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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to feel this way about motorbikes?

65 replies

WriterofDreams · 30/06/2011 15:16

Having seen an "think bike" ad this morning I started wondering, should they be banned completely? It just strikes me as odd that you can get fined for not wearing a seatbelt or for talking on a phone while driving and yet, despite the fact that on average your risk of dying on the road is 35 times higher on a motorcycle than in a car, motorcycles are still valid road vehicles. I know loads of people love them and I have nothing against them per se and I do have a sense that banning them would be sort of a nannyish move. On the other hand I know no one who has been in a serious car accident but my FIL, two uncles and cousin have all been in serious bike accidents. None of them would ever ride a bike again and my uncle in particular feels that they should be banned, despite being obsessed with them when he was younger.

A doctor friend of mine said that fatality rates are so high among motor bike accident victims that they're referred to as "organ donors" before they even arrive. Why are such dangerous vehicles considered a valid form of transport?

OP posts:

B52s · 30/06/2011 15:51

Here, have my first ever , OP.

Original poster

WriterofDreams · 30/06/2011 15:52

Thanks B52.

OP posts:

pingusmumtoo · 30/06/2011 15:52

Oh and we've lost quite a few friends in motorcycle accidents, none of which were suicides !
I personally think that the more comfortable cars are and the more gadgets they have the worse the drivers get. Gives you an unrealistic feeling of safety.

And motorbikes are a damn sight easier to see than small kids or pedestrians.

KlarkyKat · 30/06/2011 15:53

YABU although I see where you are coming from.
They are very fun to ride on and from my experience the riders are incredibly passionate about their bikes and also extremely careful. It is other road users that pose the hazard.
Although I saw TT3D which is about the riders doing the Isle of Man Race and those people are nutters!

MrsTwinks · 30/06/2011 15:54

MrsBethel it was a while ago before i met DH (its his friend), but from what he tells but he was doing 60 on his bike and went past a police car speedtrap. They pulled him up on it and because he had a speedometer they gave him the fine and 3 points (on his non existant driving licence )

pingusmumtoo · 30/06/2011 15:54

Am loving the grandad on the motability scooter that'll be me with a big purple helmet!

pingusmumtoo · 30/06/2011 15:55

OK ... the purple helmet bit just made me spit my own tea out. I meant it as in when I am old I shall wear purple

Original poster

WriterofDreams · 30/06/2011 15:56

Em yes pingu. It's 4 in the afternoon. Keep it clean please. Hussy.

OP posts:

Original poster

WriterofDreams · 30/06/2011 15:56

OP posts:

pingusmumtoo · 30/06/2011 16:01

Cycleslut if you don't mind ..... wistfully wanders off thinking of long ago days of leather ....

VelveteenRabbit · 30/06/2011 16:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

WriterofDreams · 30/06/2011 16:03

It's my intention to be a nutter on a scooter when I'm older. Perhaps pingu will let us join her "purple helmet club." Leather a must I presume pingu?

OP posts:

MrsTwinks · 30/06/2011 16:03

dont get me started on mobility scooters. I've seen someone run down by an old lady driving hers drunk, in one week I saw her nearly go in a shot window, run someone down and nhearly cause a car accident. They need more regulation IMO

LittleWhiteWolf · 30/06/2011 16:05

DH has had a bike for years; he didn't get a car licence until he was in his twenties yet had been on the road since he was 16 and got a scooter.
He is one of the most considerate and careful drivers I have ever known and he attributes it to his experience having to be extra aware on the road as a biker due to others not noticing him. I personally think that more drivers should spend some time on a bike and we'd have fewer accidents because drivers would be more aware of bikers. I know I'm more aware since having ridden on the back of DH's bike.

HorridCold · 30/06/2011 16:10

It's a tricky one... I do see where you're coming from but unfortunately it's the way of the world.

My DH has a bike. He had one last year (his first one) after I eventually gave in and said that he could have one (it was our money - hence why it had to be agreed between us) and the first thing my Step-MIL said was "What flowers does he want on his grave", she's a nurse and dealt with a lot of Bike injuries, but still...

