'm damn sure it'd be made out that way.
 
Well, it is generally assumed that if you rear end someone its your fault
In that scenario I guess you would have a hell of a job proving your innocence
though.

I had a rissole pull across in front of me ( he turned right) some years ago
I was on a Honda 750 / 4 he in an Austin 1100 type
2.5 years later I was back at work!

His defence was "he was speeding" " going much too fast!"
The copper fortunately had his head screwed on the
right way round and said "I don't give a **** how fast he ( thats me) was going you
never looked before crossing the on coming traffic.

'Twas a 30 mph area I may have been doing a tad more, I can't remember, but it was certainly less than 40mph
 
ChrisMClark said:
It still riles me! There's a great many idiots on bikes down here, and that includes police bikers. one of which undertook me on a 60 road (I was doing 60, he must have been doing 80 easily as he passed me) on a blind bend. No lights, not siren.

I know it's a slightly-larger-than-small proportion of bikers that cause issues, but they should be targeted too.

A quick check of opinions on a common problem:

I'm driving at 60 in a 60 area. Mr biker comes flying up behind flashing his lights and pulling so close he's virtually up my tailpipe. I have to brake to avoid a hazard. That idiot goes flying over the top. My fault? Because I'm damn sure it'd be made out that way.
Click to expand...


It's probably the bike bouncing that makes it look like he's flashing his lights at you. I've certainly never seen anybody on a bike flash their lights at a car (I know I don't), as it's so easy to get past when you have any sort of gap in the traffic. I do agree a lot of riders do treat the road like their own personal track, but we're not all bad.
 
i still ride a bike. and that advert annoys me.
when he hits him the bike must be doing about 60.
when he rides past , hes passed shortly after by some bloke on a raleigh chopper, he's going so slow.
yes the majority of car/bike interfaces ARE the fault of the car driver.smidsy. sorry mate, i didnt see you.
but i doubt this ad will make the slightest difference.
any one who rides a bike should be on the lookout for cars from sideroads etc.
scares the poop out of me when i see ped riders razzing down the gutter with no lights on, dressed in black jackets and trainers.
and yes , some bike riders are due to meet a nasty end due to their riding.
if you hit something in a car, you bend your car.
if you hit something on a bike, you tend to modify yourself.
anyone riding for anytime tends to develop a strong sense of self preservation.
and you have to be aware that car drivers dont realise the level of acceleration you have, compared to them.
sadly theres a lot of inatention out there from motorists , riders, and very much pedestrains.
ive had kids cross the road infront of me without looking.
i drive a 17 tonne lorry.
if i hit a pedestrian, chances are they aint going home. ever.
 
ChrisMClark said:
And the ads wind me up, as it seems the authorities think it's all us car drivers' fault.
Click to expand...

That's because it's the biker who usually ends up hurt.
 
ChrisMClark said:
It still riles me! There's a great many idiots on bikes down here, and that includes police bikers. one of which undertook me on a 60 road (I was doing 60, he must have been doing 80 easily as he passed me) on a blind bend. No lights, not siren.

I know it's a slightly-larger-than-small proportion of bikers that cause issues, but they should be targeted too.

A quick check of opinions on a common problem:

I'm driving at 60 in a 60 area. Mr biker comes flying up behind flashing his lights and pulling so close he's virtually up my tailpipe. I have to brake to avoid a hazard. That idiot goes flying over the top. My fault? Because I'm damn sure it'd be made out that way.
Click to expand...

You say he undertook you, I suggest you look at your road positioning then, if it was a dual carriageway I suggest you get the **** back in the correct lane because if the bike went up the inside, you were in the outside lane when you should of been on the inside lane.

I would doubt the bike was flashing you, more likely the road surface however if he did hit you from behind it would be his fault.
 
dseered said:
You say he undertook you, I suggest you look at your road positioning then, if it was a dual carriageway I suggest you get the **** back in the correct lane because if the bike went up the inside, you were in the outside lane when you should of been on the inside lane.

I would doubt the bike was flashing you, more likely the road surface however if he did hit you from behind it would be his fault.
Click to expand...

Well if you want to get shirty and jump to the (wrong) conclusion, I suggest you get the **** back in your box. It was a normal single lane road. And at any rate,I'm well aware of correct lane discipline when on dual carriageways and motorways, but thank you so much for jumping to the wrong conclusion.

