White Van Man gets ££££Millions

what is you understanding of bikesafe livvy?

spokey wrote: livvy wrote: If that are at higher risk on our roads they are. They are more vulnerable. How are they at higher risk? Because they get into more accidents pro-rata than the rest of us? Might I respectfully suggest if this is the case, it's because they seem to drive like morons more often than even BMW drivers? So why should our tax money go to FREE special training for idiots? Why doesn't our tax money go to people who don't drive like idiots? Or better yet, why don't they leave our taxes in our back pockets?

Because it's in the best interests of making our roads safer. Safer for them who receive the training & by virtue of that safer for everyone else.

livvy wrote: Because it's in the best interests of making our roads safer. Safer for them who receive the training & by virtue of that safer for everyone else.

Rubbish.

This is just another pathetic knee-jerk reaction by the government to be seen to be "doing something". If the WVM really was a specific problem, then the education should be compulsory. Since it's not, it's highly likely that most of them will just laugh the whole thing off. Meantime, our tax money gets thrown at another pathetic and wasteful "initiative".

I don't understand you lot, I really don't.

Positive action, its great news, its what some of you have been calling for !

Our tax payers money is spent on so much we can whinge about.

Your that interested in driving I can't get you to spend £85 and invest a couple of hours a week to improve your driving skills, yet you own , tax insure, & drive, BMW's ? 

If it wasn't thought of by BMW it doesn't exist...right ?

Get real.

Sorry lads, my post was a bit blunt !

If you make something compulsory, people will rebel against it, voluntary is much better.

We are also dealing with politicians who are worried about doing something that will lose them votes.

I am at present struggling to get sponsership of less than £500, from the police, council, scameraship etc etc, it looks like I may get something from the IAM, what the group has raised looks like it will make the shortfall.

What did I want the money for ?

I wanted to recruit between 14 & 20 under 26 year old drivers, give them an IAM theory course, and an assessed drive, a ittle test, then the best three get a free IAM course, if they pass that, they then get a free session on West Mercia Police's skid pan.

My reasoning for wanting to do this ?

Youngsters are dying, needlessly, & so far nothing I've come up with has persuaded my local lot to sign on.

Anything that persuades drivers, any group of them to look at advanced driving is in my opinion a good thing, and if done correctly is a good use of public money, and if were really lucky, it might save more than it costs.

dutch wrote: Hi Nigel very noble cause and good luck with it. is there any reason why these younsters are not tested to IAM standard to start with, surely it can't just be down to cost?

Its a difficult one.

Its all very easy to forget just how difficult it is to learn to drive, I take my hat off to ADI's, I wouldn't fancy it.

Once they have mastered basic car control, and passed their DSA test, thats the time to start worrying about honing their skills.

Why haven't they done it ?

Why haven't you lot done it is the answer to that one....you don't have to....its not sexy.....its not cool....Joe Bloggs down the road said  he can drive better than any of them, and he said my drivings ok.....etc etc etc

dutch wrote: bikesafe? not even going to go there. more police stats that don't add up.

Enlighten me on why bikesafe is ill informed.


Edited by livvy

How do we make it appeal to people dutch ?

You've seen the topics on here, Livvy and myself versus the world !

People would rather argue silly little points, are speed cameras for safety or for cash etc.

The government are getting tough, doesn't matter if we voted for them or not.

If we don't address the driving habits of our nation look forward to 40 mph national off motorway limits etc because that where their present strategy is going.

Nigel wrote: The government are getting tough, doesn't matter if we voted for them or not.

They aren't getting tough, Nigel, they are posturing and pretending to do something. They will never do more than tweak the current limits here and there, because anything more will put us severely out of line with the EU and also ruin tourism.

And meantime, we will have the apologists defending everything the government does in the name of "balance" and "road safety".

dutch wrote: i am currently riding with two officers who are taking time out to train four bikers we pay their fuel they give their time and we thank them for this. as soon as the hat changes they turn up at bike meets and start bleating, 300 bikers killed, road safety blah blah to fast, to this, to that. they know and seen it first hand very few of these bikers deaths are actully down to the bikers its the "i didn't see you drivers" but because a bike is involved its classed as a bike incident diluting the real figures. i can only presume that they are told to use scare tactics to get the point across.

Dutch do you know how many bikers were killed in single vehicle collisions last year (no other vehcile or pedestrian involvement) ?

143 riders

And a further 1,437 were seriously injured in single vehicle offs.

What ever you say about those fatal collisions everyone was thoroughly investigated & excessive speed is the highest recurring contributory factor in those fatal collisions. It comes up more than any other contributory factor in fatal collisions of not only bikes but cars also.
Only with bikes it's present in about half of all those fatal collisions compared to about a third in cars.

You can stick your fingers in your ears & go blah blah blah all you like, but that won't go away.


Edited by livvy