Jon Ison
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 posted on 27/9/04 at 04:46 PM |
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End of an Era ????
Drove over to Macclesfield today, got to Buxton to find "cat n fiddle" closed, locals tell me they are re-surfacing and putting up
"camera's" doh, dont condone speeding but the 50mph limit on there will make it one boring drive, that said i was allso imformed yet
another biker lost his life on there a couple of weeks back, they should close it at weekends and let you book a track day on it?
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Hellfire
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| posted on 27/9/04 at 06:38 PM |
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It is very sad but a fact of life that good fast twisty roads claim lives.
It's one, if not the most interesting road in the Shires.
There will always be another good biking/driving road....
[Edited on 27-9-04 by Hellfire]
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Mk-Ninja
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| posted on 27/9/04 at 07:19 PM |
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I still think "Long Hill" the road between Buxton and Whaley Bridge is the best road around here for a 7 and its still not restricted yet.
Think we'll have to have a trip up it at the next meeting if the weather is OK. Guess it wont be that long before we get cameras on that .
Still a pity they need to put them on the C&F but there do seem to be a lot of deaths on that road.
I'm sure I've got one, just don't know where I've put it
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andyps
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| posted on 27/9/04 at 09:55 PM |
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Death on the cat and fiddle road aren't a new thing, it's just that with the nanny state we live in these days we are not allowed to take
any risks and have to be protected from ourselves at all time.
Are they really laying electricity cables along there to power the cameras? I often wonder about that with the location of some cameras. Need a
spotter to see if there are actually cameras inside the boxes before having a blast.
Andy
An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 27/9/04 at 09:59 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by andyps
Death on the cat and fiddle road aren't a new thing, it's just that with the nanny state we live in these days we are not allowed to take
any risks and have to be protected from ourselves at all time.
im against a nanny state, but if a road is proven to cause many deaths, does it make sense to keep it as it is cos its a bit of fun? nope.
dead before 1/3 of your life is up, widows, mothers with dead sons, kids with no dads, all that depressing stuff.
and some poor bastard has to scrape you up.
and if your not killed, then months of recuperation.
worse than that - if you kill someone else, then its 10 years in prison.
all for a bit of adrenalin.
This scenario does seem pessimistic, but all these are possibilities.
During the hillsboro disaster, i worked with a guy that thought that the 98 deaths were not a problem, and that stands shouldnt be made all seater,
cos only 98 people get killed once in a blue moon...... crap logic. all were people with lives in front of em.
atb
steve
[Edited on 27/9/04 by stephen_gusterson]
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andyps
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| posted on 27/9/04 at 10:03 PM |
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I know what you are saying Steve, but there are plenty of other good roads in the cat and fiddle area where people will go instead so I don't
think it will really solve the ultimate problem. Main reason people use that road was to meet at the cat and fiddle, not sure if that is still the
case, but many years ago when I lived near Macclesfield it was always full of bikers. Lots of the other roads are quiter too, which probably helps
make them a bit safer.
Andy
An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 27/9/04 at 10:08 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by andyps
I know what you are saying Steve, but there are plenty of other good roads in the cat and fiddle area where people will go instead so I don't
think it will really solve the ultimate problem. Main reason people use that road was to meet at the cat and fiddle, not sure if that is still the
case, but many years ago when I lived near Macclesfield it was always full of bikers. Lots of the other roads are quiter too, which probably helps
make them a bit safer.
i also konw what you are saying - we wanna have some fun. I would have mixed views if they stopped the TT races. But if you know that loads of people
are cakking it regularly, something has to change.
track days have plenty of run off. roads just have missiles coming the other way at 60 mph and lamp posts and ditches and stuff.....
atb
steve
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philgregson
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| posted on 28/9/04 at 12:02 PM |
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The speed cameras have been in the pipe line for quite some time although where they are to be sighted will make a big difference as to how much they
spoil it.
The Derbyshire section only is currently restricted to 50, and that frankly is not the most exciting bit (well OK the initial climb out of buxton is
good). I am sure that this limit was only imposed so that they could increase the severity of penalty for those speeding (i.e. more likely to get
caught for 30 over), rather than to improve safety itself as most of the 50 section is perfectly safe at speeds of well over 50.
The windy section on the cheshire side is a great piece of road and without imposing a stupidly low limit shouldn't be spoilt too much by
cameras (depending exactly where they are).
As far as I can tell the work does only seem to be going on on the Derbyshire side, so it may not all be bad news.
As for all the arguments about risk - well I have mixed views. The risks to ones self are one thing but many of the bike incidents on the C&F
involve vehicles comming the other way - it is one thing to take risks your self but another to take risks with others.
The police have tried alsorts of schemes over the years including maps and bend info made available in the pub, tutoring riders over the road etc.
etc. but they still keep dying - I guess you can't expect them to do nothing!
I would love to see the C&F left alone beacuse I love it but at the end of the day I for one normally use the back route over these days as the
C&F itself is too busy to be fun any more.
Anyway I concurr with the view that there are a lot of other fine 'bike' (and therefore even better for se7ens - shame they caught on to
the idea of using se7en engines in those stupid two wheel things that fall over and spoilt the fun for every one.) roads in the area, Long Hill being
a fine example.
Don't just restrict yourself to the obvious 'bike' roads either - the spiritual home of the se7en is the 'b' road and
the peak is absolutely full of the greatest ones. Better still the big brother style derbyshire county council can't afford to reduce all those
to 50, nor is there room to park camera vans on most of the good bits.
It's all very depressing, I know, but fun motoring in the peak is far from dead - there are still places on my daily run to work where I could
approach the ton (if I was inclined to) with few other cars and no cameras to worry about.
Failing all that - head off to the cat and fiddle late at night when there is no traffic, give all the cameras bin liner balaclavas and drive your
heart out - you jknow it makes sense!
Phil
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andyps
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| posted on 28/9/04 at 07:27 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by stephen_gusterson
I would have mixed views if they stopped the TT races. But if you know that loads of people are cakking it regularly, something has to change.
Read somewhere recently that the IOM government are considering introducing speed limits on the island.
Andy
An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less
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JoelP
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| posted on 28/9/04 at 08:20 PM |
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i wouldnt ban the TT races, i would simply ask everyone who wants to race a simple question - "how many people died at last years race?"
to prove they know the risks involved. Roads arent meant for dying on, so i dont resent 'nanny states' in relation to road use.
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