Loud Pipes Save Lives

[ThaFlash]

To use an old bikie (or motorcyclists) adage... "Loud Pipes Save Lives".

Here I am driving along, minding my own biz, coming out of a roundabout, I begin to accelerate to the speed limit, when a mid teen boy takes some quick steps and jumps out onto the road without looking.

All of a sudden he stops dead in his tracks, looks at me straight in the eyes.

Moments later I thought about why he stopped like that and it occurred to me my loud exhaust system on my 8 pretty much saved him from a serious injury.

My loud pipes caught his attention. (Maybe the drone, quite annoying really.)

That is the closest I have come to hitting a pedestrian in 22 years of driving and to think my loud pipes prevented a serious accident!

To that boy, if you were my son I would teach you how to cross the road without fiddling with an electronic gadget.

To the nannies, that's one possible life saving statistic that won't grace any pages of the ABS website, reports or data.

Thought I'd share that with y'all and I hope to hear about some similar stories back.

[BHDOGS]

I always find it amusing when bikers drive by on black bikes wearing black clothes with an exhaust that makes your ears bleed but out a half loud exhaust in your car and it's straight to regency for your defect

[wrongwaynorris]

And there was me thinking bikies were just ******* but there doing their civic duty .

[pottery beige]

derp..

[Road_Warrior]

Yeah my pipes have saved me a few times. Even the 'situational awareness' factor for other drivers when they hear you before they see you makes them worth it.

[SteveJH]

And i'm assuming you didn't look for pedestrians about to step out before you put your foot down?

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by SteveJH

And i'm assuming you didn't look for pedestrians about to step out before you put your foot down?

...... of course was waiting for someone to say this. DO NOT ASSUME.

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by SteveJH

And i'm assuming you didn't look for pedestrians about to step out before you put your foot down?

where i live.. salisbury tough guys step out, casually stroll and stare you down..

line them up and pin it.. they aint so tough...

[pauljh74]

We see more and more people simply not paying attention when crossing. I was in a shopping centre yesterday approaching a crossing and a couple crossed at the crossing, but walked out without checking and only when he was more than halfway across did the guy actually realise I was there. A little further on a man pushing his child in a stroller - walked out without even looking for traffic. They can drop speed limits to walking pace (I'd prefer they didn't) and this crap will keep on happening and people will get hit.

I see similar on the roads (not at crossings) - people step out onto the road and start walking across, but don't monitor the traffic and have this attitude that the traffic can just stop for them. If you *dare* honk or rev at them, you get a torrent of abuse or a hand gesture.

[Rockape]

Had a pushbike cut in front of me the other day. Same thing not looking with the ipod on full.

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by SteveJH

And i'm assuming you didn't look for pedestrians about to step out before you put your foot down?

there is always one......
of course it was the car drivers fault, always is hey?


I can see how loud pipes make stupid pedestrians notice your car more.
But there are types of people who look at your car coming down the street, then walk slowly onto the road expecting you to slow down.
They are normally a male in there late teens or early 20's with a phone up to their ear, usually happens on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday nights.
I wouldn't care if they get hit. They need to learn their lesson somehow.

[SSD-85]

As tempting as it is to say/do otherwise;

Its the motorists responsibility to lookout for dumbarse peds.

Loud pipes are only there for the coolness factor........

[westoftown]

13 year old kid got pinned under a car the other day around the corner from my place. The story goes he was just riding his bike to school listening to his ipod, didnt look as he crossed the road, it just so happens he rode out into the path of an oncoming car.

Lesson learnt kiddo.

[Neale]

Originally Posted by Ben73

there is always one......
of course it was the car drivers fault, always is hey?

Not that I agree with it, but in the eyes of the law if you hit a pedestrian you are at fault.

I did hear that there has been a crackdown on pedestrian offences in Sydney like the jaywalking which is great. You see it all the time people stepping onto & walking on the road in their on little world without regards for cars.


I had two examples just today..

I went up to Mt Panorama for a cruise & there heaps of people walking around the track (whick I dont have a problem) & most of them were walking on the grass verge or very edge of the road, but then you come around a blind corner (The Cutting) & theres a bunch of people up to 3 wide in the middle of the road , & another car comming down the hill. So I had no where to go, I gave them the horn to get off the road & I got the evils like I was driving on a footpath.

Then on the way home I was driving down a narrow sububan street so I was doing less than 40kph, when an old lady opened her gate & let her dogs run onto the road in front of me.

