Almost Not Worthwhile

Motorcycling and motoring have provided much pleasure for many people for more than 70 years. From the initial task of making things go and providing better transport than the horse, to the enjoyment of devouring mountain roads and passes on todays high performance motorcycles. This covers a time span during which pleasures and frustrations have been many and varied.

Now we have the restrictions to consider!

Obviously tyres should be safe for cruising at a furious 70 m.p.h. on the motorways. The police used to enforce this efficiently. Now it is m.m. of tread and lb/sq.ins. that decides the issue and on a day when another young girl has been brutally murdered we notice able bodied constables moving the older motorcycles and cars into a lay-by to peer at their wheels - £50 for every one you catch!

Only doing their duty to enforce the written law, they will be adding decibel meters to the radar apparatus, breathalysers, pressure gauges, tread depth measures and stop watches they use to catch the 'Demon motorcyclist'. Regardless that the accident rate is lower than the unpenalised domestic carelessness of British homes.

Taking the facts into consideration a law has not yet been passed to enforce the wearing of crash hats by motorcyclists but the £,000,000 which the M.O.T. is spending on publicity for 'Snap on that belt', could be better spent on some road improvement to lessen the likelihood of accidents.

This alone proves that the police or Government do not really care about the safety of the motorcyclists.

People who care about this present situation and who think they can still ride motorcycles within the law usually join a motorcycle club. Nearly all the motorcycle clubs in Britain are affiliated to the British Motorcyclists Federation. This Federation will fight for your beliefs even to Parliament.

When you are a member of a Federation such as this you rarely say to yourself "It's almost not worthwhile".

Clive Hodgkin