Waistline dangers


theroad@mag-uk.org PO Box 18519 London E11 4HF seem to materialise.


I’ve read an article claiming that accidents resulting from vehicles pulling into adjacent or opposing lanes are on the increase. This is against a background of the numbers of many other types of accident falling in relation to road mileage.


I suspect that one reason for this may be the vehicle construction regulations that lead to cars with high waistlines and chubby door pillars. These greatly reduce visibility over the shoulder. Is the motor industry aggravating accident rates, especially those involving car/bike impacts, in order to ensure that motorists are better protected by their vehicles when they do collide? T Johns


Sign of the devil


Whilst looking at issue 37 of The Road, I noticed on the front cover a 'person' making the sign of being a satanist! Perhaps this was an oversight by yourselves, but I don't suppose the Christian Motorcyclists Association would be impressed! I recently attended a motorcycle show in Cumbria and popped into Holy Joe's Cafe for a free Biker Bible - a good read it is too! I admire what they do. Chrissy Beardshall PS Apart from the above, I think The Road is a great read.


Ed, I took advice on this gesture which involves the forefinger and little finger being projected rather like a bull’s horns and was told it was fairly innocent. I understand it did have satanic connotations but that its meaning has mutated over time to become a more general gesture of vigorous assertion. There may be a chap out there somewhere who is wandering what has happened to his middle digit poke at the air. Well we don’t have that sort of thing in the ROAD. I thought it was cool when Billy did it to the red necks in Easyrider back in ’69 but I was 17 then. It’s not that I’m po-faced but I find it crass and tired and I’ve learned a little bit about photoshop and like to show it off now and again. Actually it didn’t do Billy any good did it?


Ealing Council Bus Lanes


Thank you for highlighting Ealing Council’s campaign to stop motor-cycles from using their bus lanes, I sent many e-mails to the council after I found out about this. Unfortunately this was after they had already started putting up new road signs telling motorcyclists to stay out of bus lanes. They had already voted on the issue and were in the middle of implementing these changes. In response to one of my e-mails Ealing Council said they had consulted local interested parties, but couldn't tell me who or what organisations they were members of.


Subsequent e-mail exchanges revealed these interested parties to be ‘a residents panel made up of people from all walks of life and modes of transport.’ Ealing council’s report on why they had taken this action stated that motorcycle accident rates had stayed relatively neutral, but that serious pedal cycle accident rates had gone up by 19% in or near the vicinity of bus lanes. In response to emails, Ealing Council couldn't or wouldn't say what vehicles were involved, at what time these accidents occurred or even how close, ‘near the vicinity of’ meant. Did they mean for example, within one mile?


Ealing Council says making Ealing safer is No1 of its top five priorities so they have acted accordingly in the interest of their residents (as long as they don't ride a motor- cycle) and don't forget, if you do ride in Ealing you can still use TFL routes. Should your local council decide to change the classification of bus lanes and unlike me, find out about these changes before they vote go to your local council’s web site and contact transport planning services. These are the people who make all the changes happen, otherwise you'll be going from one department to the next trying to find who to contact.


Ian (stig) Foster What’s it all for?


In the 1970's the law changed to require the use of dipped headlights in all forms of reduced visibility, rain, fog, etc. The use of seat belts became compulsory during the same decade. More recently mobile phones were subject to legislation proscribing their use whilst driving. Smoking in food-conveying vehicles has been banned for years and lately, in all company vehicles. Every day we all see instances of the rigid enforcement of this type of legislation, don't we? We all see Police Camera programmes on


TV showing young louts driving like lunatics, do we label all car drivers the same? When one person wears Hi-Viz clothing, it stands out, when everyone does, isn’t it more like camouflage?


At a time when the world’s economy desperately needs all the industry and employment possible, why is it that nearly all the new legislation directed at motorcyclists seems to be aimed at putting thousands of people out of work? Maybe it’s just that I'm getting old!


Michel L'Hours Activism is easier


As a life member I would like to support MAG as much as possible. Far too often however, the articles in The Road which I plan to email politicians in support of, lie waiting for that spare few minutes that never


My apologies for not being more active but I guess that's fairly typical of our membership.


I thank you for emailing a warning that time is running out on the consultation for type approval and for making it easy for us members to email in support of the MAG position without much effort.


I promise to help in this way in the future as I can give myself no excuses, as you have made the job much easier. Eddie Robertson


Ed To become a MAG email activist go here www.lists.mag-uk.org and click on mag-uk-activists-list'


Bikes across the ocean


I am looking to take my FJR1300 across to The USA/Canada/Alaska and tour around for a year. I am looking for a roll on roll off type of crossing to any port in The USA/Canada. I want to ride on, have a cabin, and ride off at the other side. Cruise ship or cargo is fine. I have traced a cruise ship company in the USA that offers such a service but only from US ports to Caribbean areas.


There must be a sizeable market for such a service? It’s got to be cheaper than renting a bike out there for anything longer than two weeks and paying a return flight? I have contacted a few shippers and haven’t even got replies.


David Cunliffe, Cumbria


Ed, You really wouldn’t think it would be this hard would you David? But it is. No-one seems interested in providing this kind of service but you might try H-C Travel who advertise regularly with us .


Crime and punishment In the interview with Mike Weatherley MP he stated, "the penalties are never strong enough . . . a lot of penalties are too lenient and people are committing crimes knowing the scale of those penalties, so the penalties need to be increased to the point where the people stop doing the crime”.


But how does increasing the penalties help when nobody is actually convicted for bike theft?


I have had two motorbikes stolen, and my brother has also had one bike stolen and his car vandalised. Nobody has ever even been arrested for these crimes, much less convicted for them.


If you check out Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary (HMIC) figures (and you can see some nice little graphs at www.hmic.gov.uk/crime-and-policing- comparator/) then you quickly discover that my brother and I are not the only ones to suffer at the hands of criminals who have got off Scot-free.


The ROAD 23

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