National Protest Day 18th June

[Bugsy]

Worthy of a separate post as there are several running on the various proposals.

This is an update of the locations for this day of protest against the government proposed changes that affect all vehicle users.

A few of us will be attending (on our bikes) the '86' one at the Exhibition Park in Poitiers. If anyone wants to join us let me know.

ALL vehicles are welcome at these events.

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[Dog]

I am listening to the Flamin' Groovies and would love to know what the protest is about - I love a good protest...

[audio]

‘To know what the protest is about’?

In most cases achieving very little apart from costing the taxpayer and inconveniencing the ordinary bloke in the street.

[Bugsy]

[quote user="audio"]

In most cases achieving very little apart from costing the taxpayer and inconveniencing the ordinary bloke in the street.[/quote]

What kind of world would we all live in if everyone in the past had taken that 'Of course I'll roll over, now give me that red-hot poker approach'

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[audio]

‘now give me that red-hot poker approach'

I remember an extremely militant union leader using the same phrase, was it you?

Your protest as I understand includes road safety proposals, what’s wrong with that?

Bikers can be difficult to see, so reflective jackets can only help, oh I see, they will spoil jazzed up leathers.

As for the larger number plates, more wind resistance perhaps but it may enable more of the Jorge Lorenzo wannabes to be nicked.

[Bugsy]

[quote user="audio"]

Your protest as I understand includes road safety proposals, [/quote]

Its not, actually, MY protest and it includes very little to actually improve road safety.

Dealing with truck drivers watching DVD films whilst driving and muppets who insist on using their phones are a couple of exceptions and are to be applauded. As is those who still insist on driving with alcohol fuddled brains. Unfortunately those mindless acts can never be caught on a camera and need a greater Police presence on the road. Something the FFMC as been asking for for years.

[quote user="audio"] Bikers can be difficult to see, so reflective jackets can only help, [/quote]

Not if you actually open your eyes, its pretty easy. Checking left on junctions for more than the average 0.50 seconds is a good way to start. (UK road research figures)

In order to survive today all good riders have to treat all 'cages' with suspicion. Drivers paying little attention whilst sitting cosseted in their velour heated seats surrounded by '20' airbags is an all to familiar scenario. Making riders wear day-glo vests will have no effect on safety whatsoever. Interestingly, the actual wording on this proposal says that it will "make them easier to find when they fall off". Complete bollox.

SMIDSY, wonderful expression that don't you think.

[quote user="audio"]

As for the larger number plates, more wind resistance perhaps but it may

enable more of the Jorge Lorenzo wannabes to be nicked.[/quote]

You wouldn't understand if I tried to explain that one so I won't bother.

Sat Nav Safety Camera data-base removal, hmmm, not sure how that will improve road safety.

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[audio]

‘Making riders wear day-glo vests will have no effect on safety whatsoever’.

Wonder why the UK speed cops (bikers) wear them?

‘You wouldn't understand if I tried to explain that one so I won't bother’.

Rather condescending of you. Apart from probably taking a hacksaw to your bike to fit the plate, what is all the fuss about?

[Bugsy]

[quote user="audio"] Wonder why the UK speed cops (bikers) wear them? [/quote]

Yes I wonder why as well.

Watch this

warning, its pretty graphic.

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[Dog]

I am begining to get the idea - please point me in the direction about what is being protested about.

[audio]

Bugsy wrote:

‘Yes I wonder why as well.’

Are you suggesting that if that cop had not been wearing his high vis jacket the accident would not have occurred?

Still waiting for the ever intriguing number plate bit.

[Bugsy]

[quote user="audio"] 

Are you suggesting that if that cop had not been wearing his high vis jacket the accident would not have occurred?[/quote]

No audio, merely pointing out that the point you made about riders wearing 'hi-vis' would make them safer. Clearly not when some muppet is using their phone and not paying attention.

It has to be said though that the police rider involved in that incident was pretty stupid in regards to his positioning.

Dog: Brief outline

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[Dog]

Sorry doomed to never know with dialup. Link won't fully open...

[Théière]

[quote user="Bugsy"][quote user="audio"] Wonder why the UK speed cops (bikers) wear them? [/quote]

Yes I wonder why as well.

Watch this

warning, its pretty graphic.

[/quote]

Stupid *^$*, completely shielded by the lorry so the next guy had nowhere to go travelling at 80+ ft/sec with traffic in the outside lane.

