Triumphrat

Nickwiz · 09-24-2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/d...re/7009914.stm

So these guys drove too fast hit another car head on and killed themselves two kids and their mums, and someone says oh they ere racing a motorcycle that wasn't in the accident didn't hit or kill anyone and the bike rider gets arrrested!!!!! This country is realy realy farked up.
I thought the bad old days of every biker being seen as a bluddy pariah were over. Not so. We are still living in a nation of petty minded do gooding wankas!

bovefrankj · 09-27-2007

I second that Nick. Sympathy is directed towards the casualties and it would be a brave man who stands up and says "Well it serves them right." The outpouring of sympathy knows no bounds and lacks logic. I blame the media, the politicians and the publicity hungry, politically motivated senior police.

OneWackyVille · 09-28-2007

I believe that the public only really "see" the ar*ehole riders - 'cause they make the most noise, do the stupidest of things and generally loom large on the road.

The more sensible amongst us go unnoticed simply because when on public view we do the right thing. The older ones amongst us are more aware of how long it would take to recover if we came off... ouch!

But we all get tarred with the same brush - and I guess we always will.

Car chases bike, car crashes in to car - must be the bikes fault! Of course, how stupid of me to think otherwise.

27 years ago I was lying in the ER fairly smashed up and covered in blood, several busted bits. My wife of three months was being taken to another hospital that had better facilities as she was much worse than me.

The porter who wheeled me to X-ray was quite forthright in his opinion. Because I was on a bike it was obviously my fault, I must have been speeding and drinking and I'm obviously a menace to society...

This despite the fact that it was car that didn't stop at a crossroads (driver was prosecuted), I hadn't been speeding, hadn't been drinking and had recently married my childhood sweetheart - hardly the profile of a public menace.

All those out of work are benefit cheats, all politicians are on the make, all coppers are corrupt, all migrant workers are lazy. The list of stereotypes is endless!

And the point I'm trying to make is... ah, who cares. I just wanted to get that off my chest!

Alpha · 09-28-2007

"The police are investigating whether the Sierra was racing a motorbike when the accident happened on Saturday. A 17-year-old motorcyclist has been arrested"

He was probably arrested, not charged and released on his own cognizance. given the fatality, any involved person would have been arrested till the facts become clear. The problem here isnt the police or necessarily the rider, it is the way the media tell their stories to get new coverage.

We don't know any facts here other than people have died. We don't know if it was a race or anything, so I am surprised given the seriousness of the incident why were all so vitriolic that they have arrested (but not necessarily charged) the bike rider. Do we even know for a fact that he was arrested. The statements towards the end suggest that they have no material witnesses, so I have my doubts that they had any power to arrest. What would they charge the rider with? Breathing? he could have been parked up watching?

I see plenty of riders who act irresponsibly and these may have been mates taking chances. We don't know and I assume that had the biker simply been a passerbye or a witness, they wouldn't have arrested him. There is more to this story than is quoted on the BBC website.

Remember people died here, so a few hours inconvenience for a rider isn't the end of the world and although he may have had a bad day as a result, not as bad as those in the car or their surviving family.

I know we live in a police and BB state and were a little miffed but cmon. Keep it real. People died and I feel for one that the police need to cover all possibilities because the rider could have been the cause and if so deserves the full wrath of the law.

Dave

1stgarry · 09-28-2007

I assume the BBC have reported the facts as presented to them.

But I can't help but ask this...
How soon after the crash did the police appear?
Was the motorcyclist arrested at the scene of the accident?
Was the motorcyclist still at the scene when the police turned up?
Did witness information lead to the arrest of the motorcyclist?

Right now we don't know all the facts and it seems unfair to make sweeping assumptions.

Right now my symapthies go to the families who have lost loved ones

Nickwiz · 09-28-2007

Yes of course its sad people died but why does the motorcyclist always find its him or her thats under suspicion of being to blame whenever something happens out there on the road. Enough is enough.

The people died because a bunch of hopped up young lads were driving like twits. Sad but ultimately their fault. No one made them race! They died and killed the others . Its the car that went out of control and its drivers who should be blamed at the end of the day!

From what I saw reported witness evidence lead to the arrest. And we all know that even when we're not speeding most members of the public assume that we are. So sadly definately in my opinion prejudice is at work again. If motorcyclists were a racial group society would never get away with treating us like they do!

Alpha · 09-29-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nickwiz

From what I saw reported witness evidence lead to the arrest.

Nick, this pretty much sums it up. If the guy was arrested after the event based on witness statements, then based on a few bland news reports, we are not in a position to dispute or defend the apparent errant biker. It will as always all come out in the wash, but to simply champion this biker because he is a biker and that were 'always to blame' is a little naive. he could well be the cause of several tragic deaths and as a biker, I would suggest that if proven to be the case he should be locked up and the key thrown away. He could as you say be completely innocent, but we cant tell based on what has been reported so I look at the report as a tragedy, not as bikers being targeted unnecessarily.

I understand that its natural to rebel against the ever increasing pressure being placed on the riding community, but lets face it some bikers are dangerous and speed (excessively and inappropriately) and for this very reason we all have a bad rep. It is I am afraid the minority that have caused the poor opinion that the wider public has against bikers. As I have posted elsewhere in this forum, I see some horrific riding whilst I am out and about and I am left breathless watching some of these riders overtaking in large groups on blind hills/bends and if something was coming the other way then it would have resulted in an accident all at the bikers fault. Some of our community are not as blameless as you would have us believe and this has unfortunately tarnished our reputation.

Lets not lose sight of the real issue here, some people, inc children have died through not fault of their own and if the biker is innocent then he will not suffer as a result.

If were gonna complain about anything lets move our focus away from this rather sensitive subject until the facts are more well known.

Cheers

Dave

OneWackyVille · 09-29-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nickwiz

If motorcyclists were a racial group society would never get away with treating us like they do!

Indeed, indeed! A good point Nickwiz.

doodledog · 09-30-2007

we dont know what happened, probably no one does, but I will bet there's a truamatised 17 year old getting the third degree, from plod and will be damaged for a long time whatever happens and whatever his involvement or lack of it was, the car hit another car, deaths ensued, very sad, but if the seirra was racing then its that drivers fualt, my opinion, but you all know how I feel about the constabulary.