A milestone - Rant warning!!!

This morning as I was parking up, a traffic warden stopped beside me and said I can't park my bike there.
The reason he said so is it is a pavement - it’s a widened pavement and in no ones way.

He said he would give me a ticket if I left it there. As it is not my scooter technically I phoned up the man to tell him and he said tell him to give you the ticket. So I did! The warden asked me for my ID card and I told him to pretend I was not there as he would not need it then.

Now some of you may be wondering why I choose to park my scooter on a pavement and risk getting a ticket - I am not insane in case that was your train of thought.

Where we are, the insurance companies have had a wonderful period of not having to cover pillion passengers. Since our EU accession, they are duty bound to do so.

Here are the facts -

• It is impossible to get anything but third party insurance on a scooter or motorcycle
• It is very difficult to get insurance at all if you are under 25
• It is rather tough to find an insurer if you are under 30
• It’s bloody hard to find an insurance company that will even cover a motorcycle or scooter at all!
• Up until recently the test to drive such a machine was get on the bike/scooter, drive down a road, go around the roundabout and come back. If you did not fall off you have passed.
• There were no grades of licence e.g. licence to drive up to 150cc etc so in actual fact you could go and pass your test on a twist and go (scooter or moped for those who don't know), get your motorcycle licence and go out and kill yourself on a huge 1100cc mean machine.
  

The test has now become a serious affair - as it should be and about bloody time too. However, the insurance companies are trying to discourage people from choosing a more environmentally friendly mode of transport by making it so hard to even get insurance.

I called up the Association of Insurers this morning and got NO WHERE - I did not actually expect to but one must try after all. I told him I felt that this was discrimination as if I had bought a car, I would get insurance for theft after all. He disagreed obviously.

I put forward a suggestion, I accept that the liability has increased now that pillion passengers must be covered, however, instead of trying to stop people from riding bikes- offer them insurance on the basis that they must re-take their test properly (if they had the old test, like I did) and stop trying to cut off the leg because toenail hurts!

Now I want to find out what the legal requirements are in this country to start a petition. It is wrong to not get insurance for theft, there isn't even a huge wave of missing bikes!

As for the ticket, when it comes up I will contest it on the grounds that although it is a pavement, it is an extension of one and there are no secure alternatives to choose from where I work. Tell the insurers to give us a fair go before trying to victimize us! Aside from that, the thing is not in my name and the registered keeper has proof he was not in the country at the time J

Can you imagine how pissed off I would be if it was stolen and we had to continue to pay for it even though we would have nothing to show for it?

Some of you may see the reason and some of you will think I am silly, I would love to know your opinions though, what ever they are!