Chef Raekwon Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 A man towing a trailer behind a tractor to the the airport construction site spread hydraulic fluid on the road all the way from St John's through to Ballasalla before it was spotted. Our car skidded on the oil, swerved several times and then did a 180 degree spin onto the verge where it was held from dropping over the edge by some fortunately very strong bushes. The fact that the rear wheel was on a branch over a 10 foot drop made me realise how lucky I had been. A canvas roof would not be much protection if we had gone over the edge. As we emerged from the car a motorcyclist with his son riding pillion came off on the same oil and fortunately only hit the Silverburn bridge wall at a slow speed. Most importantly they, my wife and our Japanese visitor were shaken but fine. I am pleased there were apparently no serious injuries but it reinforces to me why I believe we should have some level of overall speed restriction on our roads. OK nothing is perfect and there has to be a balance but I always amazed at the number who state that yes they drive fast but they can do so do as they are driving well within their own capabilities allowing for conditions etc. Something like this just reminds you that we are basically driving on country roads and that we simply have no idea what those conditions around the next corner are and by the time we do it may be to late. OK none of us are ever going to drive presuming there is oil on the road, a heard of cows immediately aroound the corner or whatever but surely it is better to come across such a problem at 70mph rather than 170mph It also highlights the problems when there is no MOT check and people can drive round in cars that are not fit for the road. Obviously I don't know whether this was the case here or not, but there are countless instances of coolant, diesel, oil etc. leaking all over the roads here and causing accidents if they're not spotted quickly. MOT test only applies at the minute vehicles are tested (I was an MOT tester A vehicle developing a hydraulic leak on the roadway can not be put down to the fault of the lack of an MOT test. This can happen at any time as can all mechanical failures - lets blame no MOT's on punctures??? Yes but if cars were MOT'd yearly then they're far more likely to be in a roadworthy condition and less likely to develop problems. As things are now people can just run cars in to the ground without having to take any care of them whatsoever. I'm well aware that any sort of failure can happen at any time but forcing people to maintain their cars in a roadworthy state will certainly lessen the risk of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Yes but if cars were MOT'd yearly then they're far more likely to be in a roadworthy condition and less likely to develop problems. As things are now people can just run cars in to the ground without having to take any care of them whatsoever. I'm well aware that any sort of failure can happen at any time but forcing people to maintain their cars in a roadworthy state will certainly lessen the risk of that. The theoretical reduction in risk stands in no relation to the practical efforts needed to do that on the IOM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Raekwon Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Yes but if cars were MOT'd yearly then they're far more likely to be in a roadworthy condition and less likely to develop problems. As things are now people can just run cars in to the ground without having to take any care of them whatsoever. I'm well aware that any sort of failure can happen at any time but forcing people to maintain their cars in a roadworthy state will certainly lessen the risk of that. The theoretical reduction in risk stands in no relation to the practical efforts needed to do that on the IOM I must admit to not knowing anything about the logistics or cost of doing it, however I'm speaking really based on my own experiences of seeing an accident caused by leakage from a poorly-maintained car. I don't think that some sort of check to ensure that vehicles are roadworthy is that much of an outlandish suggestion to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Yes but if cars were MOT'd yearly then they're far more likely to be in a roadworthy condition and less likely to develop problems. As things are now people can just run cars in to the ground without having to take any care of them whatsoever. I'm well aware that any sort of failure can happen at any time but forcing people to maintain their cars in a roadworthy state will certainly lessen the risk of that. The theoretical reduction in risk stands in no relation to the practical efforts needed to do that on the IOM I must admit to not knowing anything about the logistics or cost of doing it, however I'm speaking really based on my own experiences of seeing an accident caused by leakage from a poorly-maintained car. I don't think that some sort of check to ensure that vehicles are roadworthy is that much of an outlandish suggestion to be honest. Cars already have to be roadworthy & the police is doing checks (if you notice them or not..). The effort needed to introduce MOT-style tests is just not worth it - looked into that before & know from people who should know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Raekwon Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Yes but if cars were MOT'd yearly then they're far more likely to be in a roadworthy condition and less likely to develop problems. As things are now people can just run cars in to the ground without having to take any care of them whatsoever. I'm well aware that any sort of failure can happen at any time but forcing people to maintain their cars in a roadworthy state will certainly lessen the risk of that. The theoretical reduction in risk stands in no relation to the practical efforts needed to do that on the IOM I must admit to not knowing anything about the logistics or cost of doing it, however I'm speaking really based on my own experiences of seeing an accident caused by leakage from a poorly-maintained car. I don't think that some sort of check to ensure that vehicles are roadworthy is that much of an outlandish suggestion to be honest. Cars already have to be roadworthy & the police is doing checks (if you notice them or not..). The effort needed to introduce MOT-style tests is just not worth it - looked into that before & know from people