Make all motorcyclists wear protective clothing.
The sister of a motorcyclist who broke his thigh and collar bones in a crash that “could have been catastrophic” has called for mandatory safety clothing for bikers.
I wear protective clothing. I have a range of clothing for different times of the year. However, none of it will stop broken bones. The best AAA-rated kit will only offer some protection for your skin. This means that healing will be quicker, but broken bones or internal trauma, no, it won’t do a jot to help. That’s not what it is for. And as a lifelong rider, I’m not going to take advice from someone’s sister who has no idea about the subject, when I do. Thanks all the same.
Kimberley Thompson, 23, was left “angry” with her brother Harry Pyett after he crashed on a country lane while wearing non-protective cargo trousers and trainers.
That was down to him and his choices. Leave the rest of us alone to make our own informed choices.
Miss Thompson of Hatfield Peverel, Essex, has launched a campaign to establish a new law to make it mandatory for all motorcyclists to wear safety leathers and boots.
Fuck off. When you have done that, fuck off again. You will come to a gate that says ‘you can fuck off here’ cross it and keep fucking off into the distance. And, while I do have some leather kit, I rarely wear it – too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter, stiff, uncomfortable and not waterproof, so we have ignoramuses telling subject matter experts what to do. See above for instructions on how to proceed.
Miss Thompson told the BBC she believed enforcing a law would help reduce those figures, “keep everyone safe”, and save bikers lives.
Ill-informed bollocks. PPE is a last resort when all else has failed. It will give some protection to the skin in a slide. That’s it. The likelihood of it saving your life is low.
“I could not imagine getting in a car and not putting a seatbelt on and that’s just like a flimsy bit of material that saves your life,” she said.
“You see all these crashes on television but it is not until it happens to you that you think ‘things need to change’.
“You might get a little bit hot and sweaty [wearing leathers] but if not you could lose all this skin on your legs – I get it’s expensive, but your life is worth more than that.”
More ill-informed claptrap. I am about to go out on the bike. It is over twenty degrees outside, so I will be wearing mesh clothing. It has armour at the vulnerable points. It will be pleasant and comfortable. I wouldn’t dream of wearing leather in these conditions. Being comfortable means I will be more focused on my riding, not how uncomfortable I am – see also, keeping warm and dry in the winter.
Things do not need to change. Mss Thompson needs to butt out of stuff that is none of her goddamned business and stop encouraging more stupid, ill-conceived laws. And the BBC needs to learn that an upset relative is the last person to talk to in these situations. Fuck off to you, too.
“If you ride a bike or someone you love does, please nag them about wearing protective clothes – Harry’s back was saved by the bike jacket that we nagged him to wear.”
Anyone nagging me about my clothing choice will be referred to the instructions above. When he did his CBT, this young man would have been given all the necessary information to allow him to make an informed choice. He chose differently. That is down to him. No one else. We don’t need new laws.
Rebecca Guy said extra training for motorcyclists and drivers could be introduced
It’s already covered in Element A of the CBT course. As far as post test training, that also exists, but there is very little take up.
A lot of it is luck of the draw, in 1962 I crashed on the M20 at nearly the “Ton”, went over sideways, my crash helmet hit the ground, I was rebounded up on to my arse and slid for quite a few yards, my injury consisted of a bit of skin about the size of an old penny being grazed off my hip, I was wearing one of those PVC jackets as I couldn’t afford a Barbour or a leather one. An RAC patrolman who was attending to a broken down car rushed out to see how I was, when he saw I was perfectly alright he said “You were lucky mate, someone came off a bike near here at about 40 miles an hour last week and he was killed”. If I had hit a solid object at that speed then, as you say, no amount of protective clothing would have saved me, it did slow me down for a while but it does prove that speed doesn’t kill, it’s the sudden stop that does it, even at relatively low speeds it can be fatal.
its why i can never understand the british obsession with putting trees and metal poles at the side of roads at every opportunity
I prefer the Steve McQueen look on a bike: Chinos, Clarks desert boots, t-shirt, Harrington jacket and Persol sun-glasses.
I look forward to “Harry’s Law” being forced on us by whoever is the MP for Hatfield Peverel.
God help us!
“Leave the rest of us alone to make our own informed choices.”
When did the State ever do that?
I clipped a kerb on my Honda 550 and went over the handlebars at about 5mph. The bike saw about £50 of damage, I broke my right big toe into seven pieces. I’m a quick learner, though and never rode in trainers or went over the handlebars again . . .
“And the BBC needs to learn that an upset relative is the last person to talk to in these situations” They’re also meant to represent different viewpoints so comments similar to yours should be put on the article.
If there are any changes to motorcycling it should be to remove the retarded changes that the state shoved onto the public under the guise of the last EU licensing directive.
A different viewpoint – from a subject matter expert – would kill the story stone dead.
I came to the conclusion a long while ago that in a bad accident, the protective kit is to keep you in more or less one piece for the funeral and to make the job of the people clearing up a bit easier – they don’t have to search for detached bits.
It’s abrasion protection, that’s all.
In other news… all horse riders to be compelled to wear helmets and body corsets. All rugby players to wear armour as worn in American football. Professional boxers to wear helmets and gum guards…
Whatever next? Members of Parliament to wear Gimp Suits (to warn others)?
“a motorcyclist who broke his thigh and collar bones”
I am unclear which bits of the body armour that I choose to wear protect my thighs, which bits protect my collar bones?
Is it my boots?
Our glorious leaders just love hearing the words “the government should do something about it”. I wonder if they have a department dedicated to scouring local rags for inspiration for more laws.
Which is why such proposals need a rapid, visceral pushback.