this guy needs to watch some of these youtubes & videos from motorcycle accidents in places like asia and india where gear isnt mandatory - when you see the inside of a human being on the outside all because the rider didnt wear protective gear - you think twice.
Don't even go there Mate, some of us have been cleaning up the 'it won't happen to me's' crap for years, i certainly don't need youtube to know what happens to a human body, its all locked in my head, if you could down load some of the s**t from my head that I've come across over the years you wouldn't leave the house, whether it be motorists, cyclists, motorcyclists, or pedestrians there will always be the minority, as it's been said previously its all about self preservation, and it's just that, its down to the individual and how they percieve it as to what precautions protection they take/use, governments can run their 'safety' campaigns and YouTube Ogrish etc can show peeps all the blood and brains splattered as much as they like, but peeps still do it and take risks, because remember. It won't happen to them.
I prefer freedom of choice. But have you ever ridden without a helmet? That is scary enough. I can't knock this tee shirt guy. In my yoof, whilst on holiday in France we used to ride to the beach in just our trunks.
Tom the know it all who hangs around the shops, showed me his new knox protection top under his t-shirt and shorts Nice mate, better under a jacket I reckon.Nah mate this will protect me if the inevitable happens. What the f*ck is he thinking.A road rash BLOODY HURTS, I know cos I nearly lost my hand through it .Broken wrist and smallbits of skin left on my right hand.Trapped it under bike.Scrubbing brush and solution is torture, then the regular cleaning rough hands hurt and soft hands heaven.4 weeks later was in hospital for gangrene, 48hrs of treatment for a grey/green rotten smelling flesh wound.Best let him get on with it, its his skin and not mine.
Riding in and around London you see every type of dress sense on bikes/scooters etc. Seen a number of riders shirtless on the motorway this week. Its their choice not mine, so why peeps are getting all stressed and demanding wearing leathers becomes a law is beyond me. I don't want to be forced to wear uncomfortable hot leathers in this weather whilst negotiating miles of slow moving traffic with heat pumping out of the fan straight into my already sweaty nutz. Quite happy in my textile suit thanks without the nanny state telling me what I must wear. But if someone else wears beachwear at 70/80/90mph what right do I have to comment? In my book none, that's what freedom is all about. At this rate once we are all in leather and armour, then the next call will be for leg protectors and airbags, a lot of you are already going to get ABS against your wishes...think about it guys before you moan. .
I don't think you will convince my wife off that, being a nurse she has to look after prats who came of bikes in tea shirts and shorts because it was hot, and they didn't think it would happen to them It costs us tax payers more n look after these idiot so No, freedom of choice in this matter should not be allowed, just like the wearing of helmets, the wearing of protective gear should be compulsory, in my opinion
Guy this morning on a yellow Triumph Daytona, trainers, jeans, t shirt, no gloves, lid and a backpack. Crazy, but up to them I suppose. Don't think it should be made legal to wear full gear. Personally I would rather sweat my nads off than go unprotected. I see folk going on about tax payers paying for medical treatment etc. The same way some go on about smokers and their treatments. I find it hard to judge folk in that sense, as they have likely worked and paid their contributions to the NHS, therefore deserve the treatment. Just don't start me on fat folk.
Just got of the phone with somebody who insisted on using centimetres.... Ruined the entire print run... I warned you all... It should be made law that you work in millimetres only. That way everybody is safe.
Nice one Ratser, same way that previously fat people/smokers could get free prescriptions whereas cancer sufferers couldn't......go figure. Anyway thankfully that has changed now. My two pence worth is that while we live in a relatively free state people should be free to choose. By natural selection the jeans and flip flops of invincibility brigade won't be with us very long and so we get more of the roads to ourselves
I have a number of friends in the medical profession, and motorcycle riding is akin to sleeping with your sister for them, so whilst appreciating their views and accepting that they see the gory end of it, IMO they are not the best people to make a level headed judgement on it, they would have bikes off the road tomorrow if they could, shame really they would lose a lot of good subject matter to sharpen their skills on if they managed to ban us. Sad old time has arrived when bikers appear to want to put an end to fellow bikers freedom of choice, its one of the main things that stands us apart from our 4 wheeled cousins over the years.....maybe too many car drivers have become bikers in that time
Never knew that about the prescriptions thing FB, and as you say thankfully that has changed. Agree with your natural selection theory. I even told my 7 year old lad off last night for riding his push bike wearing flip flops.