And yes, the bike was flashing his lights.

My point stands. The advert's are totally one sided. I'm well aware that not all bikers are idiots and that there are a lot of muppets in cars, but it's not all car drivers either.
 
Last edited:
as a mx rider for 15 years and driving a car for 8 years i really understand the advert i have almost a few times gone out at a junction and next thing there is a biker it is shocking

although i partly dont agree to show adverts like this i really appreciate why they put it on

if it saves one persons life than it has been worth it
 
wegotitugetit said:
as a mx rider for 15 years and driving a car for 8 years i really understand the advert i have almost a few times gone out at a junction and next thing there is a biker it is shocking

although i partly dont agree to show adverts like this i really appreciate why they put it on

if it saves one persons life than it has been worth it
Click to expand...

I wouldn't argue that, perhaps I wasn't clear in my OP. What I'd like to see is a similar campaign aimed at bikers showing why they should weave in and out of traffic at high speed, why 60mph limits don't mean 'as fast as you can if on a bike' and why they should be taking more care.
 
ChrisMClark said:
I wouldn't argue that, perhaps I wasn't clear in my OP. What I'd like to see is a similar campaign aimed at bikers showing why they should weave in and out of traffic at high speed, why 60mph limits don't mean 'as fast as you can if on a bike' and why they should be taking more care.
Click to expand...

you could say that about the cars though it is a hard one to tackle really

bikes dont have a big metal cage around them so i would say thats why the adverts are shown as a car and bike driver i see both sides to the story and agree with you chris but also have to disagree

i think the advert culd bring back bad memories to lost loves ones so i dont like it for that reason

i love the impact it gives and it has always been a thing were i always look both ways twice and it does work
 
ChrisMClark said:
I wouldn't argue that, perhaps I wasn't clear in my OP. What I'd like to see is a similar campaign aimed at bikers showing why they should weave in and out of traffic at high speed, why 60mph limits don't mean 'as fast as you can if on a bike' and why they should be taking more care.
Click to expand...

as a secod response you only see the bad ones because you notice them

look around next time look for the good ones and 99 % are actually very good riders its the 1 percent that are not


and according to figures its car's that cause bikes to have crashes rather than the biker to cause a carsh and to be honest i will back that up 100 percent

so that is why the advert is aimed at cars
 
I could sit and argue this til I'm blue in the face, but there's no real point. Living in a touristy part of Dorset, every year we see bikers here on holiday, with no appreciation for how nasty the roads are. I've seen some truly staggering acts of stupidity by those on two wheels, and it always annoys we at how ready bikers are to defend their less-intelligent brethren and blame it on car drivers. I'd never defend a bad car driver, they make the rest of us look like mugs, so why do bikers seem to rally round and defend bad riders? I know at least one biker who thinks it's perfectly acceptable to weave around a busy motorway at speeds exceeding 90mph.

Last 2 bike accidents I saw were both the fault of the biker. One hit a corner too fast and went for a flying lesson, the other one ran a red light at cross roads and had an unfortunate meeting with the back end of a car crossing quite safely.
 
as a rider and a driver i agree with both posts but think you will find the problem with the bikers that weave between the traffic are usually the new generation of biker that seems to think they are invinciblebut then again im still shocked everytime i go out on bike too see how many people seem to totally ignore bikes.
 
I'll concede that the majority of onorad numpties seem to be on 4 wheels, but it annoys me that I also get labelled as being one of those numpties because of their actions. I'm a bloody careful driver, and touch wood, I've never even come close to having an accident.

The closest I've come to any accident was one of the bike accidents I mentioned with the guy taking the **** on a corner. I happened to pass a bike in the middle of the road with no rider just after he came off. I pulled up as you do and grabbed my medbag from the boot. Funnily enough there was an off duty gatzo van infront of me. It took me and the two (frankly useless) rozzers over 5 minutes to find the rider, who'd been slung over 15 metres. He was lucky though, he landed in soft undergrowth. a metre either way and it would have either been a hard landing on tarmac, or an impaling on a farmer's fence post!

