What is best for environmental reasons?
- Thread starter Paul_B
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I'm out on mine at least a few hours every week now that I'm retired. I was out on it between four and seven days a week all year while I was working, using it for commuting and social, domestic and pleasure. My missus also has a full bike license, but she doesn't ride a bike any more: we reduced the fleet from four to one when we retired. She has a hankering for a quad though, now we're in a more rural area 
I think that in order to retain the flexibility of personal transport in future all personal vehicles should be subject to a minimum of 50% occupancy at all times and on all roads. That would reduce traffic, reduce pollution, reduce unnecessary usage, increase passenger miles per unit of fuel, and incentivise the use of smaller vehicles, especially motorcycles !
I think that in order to retain the flexibility of personal transport in future all personal vehicles should be subject to a minimum of 50% occupancy at all times and on all roads. That would reduce traffic, reduce pollution, reduce unnecessary usage, increase passenger miles per unit of fuel, and incentivise the use of smaller vehicles, especially motorcycles !
Motorcycles use much less fuel, but they pollute more.
Plus you have the downside of that they are less safe = more cost to the society for medical treatment.
Plus you have the downside of that they are less safe = more cost to the society for medical treatment.
I accept that motorcycles are more inherently dangerous than cars, however a good deal of that risk can be mitigated by continuing training. Note that, in the UK at least, it is far harder to gain a full motorcycle licence than a car licence, and as such I think that people who drive cars should at least do the Compulsory Basic Training part which occurrs at the start of motorcycle road training.
However the thread is about environmental impacts. What do you base your statement regarding motorcycle pollution on Janne? Whether you consider on-road use environmental impact, or full lifecycle impact, the average motorcycle will always account for far less pollution than any average car.
The stuff that exit the exhaust pipe. Check online.
The NOx is horrendously high. Particulates too.No doubt the manufacturers could improve it hugely if they had to.
The NOx is horrendously high. Particulates too.No doubt the manufacturers could improve it hugely if they had to.
My 2006 bike passes the London ULEZ for NOX and particulates, and so do most UK bikes since 2007. That test is about the strictest going, so I cant agree with your assertion.
And the risk for injury?
Much higher, is it not?
That cost increase would need to be calculated too, plus the absence from work.
Winter driving is not so pleasant either.
I do not see many car users swapping to a motorbike to be frank.
There is a reason cars were developed as they did. Comfort. Protection from the elements.
But, on the good side, if many people swap to a motorbike, that leaves more petrol, for longer, for people like me!
A better option is to limit the engine size, power, top speed, and maybe even the size of cars.
In my youth, most cars had around 80-100 hp. Top speed of around 150 Km/h or so.
We can now make incredibly frugal and environment friendly IC engines if we were happy with that.
Much higher, is it not?
That cost increase would need to be calculated too, plus the absence from work.
Winter driving is not so pleasant either.
I do not see many car users swapping to a motorbike to be frank.
There is a reason cars were developed as they did. Comfort. Protection from the elements.
But, on the good side, if many people swap to a motorbike, that leaves more petrol, for longer, for people like me!
A better option is to limit the engine size, power, top speed, and maybe even the size of cars.
In my youth, most cars had around 80-100 hp. Top speed of around 150 Km/h or so.
We can now make incredibly frugal and environment friendly IC engines if we were happy with that.
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Personally I'm not a fan of motorbikes. It's the exhaust that's the issue. They're not silencing enough. Plus a lot of bikers keep two exhausts. One for actual use, the other with their garage to put on and pass mot checks.
Usually day to day pipe on these bikes are straight race pipes or a road legal pipe designed to meet the relevant test but in real life use they act more like a direct race pipe. I know because I worked in a company that dealt a lot with exhaust brands for cars, vans and bike. I've seen the theory for some types of the road legal straight race pipe.
All this without considering the chemical and particulate pollution.
Usually day to day pipe on these bikes are straight race pipes or a road legal pipe designed to meet the relevant test but in real life use they act more like a direct race pipe. I know because I worked in a company that dealt a lot with exhaust brands for cars, vans and bike. I've seen the theory for some types of the road legal straight race pipe.
All this without considering the chemical and particulate pollution.
Euro 3 standard for be approved as ULEZ for motorbikes is it?
I am a little bit confused.
One of the most important tweaks on your car you can and should do, is to keep the tyre pressure at the optimal level.
I was taught (government recommendation during the energy crisis in the 1970’s) to keep it between the two pressures as recommended by the manufacturer.
The vehicle will operate at the lowest fuel consumption.
Less fuel used = less emissions.
I was taught (government recommendation during the energy crisis in the 1970’s) to keep it between the two pressures as recommended by the manufacturer.
The vehicle will operate at the lowest fuel consumption.
Less fuel used = less emissions.
Nope, not quite. There's a breakeven point.
After which the electric cars are better even in areas where the electricity comes from coal power but much much faster if you have solar panels on the roof feeding batteries that in turn feed tbe car.
Then ignore about the first minute of this one as he's taking the mick out of the PPI weasels but it does get to the point and its well worth a watch.
After which the electric cars are better even in areas where the electricity comes from coal power but much much faster if you have solar panels on the roof feeding batteries that in turn feed tbe car.
Maybe the answer is micro cars if you realy need a car. I had one for 3 years. Hated it but it kept me warm and dry in the winter and I could get the shopping coal etc home a lot easier than the bike.
I had a lot of problems with mine mechanically so decided I'd rather not sit another 4 hrs at the side of the road waiting recovery. I think I spent more hours waiting for recovery or driving replacement cars than I did my own car! Also 10mph up a one in twenty of which there are quite a few round here was nail bitingly scary! I miss the convenience but have actually adapted quite well to being carless and only riding a bike in the summer.