I am sure the same Freedom of choice arguments where used for not making helmet wearing compulsory too, but at least sense prevailed there
Who determines what is protective and what isn't. As a consultant to a number of bodies on clothing and as part of my job, I can tell you now that there are some big brands I would not even use to drive my car in they are so rubbish even though you pay top dollar. There are some cheaper less know brands which are absolutely superb and would knock some of these expensive brands into a cocked hat. So just because someone is wearing a recognised brand in no way infers that they are protected. There is then the other side of the argument where one persons idea of protective clothing is different to someone elses and if you leave it to a Government standard who do not have a clue (look at the PPE regs and the reason as to why they threw out the opportunity to wear black visors legally (Which was a committee I sat on to try and push it through) then it acts as a clue). It opens up a can of worms. Some people will insist on leathers, and those who do not or cannot wear leather are prevented from riding, but some textiles are as good as leather, so who why should riders be told what they should wear. That is like saying everyone must wear an AGV helmet (an example). But, the bottom line is that most fatalities are caused by severe head injuries or broken necks anyway, and there is nothing more that can be done on that score. What could be introduced though is that it could be made a requirement that nobody rides with bear skin exposed, so for example no wearing of shorts, T shirts or sandles. That would be practical, easy to enforce, and whilst it will only provide minimal protection, in some cases it will give more protection than some of the expensive branded rubbish you can buy (people being brainwashed) and something is better than nothing. Taking it a stage further, the biggest cause of fatalities I see is caused by the flip front helmets. You don't hear a call for them to be banned (turning the analogy on its head) and yet many riders will still happily wear them believing that they are well protected. They conform to the EC22/05 standard but would struggle with the BS6658/85 standards that 22/05 replaced. So it is all subjective, and whilst people will suffer some nasty injuries, no amount of protective gear will prevent broken bones or a broken neck, and in some cases the kit has actually contributed to the injuries being more severe than they might have been. Sorry, I will get off the soap box now
Interesting points TC. be interested to hear what brands you think are living on a name... they would never ban flip front lids though mate, as what would all the police bike riders do round london i beleive it's illegal to ride open is it not? but see them do it all the time. kinda p!sses me off when they then fine you for a dark visor. lol
2 points. Many forces (including my old force) have banned the use of flip front lids after 2 former colleagues of mine were killed as a direct result of them wearing flip fronts. Secondly, there is no legislation that makes it illegal to ride with the flip front open. Some of them are actually accredited under EC22/05 as an open face helmet anyway and the flip is an accessory, but either way there is no regulation that prohibits the flip front being open whilst riding. As far as black visors are concerned, most of my former colleagues (well those left) have the attitude that it is safer in this current weather then to have a clear visor, and certainly safer than wearing sunglasses, but as in all walks of life there are always the pedantic ones who would nick their own grandmothers. When I was serving I could never book someone for a black visor when I was wearing one on my job helmet myself
I sat through a talk from a crash helmet specialist at Bridge Motorcycles and the opinion he had of flip up helmets was somewhat low. Then he started talking about helmets with integrated sun visors (which I have) in not so glowing terms either. He worked his way up through his take on the ugly, the bad, the good and finally, the exemplary in helmet terms and managed to convince me what my next lid will be (when my numbers come up). The odd thing was that everything he said was just common sense but until then hadn't occurred to me.
Must admit, I wouldnt fancy having an off with it up. Thanks for that though, I honestly thought it was illegal to wear them up whilst moving. learn something every day...
I have been fortunate enough in my capacity as a consultant to visit a number of the major factories and when you see the research and development that goes into the making of a new hat to a certain degree you can see where a lot of the costs come from. But unfortunately the majority of dealers still have no idea how a helmet should fit or how it act or behave in a crash. How many times do you hear so called know it alls say if you have a £50 head wear a £50 helmet even though the level of safety across the board has to comply with the same minimum standard and what you are in affect paying for is fancy paint jobs, fancy materials, more features, long distance shipping costs, storage on the dockside whilst they await customs clearance and so on. The actual level of protection remains the same. It is all common sense, in the same way as advanced riding is common sense, but many people cannot apply that common sense until it is either pointed out or people question something, then the penny tends to drop. How many times do you hear someone say that 1 piece leathers is the safest kit on the road? I have heard it dozens of times but it is total rubbish, I can give you cases where had the rider being wearing 2 piece leathers they would still be alive now. But because people are brainwashed into what the dealer has available to sell, the spin or the fact that the perception that racing technology is perfect for the road (which in most cases it isn't), these myths and stories will continue as will the bar room experts down the pub!!!
