Diesel Spills

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  • #8680
    XV16
    Participant

    I thought i’d post this here away from the speeding issues. There is an on going campaign about this.
    From a Manchester Paper…

    Bikers’ lives threatened by careless diesel users

    Thousands of motorcycle accidents each year could be prevented, according to the RAC Foundation.

    Some of the 6,000 annual deaths and serious injuries to bikers are caused by carelessness in overfilling diesel tanks, the foundation said.

    “Government targets aim to reduce all road casualties dramatically by 2010,” said the foundation’s executive director.

    He went on: “More care by the drivers of diesel cars and particularly heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles would be an easy way to help achieve this.

    Spill

    “Brimming – the practice of filling the tank to the very top and then not ensuring that is securely fastened with a proper filler cap – almost inevitably results in a diesel spill. That’s a sure-fire skid, and possible death, for any rider.”

    The foundation said the problem was much more prevalent among goods vehicles and buses, as private cars tended to be better maintained and had more effective systems to prevent brimming.

    The foundation added that when diesel spews on to the road it becomes invisible to the human eye, but can be more slippery than black ice. While wintry conditions can be forecast and seen, diesel can be shed, unseen, at any time of the year.

    Figures for 2003 show that 360 bikers and their pillion passengers were killed, compared with 288 in 2002.

    In one case – in October 2003 – a 31-year-old motorcyclist from north Wales was killed when his bike slid on diesel fuel and collided with an oncoming car.

    His friends formed the KillSpills campaign which calls, among other things, for UK motor manufacturers to improve the design of all diesel vehicles to prevent “brimming”.

    New link direct to the petition…
    https://www.darrenbourne.co.uk/killspills/html/the_petition.shtml

    Best Regards
    Stuart XV16



    Please note that some of the comments and articles posted may not represent my views or the views of FORUM99 and its moderators.



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    #18143
    imperialdata
    Keymaster

    Thanks for that XV. I hope other people on this forum become more aware of the dangers of diesel spills. I think most of us have at some stage slipped on diesel and possibly had a near miss or even an accident. It’s one of the few things that can’t be allowed for even if you are the most professional of riders. The KillSpills campaign is certainly worthy of our support.

    #18144
    Radar
    Moderator

    Agree totally, my wife crashed her moped on diesel a few years back and was lucky not to be badly hurt.

    #18145
    DazBike
    Participant

    Hiya peeps

    Im one of the members of the KillSpills team and Webmaster for the site. I wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone on this forum for your support. If you need any more information on the campaign just post on here or PM me.

    BTW – XV16 I’ve looked at the signature form and i still cant see i problem. Have you tried doing it from another computer? Has anyone else had a problem?

    Thanks

    DazBike – CBR600FV
    http://www.killspills.org.uk

    #18146
    wheelie
    Participant

    Not working when I just tried. Needed my email address and when I tried to send it again it gave me lots of text on one line and a blank page.

    Let us know when it’s sorted as I’d like to contribute to your petition.



    I’ve donated to the forum, have you?


    #18147
    XV16
    Participant

    Hi Daz
    Welcome to the forum. I have had one or two comments elsewhere, but I tried the new link you sent and it worked fine. Please keep us informed of any further developments with your campaign, we are all at risk and I’m sure everyone here appreciates your hard work.

    #18148
    imperialdata
    Keymaster

    Hi Daz and welcome. Good work you’re doing on a good cause. Hope you get the success you need on a very important subject. Feel free to plug the site in the links section.

    BTW I experienced the same probs as Wheelie. I’m using Mozilla Firebird browser, will try later with IE6.

    #18149
    DazBike
    Participant

    thanks for the welcome.

    Try it in IE and let me know how your get on. Try the view scrips to see if they work.

    DazBike – CBR600FV
    http://www.killspills.org.uk

    #18150
    imperialdata
    Keymaster

    IE6 bombed out on https://www.darrenbourne.co.uk/scripts/save_petition.cgi. Page not displayed error.
    All scripts seemed OK till then.
    Refreshed screen and got correct page (acknowleged signing)
    Could not see my signing when refreshing your main site. Does it take a while to process?

    #18151
    XV16
    Participant

    IE6 works fine now this side, don’t know what the problem is. I had problems with IE6 to start with…. Sorry beyond me…
    Keep us updated please.

    #18152
    DazBike
    Participant

    I really dont know what the problem is. [:I] Sometimes i hate computers ;)

    DazBike – CBR600FV
    http://www.killspills.org.uk

    #18153
    XV16
    Participant

    Sorry Daz, don’t know what to suggest. Sometimes it works sometimes doesn’t, bit like me really.
    Maybe there’s a computer wiz out there that maybe able to help. Had a look today but cant see IDs signature, but it acknowledged his signing.