In both occasions it was people not thinking about what they were doing & it goes to show why we must be so carefull on the roads, because you have to think for every muppet on the road that doesnt.

[wadexr583]

Hmmm wish I could say I agree with loud pipes save lives. Not 2 weeks ago I was sitting astride my stain tune equipped Ducati monster. Now it's not quite straight through pipe loud but anyone who's heard a Ducati with nice pipes knows how nice they can be. And mine is.

Anyway there I was sitting next to a middle aged duck in some beat up 40 yr old Toyota. Looked like a nicely spoken lady actually. Husband sitting in passenger seat. Lights turn green and away we go. 200 meters later she indicates and merges right into me ( I'm still alongside and have been since the red light). Now call it gut instinct or my complete lack of faith in everyone on the road but I just knew what was going to happen. Wish I could predict lottery the same way huh.

Incredibly after she had merged and checked her mirror she got the fright of her life when she saw me. And husband whipped around in horror too.

Sometimes it doesn't matter if you have loud pipes, Fluro suits or neon flashing signs above you. Natural selection is a thing of the past and they walk/drive amongst us all.

Wade

[mcfly94]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

where i live.. salisbury tough guys step out, casually stroll and stare you down..

line them up and pin it.. they aint so tough...

so true, northern suburb gugs think they own the road wether their in a vehicle or not

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Loud pipes would make me look, but I like cars.

Plenty of people who ignore them / don't care.

I've watched people walk out in front of cars in the CBD while listening to their iPods, phones etc completly oblivious to what's going on around them.

Saw a lady near Roma Street nearly got run down because she was texting and looked up at the very last second... what's so boring with reality you need to block it out 24/7?

[UberKnee]

I used to have a loud cammed V8, not the sort of car you could not hear but I'd still get idiots walking out in front of me all the time. People are either just too stupid or just dont care enough to pay attention, survival of the fittest has failed us.

[GCRXR6]

Originally Posted by Ben73

there is always one......
of course it was the car drivers fault, always is hey?


I can see how loud pipes make stupid pedestrians notice your car more.
But there are types of people who look at your car coming down the street, then walk slowly onto the road expecting you to slow down.
They are normally a male in there late teens or early 20's with a phone up to their ear, usually happens on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday nights.
I wouldn't care if they get hit. They need to learn their lesson somehow.

Good coment Ben .. My work station is next door to the local High School. Every day we wait for the thump followed by a phone call. These brain dead kids walk straight out in front of trafic without even thinking about what will happen. I've had a group step out in front of the vehicle with lights flashing and sirens howling .... errr dude ... who cares ... yoooohh.

[joolz]

Ive heard there have been several people hit in carparks by hybrids as they simply dont hear them. Even worse i guess with ipods and similar blaring in the ears...

[graham7773]

I saw this mentioned once in passing in this thread. Every vehicle registered for public road use has to have a warning device (horn) fitted and working. Fellow members, do not rely on your exhaust to warn pedestrians. You have one (or 2 or more) of these things fitted, lean on them. Personally, I would rather use them than have some ignorant dill fall on my bonnet or go under my wheels. Don't get me wrong, I like a nice sounding exhaust but they are not a warning device and people are getting used to loud exhausts so ignore them.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Originally Posted by UberKnee

....People are either just too stupid or just dont care enough to pay attention, survival of the fittest has failed us...

Well the pollies are sure as hell trying to legislate the stupid out of them... hasn't worked thus far, just created better idiots

[big_landau]

i am a bike rider and own quite a few bikes but it really upsets me at harleys that are offensivley loud.a stock harley is that quiet you can hardly hear it so instead of defecting cars they should start defecting all these junk heaps that make your ears bleed.dont get me wrong a harley with nice pipes sounds great but i hate the ones that go over the top.i wonder how many harleys on the road are actually legal?
i think the legal sound db for cars and bikes is a little quiet and they should be aloud to be a bit louder but i also think you can actually go to far in any vehicle car or bike.

[aussie muscle]

my old subaru 'ugly ducking' (leone) wouldn't have been loud even without an exhaust, but i didn't need it since it had bad CV joints. anyone crossed the road in front of me i'd give a bit of accelerator and the CVs would rattle like god's fart and send the pedestrians to scatter like pigeons.

[flappist]

The swear filter is there for a reason. Do not try to circumvent it unless you would like a warning.