tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post4670904126092337283..comments2024-03-28T16:46:50.706+00:00Comments on The Moose: Road safety charity BRAKE call for drink driving to be legalised.Buckohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03169970711606515445noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-20705449370073081612010-12-16T12:31:47.264+00:002010-12-16T12:31:47.264+00:00You're right, we can't underwrite our own ...You're right, we can't underwrite our own risks.<br /><br />I have twice had someone bump a car of mine and offer to pay for the damage by cash. I got a quote from my mates garage and they gave me the money to cover it. We're talking a couple of hundred. It was financially better for them to do that. One was a taxi driver so thats quite understandable. Both times it was just a dint in the bodywork.<br /><br />This is an amiable way to settle things but the trouble is you still have to buy insurance even though you dont use it, and the reason you dont use it is because its financially prohibitive to do so.<br /><br />I suppose the saying is correct, you buy insurance in the hope you will never need it.Buckohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03169970711606515445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-20518230925302003482010-12-16T12:00:41.473+00:002010-12-16T12:00:41.473+00:00Oh, been there, done that. Mrs L had a spurious cl...Oh, been there, done that. Mrs L had a spurious claim for non-existent injuries a few years back. A quick letter to the insurer put paid to that one.<br /><br />Going back even further, when I was working for what was then British Rail, they didn't insure their vehicles because they could afford to underwrite their own risks. Now if you can do that, then fine. For most of us, though, we can't. These days even a small prang will amount to thousands, making the pay it yourself approach too prohibitive. And it makes suing the penniless dole dosser a waste of time and money.Longriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139120804208136012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-30474452354833514852010-12-16T09:14:29.918+00:002010-12-16T09:14:29.918+00:00You're right, it's all about risk and the ...You're right, it's all about risk and the potential for cost based damage is very high.<br /><br />My primary reason for having insurance is because I cant afford the consequences of not doing*. If I did cause an accident I would rather stump up the cash for repairs, however if I injured someone, I couldnt stump up the thousands or even millions to pay for that so thats where insurance comes in.<br /><br />I did say you <i>should have</i> recourse to the courts, not you <i>do.</i> Even dole dossers usually have assets.<br /><br />Trouble is, if I bump someones car, they are likely, these days, to claim for a non existant injury, just because I have insurance.<br /><br />*(I always have insurance on my main car, but sometimes, in the past I have borrwed / test drove / bought a car without getting cover. I dont do that anymore because I dont want to get someone elses car impounded again)Buckohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03169970711606515445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-18332854231577615962010-12-15T22:42:00.015+00:002010-12-15T22:42:00.015+00:00Longrider - If someone uninsured hits you, you sho...<i>Longrider - If someone uninsured hits you, you should have recourse to the courts if they don't pay up. If someone damages your property in any other manner, you do. Insuranse is not compulsary everywhere. I beleive (Please correct me if Im wrong) that in Australia you are covered third party as part of your road tax.</i><br /><br />I see that the Aus thing has already been answered - you learn something new every day. If you take an uninsured driver to court, you will very likely see nothing for your efforts as they will, likely as not have nothing with which to pay for your losses. Equally, if you kill or seriously injure someone on the roads, you will likely as not be unable to stump up enough to cover their losses. This is one of those rare occasions where insurance makes sense - because of the potential damage we can cause relatively easily. The risks elsewhere are lower, generally. That said, in my line of work, I can cause losses amounting to millions, including death or serious injury. Yes, I do have insurance - at least, I do when I have work - as not to would be foolish. It's all about risk.Longriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139120804208136012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-54049619222519792732010-12-15T13:44:08.708+00:002010-12-15T13:44:08.708+00:00AE - Yeah, a bit rude doesn't matter if the pe...AE - Yeah, a bit rude doesn't matter if the person you're talking to knows you're driving. They'll just deal with it.<br />Sooner or later there we be bluetooth headsets you can wear as an earring or something.<br /><br />If the cops did just concentrate on those who were driving like twats it would free up their time a bit, and I beleive, make roads safer.<br /><br />FT - I try to avoid dealing with officials where ever necessary, but I would be sure to make sure they were focusing on me alone, if I had to.Buckohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03169970711606515445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-36626366874494183772010-12-15T12:01:36.794+00:002010-12-15T12:01:36.794+00:00This appears to be a problem with phones in genera...This appears to be a problem with phones in general.