Better to Maim than to speed!!

[BillyC]

Originally Posted by leesimons

For me it's not the actual accident that Tim suffered. It's the fact that nearly everything about road safety nowadays focusses on SPEED.

More people need to highlight accidents like this and the results and consequences of them so that less emphasis is put on speed and more on more considered driving and higher driving standards. These can (as we've discussed a million times), only be achieved through more education and better policing which means more police and less cameras!

Here here!

Originally Posted by Nekkid

Errr, is that meant how it sounds??

Well, it was his right hand

Originally Posted by Nekkid

It would have been better if they'd made the guy do his advanced driving test rather than just a tiny fine and points.[/img]

Exactly.

Originally Posted by Nekkid

Errr, is that meant how it sounds??

It would increase the pressure on the powers that be to take more notice of the real cause of accidents, not just speed. It would have been better if they'd made the guy do his advanced driving test rather than just a tiny fine and points.[/img]

Though this is something that you'll rarely (if ever!) be compensated for... injuries, damage to bike and clothing... but having to deal with all the hassle, the doubts, the waiting, the general aggro... and for a biker I'd say it was much worse than for a car driver - bigger dent to confidence, bigger risk, etc. If they tacked on extra money for all the cr@p you get when dealing with insurers, time looking for another bike, clothing, going to medical meetings, waiting, etc. then I'd hope to get a few more grand, just for being made to go through it all... but no, we're just meant to smile and enjoy it I'm *almost* finished with getting knocked off the last bike on 13th December... got the personal injury/clothing dmage money to come soon... from an incident where the other driver put his hands up and took full responsibility instantly (white van man, too! ) 5 months? I'd hate to think what I'd have gone through if they'd been pulling "shared fault" or other bull-poo as they seem to pull on many bikers.

My 2p

Tim, while i agree that the fine he got doesnt reflect the injuries you recieved and his neglagence has caused you so much trouble, and the fact you will still be left out of pocket is unacceptable, i feel i want to add my 2p,

If i were as a cage driver to make the teribale mistake to pull out infront of a bike...and yes it is easy to do, i would hate to feel that i shoudl loose my lcence for it and or have to re do my test, or whatever punishment us as riders feel is necassery,
there is a fine line between a mistake and neglagence and one that is even more difficlut to prove or dissprove in the law courts,
now if you happened to be in a car in this accident your injusries woudl have been much less servere and yet he would have probably got the same if not les punishment,

us as motorcyclists accept we are the greater risk road users, and yet whenever something like this happens we want the person who made this mistake to practically be hung drawn and quartered,

I know thi sis a sensitive subject, and belive me i am on your / our side, but as both a bike and a cage driver maybe we shoud lstart accpeting mistkaes happen, courts get it "wrong" and insurance companies will screw you till u die, he probably alrady feel terrible about what hapened and wishes he could change it, and yet the points and the fine, will probably make him more nervous and hesitant at junctions, potentially increasing the risk of a repeat event!

i agree with points fine and yes maybee we shoudl start pushing for advanced training or suspended licence following a driver assesment or something simmillar???

who knows??

Hope it all gets sorted for you soon,

Alex

Originally Posted by leesimons

For me it's not the actual accident that Tim suffered. It's the fact that nearly everything about road safety nowadays focusses on SPEED.

This is understandable. Using amphetamines whilst driving is certainly not advisable.

These can (as we've discussed a million times), only be achieved through more flagellation and less fleecing which means sore police and less cameras!

Well, quite.


.

sorry to hear about that Tim, I can only hope that this experience has taught the car driver something - and that you mend soon

i would say getting media attention may help get the rest of your money.

or at least give warn them you're going to tell the press and there maybe reference to them in the article.

they won't want to be seen in a poor light and may pay up.....may!

I hate the way speeding is so targeted (cos it's easy to catch people). i see people driving cars like idiots all the time, they can get away with it because they don't speed, or if they do, they know where to do it.

Tim - just a thought.

Did the bloke visit you in hospital, at home, or send a card/flowers/chocs etc? If he is feeling so bad about it, that is the least you should expect.

I would also write to the chairman of the Eastbourne mags to say how you feel and what a joke this sentence is. Won't change the outcome here but at least it might make them take a different view on future cases.

I'm with lyn on this - points and a fine are regarded as an inconvenience rather than a punishment and are an insufficient deterrent. In the days when I had a company car, which the company insured, points on licence made no difference at all to the premium (not that I've ever had any points) - it was £600 per driver - so this talk of insurance being more difficult isn't necessarily true.

Originally Posted by Sythree

Tim - just a thought.

Did the bloke visit you in hospital, at home, or send a card/flowers/chocs etc? If he is feeling so bad about it, that is the least you should expect.

I would also write to the chairman of the Eastbourne mags to say how you feel and what a joke this sentence is. Won't change the outcome here but at least it might make them take a different view on future cases.

I'm with lyn on this - points and a fine are regarded as an inconvenience rather than a punishment and are an insufficient deterrent. In the days when I had a company car, which the company insured, points on licence made no difference at all to the premium (not that I've ever had any points) - it was £600 per driver - so this talk of insurance being more difficult isn't necessarily true.

I was in the a+e when Tim was there. The copper from the scene asked Tim's permission to tell the driver of his condition as he did feel really bad and was extremely concerned about any injuries his appalling driving had caused. i understand and share some of the sentiments about his lenient sentence/punishment but also see that it was just a silly, careless mistake and that maybe doing more would be more about revenge than justice. It just looks so unfair when compared to the punishment for speeding as the focus is now so far from reality when it comes to motoring offences. Chin up Tim, life's too short and you're too tall!!!