I wish :o

Whoever was doing the accompanying was tasked with maintaining a running commentary on the radio regarding direction and location etc. On the odd occasion I've had chases called off because the villain is driving so dangerously they pose a clear and imminent risk to joe public.

Statistics say women have less accidents, though I would like to see that broken down to accident per real amount of time or distance travelled. They certainly drive less hours than men in total.

What they usually do better, is they don't take as many risks as us men. Still and despite of that, they tend to get involved in accidents where they are usually right from the rules point of view, but are the usual result of men trusting too much on what the other driver (woman) would do. I know many times I had a risky situation near a woman driver was because of being fed up of her antics and trying to overtake/move away. :doh:

It's all good Steve. I thought as much but wanted to clarify what I said. Actually, Nathaniel B made a good point with regards to motorcycles. I took a nationally rated motorcycle safety course when I decided I was going to ride a motorcycle more often. I grew up on them and was riding at 7. I wasn't sure the course had much to offer me.

I was so very wrong. I use everything that I was taught in the classroom and on the range in the safety course. I have further applied that to how I drive a car and although I think I was a good driver, I think I'm better now. I use the heightened sense of awareness from driving a motorcycle and apply that to when I'm driving my cars. I'm glad I approached the motorcycle safety course with an open mind. It also paid off with lower insurance premiums. I will be taking the advanced course at some point in the future when I have the time.


http://msf-usa.org


https://youtu.be/RU-52fqy9yQ

https://youtu.be/gRizrnXre48

The programs are all similar regardless of what state you might be in but tuition and fees may vary.


* my courses were considerable more advanced than the video above. The courses I took were meant for the motorcycle driver who had been riding for a long time.

A very good point. A riding course is always a good thing. I started riding at 16, but was prevented by increasing circumstances. When I moved from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City I was more music minded than I had been before, so my first vehicle was a van. Then I got married, and by the time I had the money for a bike my wife didn't want me to ride. She also got me to quit playing music, but that's another story.

After the divorce I started riding again, but my kids were too little so I couldn't take them riding. Then I was broke. Then I was homeless. Now I'm settled again, the current micro-van is paid off, but I've begun suffering from balance problems that seem to be related to age. Riding looks like just a fond memory. Still, I'm glad someone here is enjoying himself. More power to you.

Sorry to hear of your health issues and difficulties. Might that be something that can be resolved with medications ? As far as riding, it doesn't have to be fast or a big bike or expensive. Further, if one just likes riding about the neighborhood at a slow pace, that's good too. It's really about just having fun and doing it safely. There was a feature on youtube where 2 guys had a budget of $ 1000 a piece and bought bikes, helmets and jackets just to illustrate it doesn't take much money to get started.

https://youtu.be/IwePyWF36TU

I spoke with shroeder a while back and he told me that there are a number of restrictions in Germany regarding the size bike you can have relative to one's experience. I think Neal rides a motorcycle as well if I remember right. I think a lot of our members ride motorcycles as well.

Eichornchen told me I was crazy to start riding again and now that I think of it, he was probably right. :D

Possibly, but at this point they don't know for sure.

It's worse than that. Sometimes, just standing still, I fall over. No dizziness, no lightheadedness, no blackouts. I just start to fall and seem to be unable to catch myself. Usually I'm in a hallway, and I just lean against the wall for a second. Then again a couple of months ago I fell over in the bathroom and landed on the lip of the tub. Bruised some ribs, and they said I was lucky I didn't break them. Basically, riding is not a good idea. I do still ride my bicycle, but I absolutely always wear a helmet. I'm just getting old.

Nah. As long as you can do it, do it. There are people who'll tell you you're crazy to ride at any age. They don't know what they're missing. I once saw a documentary about roller coasters, hosted by none other than Neil Armstrong. The first man to set foot on the moon didn't even count that in his top three list of thrills. His top three thrills were, in order, flying a jet fighter, riding a good motorcycle, and riding a good roller coaster.

I also attended a safety course before getting my license. My father (who used to race motorcycles quite successfully as an amateur) insisted on it. It really is a good idea. Plus, I got to skip the riding portion of the test at the DMV due to passing the course with a grade of B or above.

I raced on an amateur basis with dirt bikes but the kids I raced against were absolutely fearless and I realized I wasn't willing to push the " envelope " any more than I had already to compete against them. At that point, I stopped racing and don't regret it and have never looked back. I wasn't aware the Safety courses graded like that. Typical of testing like a car, The MSF grading criteria is based on a point system. In the case of motorcycle testing, they do 4 tests to assess your braking and swerving ability and maneuvering in tight quarters, a.k.a the dreaded box maneuver. Essentially, it's just 2 consecutive U- Turns in a confined area. 20 points and below is a passing grade. I didn't need to test at the safety clinic as I already had a license but did so anyhow to see where I was, skill wise, and was assessed 3 points out of 21. Not bad.

As for you Steve, that sounds pretty scary and I doubt that's just getting older. That sounds more like an inner ear issue or Neurological issue. If you haven't had that checked and I'm sure you have, I would get another opinion. Life is too short to go through life with limitations such as the ones you described. By the way Steve, The helmet is a great idea. I always wear a full face helmet on the motorcycle. I remember well the painful welt I had on my cheek for a week from hitting a bee at 60MPH without the full face helmet. Never again. I also wasn't aware that Neil Armstrong Rode a bike. How cool is that ?


My lady once asked me, whats the difference between a Harley motorcycle and a Hoover Vacuum cleaner ?

Answer : On a Harley, the dirtbag sits on top instead of being attached in the back as in the Hoover Vacuum cleaner.


I'm pretty sure that was a horrendous shot at me. :D


I told her our Hoover was bagless. I guess I showed her. :03:

14:35
 

Leaving ASDA this afternoon, the car in front turned left at the roundabout without signalling. This looked promising, I thought, although causing no hazard to me so far. I had to turn left also and as I moved off in the right-hand exit lane from the roundabout (to turn right at the junction 200yds ahead) the other car had chosen the left-hand exit lane.

Just as I began to increase speed towards the junction, this other car suddenly drifted across from the other lane right in front of me... no looking behind and no turn signal.

Well I'm almost afraid to say what sex the other party was, but she is deemed to be a better driver than me.

No, she is not. A statistical average in not a single incident, or even a hundred such incidents. Here are compiled numbers from your own Kingdom showing how it plays out nationwide, not just in your own corner of the country.
http://www.brake.org.uk/facts-resour...-driver-gender

Female drivers messing a traffic situation up, get more attention than male drivers doing the same. So subjective perception seems to tell that females are the worse drivers, and on more occaisons. But I am with statistics here, and statistics seem to not support this impression.

Male drivers using car driving as a form of aggressive courtship behaviour and fighting for the chicks' attention, are the bigger problem. Males of any age also are known to will greater risk-taking, in general, not just in car driving and traffic.

Many males seem to think that good driving is an exclusive male domain. Thus this territory gets bitterly defended. :D Truth seems to be however that female drivers on average are less aggressive, less conflict-ready drivers. This then gets interpreted by men as weakness, and so the male self-perception stands. :)

They will geld us all in the end.

I know that, of course I do. I'm just fighting this idea that these statistics are being used to promulgate in the UK: that most women drivers are essentially better than their male counterparts. I can't argue with the stastics... they are what they are... but they're being pushed at us a way that creates this polarised picture.

Anyhow... whatever the statistics say, more women drivers have tried to kill me than men :D

Am I detecting a bit of misogyny here? :hmmm:

Nope, nothing against women... just the way statistics are used to denigrate me as a male