He was ok though, a lot of bruising but no lasting damage. The police were even good enough to ring me and let me know, and thank me personally for pulling up and doing their job for them. Apparently the less-than-brilliant duo in the gatzo van got a rifting for not handling the incident very well. For a start it was my wife stopping traffic, and Id already rung for an ambulance by the time either of the two cops had thought to radio in.
 
ChrisMClark said:
He was lucky though, he landed in soft undergrowth. a metre either way and it would have either been a hard landing on tarmac, or an impaling on a farmer's fence post!
Click to expand...

tbh i would take the tarmac over the grass as it the soft stuff that does the damage. I been lucky as i never gone down on the road but have dumped it a few times on the track and tbh you never really get hurt until you hit the gravel.
 
Edit.....Too argumentative and I cannot be bothered.
 
Last edited:
I did edit my previous post Mike.

However,your answer to my initial question is laughable.......:lol:
 
ChrisMClark said:
I'm a bloody careful driver, and touch wood, I've never even come close to having an accident.
Click to expand...
I'm a very careful motorcyclist, the only accident I've been in is due to being rear-ended by a 4x4, and I too do not like being painted with the "all bikers are nutjobs" brush. There is a very good ad aimed at bikers (You don't get warnings like these in the real world) that highlights the need for caution, so there *are* ads aimed at bikers.
They might not be aimed at the points you raise, but there's so many issues that need highlighting (hogging the middle lane on a motorway, tailgating, running red lights) for all road users that aren't covered I'm not sure they ever will be!
Most of the ads they make are aimed at the major causes of accidents, and I'll agree it's a shame that more specific areas are not tackled.
 
mikeward said:
so they dont have to buy 2 bikes one for the road and one for the trackdays.
Click to expand...

I find that ridiculous - my track bike is a 600 and I'm faster than guys on litres. In fact if anything they're more "straight line warriors" - slow in the corners then just twist the wrist on the straights. More annoying than anything!

The only reason people buy bigger bikes is for more power. The same can be said for people who buy cars with big engines. Just because you've got more does not necessarily mean you'll speed any more than someone with a smaller engine... it's just a lot more fun! :D
 
mikeward said:
so they dont have to buy 2 bikes one for the road and one for the trackdays.
Click to expand...

It's like saying that if the speed limit is 70MPH why have cars capable of driving twice that speed...?

Because they're FUN to drive!
Just as fast bikes are fun to ride...

I've found that faster, more powerful cars are generally safer as they allow you to overtake more quickly and efficiently when you do get stuck behind lorries, buses, tractors etc...

And yes I do own a fast car and a slighly less-fast car...

One is for fun drives on dry days and the occasional track-day and the other for commuting and general driving duties in the rain...
 
It should be simple - make all the cars and bikes capable of doing 200mph, but just build in a cut-off mechanism that kicks in at 70mph, like on lorries.

Why would anyone object?

Simples.
 
Syx said:
I find that ridiculous - my track bike is a 600 and I'm faster than guys on litres. In fact if anything they're more "straight line warriors" - slow in the corners then just twist the wrist on the straights. More annoying than anything!
Click to expand...

That because they just go to track days and ride on the road rather than go to a proper instructor school which can learn you alot about going through corners (were you will gain time) faster.
 
Myky D said:
It should be simple - make all the cars and bikes capable of doing 200mph, but just build in a cut-off mechanism that kicks in at 70mph, like on lorries.

Why would anyone object?Simples.
Click to expand...

Everyone would eventually
Ever been stuck behind two lorries one trying to overtake the other
on a duel carriageway one doing 56 mph the other doing 56.5 MPH?
It take a little while and causes traffic to back up......

cars all doing a max of 70 MPH?
you must have seen what happens on a motorway the way traffic backs up
when "someone" in front spots a copper, the faster guys all slow to 70 mph
the slower guys slow down anyway
traffic backs up

Good idea in theory but in practise?
 
Cobra said:
Everyone would eventually
Ever been stuck behind two lorries one trying to overtake the other
on a duel carriageway one doing 56 mph the other doing 56.5 MPH?
It take a little while and causes traffic to back up......

cars all doing a max of 70 MPH?
you must have seen what happens on a motorway the way traffic backs up
when "someone" in front spots a copper, the faster guys all slow to 70 mph
the slower guys slow down anyway
traffic backs up

Good idea in theory but in practise?
Click to expand...

True. People are stupid. I always over-estimate them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top