life is so unfair (there but for the grace of God go I)

pepperami · Super Spammer Joined: 17 Jan 2010 Karma :

I`ve just watched ITV4 "Crash Scene Investigators"

and there was an item on it about a woman who drove into a VW camper van.
apparently she crossed the line because she was not paying attention!!
the result was a terrible crash that cost the VW driver his leg.
as if that was not bad enough, when they interviewed him afterwards, when he was recovering at home, they interviewed him in his garage/shed.
it was stuffed full of all sorts of bikes= Brits & Japs, and the chances are that he is never going to be able to ride them again Crying or Very sad

and all because some stupid bint cant look where she`s going.
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Wafer_Thin_Ham · Super Spammer Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Karma :

One of life's unfortunates. Wrong place, wrong time.
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MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

also because he was driving the most dangerous hideous awful piece of machinery to ever grace any road anywhere? (I use 'grace' in the loosest possible sense of the word!!).

VW Campers are awful awful vehicles. I had the misfortune to drive the one my parents hired for my sister's wedding and it was horrid. The steering had about 45 degrees of play, and my knees were almost touching the vertical nose of the van. It has a solid steering column with no airbag and the bottom end of the steering column went into the floor where the floor and front bulkhead meet. The pedal box was bolted to the underside of the nose of the car, and the pedals poke through these vaaast holes in the plate steel of the front of the vehicle.

I was terrified of a head on crash because I thought I would die. This was excaserbated by a trip down the M4 to return the van in some of the worst crosswinds I've ever driven in. The camper van was a total arse to hold line, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually our camper van driving friend's fault that there was a head on crash.

That, coupled with a seventeen metre long gear linkage and a gear stick you could use to poke the moon its so long, (except its so flimsy you'd never keep it straight enough) and an asthmatic 'high power' 80hp motor... I think they should all be removed from the roads immediately as a hazard.

Oh yeah and I had to stand on the brakes to make them work, and as soon as the steering was out of its 45 degree play zone it became astonishingly heavy meaning it was impossible to manoevre around.

The one I drove was a BRAND NEW brazilian model with all of the 'improvements' that make them 'good to drive'.

I really cannot emphasise how dangerous and awful to drive VW campers are. I'm actually very very surprised that the worst that happened to this bloke was that he lost a leg. Even a motorcycle would have provided him with much more crash protection than the camper. At least the forks and wheel would have taken the impact rather than being crushed under a flimsy steel bulkhead.

Can you tell that I F*c*ing hate VW Campers. Evil or Very Mad

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Wafer_Thin_Ham · Super Spammer Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Karma :

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T0MMY · World Chat Champion Joined: 08 Jun 2008 Karma :

Horrendous things are happening to millions of people around the world at any given moment; that's life, it's neither fair nor unfair, it's often just random. This is quite minor in comparison to the possible misforunes that can befall you.
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I want a stick to poke the moon with.
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BanditJeff · Trackday Trickster Joined: 24 Jul 2009 Karma :

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robocog · Traffic Copper Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Karma :

I think all cars should have their airbags taken out and all "safety" stuff removed, seatbelts included...oh and have crap brakes without servo's retro fitted
They should also fit large spikes to the steering wheel/dashboard area

Cars do not crash without some form of human interaction...or lack of it when they should be planning ahead, and if everyone was under the impression that if they collide with anything, no matter what level of impact it could end up having serious life changing consequences to THEM as a driver/passenger, the roads would be much safer...rather than the situation where modern cars are better equipped to keep the occupants safer only, with token gestures of plastic front wings thrown in

I bet you drove the Beetle Bus with as much forward planning and care as the task in reality deserved, due to self preservation instinct

as opposed to Mr modern eurobox driver, where they are reminded that the crumple zone is far enough away from the cockpit to be concerned and if it all goes belly up the airbag will be waiting like a big soft pillow cushion* -and the only real consequence will be a slight hike in insurance for next year

One of my cars has no ABS, no airbags, no side impact or intrusion system, no roof or windscreen and front wheels exposed so the likelihood of a swipe could potentially have my own front wheel meeting my face if I stuff up and generally feels vulnerable as fXXk even at low speeds and gets driven with the respect / forward planning /awareness it deserves (feels even more vulnerable than when on the bike in ways as I tend not to have a helmet on unless its long motorway journey)

My other car has all the nanny state stuff and can feel so remote when driven, I have played video games that feel more realistic and I tend to wind the window down so I dont fall into "video game mode"

Nicer for long journeys where you want to get to the other end and not feel like you have made any journey at all (maybe its a relaxing car to drive only BECAUSE you are not completely drawn into the fact your driving a potentially dangerous weapon?)

I'm sure the further away from sensory attachment cars become, the more dangerous it actually becomes

* seen enough blood on "gone off" airbags to know they are possibly not as face friendly / fluffy pillow like as I initially thought before working at the breaker yard

Thats my 2p thrown in anyway Smile

Regards
Rob
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T0MMY · World Chat Champion Joined: 08 Jun 2008 Karma :

Don't really agree with the argument that people drive more safely when they think their car is more unsafe to be honest.

I used to have a Mazda 323Gti that felt like it was made out of tinfoil, great fun, very light, NO safety features beyond a seatbelt. At the same time I had a BMW 325i as well, totally the opposite, very heavy, very safe feeling, about equal pace. I would say I drove the Mazda like I'd stolen it most times because it was more fun, I knew it was more dangerous but it didn't change my behaviour at all.

Put it this way, if that argument was true, given how much more unsafe bikes are then cars we should all be riding around at 25 miles an hour, not doing the crazy shit I see bikers do every day.
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T0MMY · World Chat Champion Joined: 08 Jun 2008 Karma :

They're just like Harley's, there's absolutely no reason to buy one outside of perceived image.
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