wmr1980

This was from The Mirror: The male driver of the Renault Clio David hit appeared in court following the accident. The motorist admitted causing death by careless driving and got a 12 months community sentence in April and an 18 month driving ban. He was also ordered to pay £200 costs with a £60 surcharge and do 130 hours unpaid work. Ch Insp Spinks added: "We know from the footage that David was travelling up to 100mph. Regardless of the speed of the bike, the car manoeuvre should not have been attempted."

My view on this as both a car driver and a motorbike rider... Biker was daft going that quickly especially as if he had done any advanced rider training, or even any decent learning he would have anticipated (and noticed) the junction ahead, and be ready to slow down (and actually slow down) for the junction, not to a crawl, but heck, at the speed limit at least! Though even at 60mph you can't just swerve out of the way as easily as you can with a car. One thing you learn on your bike, even with lights on, people don't notice you. It's a researched fact called inattentional blindness (http://www.motolight.com/page/481485610) as well as motion induced blindness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion-induced_blindness) seems to affect motorbikes as they are just at the right shape/speed to fall between the gaps so to speak. This is not a mitigation, it is something that is still being understood/researched, but something bikers need to be aware of and ride more defensively as a result. Now, the bike had just overtaken a car, which is possibly why he was going too fast, we've all be told to overtake as quickly as possible to minimise TED (Time exposed to danger), but clearly he didn't slow down. However, the "guilty" car driver didn't notice the car that had just been overtaken either. So that is pretty damning evidence, even if he was motion blinded about the bike, he should have noticed a white car! The white car also had its lights on. When you're cutting across a NSL road, the onus is on you to cross when it is safe, not to make others slow down or change their course. The car clearly just performs the manoeuvre without stopping and therefore can be surmised that they didn't look either. They're both to blame. The biker should have been riding more defensively, and slowed down for the junction. The car driver was also driving carelessly. Ultimately though, a young man has lost his life leaving a hole in people's lives, as well as it being on the conscious of the car driver. No one wins, no one is right or wrong - it's a sad event, and finger pointing and apportioning blame adds nothing.

Though remember the mx5 isn't about being a powerhouse, it still only weighs around 1 tonne, and is very easy to drive on the limit or close to the limit without things going south very quickly. It's designed to be a hoot to drive at slower speeds. I do agree the chassis can cope with more power, heck my mx5 had over 230bhp (mk2). Exactly the best thing about an MX-5 is the handling not the speed, but if speed is your thing then s/c it But then who would s/c a lovely n/a engine in a perfectly weighted car Mine was turbo charged - mk2 1.8is. Was rather fun

Though remember the mx5 isn't about being a powerhouse, it still only weighs around 1 tonne, and is very easy to drive on the limit or close to the limit without things going south very quickly. It's designed to be a hoot to drive at slower speeds. I do agree the chassis can cope with more power, heck my mx5 had over 230bhp (mk2).

It's an improvement on the mk3. I actually rather like it. With it being 100kg lighter and 165bhp, with rumours of a 200bhp variant I reckon it'll be a fab car. My mk2 was one of the best cars I owned.

Indeed - good luck with the training!

The friend who is teaching me BJJ has also done aikido for 15 years and BJJ now for about 8 years. Needless to say that despite being much stronger than him, he gets the better of me every time. He just knows how to throw me off balance, or use my momentum against me, and manages to get me into a hold using decent leverage which whilst doesn't break anything is incapacitating - he hasn't been able to get a choke hold on me yet (I'm sure it'll happen) but if the scrap gets on the floor he'd most probably win. The only thing I have against him is strength which does play it's part if (and only if, I don't have his skill) I can utilise it in the right way. I think if we were trying to hurt one another we'd both end up with injuries but he'd probably end up having the upper hand. It was a very humbling experience when I first started it really proved to me that the RIGHT martial art with the right attitude (i.e. you're not invincible), and skill you can overpower most people. I really was impressed and went home sore and somewhat surprised. Despite playing 10+ years of rugby and considering myself reasonably tough, if you keep within the rules (no gauging of the eyes, yanking on genitals, or ripping of throat, or breaking of limbs) it's VERY hard work which requires a huge amount of skill. In a drunken pub brawl you'd end up (if sober and all your wits about you) overcoming the antagonist. Someone charges at you, having the skills to transfer the attack into defence is pretty much the key to surviving a fight. Ultimately, if you have some boxing or kick boxing training, and BJJ and are pretty strong and know how to take some knocks you'd make a formidable opponent.

I do a bit of casual Brazilian Jui Jitsu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_jiu-jitsu) but not graded or anything, literally learn a few holds and moves. It ties in quite nicely with my gym work as it adds some flexibility, and mobility work, but also teaches me to use my considerable strength/weight to use with minimal injury to myself or opponent.

Thanks for the link

He he nice one! Great driving!

Nowt wrong with that!

Oh definitely, it's just my diff is starting to be poorly, and if I'm going to spend money on getting a replacement I quite like to upgrade stuff I've generally always upgraded viscous diffs to clutch type as I find them more engaging when driving, and was curious as to what configuration people did here.

No not the magic pills of the 70s and 90s, but the ones that give you that sideways pleasure in a RWD car. In due course (not quite yet) I will want to change the diff. I'm thinking of a 1.5 way but some recommend 2-way with 25% lock (I think BMWs have those?). I do the occasional track day, and generally a lot of fast road driving (I don't really commute in London). I think a 1.5way is probably the way to go as it offers a nice balance between hardcore 2-way and a slightly more understeery 1-way. Question is what sort of lock is needed in your opinions?

Thing is BMW and a few American branded cars already have HUD for satnav and speed. That's all you need - all the added features are just distractions and unnecessary.

Congrats!

I've had my licence about 10 years. Currently bikeless as I have nowhere to store one, and it would be a weekend toy - and for that I have the Zed! However I'd have a Speed Triple if I could - my last bike as a TT600 - loved it, perfect balance of power, handling and phenomenal braking.

A lot of police will back down if they feel the person is driving recklessly - they will then visit the registered keeper's address usually.

Good luck to both of you and hope you manage to embrace your new lifestyles and get the results you're after.

Hi Tim, Yes I rang you guys but you weren't quite competitive enough

Well Chris Knott came back to me and offered a competitive quote. £20 more - however, I'm thinking of going with them since they have looked after me well in the past, and their Ts&Cs are pretty good. And for £20 more than Admiral probably worth it no? What annoys me is the fact that insurance companies are willing to match or be more competitive just for the business, so why not make the premiums lower in the first place? I'm clearly low risk - 15+ years of experience, mid 30s, married and not a chav.

I find Jap cars generally are really well set up for H&T - but I also have wide feet making it easier.

Well I've sent Admiral's quote over to Chris Knott so will see what they say.

Thanks for the heads up. I've got a few weeks still to go so will hunt around.

Seems Admiral are decent enough them from the people I see using them here.

I have to say that the "not driven this sort of car" argument is so irritating. I've owned more powerful cars than the Zed, and have had my bike licence for over 10 years, and 17 years of normal licence with 0 points and 0 claims and yet I get stung because of some stupid audit trail which isn't continuous. Still, if Admiral can honour that £480 FC I'll be happy.