Posts by BenWilson
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
I'm hoping that the social conservative vote is split between Coalition and NZF, wasting all 10% of their vote. They do need to go head to head since they directly compete demographically. I'd be surprised if ACT don't get Epsom again, though. They could put a bald dancing monkey in there and Epsom would vote for it.
Mana could do better this time, too, since Harawira has shown he can win his electorate.
@James Littlewood: Yes, he's started really quietly. I doubt it will continue, though.
-
Hard News: Cranks, self-seekers and the mayor, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
make sure you’re not only fully dressed but your linen is impeccably clean and fragrant
Well do up your fly at least.
-
Hard News: Lowering the Stakes, in reply to Moz,
Yes, makes sense, now I think about it. I can easily go the speed limit or more just on pedal power - downhill.
If I was doing that on the flat, with only light pedaling, I'd expect the cops to stop me and check out the bike. But how they could prove the wattage would be an interesting question. Electric engines are highly tweakable devices, particularly if you rewind the armatures.
ETA: Obviously the "delivered wattage" is a measurable amount, and a lot of ways it could be done with great accuracy. But I'd be amazed if a cop could or would do them. Furthermore, you could have a sneaky cheat "weak switch" which dials back the wattage.
-
Hard News: Lowering the Stakes, in reply to Moz,
I would need to take at least one day off work which costs money
I've had pretty good success over the years for getting off unjust fines just by writing a letter. If there's anything doubtful at all in there, it seems like they would rather not have a court case about it.
Flip side is that they’re unlikely to pull anyone up unless the bike is very odd indeed.
Yup, I never got looked at twice on my electrics. They were not especially fast, 30km/h on the flat was the top speed of the fast one. That one even looked more like a scooter than a bike (it was one of those Chinese delivery vehicles).
I had a guy rip past me last week, though, who I think the cops would probably stop. He seemed to be doing 40-50km/h. IIRC there is an upper speed limit for powered bikes as well as power limitations - I doubt a roadside test could work out the wattage, but they could certainly speed trap it.
-
Hard News: Lowering the Stakes, in reply to Moz,
through a belt, chain or gears.
I guess a shaft drive fits that definition. It's geared.
-
were it reincarnated now would probably receive the same breathless analysis as the Internet Party – because it appeals to ‘disenfranchised yoof’.
But...they weren't even funny when I was a yoof. Maybe when my parents were yoofs that joke might have been fresh. Dotcom is at least a new joke. I'd vote for fat German internet freedom pirates over Monty Python Scottish monarchs any day (if that were the only choice).
Not that I would actually vote for either in reality. Didn't Dotcom give heaps of money to that utter fuxor John Banks?
-
Hard News: Lowering the Stakes, in reply to Moz,
I doubt a WOF would be anywhere near $150, it's only $30 for my car. Maybe you're thinking of the fine for not having one. Registration could be anything at all, though, since it's an arbitrary tax. I hate the whole thought of it, the idea of some parko dick sneaking around looking for bikes to bust for not paying their taxes, and cops wasting their time on it, giving them one more reason to stop people who are just going about their business, and fuck them around if they don't like the look of them.
a chain drive are in the law directly,
No shaft drives allowed?? Harsh! Or antiquated, more likely.
-
Hard News: Lowering the Stakes, in reply to Chris Waugh,
I suspect that it rapidly becomes unwieldy and unmanageable when applied to even a moderately-sized population.
I'm sure it could be done. It just seems like overkill until there is actually a serious problem with poorly maintained bikes on the road. Police can and do enforce the basic safety laws of wearing helmets and running at night with lights already. Going to the lengths of designing a testing system, with stipulations of all the bike metrics that must be satisfied, is a solution looking for a problem, IMHO. Let's get people on the bikes first before we start thinking up more ways to take bikes off people.
-
Hard News: Lowering the Stakes, in reply to Bart Janssen,
All the above doesn’t mean all old helmets will be perfect, it’s possible there will be cracks and flaws you can’t see. But the difference in safety between a new helmet and an old (second-hand) one is likely to be negligible.
If you could provide any evidence for that, I’d buy it. Bike helmets are pretty weak devices. However, the point still stands that there is no compulsion of any kind with other vehicles to couple the sale of a vehicle with a safety device standard, and I don’t think it’s at all practical to do so for bicycles. What is a bicycle anyway? It’s only got about 20 separate parts, any combination of which can be offered for sale, and they can be used for any purpose too. You might just be buying a bike for the stylish frame, and intending to replace every other part. Or you could be making a modern art masterpiece out of it.
It should not be impossible to sell a piece of shit old bicycle in a garage sale just because you haven’t got a helmet to give away with it. If you made such a law it could be circumvented in 1 minute by selling the bike as dismantled parts, and an assembly service. It is not on a seller of a vehicle to ensure the safety of a buyer in the goods they sell, except in so far as not to tell outright lies about the condition. This idea is hopelessly unrealistic about what the bicycle market is actually like.
Yet Davis is full of cyclists because the city is designed to allow cyclists safe and convenient routes. It’s also flat.
Yes, those would be the reasons, I’d expect. Bicycle registration is also probably a good idea in a place where bike theft is a massive problem, although an opt-in makes more sense to me. Also, they seem to have a big bicycle abandonment issue (I suggest that students finishing their studies would often leave a valueless bike behind*), which probably leads to people stealing and using unmaintained bicycles. Even seeing an unmaintained one gives police an excuse to check if it’s stolen. Davis is rather a special case, quite hard to compare it to a city 25 times it’s size like Auckland is.
*ETA About half of the population of Davis is students.
-
Hard News: Big Friday Music: Counting…, in reply to Gary Young,
To protect the tree trunk from damage caused by huge volumes of urine? That's my guess.
Last ←Newer Page 1 … 283 284 285 286 287 … 1066 Older→ First