    Best Regards
    XV16

    #18154
    XV16
    Participant

    Daz, the link seems to be working OK now. Her indoors has just had a mate sign, no problem. Hope all is OK!

    #18155
    DazBike
    Participant

    KillSpills at Westminster by Team Leader – Stephen Edwards

    Well what can I say, it was fantastic.

    Daz and me arranged to meet at Westminster tube at 2pm. True to form, my flight was delayed, so I didn’t arrive till 2.30, still we were in plenty of time for our meeting at 4pm.

    We decided to see where we needed to go, the St Stephens gate entrance to the Palace of Westminster. We spoke to a policeman who said ignore the queue and go straight to the search area. Daz needed a smoke before we went in, so whilst we were waiting outside, I pulled out a copy of the presentation for him to look at. As I did this, I managed to cut my finger, you know the sort, a deep paper cut. With blood pouring everywhere, and me muttering to myself, a tourist came to my rescue, giving me a plaster to stick on my finger that was really nice of her. We told the lady that we were going to make a presentation to MP’s and she wished us luck.

    We went in and through security, just like you go through at an airport. I have never been inside Westminster before, neither had Daz, if building is impressive on the outside, and I think it is, its staggering on the inside, we were at the home of democracy, us, just a couple of ordinary bikers, were here to tell the All Party Motorcycling Group about our killSpills campaign!

    Were we nervous? No, not really, we were keen to get our message across. We made our way to committee room W3 and waited outside. We went through the presentation, made a few last minute changes and discussed our strategy. We both could not believe, that after just 6 months campaigning, we were at Westminster, this was our chance to impress the MP’s, get them on side and give the campaign a real boost. We had a lot at stake, but all our supporters were rooting for us, we could not let them down.

    At 4pm prompt, we were called into the meeting, we set up the PC for the presentation, handed out the Fast Bikes key rings, which went down a hoot, and showed the MP’s the level of support we have, these are a really good quality came a comment from around the table. Copies of the presentation were handed out, together with the KillSpills information pack.

    The MP’s were really keen to find out about the campaign, questions came thick and fast, they wanted statistics, what impact does diesel has on the environment? What damage does it do to roads, why does it get spilt? We had all the answers together with some photos, and they were clearly impressed. They wanted to know what was driving us, when we explained that we were not part of a corporate body, that wanted to make money out of the campaign, rather we were just ordinary voters, dedicated to improving road safety, and asking them for help, they could not refuse.

    We explained the level of support we have received from Asda, Tesco, Exel, along with the FTA, MAG etc and they were impressed that we had received this level of support in such a short time. We explained that out campaign was not a nine-day wonder, that we were here for the long haul, and that we were committed to see this right through to the end.

    They liked our education arguments, from advising HGV drivers, to improved rider training for bikers. We told them that diesel spills should be at the forefront of public awareness, like drink driving, or driving whilst using a mobile phone. They supported the display posters at petrol stations, and asked us to find out how many accidents are caused by drivers using mobile phones, compared to diesel, how diesel spills impact on the emergency services, and how it should be cleaned up.

    We told the MP’s that we needed their help. We wanted to get the Governments THINK! Campaign to cover diesel spills, we asked if they would join us at Number 10, when we present the petition, “you bet we will” came the unanimous reply! Lembit Opik said he would table a question in the house for us and another MP (Need name Stephen someone constituency nr Heathrow) asked if we would like to meet the minister, our reply was yes, but we don’t know how to go about that. Leave that to us he replied, we will set up the meeting for you to attend and liase through Craig at MCI.

    Time was precious, the MP’s had asked a lot of probing questions, we had responded with our answers and our 30 minutes went very quickly indeed. We ended by thanking them for their time and listening to our presentation. Their reply was that we had no need to thank them, they were thanking us for running a very important road safety campaign and coming to London to discuss it with them. They wished us success for the future, said our presentation was professional and business like and with strong hand shakes, the meeting broke up. At the end Bishop …… came to me and asked what bike I ride, I replied I had just taken delivery of a 2004 R1, hummm he said, that must cost a bit to insure.

    As we left Jenny from MCI said to us that she had been miniting the group for the past three years, and she had never seen the MP’s so concerned about any subject. She said they were riveted and the questions should tell us just how interested they are in the KillSpills campaign. It was a really fantastic afternoon, and a credit to the whole of the KillSpills team and our supporters.

    dont forget to visit the website http://www.killspills.org.uk

    thanks

    Daz

    DazBike – CBR600FV
    http://www.killspills.org.uk

    #18156
    imperialdata
    Keymaster

    Some very positive steps forward there, Daz. Hope you carry on with successes like that and that the MP’s take it all on board.

    Once again, we urge any bikers on here who have had a tussle with diesel spills to visit Daz’s site.

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