emesde

I understood that IOM courts could not endorse a foreign (including UK) license. And similarly UK courts could not endorse a Manx one. Has this situation now changed?

Have to agree on this ,except that the death rate has been fairly constant around 10 per year for some time .The real difference is that other countries see it as a responsible thing to do to take appropriate action to take the necessary steps to improve roads, driving standards, condition of cars , etc etc . Here they just say our Island is unique and do nothing. The Zero fatality rate would be wonderful and as you say the one we should all be working towards. However a lot of attitudes need to be changed first . I don't think that the TT is the issue . It is the other 50 weeks of the year that are the problem .

Sorry Derek It's no good quoting Portugal,..... as yes they did have a problem ,but it seems they took positive action and have cut their figures dramatically as the same European report highlights . In fact every other European country has made positive inroads (Even the French cut their rural speed limits earlier this year in an attempt to reduce death rates.) "Significant long-term downward trends Over a long time period, a clear downward trend can be observed in all Member States except Malta. In particular, the number of road traffic victims has been cut by two-thirds or more in Portugal (from 2 730 in 1996 to 563 in 2016, or -79.4%), Latvia (-73.4%), Lithuania (-71.8%), Spain (-67.0%), Greece (-66.7%) and Slovenia (-66.6%). Overall in the EU, the number of road traffic victims more than halved (-57.4%) between 1996 and 2016."

Based on the latest available full stats for Europe for death rates / population from Motor accidents, the Isle of Man would come last ,just worse than Bulgaria. Let's hope that we take the opportunity to address the real issues and start to change this situation dramatically . Maybe significant measures could be announced in November to coincide with the Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims day This news item, largely based on data extracted from the European Commission CARE database, marks the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year.

Bloody dangerous !! "Cycling in the Netherlands can be fun, but in 2017, for the first time ever, more cyclists were involved in fatal accidents than motorists. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), 613 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2017, 206 of these were cyclists, whilst 201 were motorists in passenger cars."

Apoligies Max, I had it in mind that you were against a limit on the “Mountain road”. . I agree entirely that accidents happen regardless of limits, but all research shows that reducing limits does reduce both the number and the severity of accidents.

I was going to try and find out if there is a legal limit on the walkway as I am often confronted by groups of cyclists who seem to regard this stretch as a raceway and are travelling as fast as the cars on the prom. Today I was passed by two individual cyclists swerving around pedestrians at i would guess 15__20 mph. It seems to be weekends that the race groups use it to practice.Very dangerous.

But surely the government owe a duty of care to motorcyclists (both local and visitors). No other country in the western world has this complacent attitude to road safety and in virtually every other country both accident and fatalities are showing a decrease year on year. The lack of any policy here is a total disgrace. I appreciate that you are against any speed limits, but they are only one part of a proper road safety strategy. But then we are the road racing capital of the world.

But surely on that argument as the UK had 39.2 million visitors last year they should also be taken out of the stats for the UK.(or added into the population .) so the UK had 2000 deaths from 99.2 million people = 1 death per 49,500 people.

That may be true, but this Government seem to have no plans for tackling road safety at all --- Look at the recent consultation which showed a lack of any kind of coherent plan -- You have to start somewhere and a sensible setting of speed limits, enforced if necessary, is a good start point.. Already we have the highest death rate per capita from motor accidents in Europe , surely you don't want to live in a society that is proud of its freedoms when those very freedoms lead to more death and destruction .

Surely enough is enough . When is the Government going to bring in a sensible speed limit on this road , The differential in speeds is just too great between the slowest and fastest . The Government thinks that holding vague consultations on such things is their way of distancing themselves from their responsibilities . It doesn't matter that some people regard it as their right and freedom to drive /ride as fast as they like, The government have a duty of care to ALL . The average number of people killed on Manx roads is 10 per annum which equates to one death per 8,000 people compared with the UK as a whole where there are approx 2000 p.a. which equates to 1 death per 30,000 population . Given that UK drivers drive considerably more miles on average than Manx drivers this makes the chances of a fatal accident on the Island many times higher than in the UK, This Government will no doubt hold yet another consultation soon and still will do nothing that any responsible Government would be expected to do.

All the brands for Jacksons and Motor Mall were being advertised in last Friday's Courier supplement . Including the Mercs and Smart for Jacksons . and for Motor Mall they had Fiat; Abarth;Alfa Romeo;Suzuki;Jeep;Renault;Dacia;Peugeot; Hyundai;Skoda;SsangYong: MG;VW commercial;and Seat . There big opening launch appears to be this weekend so I guess that is when they will all show on their web site .

These are the last rules I could find (2016) ,but I expect there are updates if you care to search . I don't know which part Woody2 is referring to . As far as Public /third party Liability is concerned on open roads it states that there must be insurance in place to cover that . ""MACHINES ON THE PUBLIC HIGHWAY • The law on the Isle of Man provides that no racing machines should be ridden on a public highway except during the period commencing three hours before, during and two hours after a scheduled road closure period from where the machine is kept, directly to the start of the course, from a point on the course directly to the place it is kept or vice versa, or between points on the course. • During this same period the machine does not have to comply with either the Maintenance and Use Regulations or the Lighting Regulations. • The competitor must however, have a current valid driving licence for that particular class of machine. • Third party insurance must be in force before the machine is used on a public highway. Cover can be obtained from the Race Office. Machines used on public roads outside these times must comply in every respect with Manx Road Traffic Legislation (Race numbers must not be displayed). Any competitor reported as having ridden their machine in such a manner as to constitute a nuisance to the public may be disqualified or otherwise penalised"" Hope that helps.

Yes .The competition bikes are allowed to travel for a certain length of time before, during and after the race without having to conform to the normal requirements re lights . number plates etc . I cannot remember the exact rules but I think they are allowed a couple of hours each side of the race as long as they are travelling to the start or back to their garage place . They have to display race numbers and meet certain other requirements . But yes quite legal in the circumstances you quote .

Very different scenario . Z999 MAN will be on the vehicles registration document and will be unique to that car . The Subarus in question will have something completely different on their reg documents . If one car crashes I expect they would transfer the made up plate to another vehicle thus they are "show plates" and can be moved around as they are not used to identify a particular car . Therefore I cannot see how they are road legal . I presume it could in theory be a different car behind that number each time . It may be that the law has been changed to allow such plates for the TT period, perhaps someone who knows could inform us (I'm sure an ex RPU inspector could give us a definitive answer )