who should know Fair enough - I'm aware of the police checks and I hope they step them up where possible and target people driving sheds around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 It also highlights the problems when there is no MOT check and people can drive round in cars that are not fit for the road. Obviously I don't know whether this was the case here or not, but there are countless instances of coolant, diesel, oil etc. leaking all over the roads here and causing accidents if they're not spotted quickly. In this case it turned out to be fluid leaking from equipment that was on the trailer. The Irish MOT is every two years and conducted by a national testing body in various local centres - not by a local garage. If there was an MOT here I would have thought that the two year frequency would be sufficient. One thing the police officer liked was that because our car is Irish registered he could immediately see that it had been tested for roadworthiness and that I had insurance - discs for both on the windscreen. He was saying that they would like something similar here to reduce the levels of uninsured drivers. The system ain't perfect but it is a lot better than not showing anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxmackem Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Yes but if cars were MOT'd yearly then they're far more likely to be in a roadworthy condition and less likely to develop problems. As things are now people can just run cars in to the ground without having to take any care of them whatsoever. I'm well aware that any sort of failure can happen at any time but forcing people to maintain their cars in a roadworthy state will certainly lessen the risk of that. The theoretical reduction in risk stands in no relation to the practical efforts needed to do that on the IOM I must admit to not knowing anything about the logistics or cost of doing it, however I'm speaking really based on my own experiences of seeing an accident caused by leakage from a poorly-maintained car. I don't think that some sort of check to ensure that vehicles are roadworthy is that much of an outlandish suggestion to be honest. Cars already have to be roadworthy & the police is doing checks (if you notice them or not..). The effort needed to introduce MOT-style tests is just not worth it - looked into that before & know from people who should know I have seen a vehicle's suspension fail within 100mtrs of a test centre, it is all down to human evaluation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxmackem Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 It also highlights the problems when there is no MOT check and people can drive round in cars that are not fit for the road. Obviously I don't know whether this was the case here or not, but there are countless instances of coolant, diesel, oil etc. leaking all over the roads here and causing accidents if they're not spotted quickly. In this case it turned out to be fluid leaking from equipment that was on the trailer. The Irish MOT is every two years and conducted by a national testing body in various local centres - not by a local garage. If there was an MOT here I would have thought that the two year frequency would be sufficient. One thing the police officer liked was that because our car is Irish registered he could immediately see that it had been tested for roadworthiness and that I had insurance - discs for both on the windscreen. He was saying that they would like something similar here to reduce the levels of uninsured drivers. The system ain't perfect but it is a lot better than not showing anything. mmmmm how long have you been here with an irish regisisterd car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 MOT test only applies at the minute vehicles are tested (I was an MOT tester A vehicle developing a hydraulic leak on the roadway can not be put down to the fault of the lack of an MOT test. This can happen at any time as can all mechanical failures - lets blame no MOT's on punctures??? You do however get advisorys from an MOT which would be nice, for example "brake lines starting to corrode".... etc As for an MOT in the instance of the BMW it wouldn't have made sod all difference, when the trailer was connected to the tractor only the driver can check its all in place, as its normally under high pressure i'm presuming this was just a drip it was a spray everytime he braked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 mmmmm how long have you been here with an irish regisisterd car? Years and years...no actually I have a Manx registered car and an Irish one. The latter is usually kept in Ireland. It is impossible to get insurance here that covers the car being in Ireland for more than 30 days at a time - the Irish insurance covers a full 12 months in UK/IOM/Ireland without any specific time constraint in any one location. Otherwise I'd register it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 As for an MOT in the instance of the BMW it wouldn't have made sod all difference, when the trailer was connected to the tractor only the driver can check its all in place, as its normally under high pressure i'm presuming this was just a drip it was a spray everytime he braked? The front wheel arches were dripping with clear oil from the road when I looked at them after the spin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaipyr Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 A proper referendum is needed on an all-Island speed limit - not just some stupid poll or rigged petition. Where's the MHK's prepared to support it? Bring it on!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 A proper referendum is needed on an all-Island speed limit - not just some stupid poll or rigged petition. Where's the MHK's prepared to support it? Bring it on!! It'd be nice to have a support campaign for one similar to the petrol heads who organised the anti-limit. We shouldn't need a referendum, we just need to present our views to mhk's properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terse Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 It'd be nice to have a support campaign for one similar to the petrol heads who organised the anti-limit. We shouldn't need a referendum, we just need to present our views to mhk's properly in brown envelopes. It's the only thing the bastards understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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