<br /><br />How often have you been in the middle of explaining something difficult for an "official" to understand, when half way through the phone rings, and you are totaly forgotten in the rush to answer what they obviously consider to be more important/interesting than "your boring little problem"?<br /><br />I have quite often leant accross and closed a call.<br /><br />Usual response "That could have been impoprtnt!" Answer "Oh? And the reason I am here is NOT important, arsehole"?<br /><br />But this appears to be their attitude whilst driving as well.Furor Teutonicushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13856575077967523322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-27451129769477323212010-12-15T11:46:55.486+00:002010-12-15T11:46:55.486+00:00Bucko, here in Oz compulsory third party insurance...Bucko, here in Oz compulsory third party insurance is a charge paid for at the same time as your registration renewal, and since the rego sticker goes in the windscreen in the same place your tax disc goes it's almost right to think of it as being included in your road tax. The big difference here is that it does not cover any property, so when some tweenage cunt in a car he can't handle goes pirouetting down the road and through your fence, wrecking and igniting your gas meter on the way, all you can do is pursue a civil claim or (more likely if he's spent every cent on the car) be forced to eat the cost yourself. The insurance is personal injuries only.<br /><br />On the point of mobile phones I agree with you that an attentive driver should be able to blank it out. Apparently I'm quite annoying on the phone (either cradle or Bluetooth earpiece before anyone wonders) in the car because I have a tendency to stop in the middle of...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />... a sentence because something was happening on the road that I wanted to concentrate on. Mrs Exile tells me that occasion...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />... ally I even do it in the middle of a word. Bit rude for whoever's on the other end of the phone but if it's a choice between negotiating the junction safely or giving that attention to the phone call then it's a no brainer. The annoying problem is that there are quite a few No Brainer drivers out there who will give the call their full attention at the cost of attending to driving tasks. However, banning hands free kits is not the solution since they are now so small that the cops will struggle to tell who's using one. For example Mrs Exile could easily hide most Bluetooth earpieces under her hair, and even if you saw her lips moving how could you tell she wasn't singing along to the radio or something? The only sensible course of action is for the cops to concentrate their efforts on people who are, to put it bluntly, driving like twats. It really doesn't matter if twattishness is from being on the phone, pissed, or just being a useless driver who got a licence only by giving the examiner a blow job - it will all seem much the same when the inattentive prick pirouettes through your fence and ignites the gas meter.Angry Exilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02491082312193274360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-24117282930937598692010-12-15T10:22:07.941+00:002010-12-15T10:22:07.941+00:00The ones who are so insane they overtake in front ...The ones who are so insane they overtake in front of blind corners watching them makes me want to never get in a car again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-27605452308622889862010-12-15T09:35:47.983+00:002010-12-15T09:35:47.983+00:00Longrider - If someone uninsured hits you, you sho...Longrider - If someone uninsured hits you, you should have recourse to the courts if they don't pay up. If someone damages your property in any other manner, you do. Insuranse is not compulsary everywhere. I beleive (Please correct me if Im wrong) that in Australia you are covered third party as part of your road tax.<br /><br />I have paid an average of £400 per year for the past 15 years in insurance but never had to use it. Insurance goes up every year regardless of your no claims. Some of your premium goes to the insurers bereau. A lot of people avoid going through insurance and pay out of their own pocket to avoid a rise in premium. Is compulsary insurance <i>really</i> necessary? <br /><br />As for mobile phones, you dont need the person on the other end to shut up, it's easy enough to blank them out and concentrate on what youre doing. I do it to my work colleagues all the time ;-) Banning hands free is an overkill because you can just use it to say call me back Im driving without causing any danger. Having said that, you can do the same with a handset if you're driving an automatic. Bans tend to be excessive.<br /><br />Your right about drivers making a rational decision, but that extends to all aspects of driving. Its those that cant make the right decision and cause harm that should be punished, not the ones that make the right one (for them) even though it might be against some arbitary law.<br /><br />DP - I've not heard that one either. The people that make up this crap obviously dont talk to each other. Cretins.<br /><br />Anon - I think it was only a year or two old. I wasn't driving when the cops had the old Stop signs but I've seen them. I never thought about it that way but it does seem a better way of preventing a chase than coming from behind.