[crossy67]

Got to admit.  The police motorcyclist was a complete cockend, what the hell was going through his mind parking in the middle of a duel carriage way?  Even if the fool that ran him over had been paying attention when the police man popped into view from behind the truck, had there been cars overtaking him he would have had nowhere to go so unless he could stop in the given distance he was always going to hit him.  The police rider should have known this.

Hope he was ok though, lets not forget he was providing a service to us all by doing his job.  Lucky an ambulance came along so soon after the incident.

I do think this is a classic example of motorists not being challenged so falling asleep, my concentration when pootling round is not what it is when I am driving faster.

[audio]

crossy67 wrote:

‘my concentration when pootling round is not what it is when I am driving faster.’

----------------------------------------------

WHAT! Your concentration should always be 100% whatever your speed.

Also I suggest that you view the clip again and review your comments.

[crossy67]

Are you ALWAYS concentrating 100%, all, the time.  Go on say you do.

I watched the clip a few times, there was a chap on a bike pulling into the inside lane of a duel carriageway, the lorry pulled out to pass him at x speed.  The lorry pulled out and had his back end clear enough for the car behind to see the bike at 18 seconds, there were 4 road markings between the front of the cab and the bike.  I have had a quick look through the DOT road markings guidelines and it is a bit ambiguous but 12 meter centres seem to be a fare assumption so the lorry would have allowed the car behind him to see the bike at 48 meters + the length of the lorry (about 18.5m) so the car behind him that was almost certainly driving at 56mph.  So you have 60 meters to check your mirrors signal and manoeuvre, that's at 40m/s giving the motorist 1.5 seconds plus his own distance to the lorry to carry out his manoeuvre.    The car behind would have had less.  I am not defending the motorist that hit him but I do blame the motorcyclist for putting himself in harms way.  If the driver of the yellow car had seen him and swerved to avoid him the car behind wouldn't have seen him until it was too late.

I used to ride a bike and gave it up, it's too dangerous.  I think ALL motorists should be made to ride a bike for a week so they can understand the dangers and extra understanding you get from relying on two wheels with contact patches smaller than the palm of your hand AND not having very little protection if the worst happens.

[just john]

[quote user="crossy67"] I used to ride a bike and gave it up, it's too dangerous.   [/quote]

Me too, having come off a few times on oily patches in the wet and burnished tarmac on roundabouts, the last straw was when a drunk pedestrian in town, stepped backwards off the kerb in front of a friend, he hit them and ricocheted head on into an oncoming vehicle, (both vehicles estimated 20mph, he lasted a week in Frenchay). Wearing a hi-vis wouldn't have helped him. Drunk Pedestrian lost a leg and survived.

I'd rather be in a cage than a box.

I thought Speed cameras were to regulate motorists and prevent accidents, now we learn that in France they intend to trap to improve funds as well.

[sid]

[quote user="crossy67"]

 I think ALL motorists should be made to ride a bike for a week so they can understand the dangers and extra understanding you get from relying on two wheels with contact patches smaller than the palm of your hand AND not having very little protection if the worst happens.
[/quote]

Hear, hear!

[sid]

[quote user="audio"]

Wonder why the UK speed cops (bikers) wear them?

[/quote]

I always believed it was to identify them as police riders, and possibly help them to make progress through traffic?

You may well ask why police cars are festooned with dayglo transfers; surely that's not so you won't crash into them?

If we go down this route, at some point in the near future all cars will have to look like police cars, no dark grey or silver or red, all two-wheel riders will have dayglo jackets (not sure about the mono-cycle riders yet) and all pedestrians too! Then everyone will look the same and the impact (pardon the pun), will be lost!

Large number plates? A trivial and pointless change, except for the small amount of extra fines collected, but we're not told how many that will be... most of the radars and mobile speed cameras are forward facing, so they just get a photo of the smiling dayglo-wearing rider! [:D]

[ventodue]

[quote user="Dog"] ... please point me in the direction about what is being protested about.[/quote]

This, Dog, according to FFMC:

 OUI à la prise en compte des 2RM
 OUI à une réelle formation des usagers de la route
 OUI à la légalisation des remontées de files

 NON à la politique aveugle du tout radar
 NON à l’interdiction des avertisseurs de radars
 NON à la suppression des panneaux avertissant les radars
 NON au port obligatoire du gilet jaune pour les conducteurs de 2 et 3 roues motorisés
 NON aux plaques d’immatriculation démesurées
 NON au contrôle technique pour les 2 et 3RM

Source: http://www.ffmc34.org/spip.php?article301

Interesting to note that the first 3 'NONS' concern measures to do with speeding ...

