As a child, I was obsessed by cars, I yearned to drive so badly that I would go and sit in my older brothers Ford Escort and pretend to drive. I subscribed to Fast Lane magazine and had the obligatory Countach poster on my wall.
When I turned 16 I got my first 50cc motorbike, in that year, I bought and sold 7 mopeds, my last being a Yamaha YSR50, which was a Japanese imported gag bike, it looked like a race bike which was 2/3rds the size, after tuning it, it was quicker than my mates 100cc bike.
At 17, I bought a 125cc and then when I passed my car test, I bought my first car. I regret that I did not take my bike test, it was much easier then compared to now, basically you rode around the block and as long as you did not run over the instructor, you passed. I never wanted a high powered bike as I did not trust myself to not become a statistic.
Years later, I got back into bikes, I fell in love with the BMW C1, a quirky scooter with a roof, a real marmite vehicle, it rode like being inside a Star Wars pod racer and was plenty fast with it's Rotax 4 valve engine. I went through a phase of buying them broken, repairing them and sellling them for a profit. I owned three of them at one time, yes, I am obsessive, I admitted that in the first line. I still have a bike, its a Piaggio MP3, yes the quirky scooter with three wheels. It looks nice parked next to my Smart Fourtwo. OK, I have issues, we will leave it there.
I gave up riding my bike 18 months ago and now it simply sits under cover and unloved. I came to the conclusion that driving it was more dangerous that ever before. Road users have increased in recent years, which in some way makes more sense to use a bike. I live next to a city centre, so I can get into town much quicker and park for free. But, I also realise that people drive differently these days. No one has a patience any more, road manners are all but extinct, it is literally like survival of the fittest out there. Any tiny gap and bam, someone changes lane to jump into it. People cut you up, give you hand gestures and the like, its become the norm.
Perhaps I am being nostalgic of the days when you could go for a drive for fun, swapping cogs and feeling the sense of freedom, today, its one big procession of vehicles following each other. Yes, you can still have fun, you have to find roads that are not congested, but, like others, I don't have the time to do this as much as I would like.
I have owned a few fast mercs, big 4x4 SUV's and other interesting vehicles in my time and part of me wants to buy another, for now, I will stick with my Fiesta as transport and use the Smart car as a replacement to my scooter for fun.
Do you think driving standards here in the UK have deteriorated? Please, feel free to comment below and thanks for reading.
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Comments (9)
The roads are very crowded these days and we don't respect motorcyclists like they don on the continent. I wrote a lengthy article on European Motorcycle Culture last year and I think it's partly why Motorbikes have become a toy for most UK owners rather than a vehicle useful to commute on.
It's strange that bikers no longer nod at each other like they used to. Mind you, I never got the nod, I typically got people laughing at my choice of bike.
Why - what do you ride!? Honda bogseat?
I’d already bumped this! You’re right people have much busier, stressful lives these days and there are more distractions. But I live in a fairly rural area. If I get s bike it’ll be a third vehicle to ride for fun only.
Bad driving is every where but we don't punish them. We punish the people who speed and have a bit of fun in a vehicle.
The only way to be a good driver and avoid accidents, is by driving hard and knowing limits.
Drivers like that see farther head, are always looking for hazards, and know how to avoid them. Drivers who don't do this kind of stuff are useless at it. They can't judge time and speed, or looking behind them to see what's there.
You can't be good at something if you have no interest in it. Knowing limits, and what to watch for is learnt by doing, not by reading a book and parking.
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