<br />Maybe they need the videos to make up their budget.<br /><br />FT- Yep, I've spotted them. And what is it with women never letting you out of junctions?Buckohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03169970711606515445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-31677059804954933742010-12-15T09:13:16.064+00:002010-12-15T09:13:16.064+00:00DP - I wasn't aware of that one. Oh, wonderful...DP - I wasn't aware of that one. Oh, wonderful! So they tell us (correctly as it happens) that it's a distraction from the driving task and then insist upon being able to use it to distract the driver. Brilliant!Longriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139120804208136012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-64999904403885423602010-12-15T08:19:56.813+00:002010-12-15T08:19:56.813+00:00We have, however, all spotted the stupid bloody wo...We have, however, all spotted the stupid bloody women who insist on having their eyes full on whom so ever she is talking to in the passanger, or even back seat, instead of the road.Furor Teutonicushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13856575077967523322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-55500805022547352022010-12-15T07:30:42.210+00:002010-12-15T07:30:42.210+00:00I was watching an old re-run of Police, Camera, Ac...I was watching an old re-run of Police, Camera, Action!<br /><br />It may have been a re-run but how old was it?<br />When I was a lad Police stopped vehicles by passing, and once in front, turning on a POLICE STOP sign in the rear window of their vehicle. Until you saw it you didn't know it was you they were after. But when you did there was no doubt. They were in front of you and in control of the situation.<br />That doesn't happen now.<br />Some time, between the 70's and 90's, this changed. They now stop vehicles with lights and music, but from behind.<br />Looks very impressive! But it does give the driver the opportunity to make an escape and start a car chase. <br />Would I be cynical in thinking the video of this chase is really what they are after? A whole new industry of Police Chase programmes has emerged from this one change in Police practice. Presumably these are sold to TV companies for substantial sums? <br />It will be Health & Safety of course. Silly me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-9553156952779132502010-12-15T00:51:31.872+00:002010-12-15T00:51:31.872+00:00Longrider: Except where you provide transport and ...Longrider: Except where you provide transport and one of the conditions is that the local authority must be able to contact the driver at any time during their performance of their duties.<br /><br />Yes, it's written into our contracts by public sector bodies (to be fair, they do insist on their use only on a hands free basis). The wonders of conflicting tax-suckers. eh? ;)Dick Puddlecotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01481866882188932892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-232613925790974435.post-65212781476941482852010-12-14T22:43:38.091+00:002010-12-14T22:43:38.091+00:00Having no insurance may not be dangerous, but if o...Having no insurance may not be dangerous, but if one of these cretins hits you, then you have no recourse - you pick up the tab. Anything you may get via the insurers' bureau is likely to be less than your overall loss. Hence compulsory third party insurance.<br /><br />As for the mobile phones thing, I had some insight into this a few years back. we were looking at putting motorcycle rapid response into place for our local area. Part of the risk assessment involved communication. We decided that mobile phones would be the most efficient. However, we decided that they would not be used on the move even though the technology allowed us to do it. The reasoning was simple - a caller cannot see what the driver (rider in this case) is dealing with - unlike a passenger who can simply shut up when necessary (and we had to take into account the people we had in the control centre making the calls). Also, some of the messages our people were likely to get could be of a distressing nature and dealing with this and the road traffic conditions was something we preferred to avoid. According to the research at the time, it could take up to twenty minutes for a call to stop having a detrimental effect on the driver's concentration - it all depends on the nature of the call and, of course, the driver's ability to absorb this information and put it to one side while dealing with the driving task.<br /><br />As a general rule, I don't take mobile phone calls when on the road. If I do respond it's a quick "call me back later, I'm driving" and then I hang up. I've noticed that if I do try to deal with a call and drive, the driving task tends to suffer as my concentration is divided. I'm not alone in this and it isn't the same as lighting a fag or tweaking the radio, it's a much bigger cognitive task and people tend to underestimate it.<br /><br />Should hands free kits be banned? Of course not - the driver should make a rational decision about their use and be ready to cut off a conversation if the situation demands it. My advice to employers though would be to impose a moratorium on all mobile phone use in their vehicles - as an employer that's exactly what I would do with instant dismissal for breaches.Longriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139120804208136012noreply@blogger.com