Tom,
Your accident has weighed heavily on me...
So many times, while surrounded by big trucks, in heavy traffic, I have been reminded of your nightmare... And been amazed that you were so fortunate to have not been driven into a concrete abutment or something.
We are so lucky to still be able to turn to you for your friendship, your dry humor and, as said above, your sage advice!!
I'm glad the authorities located the bastard who caused it all and locked him up where he belongs!!
I'm equally pleased that you were able to recoup, at least, a bit of the money you've invested in your absolutely gorgeous BJ40 over the years, since you raised it from a pup!!
But, your labour of love was more than apparent... the family heirloom is gone, but your family has a much more important 'heirloom' at home, with them, where he belongs!!
What's next Cuzzie? The motorbikes, the clocks... PokemanGo? Maybe another loo, so you can quit pissing in the garden? Your neighbor's are starting to talk...
Remember, No one needs a TLC to participate... your knowledge, like Rudi's (@bj40green), is priceless... The comraderie we share is irreplaceable!!
Ask Peter to bring his Suzuki over, for you to use...
All the best, Tom... I know I can count on you to keep in touch... I'll try to call you this weekend.
IIRC if I want to call you on Saturday, at noon, your time (GMT+12), I need to call you on Friday, at 3pm, my time (GMT-7)...
But, how will I know, by 3pm, Friday if I will have anything to say at noon on Saturday?
We'll work it out Mate!!
Thanks Cuz.. Look forward to talking to you in a few hours time when you and DaBoise wake up from your naps. (Well I guess Da Boise can stay sleeping ... I'm no good at doggy language.)
I think today's belief in open-slather-competition as being the answer to creating business efficiency and somehow to restoring lost living standards has a lot to answer for.
People no longer have the time to wait for the "cross now" before crossing the road because they must fit so many chores into their short lunch breaks (or whatever).. Commercial drivers are set tighter and tighter delivery schedules and only the most efficient companies survive (especially where authorities refuse to monitor unsafe practices, let alone impose penalties for them).
Hell. I drive buses for a living and some of our bus timetables are written such that even a motorcycle would struggle to match the scheduled journey times.
I remember when the courier industry had just started here and I'd watch the courier drivers slam on their brakes, leap out of their vans barely after they'd stopped moving, and run across busy roads through traffic to deliver parcels. Those people were at least happy back then because they were earning big money for their risky behaviour. What's so alarming now is that people in these same jobs still exhibit the same risky behaviour but earn a fraction of what they once did so they must now work longer hours!! And this once-rare "mad-rush behaviour" has now leached into many other industries too. Exactly what sort of pressure are such people under now? Especially as they find their fitness levels deteriorating? And how does one progress into old age in such a job?
Should the general population care? Because after all, one could argue that this situation is good because it pressures people to study and train for higher-level employment? Well I think EVERYBODY should care because if you treat a large sector of your population like this (by making law changes that further imbed the competition philosophy into more and more aspects of more and more industies as we are doing over here) you get ever-more-costly repercussions (ie unsafe roads, increased family violence, increased alcoholism, to name but a few).
As an oldie, I can recall a fellow employee screaming "Walk don't run" at me. Back then, people knew that rushing creates accidents. Such a simple thing - But one which today's leaders/power-players choose to deliberately downplay in the belief that it'll harm the country's economy if you act in any way to hinder efficiency-gains.
Add to this the fact that "job security" has gone out the window and no wonder stress levels are "widespread" in the community.
Oops... I'm going into rant mode....Sorry... But this is my explanation for why were in bigger danger on the road these days.
Nothing much we can do about .... Being on busy roads now is just "Russian Roulette" and it's best to just blot this realisation from your mind if you have no choice but to drive on them.
Thanks... I've vented enough above I think.(Perhaps way too much).. My lips are now sealed on the subject . (LOL)
Thanks Mark.. I didn't know about your warehouse fire before reading this.. I'm extremely sorry to hear about it and wish you well in getting your life back on track.. (My BJ40 loss is minor in comparison.)
It's repairable but it appears that Insurance Companies (and even ones your not signed up with apparently) have the power to deregister your vehicle and get the Land Transport records tagged as "insurance write-off" (at least in this country).
I was giving the option of keeping the vehicle with a lower payout or having a higher payout with them taking it away (both on the crash-instigating Hino truck's insurance). I chose the latter after they insisted that either way, it MUST end up deregistered as an insurance write-off.
The chassis and drive train are in many ways "better than new" but I wouldn't think what's left is worth much when Land Transport will force you to go through multiple hoops to get it back on the road under that same Frame-Number/VIN.
BTW- My insurance company wouldn't lift a finger to help - Although that's understandable I guess when you have only 3rd-party insurance as I did. So getting to the payout stage without any assistance has been a long and laborious learning curve for me.
I know I probably appear defeatist in quitting... .
I guess in the future I may consider temporarily getting back into owning a Land Cruiser so as to do another outback tour over there in Australia... A troop carrier would be an attractive option I think. I gotta retire first though.. And get Sandy to retire too... (If this eventuates my ownership would last only a matter of months before I'd resell though..)
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in preparation for reinstalling the now powdercoated roof rack. The last rattle can job lasted seven years, which is not bad IMO for a trail rig that lives outdoors.
