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Thread ID: 88459	2008-03-28 02:51:00	On Campbell Live tonite - "Motorcycle rules revved up"	johcar (6283)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
653530	2008-03-29 03:00:00	Riding on the dirt teaches evasive action, That's what saves your life when a car pulls in front of you, or you get a puncture, or hit a patch of gravel,or the bike slides out at 120 on a long smooth corner.	Metla (12)
653531	2008-03-29 03:56:00	And the single best experience anyone can get at any stage of their life before hitting the road on a bike is time spent doing it on the dirt. Riding on the dirt teaches evasive action, That's what saves your life when a car pulls in front of you, or you get a puncture, or hit a patch of gravel,or the bike slides out at 120 on a long smooth corner. Very true and wise words. It's not just evasive action that dirt riding teaches, it's also looking ahead to identify possible hazards. A family member who is an extremely capable dirt bike rider had his defensive driving instructor comment that she had not come across anyone who automatically looked ahead and noticed potential hazards as much as he did. Most people had to be reminded all the time. He told her he was used to it due to his dirt bike riding experience. Dirt bike riders also come off a lot and learn to ride better so they stay on. When it comes to getting on a road bike they would be well aware that it hurts a lot more on the tarseal or after colliding with a car.	FoxyMX (5)
653532	2008-03-29 06:46:00	Can't have been too hard a hit if you were able to get off the ground before him and retaliate! :) Normally cyclist vs. pedestrian, the pedestrian comes off worse - lots of sticky-out bits on the front end of a bike!! However, it seems the cyclist got what was coming to him. :thumbs: I have no sympathy for him (and I'm a keen road cyclist - Rotorua-Taupo 100km Flyer next weekend, Hamilton-Whangamata the following one and Rotorua-Whakatane at the end of April, with the BIG rides at the end of the year: Round Melbourne (210km) and Round Taupo (160km))... It was somewhat of a glancing blow as he emerged from beside a stationary van going at a fair clip. His right arm vs my left arm. He was using his arm to steer (then swerve), I was using mine to carry a fairly heavy toolbox. We both swerved a fair bit, but he had a reasonable amount of speed and had a trip over the edge of the kerb around the end of the crossing, then argued with the pole. Then I walked on his gears, and somebody else threw his bike off the road. I was not the one bleeding, but then I didn't have the poofs lycra suit either.	R2x1 (4628)
653533	2008-03-29 11:28:00	Tougher rules for whom? It's the motorists that need training . NZ motorists need better training and harsher testing across the board . Campaigns against drink driving are one thing, but we have a serious poor quality of driving problem that seems to go largely ignored by the powers that be . A car is as dangerous as a gun in the wrong hands, and there a a lot of wrong hands on the road .	Biggles (121)
653534	2008-03-29 12:28:00	Unfortunately its a lot easier to blame the minority (Motorbike riders) rather than the general population . . and having ridden now, I can easily look back and see how ignorant I truly was! Besides that, how many of the monkeys in parliament who will be making the decision about XYZ actually ride motorbikes and understand just how oblivious many motorists actually are?! . . . Its just not good for the campaign to admit that you fall into the category of blissfully un-aware drivers :p Note: Im not saying ALL NZ motorists are hopeless . . but you get my drift . .	Chilling_Silence (9)
653535	2008-03-29 12:39:00	Very true and wise words. It's not just evasive action that dirt riding teaches, it's also looking ahead to identify possible hazards. A family member who is an extremely capable dirt bike rider had his defensive driving instructor comment that she had not come across anyone who automatically looked ahead and noticed potential hazards as much as he did. Most people had to be reminded all the time. He told her he was used to it due to his dirt bike riding experience. Dirt bike riders also come off a lot and learn to ride better so they stay on. When it comes to getting on a road bike they would be well aware that it hurts a lot more on the tarseal or after colliding with a car. Learning how to come off makes a big difference to how much damage you do to yourself and the bike. It has amazed me this summer as to how many people I have seen riding on the road in shorts and tee shirt and once saw someone riding with jandles on.:illogical	mikebartnz (21)
653536	2008-03-29 20:51:00	It has amazed me this summer as to how many people I have seen riding on the road in shorts and tee shirt and once saw someone riding with jandles on.:illogical I see that a lot and it makes me utterly cringe. They must think it is never going to happen to them, and maybe they'll be lucky and it won't, but if it does.... arghh!! :(	FoxyMX (5)
653537	2008-03-29 21:32:00	I ride a motorcycle to work everyday, an 80km round trip. In the 20-odd years I've been in Auckland I've been knocked off once by a car - me stopped at a giveway, the car behind "didn't see me" (or the sign, or the intersection, or the car going through the intersection, that I'd stopped for). Defensive driving and common sense, by all road users is quite rare. I get passed by a few riders overtaking in stupid places, at stupid speeds, and cringe that their riding is giving me (and other responsible riders) a bad name. When a guy zaps past a car 6 inches from their door, out of nowhere in heavy traffic at 80kay in a 50 zone, you can see the motorist swerve with the initial fright, then stiffen ready to sort out the next rider they see. There are plenty of temporary riders out there (they'll either get killed, or get injured and decide motorcycles are too dangerous and go and get a lowered Jap import instead), and with the behaviour of some of the ones I've seen, they won't be getting too much sympathy from me if (when) I come across them lying on the road. I'm a motorcyclist for the long haul (been riding the last 35 years on a near-daily basis) and I don't need idiots making my life harder to enjoy riding. Having said that I agree - more initial training (for all drivers), compulsory defensive drivers course to get a licence, and dirt bike riding as a great introduction to motorcycle handling skills.	Grimy (3041)
653538	2008-03-29 21:58:00	Plenty or morons on bikes, plenty of them in the wrong, and plenty of them the cause of all their problems, including not being seen. Lets not put motorcyclists on any pedestal, Most bike accidents are single vehicle events,	Metla (12)
653539	2008-03-29 23:16:00	Plenty or morons on bikes, plenty of them in the wrong, and plenty of them the cause of all their problems, including not being seen. Lets not put motorcyclists on any pedestal, Most bike accidents are single vehicle events, I agree all my cycling accidents involved only me as well,m although one in the uk a few years ago involved my front wheel and a cat at over 50km, bit messy for both of us. I always look to see what the idiots in cars are doing too as they are just as unpredictable as any type of bike, I have come to the conclusion big bores are just the right size for a small heat seeking missile to fit into, would solve the boy racer problem too.... :2cents:	gary67 (56)
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