Interesting viewpoint

OK - it was making a noise a little like a slipping clutch, but as I
said, it just went away after 1/2 a mile or so.

noted.

 

I have fallen off a bike due to ice; the resultant bruising was hardly
visible and rather less newsworthy than four slaughtered cyclists. My
losing control was of no consequence to anyone else and rather trivial
for me. I wasn't travelling at >50mph though...

 

Which is why doing 50mph is excessive for the conditions if there's black
ice about. Sheesh.

 

"But I'm not kerb-crawling Officer, can't you see the little light that
says it's icy?"
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

Teach a man to fish and he and his pikey mates will have the
river cleaned out in a day.

 

I have. Utter humiliation - if anyone had been around to see.

Out of my home, on my bike at right angles to the service road. Off
and hard right and wallop... I'm on my side in the snow.

Surreptitious look round to see that no one had seen and off again.
More cautiously this time.

Arrive at work to find I have no keys, so cycle home again to find
them in the snow.

What a pillock!

 

Can I get one of these other mes to go to work for me, so I can have
the day off?

 

97% of people stuck by cars travelling at 20mph survive (source: RoSPA).
At 30mph it's 80%.
At 35mph, 50%.
At 40mph, 10%.

See what's happening here? Kinetic energy scales with the second power of
the speed, but potential for serious injury scales approximately with the
fourth power.

I don't fail to understand that it's regular, I merely point out that to
drive at a speed which is inappropriate for the conditions is against the
law. If there's ice on the road and you can't relaibly see where it is,
it's going to take you more than five hours to drive to Birmingham
legally, which is not a convenient commuting time.

 

I'm dumb enough. Statistically, if you hold your speed below 20mph, you are
exceedingly unlikely to kill anyone, even if you do lose control.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Das Internet is nicht fuer gefingerclicken und giffengrabben... Ist
nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen. Das mausklicken sichtseeren
keepen das bandwit-spewin hans in das pockets muss; relaxen und
watchen das cursorblinken. -- quoted from the jargon file

 

You had doubts? A bit slow on the uptake, are you?

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ DS#8
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

If you think it's possible to drive a heavy 4x4 'like on any other day' on
ice, you've obviously never tried it.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

I'm fed up with Life 1.0. I never liked it much and now it's getting
me down. I think I'll upgrade to MSLife 97 -- you know, the one that
comes in a flash new box and within weeks you're crawling with bugs.

 

"Mr Harris was interviewed three days after the fatal crash.

Scraped ice

He said his Toyota Corolla car suddenly went out of control.

Although Mr Harris told police he had scraped ice off his car for five
minutes before setting off on his journey, he said the road had
appeared to be clear until just moments before the crash.

He said when he saw the cyclists he knew he had to avoid them, but
there was nothing he could do.

Mr Harris also said when his car came to a stop he thought he had
missed the group. It was only when he got out of his car he saw two of
the cyclists lying in the road."

Expect that he was insured too.

Not wicked, just pathetic.

 

You did. Unfortunately, he's doing your usenet posting for you as well


-dan

 

Heh, it was a bit epic.
Can I have my rattle back please.

--
Dan L

http://thebikeshed.spaces.live.com/
1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr

BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005/6/7)
X-FOT#000
DIAABTCOD #26
BOMB#18 (slow)
OMF#11

 

Ahh I see, "tell me about your childhood" stuff eh.
You do't know me really at all, do you.

Okay, having thought long and hard about my driving / riding, let me
retort as follows:
Speeding - yes, on motorways and NSL roads. I never aim to be the
fastest thing on the road for a several reasons: The fastest thing on
the road will get nicked before I do (only ever had 1 endorsement for
anything, which was speeding in 1988).
Going very fast is not really an option, as my everyday drive atm is a
Hyundai Accent, and well, you've seen my bike and my riding [1].
Overtaking on double white lines - doesn't happen, overtaking in itself
is a rare occurrence with current modes of transport.

Yeah, lycra clad twats on the streets of London, to bigotry to racism.
Bang on the money there.

WRT bicycle couriers I know exactly what I would do if I were in their
position - have a little more regard for my own safety, and the
consequences of my actions on those around me. (closely followed by a
change of career I would guess).

I am absolutely sure you are right, but motorcycle couriers don't even
figure on my radar when driving around town. Other than giving them
room to pass me, I have never yet encountered one who endangered my
life and liberty by pulling stunts such as riding across red lights at
busy junctions or taking to the pavement.

[1] I was mostly a small speck in your mirrors, if you recall.



--
Dan L

http://thebikeshed.spaces.live.com/
1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr

BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005/6/7)
X-FOT#000
DIAABTCOD #26
BOMB#18 (slow)
OMF#11

 

Other jobs are available.

Other jobs are available.

Utter unmitigated twaddle. Sorry Ben but it is.

--
Dan L

http://thebikeshed.spaces.live.com/
1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr

BOTAFOT #140 (KotL 2005/6/7)
X-FOT#000
DIAABTCOD #26
BOMB#18 (slow)
OMF#11

 

Ho yes! A frozen pond and a recumbent trike! Been there, done that.
No real snow and ice this year

 

Good grief, there are so many things in these two paragraphs I could
raise issue with. I can't believe you ride a motorbike.

 

They enjoy that one; and good for them.

I'm sure people curse my riding/driving on a daily basis.

This I agree with completely. They're mostly paid per job so the faster
they can do them the more they earn.

 

Oh for crying out loud.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tigtona 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

Yes - you're quoting statistics rather than answering the question.

*What* conditions - the ones you encounter as you progress on your
journey, or the ones at your house two hours & 70 miles earlier?

And if there's *no* ice on the roads for the first 70 miles, you'll
carry on driving at 20mph to make sure you only kill 3% of the people
you may crash into should you suddenly hit a patch of ice, yes?

If your answer's that you wouldn't make the journey in the first place
if there was ice on your windows, try replacing 'commute' with a trip
to an important meeting, or to see a relative who's been rushed into
hospital, or whatever reason would make the trip mandatory.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tigtona 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250