mid life crisis bikers

listening to Radio4 this morning I heard an interesting piece. Lord Hanningfield of Essex (I think) stated that the accident figures for last year highlight 40 something bikers as being the most dangerous on the roads. Apparently they are vastly over-represented in the casualty stats and he wants something done.

Done? Like what exactly, did he mention anything?

It would be interesting to see if there is a similar upturn in the figures for other dangerous pursuits that the 40+ are rediscovering from their youth, Scuba diving, Rock climbing, Skiing.

[timwilky]

I too listened to this report and for once applaud the goverment for not getting drawn into unworkable restictions on drivers. unfortunately the debate on 40 plus motorcyclists seemed to have been tacked on by this clown from essex.

My thoughts

This guy is ideally placed to do something about the appalling casulaty rates of motorcyclists..

As leader of Essex council could he not

Require his roads dept to remove

Manholes and all other metal surfaces from bends
Remove large white/red painting from road surfaces
Remove walls/hedges that obstruct visabilty at juctions
Prosecute all vehicle owners that spill diesel on roads

Doing the above which should be within his power would prove he is a guy with a passion for improving road safety, and not just another anti biker out to make a name for himself

Originally Posted by instigator

Done? Like what exactly, did he mention anything?

As already said, the guy who mentioned it was a local politician and therefore isn't responsible for national legislation/policy.

There's nothing in the forthcoming transport policy/white paper/bill* altering the current situation with regard to us old fogies :P


* delete where inapplicable

I was in the Caff in Hawes yesterday, along with perhaps 30 other bikers none of whom was under 50...and most over 60. So, stop them from riding and Hawes closes down in the week with the loss of five or six local jobs. Clever economics!

I have a young pal who is a fireman and, in five years, the only fires he has attended are moorland grass, wheelie bins and stolen cars. He spends his time "training", doing local car-washes, visiting schools, checking on factories....and cutting-out and washing away a few RTA victims.

The idiot pseudo-politicians seem to think that there is money to be saved if we all live a bit longer....they need to smell the coffee: the longer we live, the more the costs increase. My pal won't be made unemployed because there are a few less deaths and hospitals won't treat more cancer victims with less RTAs to deal with - we're insignificant compared to hip replacements, heart attacks from obesity, pregnancies and so on.

We ancient bikers know the risks, and if we choose that way to die, so be it - we've contributed enough in taxes for the right to be hosed off the road and, given the pensions black hole, we need to be encouraged not discouraged!!

Originally Posted by timwilky

I too listened to this report and for once applaud the goverment for not getting drawn into unworkable restictions on drivers. unfortunately the debate on 40 plus motorcyclists seemed to have been tacked on by this clown from essex.

My thoughts

This guy is ideally placed to do something about the appalling casulaty rates of motorcyclists..

As leader of Essex council could he not

Require his roads dept to remove

Manholes and all other metal surfaces from bends
Remove large white/red painting from road surfaces
Remove walls/hedges that obstruct visabilty at juctions
Prosecute all vehicle owners that spill diesel on roads

Doing the above which should be within his power would prove he is a guy with a passion for improving road safety, and not just another anti biker out to make a name for himself

well said that man.


harumph !!!!!

Originally Posted by Captain Nemo

harumph !!!!!

Harumph indeed!! In fact, now my dander is well and truly up (or as up as it gets these days, now I'm more or less a fossil), why is this thread headed "Mid Life Crisis Bikers"?

There are a whole bunch of things one starts doing a) when the kids stop spongeing off you and b) earning power exceeds mortgage commitment. Are they all "mid-life crises"?

At 45, I took up skiing, golfing, rugby and sh@gging (well, the wife decamped!). At 50, I did flying, karting, world-travelling and wearing casual clothes to work. Last year I bought a 'bike - because I wanted one, and because I could afford it.

I don't recall any of these things was a CRISIS, and I've sloshed more cash into the system because I did them than if I'd stuck the money in the bank.

Harumph, harumph and harumph!

When I entered the "mid life crisis" period first thing I did was to
start skiing. Dislocated my shoulder within 10 minutes of getting
onto the slopes and became patient number 1 ("uno") in the Italian
skiing season that year (it was the first day of the skiing season).
Does this mean that old people like me should be banned from skiing?

Also, I don't believe the claim that old bikers are more likely to
crash. If it were so people like me would be paying higher insurance
premiums than younger bikers. And we all know it is the other way
round. Insurance companies know what they are doing.

Probably targetted at the "Born Again" types rather than those 40 somethings like myself (honestly, I am over 40 ) who have taken DAS and are responsible enough to seek further training...

What's he going to do, but a maximum age on bikers too

.