He bought one that needed some work and eventually got it to the MOT station. It passed and as he pulled out of the Garage onto the road, a car didn't see him on the roundabout and knocked him off his bike. Broke is wrist, damaged his knee and was possibly the cause of a hernia that needed operating on.

He was off work for 6 weeks.

As soon as the insurance came through for the bike, he bought another one. I didn't feel like I could stop him. We're still waiting for the PI claim to pay out. The young lad just didn't see him.

I can't control my DH, but I have said that until our DD is 16 and can buy her own moped, that she will never ever go on the back of a bike. I would never forgive myself if I caved and allowed my DH to take her and something happened. I trust him, but sometimes car-drivers just can't see them.

It's a really difficult one...

MrsBethel · 30/06/2011 16:14

MrsTwinks, sounds like the coppers got it wrong, but I suppose how many coppers really know the legislation?, and who's got the time to go to court to sort it out?

AngryFeet · 30/06/2011 16:21

My DH uses his bike to commute as his journey ends up being either very expensive or very long otherwise so they are not always about young men using them to drive around like idiots. Yes the drivers are less safe than if they were in a car but that is their decision to make IMO. They can choose to ride safely and in the correct gear. They should all be made to take a course like this IMO and CBT should be outlawed. Direct Access should be the only test and you should be able to have bike lessons like we have driving lessons.

Awomancalledhorse · 30/06/2011 16:28

YABU, most (competent) motorbike riders die because they hit into something when they get launched off...which although is because they're riding about on a steel, wheeled broom, is the same for pushbikers (and they're not known for their speed)!

The majority of drivers around where DH commutes to are careless & dangerous to everyone (not just motorcyclists). DH rides a motorbike at work occasionally too.

The only problem I have with it all, is if DH dies in a crash caused by a reckless driver, I know the driver won't get much in the way of punishment. And the insurance cost!
Happy to have kids on the back of DH's bike as soon as they're tall enough, would love to have a Moto GP champion child!

somethingwitty82 · 30/06/2011 16:48

As a biker:

Given that 75% of fatalities are caused by 4 wheeled morons at t-junctions I say ban them.

I have been in 3 (serious) accidents, 2 whilst stationary (red light) hit from rear

1 dickhead pulled out in front of me.

I cannot believe none of he arseholes lost their licenses and was made to retest.

Taghain · 30/06/2011 16:58

As an ex-biker I know that a good 90% of bike accidents are caused by car drivers, so there's more reason to ban them.

OP, why didn't you suggest that?

I'm now a very regular cyclist, and hate the way that so may car drivers don't appear to notice us, nor appreciate the space that is required to overtake safely. I'd like to introduce a system by which any accident is automatically followed by a re-test for whoever is involved in it.

Pompoko · 30/06/2011 17:00

It would be daft for a biker to have seat belts, they then would have one leg trapped under the bike as it skids to a stop. Much safer for them to fly off without a giant weight pressing their leg into the road.

My mums a biker and is safe enough but accidents can happen. She was riding along the other week when a deer ran into her. It slammed into her leg. She was blooming lucky not to be thrown off.

They should not be banned. But I think it should be made manditory for bikers to wear all the gear (boots, trousers, jacket) instead of just the helmet. This would cut back on many nasty wounds and deaths

OTheHugeManatee · 30/06/2011 17:03

writer See that's just it - I think motorbikes come squarely within the realm of personal choice and not nanny state interference. If it were the case that motorcyclists posed a risk primarily to others and not to themselves I might think otherwise, but as they bear most of the risk themselves I don't think it's the state's job to interfere.

MrsBethel · 30/06/2011 17:03

I'd seriously discourage anyone I knew from riding a motorbike.

Yes, it's almost always the fault of some dickhead in a car. And that's exactly why you'd be mad to ride a fucking motorbike!

There are masses of areshole drivers out there. It's not a case of if one of them will smash you up. It's when.

Original poster

WriterofDreams · 30/06/2011 17:05

I didn't suggest cars be banned as deaths would reduce rather than increase if everyone drove cars. That's all I was interested in really.

Good idea to make gear mandatory pom - although I often wonder, aren't leathers horrendously hot on a sunny day?

OP posts:

Pompoko · 30/06/2011 17:07

very hot, but not as hot as gravel rash to the bone

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