Police motorcyclists at the ToB
Find myself in a bit of a dilemma: I spectated at stage 6 of the ToB, as they came through Somerset for the first time, and based myself on the brow of Woolavington Hill. I cycled over, and arrived about 20 mins before the leading group, and 22 mins ahead of the peloton, so I could get a good view. In the time I stood there, maybe 10-15 police motorcyclists (among other ToB m/c riders) road through. All of them, bar one, riding way, way above the speed limit, which was in my mind, completely unnecessary. I recall a woman was killed by a police motorcyclist at the TdF this year and, the way these guys were riding, it's miraculous that we didn't get a repeat in Woolavington.
Now, here is the dilemma: the success of the ToB relies on co-operation from the police, otherwise the route won't be further expanded, and it should - three days in Wales (Snowdon, mid-Wales and Brecon Beacons, anyone?); a hillclimb TT up Box Hill; there are lots of additional things they could do, and it would be terrible if the ToB were undermined by a NIMBY (which I am not) or was, worse still, abandoned. On the other hand, if police motorcyclists ride unnecessarily fast, as they did on the day, an accident, probably a fatality, is an almost certainty. No doubt the police would respond poorly to criticism, but no-one should risk life and limb spectating a bicycle race (which was brilliant, btw).
What do you think?
deej
Now, here is the dilemma: the success of the ToB relies on co-operation from the police, otherwise the route won't be further expanded, and it should - three days in Wales (Snowdon, mid-Wales and Brecon Beacons, anyone?); a hillclimb TT up Box Hill; there are lots of additional things they could do, and it would be terrible if the ToB were undermined by a NIMBY (which I am not) or was, worse still, abandoned. On the other hand, if police motorcyclists ride unnecessarily fast, as they did on the day, an accident, probably a fatality, is an almost certainty. No doubt the police would respond poorly to criticism, but no-one should risk life and limb spectating a bicycle race (which was brilliant, btw).
What do you think?
deej
He's more machine now than man. Twisted and evil...
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On the face of it (but not knowing the full facts), I agree. Unless there were specific reasons for the police actions, spectators should not be subject to life threatening dangers and all risks need to be minimised. Without being aggressive or abusive, you could write the Chief Constable a letter stating your concerns and how they will rectify it for future events.0
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its deliberate
and get this for safety reasons...
the idea is to repeatedly instill the notion of danger of standing in the road
the french gendarme do the same but more so
it reduces accidents BION"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
But the motorbikes have to travel much faster than the peleoton because they are leapfrogging ahead all the time to create the rolling road block arent they. If they travelled too slowly they couldnt be in place on time to protect the race from traffic entering the route at the wrong moment.
Nice part of the world to watch the stage though
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If the cyclists are doing nearly 30mph average on the flat then as Mark Walker has said how are the police going to leapfrog the riders to then have enough time to warn them of the dangers once the cyclists have caught them up again??
Has to be done in my opinion and the police motorcyclists have recieved the top level of training, so at least they should be competent when riding at speed.0 -
mididoctors wrote:its deliberate
and get this for safety reasons...
the idea is to repeatedly instill the notion of danger of standing in the road
the french gendarme do the same but more so
it reduces accidents BION
Is that true?0 -
No problem with it myself, sometimes the bunch will be pushing along at speeds up around the speed limit, so the motorbikes have to come past fast. The worst thing for anyone in the bunch is to have the motorbikes moving too slowly past them.
As for spectators don't stand in the road. :roll:0 -
riding way, way above the speed limit
I think it all depends on the definition of 'way above'. In every walk of life, the police are no exception, there will always be smart asses who think its fun to be going against the rules when they think no-one is looking. As I originally said, not enough info to come to any definite conclusion either way.0 -
markwalker wrote:mididoctors wrote:its deliberate
and get this for safety reasons...
the idea is to repeatedly instill the notion of danger of standing in the road
the french gendarme do the same but more so
it reduces accidents BION
Is that true?
the french have it down to an art the frequency and speed of the bike run throughs increases as he peloton approaches"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
The republican Gendarmes who ride with the tour are hilarious. I was at Le Grand Bornard this year with all the other cyclists trying to get down the valley in amongst the caravan and team cars etc, the usual chaos.
We were held up in a group and all unclipped a foot. As a gendarme made his way through the group, an older gent toppled over and crashed on his side with his foot still clipped in. The gendarme paused momentarily, looked down through his shades at the bloke on the floor, then stepped over him and towards his bike, acting like the robot cop in Terminator 2. Other riders helped him up.
I don't think the republican Gendarmes get their gloves dirty, they are too busy looking cool, they let the local municipal police deal with real issues.0 -
My wee brother is a traffic polis and a motorcycle cop.
He tells me they are all highly trained, know exactly what they are doing at all times, and the sun shines out their backsides.0 -
Tusher wrote:My wee brother is a traffic polis and a motorcycle cop.
He tells me they are all highly trained, know exactly what they are doing at all times, and the sun shines out their backsides.
yes police are not human beings and are therefore incapable of error... just like this moron - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... t-tin.html0 -
deejay. wrote:Find myself in a bit of a dilemma: I spectated at stage 6 of the ToB, as they came through Somerset for the first time, and based myself on the brow of Woolavington Hill. I cycled over, and arrived about 20 mins before the leading group, and 22 mins ahead of the peloton, so I could get a good view. In the time I stood there, maybe 10-15 police motorcyclists (among other ToB m/c riders) road through. All of them, bar one, riding way, way above the speed limit, which was in my mind, completely unnecessary. I recall a woman was killed by a police motorcyclist at the TdF this year and, the way these guys were riding, it's miraculous that we didn't get a repeat in Woolavington.
So the speed limit where you were standing was?
The speed they were doing was?
You know one wasn't speeding because?
You know it was unnecessary because?0 -
Not sure whetherthe roads being closed would effect the speed limits. The Police chase bad guys in cars doing crazy speeds so I guess they are a Law to Themselves.
The cars on these races are also are a bit nuts and scare me when people are aimlessly wander about. I've seen lots if races abroad and they seems to be even worse. I'm not a fan of rolling road closures but this doesn't seem to change things on this score.
-Jerry“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”- Albert Einstein
"You can't ride the Tour de France on mineral water."
-Jacques Anquetil0