P.s. 2RM = deux roues motoriseés

A+

Craig

[Araucaria]

I've watched that clip too - I think the police rider (or paramedic?) was doing his job, very bravely, and I wouldn't criticise him (her?) at all.

The ambulance was coming to join the motorway with a police escort (so presumably it was a serious case inside) and the policeman's job was to see it could get quickly onto the motorway. He did that (or tried to) by stopping his bike, lights flashing, with his hi-vis vest, on the inside lane. Obviously once he was there he couldn't get out of the way of the driver who wasn't paying enough attention: no reverse gear on a motorbike.

But the car driver who hit him had enough time to avoid him - if he had been paying any attention. He doesn't seem to make any attempt to avoid the bike at all: straight ahead right up to the time he hit the bike. The policeman on the bike seems to have had enough time to just start getting away from his bike before the impact.

The comments below the clip say that the driver of the car that hit the policeman was using his mobile phone at the time.

[Bugsy]

Après un début d'année particulièrement mortel pour les 2 roues, le gouvernement a réagi très rapidement en prenant une série de mesures préventives.

Vous allez notamment être obligés d'équiper vos 2 roues de plaques d'immatriculation plus grandes (à priori 21x27.5) et de porter un équipement rétro-réfléchissant lorsque vous conduirez.

Les avertisseurs de radars seront également interdits. Et vous devrez suivre une formation si vous souhaitez reprendre le guidon de votre moto ou scooter après 5 ans d'interruption.

 

Cette série de mesures a soulevé la colère de nombreux motards qui ont déjà commencé à manifester jugeant cette réforme répressive au lieu d'être préventive.

Ces derniers pensent en effet que l'agrandissement de la plaque d'immatriculation serait uniquement destiné à faciliter la verbalisation par les gendarmes. Ils craignent également que le gilet rétro-réfléchissant soit dangereux, car aveuglant pour les automobilistes qui les suivraient.

Les motards ont l'impression que le gouvernement s'acharne contre eux comme s'ils étaient responsables de tous les accidents alors qu'ils sont avant tout les premières victimes. Apprendre à partager la route entre camions, voitures et 2 roues devrait plutôt être le coeur du débat actuel...

Une nouvelle journée de manifestation est prévue le 18 juin prochain.

Au programme : demander au gouvernement des incitations pour que tous les motards roulent avec un équipement adapté (gants, pantalons, chaussures hautes...) plutôt que des mesures répressives…

I just love the first two paragraphs.

The government is (rightly) concerned about an increase in road mortalities involving bikes.

Picture the 'think-tank' given the above brief.

"I know, lets increase the size of their number plates".

You couldn't make it up [:@]

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[Sunday Driver]

I just love the next two paragraphs....

The increase in the size of number plates is solely to help the gendarmes to nick people (what else is the number plate for?)

They feel that hi-viz gilets are dangerous because they dazzle following drivers.

[:P]

 

[tasng4]

Overall I agree with the protests, obviously non-bikers will never understand why bikers rides bikes (I go both ways BTW). It's my firm belief that if the French gvmt want to reduce road deaths & accidents then they need to start with the basics i.e. changing the french attitude to driving (tailgating, cutting in after dangerous overtaking, etc.). MOT's for ALL bikes would be an excellent start, there are far too many mopeds held together with cable ties and duct tape being ridden. It would be easy to have basic checks (lights etc.) carried out at the CT garages.

I don't believe day-glo jackets will help either, I would prefer some sort of move to stop bikers wearing nothing but shorts and flip-flops. The gendarmes could do more regarding teenagers zipping about with ABSOLUTELY no protection at all and helmets perched on their heads - these people wouldn't wear a helmet if it wasn't compulsory.

Rant over, protest away.

[audio]

I personally do not agree with the protest. Some points maybe difficult to comprehend such as the number plates but apart from making it easier for the cops and cameras it would also help the motorist to see the registration after being sideswiped by a bike weaving in and out of traffic and of course not stopping to swap notes etc. A fairly common occurrence in the larger cities.

What I would like to see is a clampdown on the bl@*%y noisy mopeds, why are they allowed to get away with it? The first time I pulled that stunt with a tweaked exhaust I was nicked but that was the UK.

I have nothing against bikers I was a very keen one myself up to the ‘90s, starting out when there were real bikes such as the Triton and Bonneville.