Tax mot petrol etc all cheaper.
I ran a motorcycle training school for several years and have even taken advanced and police training. It's usualy the car driver that's at fault on the majority of accidents. I've lost 3 friends in the last seven years and seen one permanently disabled. Each time it was the car at fault. So if everyone rode bikes there would be far fewer accidents! !!
I had a lot of problems with mine mechanically so decided I'd rather not sit another 4 hrs at the side of the road waiting recovery. I think I spent more hours waiting for recovery or driving replacement cars than I did my own car! Also 10mph up a one in twenty of which there are quite a few round here was nail bitingly scary! I miss the convenience but have actually adapted quite well to being carless and only riding a bike in the summer.
Tax mot petrol etc all cheaper.
I ran a motorcycle training school for several years and have even taken advanced and police training. It's usualy the car driver that's at fault on the majority of accidents. I've lost 3 friends in the last seven years and seen one permanently disabled. Each time it was the car at fault. So if everyone rode bikes there would be far fewer accidents! !!
I moved from the country into a city last year. My new place is super insulated, I never have the heating on. My neighbours wander around their homes in t shirts, so they have their heating on. I wear a vest and put on a jumper. They think I'm odd, they're right. I walk everywhere in town, in the mornings, folks that stay round about me use their cars to make small journeys, but I'm quicker. There are lots of safe cycleways, but they're always empty. Doesn't make sense. My doctor used to say "you know if all my patients were like you, and walked or cycled here, I'd probably see a lot less of them. She was a very nice doctor, so it wasn't meant they'd die of exhaustion. Society has become both selfish and lazy. I'm surrounded by people with monster Mercs and Audi Q7's that get used for half mile school runs, and urgent coffee mornings, with the odd important visit to the beautician and nail specialist thrown in, and that's the men.
Some cars people buy are impractically large for Europe.
Hardly fit in a parking space, then they get angry because you scratch them when you open your car doors....
Hardly fit in a parking space, then they get angry because you scratch them when you open your car doors....
Where I live every other car is a 4×4 monster truck Toyota etc or a land rover. It's a small medieval town that would be considered a village elsewhere and grockles .. sorry. ...visitors ....often call it a village. I point out we have a town hall.. not a village hall.
I digress. The streets are not made for lorries and all these monster trucks and we often suffer traffic jams and parking problems . The co op is nine minutes walk away down a pleasant pedestrian footpath but my neighbours all use their cars. By the time they have got in belted up and driven around by road parked and gone in to the shop a fit person can be on the way back home again! Madness!
I digress. The streets are not made for lorries and all these monster trucks and we often suffer traffic jams and parking problems . The co op is nine minutes walk away down a pleasant pedestrian footpath but my neighbours all use their cars. By the time they have got in belted up and driven around by road parked and gone in to the shop a fit person can be on the way back home again! Madness!
It's the evolution of madness, "kill" the automobile as a status symbol and your moving in the right direction. The bus service where I live is superb, unfortunately, the busses are often occupied by people who you really don't want to be near, constant fights, drunks etc. That puts folk off and using cars. The other one that puzzles me is driving for a 100 miles with a bicycle on your roof to go and cycle somewhere ?
Buses?? What are they??? Our service was hourly to county town, last bus about 8pm which got you home in an hour and a half (25miles) now there are 3 buses a day last one home 5.3pm
No buses Sundays or bank holiday
Nearest town (14miles) was every two hours. Now no early bus or 5pm bus except schooldays.only 3 buses a day even then. If you go in on the lunchtime bus you have 20 mins to do your shopping before you need to get the bus home or else it's a £60 taxi ride! No wonder everyone has cars. One household in my street has two transits and 4 cars! Only 4 people live there ( mom dad and two teens) They have several motox bikes too. I think they keep our one (used to be 4 within 3 miles) petrol station open single handed!
No buses Sundays or bank holiday
Nearest town (14miles) was every two hours. Now no early bus or 5pm bus except schooldays.only 3 buses a day even then. If you go in on the lunchtime bus you have 20 mins to do your shopping before you need to get the bus home or else it's a £60 taxi ride! No wonder everyone has cars. One household in my street has two transits and 4 cars! Only 4 people live there ( mom dad and two teens) They have several motox bikes too. I think they keep our one (used to be 4 within 3 miles) petrol station open single handed!
Woody girl, those 4 persons could only use 4 vehicles at one time, it does not matter if they owned 40.
You can only drive one vehicle at one time.
And the fuel consumtion will be the same, one vehicle each or 10 each.
In fact our illustrious Government had the brilliant idea to only allow one vehicle per person with a drivers license. Thankfully I know well the minister that has traffic on his desk, so I pointed this out to him.
Also the insurance and car service companies would have less business, less tax would be paid to the State. Plus if less cars are imported, much less import duties would gonto the state.
( import duties ate between 27% and 47%, depending on the cost of the car + shipping + shipping insurance)
Plus each vehicle pays a road tax/fee.
The idea was shelved last month.
It is nice to live in a very small country, people have more insight and say than in countries with huge populations
You can only drive one vehicle at one time.
And the fuel consumtion will be the same, one vehicle each or 10 each.
In fact our illustrious Government had the brilliant idea to only allow one vehicle per person with a drivers license. Thankfully I know well the minister that has traffic on his desk, so I pointed this out to him.
Also the insurance and car service companies would have less business, less tax would be paid to the State. Plus if less cars are imported, much less import duties would gonto the state.
( import duties ate between 27% and 47%, depending on the cost of the car + shipping + shipping insurance)
Plus each vehicle pays a road tax/fee.
The idea was shelved last month.
It is nice to live in a very small country, people have more insight and say than in countries with huge populations
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