6:25 M66 south shut by Bury

[entwisi]

woah!!

accidents are by their nature very random, there are accidents where being in a car is the reason you did not get away. when I was at college a girl I knew died on hassy old road with 3 friends because after couldn't get out and the car set on fire......

Often bikers are thrown well clear of the mechanical mayhem that happens.

Thats all before we get to the point of actually avoiding the accident in the first place due to the smallness and performance available( nip between cars instead of smacking into them, acceleration and braking that means we can genuinely get out the way of the thing in the first place plus and here is probably the biggest of them all...... MUCH better roadcraft than the vast majority of car drivers. Bikers on the whole spend far more time reviewing their riding and trying to improve it than car drivers.

I would venture to say that if you took all cars off the roads the number of bikers killed would drop to a fraction of what it is.. So therefore who is the danger in this? What is really required is better and more regular testing of drivers. The standard of driving I see every single day is distgusting. People reading maps, papers, combing hair, doing makeup, shaving, holding animated conversations with passengers, texting, none of which you can do whilst riding a bike.

until the government get serious about road safety and introduce regular ( 5 years IMHO) testing of all drivers for everything from eyesight to driving capability including Motorways we will continue to have unfortunate and devastating accidents like yesterday.

My own accident where my L1 vertibrae was smashed ( so I speak from experience here)

" oh, the lights went Amber and as he's a biker and they always go through on Amber I accelerated to nip through after him! " ........ Only thing was I had stopped as you should do if you can do it safely( which I did comfortably)

so just where in that was my bike 'dangerous'? The dangerous thing is the fleshy lump behind the wheel of the car.

Ban Bikes? nope..... They provide far too much entertainment, are much more environmentally friendly and offer people a choice....

[emamum]

ban bikes? cars crash as well.. shall we ban them?? a train crashed the other day in america, lets ban them.... and quads,buses, planes(even prams )..... they all crash....... i slipped on the steps going out of my garden the other day, lets ban steps! and walking!!


Bikers know the risks, the sensible ones wear leathers and lids, my grandad,mum,stepdad,uncles and aunties are all bikers, the worse accident that my stepdad has been in was when he flipped his car 'over the tops' between colne and nelson and put his hand through the sun roof!

[jaysay]

I'm not really a bike person, it maybe down to he fact that when I was a teenager a mate of mine had a Triumph Tiger Cub and said he'd pick me up after work and take me to watch the Rovers. That was the first and last time I've ever been on a motor bike, he put the fear of god in me

[Neil]

Originally Posted by entwisi

so just where in that was my bike 'dangerous'?

Because you were sat on it when a big numb lump of car hit you. Had you been in a car you would more than likely have received less of an injury.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I think it is a 'knee jerk' reaction, to want to ban something because of its perceived dangers.
Life itself is dangerous, we are at risk from activities that no-one even considers dangerous.

It is unfortunate that this man died in the way that he did......and my thoughts are with those who loved him, for surely this is a very sad time for them, but the man was doing something that he probably got pleasure from......most of the folks that I know are bikers from choice, rather than necessity.
The events were probably not in the control of this young man.
None of us know when we set out on our daily doings, whether we will be going home to our families that evening.......it would do us all well to realise this and make sure that we tell those we love, just how much they mean to us.....it may be the last chnace we get.

[entwisi]

And had the lump of car been driven by someone who drove to what was happening rather than assumption I would have received none. Training will help this

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I think it is a 'knee jerk' reaction, to want to ban something because of its perceived dangers.

I agree totally. My comments are not knee jerk but the result of many years of seeing bikers do crazy things when they are so vulnerable.

Car safety is improving all the time but there is nothing really you can do to save a biker who hits a car on the motorway. Once touch and they are dead.

