[BBC News] Man, 20, dies in road collision

[Silentbob]

I was lucky when i was a nipper we did not have computers or fancy games consoles we lived in the country and drove tractors and cars from about age 8 and bikes about a year later, i raced bangers up at onchan from the age of 15 which taught me a great many lessons about what happens when car meet at high speed and gave me alot of confidence but the down side was when i learnt to drive properly i had many Bad habits taking me 4 attempts to pass my test,

 

i believe racing games on game consoles give the youth of today a false sense of confidence when driving which doesn't help as i real life you just dont another chance to have another go

 

Very much the same, sat on my mum's knee steering, and learning the gearbox from the passenger seat, was very lucky to have a helpful farmer across the road, so had Mk2 escorts from about 12, learning on grass gives you a great insight into the worst case scenario on the road (Oil, Ice etc)

[oldmanxfella]

I agree with oldmmanxfella to a degree. The Tourism Dept web site promotes the IOM as "The Road Racing Capital of the World", yet we wonder why we have an appalling road safety record.

 

My point is that statements like this appear on official websites and these then attract people here who think its ok to ride like a looney because the IOM is home to the worlds most balls out dangerous road racing event and we're happy to advertise it as such.

 

Its the same with Top Gear. Clarkson does some great write ups about manx roads saying how fantastic they are and how unrestricted they are. So loads of people read that and think - I'll have a weekend in the IOM because I can drive like a complete tit there without getting a ticket.

 

We can't be worried about road accidents to the point that we consider all Island limits and other restrictions at one end, but at the other be happy to advertise the opposite to the rest of the world. It just does not compute.

[TerryMcCann]

Its the same with Top Gear. Clarkson does some great write ups about manx roads saying how fantastic they are and how unrestricted they are. So loads of people read that and think - I'll have a weekend in the IOM because I can drive like a complete tit there without getting a ticket.

 

I don't recall many visiting car drivers being involved in serious incidents. Bikers yes but they have being doing that for years. Long before Clarkson appeared on the scene

 

What you have written there is complete and utter drivel

[Stu Peters]

Sadly, there will always be accidents, and people will continue to be injured and killed on the roads, whether a national speed limit is ever applied or not (and I sincerely hope it isn't). I don't know what the stats are, but I'd guess that a lot of accidents occur when people ignore the speed restrictions anyway.

 

One thing we can and should do is take steps to pass on our experience in the hope that both we and others can learn from our mistakes. They have an anonymous reporting system in aviation where pilots can report potentially dangerous situations without risking prosecution or witch hunts (for themselves or the other party) - and maybe we could do that with driving.

 

I reckon I'm an above-average driver. I've always loved driving (from the age of 11), I raced cars and won championships, last year I took the IAM test.

 

Yesterday a visting pal from Ireland asked me to take her for a blast around the TT Course in my sports car, and I was happy to oblige. BECAUSE we have derestricted zones, I observe speed limits when posted (on the basis that I can always have a hoon on another road) so we trundled from Douglas to Ballacraine, at which point we had an empty road and I gained speed through Glen Helen. Stuck behind a meanderer approaching the pub, we trundled up the hill, and I overtook on the Cronky straight and we had a clear road again.

 

I THOUGHT I was driving well within my limits, and was reading the road and aware of potential dangers, but rounding one of the blind bends on the way to Barregarrow at around 80mph, I was confronted by someone pulling out of a driveway and completely blocking the road. Trouble was, they were absolutely CRAWLING out, and I only just passed safely behind them, despite very heavy braking. Fact of the matter is, I was plainly going too fast, despite feeling well within my limits.

 

It was a real wake-up call, and I'm happy to share it and look foolish if it helps anyone else. Safety is sometimes 50% skill and 50% luck - yesterday I was lucky.

 

Maybe we could start a thread of experiences and reflections like this - most people post anonymously anyway?

[Chopsticks]

Yesterday a visting pal from Ireland asked me to take her for a blast around the TT Course in my sports car, and I was happy to oblige. BECAUSE we have derestricted zones, I observe speed limits when posted (on the basis that I can always have a hoon on another road) so we trundled from Douglas to Ballacraine, at which point we had an empty road and I gained speed through Glen Helen. Stuck behind a meanderer approaching the pub, we trundled up the hill, and I overtook on the Cronky straight and we had a clear road again.

 

I THOUGHT I was driving well within my limits, and was reading the road and aware of potential dangers, but rounding one of the blind bends on the way to Barregarrow at around 80mph, I was confronted by someone pulling out of a driveway and completely blocking the road. Trouble was, they were absolutely CRAWLING out, and I only just passed safely behind them, despite very heavy braking. Fact of the matter is, I was plainly going too fast, despite feeling well within my limits.

 

It was a real wake-up call, and I'm happy to share it and look foolish if it helps anyone else. Safety is sometimes 50% skill and 50% luck - yesterday I was lucky.

 

Maybe we could start a thread of experiences and reflections like this - most people post anonymously anyway?

 

£250 fine and three points for you, Mr Peters!

 

Truth is there are loads of places like that around the island, where unless you're travelling at about 20mph, you're simply going to smash into whatever it is that might be around a blind corner.

 

This situation is made much worse by the arseholes who think nothing of pulling up to the side of the road, wherever it is they might happen to be, to answer that oh-so-important call on their mobile.

[thesultanofsheight]

I THOUGHT I was driving well within my limits, and was reading the road and aware of potential dangers, but rounding one of the blind bends on the way to Barregarrow at around 80mph, I was confronted by someone pulling out of a driveway and completely blocking the road.

 

I thought the same as I went round Ramsey Hairpin on the handbrake last weekend. I think I made the same mistake.

[The Old Git]

Very much the same, sat on my mum's knee steering, and learning the gearbox from the passenger seat

 

Hey, I'd do that as well.

 

Well, Mum used to let me lean over from the passenger seat to steer and and change gear while she operated the clutch. Thinking about it, it only seemed to happen on Sundays and I think it was a bribe to get me to go to church.