Text 7260, 73 rader
Skriven 2007-10-16 10:16:12 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
   Kommentar till text 7246 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Bicycles
================
Hello Robert,

On Monday October 15 2007 19:39, you wrote to me:

 MV>> And another common factor may be that they are *young* motorcycle
 MV>> riders?

 RB> By no means. It's so expensive to get a motorcycle license, buy a
 RB> motorcycle and insure it in Germany that most cyclists are over 40 and
 RB> many are 50 and above. This is not a hobby for youngsters with little
 RB> money in Germany.

Ah yes of course. The days that one drove a motor cycle because one could not
afford a car are long gone...

But then they could be older drivers who's reflexes are not what they used to
be but without the experience to compensate for it. The safest drivers may be
drivers like David with 40 years of experience....

 RB>>> The basic problem is that most car drivers are totally unfamiliar
 RB>>> with the power a motorcycle has, it's acceleration, and it's
 RB>>> ability to change direction suddenly.

 MV>> Yet, accidents like that can only happen when the motor cycle
 MV>> overtakes the car. If he/she stays behind the car, he/she can not
 MV>> run into the side of it.

 RB> Except when the car cuts in front of the motorcycle, as in this case.

That is only possible if the motorcycle is in the lane left of the car. This
was in the city you said? There is a 50 km/h speed limit in cities. Are you
sure the biker was not jumping from behind the car and overtaking it? Or maybe
he was in de car's blind spot.

It isn't always the fault of the car driver you know...

 MV>> Plus that young motorcyclist tend to be overconfident and do not
 MV>> know their limits. I know, I have been there....

 RB> Take a look at the scene nowadays. The last motorcycle gatherings I
 RB> went to were heavy on 50+ riders and quite thin on people under age
 RB> 30.

I understand....

 RB> Now, I'm talking about motorcycles here, not low-powered mopeds or
 RB> scooters. The latter are things that young people have the money to
 RB> buy and ride, but when they get into an accident it's generally not as
 RB> serious, since the machines are light, low powered and very
 RB> maneuverable - much more so than the heavier motorcycles.

Hmmm. Over here they want to tighten up the license requirements for light
scooters as there are so many accidents. And most of them are the fault of the
young aggressive scooter driver...

 RB> However, even the last accident involving a scooter here in Datteln
 RB> was caused by the involved car. It suddenly pulled out from a filling
 RB> station, overlooking the oncoming scooter on the street (which
 RB> naturally had the right of way), and the scooter crashed into the car.

Shit happens... :-(

 MV>> Actually that goes for all. But the motor cyclist usually pays a
 MV>> higher price for his/her mistakes.

 RB> Indeed. And for the mistakes of others.

Yep...

Cheers, Michiel

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