[BERNADETTE]

I have an intense dislike of motor bikes because I have known quite a few people who have been killed in accidents whilst riding them. These people were experienced riders but stood no chance of escaping fatal injuries. To witness the grief of their loved ones is horrendous and whilst we all know that banning them isn't feasible it does make you wonder if the "thrill" of riding them is worth the risk of your family losing you. Yes I know that it isn't always the motor cyclists fault but their chances of surviving are very much reduced due to their choice of transport.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Neil, I didn't say that your comment was a knee jerk reaction........I just said that it is wrong to ban things that are perceived to be dangerous.
There has always been an element of danger in everyones life.....the human race evolved in response to danger.
The other thing that I would say is that car drivers sometimes fail to consider bikers....and that while the car driver is protected in his cocoon/coffin, the biker has very little in the way of protection....and you may have seen bikers do crazy things, but car drivers are equally likely to do some of those crazy things too......like tossing a lighted cigarette out of a car window....that finds its way into the jacket of a biker(OK, it was a lot of years ago, but could have had fatal consequences).

I am sure that most bikers appreciate their vulnerability, and to a degree accept it as part of the adrenaline thing.
Men will always take risks........they will get away with some of them, but not all.

[lindsay ormerod]

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

I have an intense dislike of motor bikes because I have known quite a few people who have been killed in accidents whilst riding them. These people were experienced riders but stood no chance of escaping fatal injuries. To witness the grief of their loved ones is horrendous and whilst we all know that banning them isn't feasible it does make you wonder if the "thrill" of riding them is worth the risk of your family losing you. Yes I know that it isn't always the motor cyclists fault but their chances of surviving are very much reduced due to their choice of transport.

I have spent many happy hours on the pillion of very fast motorbikes, the thrill is unbelievable, it's a great experience. I have also lost friends to motorbike accidents, the worst wasn't even his fault, he was thrown under the wheels of an oncoming lorry after being hit by some silly cow on a mobile whilst driving. I don't think a ban is the answer, it's a risk you take every time you throw your leg over the bike, I stopped going out on the back of my (now ex) hubby when I realised just how easily our little girl could become an orphan. It's a dangerous pastime, but you know the risks when you get the bike.
RIP Kevin. x

[cashman]

Originally Posted by Polly_45

Its about time bikes were taken of the road
my son has just moved to Cheltenham for work and he needs a bike as only limited parking for cars but plenty of spaces for bikes he has never been on a bike and now faces doing his bike test im worried sick at the thought of it.
one thing in life i dislike is motorbikes

that seems a very selfish reason, fer wanting bikes taken off the road Polly_45, have ya any sensible reason fer this line of thought?

[Polly_45]

Originally Posted by cashman

that seems a very selfish reason, fer wanting bikes taken off the road Polly_45, have ya any sensible reason fer this line of thought?

Not a selfish reason at all,know far to many nice people killed on bikes and seen far to many families devestated by the loss of one of their loved ones.
As pecentage bikes verses cars i would think more car accidents are higher on the statistics but death toll is higher where a bike/biker involved.
We all know most roads are safe its the people that use them that cause the accidents,ive had a few near misses myself but havent we all
Im not ashamed to say i dislike bikes.i love driving a powerful car so in hindsight you can compare it to bikers loving their high powered bikes.
they are just not for me,and now im faced with a son needing one to commute between Upton st leonards to Cheltenham.
hope my reply seems sensible

[cashman]

can understand ya saying they aint fer you, no problem, i also have lost quite a few good friends on em, by the way i aint a biker, least not since 1963, seems strange though to me as like bikes, high powered cars are unsafe as any vehicle is in the wrong hands.

[Polly_45]

Originally Posted by cashman

can understand ya saying they aint fer you, no problem, i also have lost quite a few good friends on em, by the way i aint a biker, least not since 1963, seems strange though to me as like bikes, high powered cars are unsafe as any vehicle is in the wrong hands.

thats why i said i like driving a powerful car! so in hindsight you can compare it to bikers loving their high powered bikes.However a high powered car in the wrong hands is another killing machine so have to agree with ya just as dangerous but you have your air bags side inpact bars etc so a lot more protection,but it doesnt stop driver error or the silly beggars who love speed and have no consideration for other road users.

[david1]

Accrington observer :-
Happy family is torn apart by road crash - News - Accrington Observer