Speeding

[krarkol]

Now I'm not trying to condone speeding or anything of the sort. I'm just pointing out the flaw with the system.

Now we all know it's mostly just easy money in the pot catching people speeding, but I find it really annoying how speeding is looked on by alot of people like you've murdered someone. Everyone says the same thing "speeding kills, the limits there for a reason" the problem I find with this is that they are punishing you for what could potentially happen! It's like being arrested for potentially being a thief because you where walking around in the early hours wearing black!

There's also the fact that when someone goes over the limit, they're usually actually concentrating on the road. The worst drivers I see are the ones doing 25-30mph doing everything but watching the road!

It makes me think that if I was traffic police on a 50mph A road, I'd probably ignore the people that are quite safely going over the limit and pull the people doing the limit or less but not actually concentrating on what they're doing.

Also, speeding every now and then I find keeps you awake. I went to the lakes in the summer and went the west route, past barrow in furness up towards seascale, now the roads 40-50mph all the way up for about 20 mile. I found just sitting at the speed limit was boring due to the drone of the engine and the fact not much was happening. Also the fact that the place is pretty much deserted and I probably saw 1 or 2 cars every 10 minute or so. I believe it would be fairly safe to do a ton on roads like these as it would get the adrenaline going and variations in speed would keep the rider/driver awake.

If you are just cruising along at 50 for half an hour or so with no variation then chances are you'll daydream and not see that sharp right hander coming up ahead...


TL;DR? Driving slow kills
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Bandit 600 - deaded

[DrDonnyBrago]

[RichieZX6R]

I usually tend to drive within my own limits, that of the vehicle i'm using and the conditions of the road such as pot holes/weather/volume of traffic etc.

This morning on the commute to work i didn't get much about 60 on an NSL dual carriageway due to the weather..

If i leave the office outside of rush hour i can safely more than that without causing myself or other road users distress..

Speed limits should be altered to suit modern conditions and more advanced vehicles IMO as they are quite a few years out of date.
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Current: Kawazaki ZX6R 51
Past: Kawazaki ZX6R 96 - Honda CBR 600F4 05 - Dragstar 125 02 - Honda CB 400 SF 94 - Honda NSR 125 51 - Gilera Runner XV125 04

[krarkol]

Exactly, in the perfect world they would assess each road independently. Too many times have I been limited to 40mph on a quiet wide single carriageway in the middle of nowhere, yet been able to do NSL speeds on a country road with houses on both sides...

I think the motorway should be revised also, the rules worked when there where less cars but it is so congested now that you can quite safely do 70 in the "slow lane" when everyone is doing 40 or so in overtaking lanes.

Donny, exacty its stupid! I understand that it would look suspicious if you where wearing black with a few screwdrivers on you but what if you'd been working on your bike late into the night and gone for a walk to the local 24 hour garage for a packet of fags?
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Bandit 600 - deaded

[covent.gardens]

You think the same way I do. Someone going above the speed limit tells you nothing other than "that person is human". Whether the driving was safe or not depends totally on the conditions at the time.

Whenever some hypocrite makes the comment "speeding is dangerous", I just wish I could follow them one day and fine their ass when they break the speed limit.

[krarkol]

Not one person can say they haven't drifted over a few mph

I think it's more dangerous when some old biddy is doing 20 in a 30 and doesn't seem to know where they are going compared to a biker who's been riding in all weathers for the past 5 years, doing 40 in a 30
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Bandit 600 - deaded

[Acemastr]

I sometimes play the 'how many times(x) over the speed limit can I get?'

I'm a bad person.
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2017 KTM 350 XC-F - 2014 Yamaha R6 - 2005 Yamaha YZ125
2016 Toyota Tacoma Limited

[arry]

[moppy]

Thr problem with raising the speed limit is that while vehicles may have improved, our driving is still fairly shit.

[nickdiable]

I completely agree, in fact I wrote about something very similar in my blog way back in April 2011 when I looked at just how often speed is the main cause of accidents... turns out it really isn't very often. If you want to read a man ranting then you can see it here https://defencebrief.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/speed-kills-just-not-that-often.html

I was riding out to see some poor sod who had been arrested, literally for nothing, the other day at about 1am and it occurred to me that given the roads are completely empty why not relax speed limits after say midnight. A lot of roads around my part of London are very well lit and you have good visibility of the empty road and pavement for a long way - why not let me do 50MPH at night when normally it's a 30 zone?
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Ride a slightly battered Fazer
I am a solicitor & work for Biker Defence Solicitors
www.bikerdefence.com

[nickdiable]

[krarkol]

[tbourner]

Ideally we should have variable speed limits. There are big open roads with schools on them, that need to be 20mph outside the school between 7 and 9 in the morning and 2 to 4 in the afternoon, maybe 30mph further along the road during those times, but 50/60mph at all other times. Would make people pay attention more if the speed limit signs were LCD or whatever. If it was done in this way, with speed limits changing depending on conditions, I'd be happier with speed cameras etc. Trouble is whoever was in charge of changing the limits would no doubt get it completely wrong.
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Trev, now a biker?
Looking for first big bike.

[krarkol]

I've no problem doing 20mph on a street with a school on it. It's more the NSL roads/motorways and 50mph A roads that annoys me. You want to make progress yet are being restricted to a certain speed and due to the constant drone of the revs, not moving your feet and pretty much sitting still you switch off. I get the exact same thing when I'm on the 125 on a motorway for an extended period.

Personally I'd class anyone with a motorcycle licence an advanced driver due to the fact they are likely to assess situations better. Meaning if anything, bikes should be able to go over the limit legally at minimum
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Bandit 600 - deaded

[tbourner]

[Rogerborg]

[J.M.]

[krarkol]

I passed the test a couple of weeks ago yes, but it doesn't mean I've only been riding since then does it?

Going by your logic, a 65 year old that's been driving since they where 17 should be better than most of the people on the road. But we all know this usually isn't the case

Same with born again bikers, rode a bike a few years, driven for god knows how long and got back into bikes again and yet have quite a high death rate. It's all down to the individual! I was much safer on my L plates and never had even a slight bump, compared to a friend with a full car licence for the past 2 years who has written off 2 cars.
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Bandit 600 - deaded

[J.M.]

[CaNsA]

[krarkol]

That was down to not reading a book, bit different to actually riding/driving on the road. My dads been driving for around 25 years and he didn't exactly know the answers either. Doubt many on here remember alot of them either.

Again, by your logic, if a theory test shows my on the road capabilities, I should be able to read/watch twist of the wrist and if I remember everything, I should be in the top 5 in motogp or something.
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Bandit 600 - deaded

[J.M.]

[krarkol]

I failed the first 2 due to the fact that I didn't revise properly and was caught out on signs that I've never seen/heard of before and also the fact it would show a picture of a sign which wasn't even in the book but was described in a paragraph instead. That's not down to common sense, that's down to whether I read every word in a book. 3rd theory I failed on the hazard perception due to not actually understanding what the hell they wanted from me as I was clicking when I saw hazards rather than clicking when I saw Stop signs etc.
If my riding was that bad, I wouldn't have passed with 4 minors, 2 of them being down to the questions about pillion and demonstrating how the brake works. (Forgot that they even ask these tbf!)

Common sense also says that bump starting a bike won't break anything (maybe just your ego) due to the fact it's a pushing version of a kickstart...but you don't see me questioning your mechanical abilities even though you own a machine that requires regular maintenance to make it safe for yourself and others.
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Bandit 600 - deaded

[J.M.]

[N cee thirty]