Reading this article I could not believe how harsh the penalty for twice the speed limit :O http://thenantwichnews.co.uk/2015/08/24/motorcyclists-face-crackdown-from-unmarked-police-bikes/
May not be popular for saying so but 120mph on a public road is fooking daft, if not dangerous. It's all about time and place and he was wrong on both counts. Best add I have been daft in the past but am a bit wiser (more boring?) now.
We all know how fast these bikes get from 60 to 120, and it's too easy to give it a little squirt and back and no harm done..... Trouble is, to people who don't know that, (and the police) the headlines sound outrageous - Double the limit! Wtf was he doing! I don't know the facts so can't comment, but it 120 on it's own isn't dangerous given time and place. A question if anyone knows please.... Is this suspended sentence a "criminal record" or is this still a motoring conviction? In other words, will it come up on employer checks, entry to USA declarations etc etc?
My view. Speeding does not kill, but can contribute to it. The media do their best as always to show us doing 80-90MPH on the motorway is bad. Having driven on a Autobahn recently the level of driving was better (which we lack in the UK) and keeping a eye on the traffic ahead doing over 100MPH felt so much better than if your speeding and just keeping a eye out for a camera or police. Strangely it felt refreshing. Having spoke to many police in the past about speeding their is a time and place to open up a bike. But you have to be aware if your caught then your bang to rights. Speeding past schools, built up areas , past hospitals etc.. is just stupid. I don't feel "just speeding" is worth a prison sentence personally. I don't know the people who have been put away past history of convictions or driving records. But if average Joe with a clean licence and a good person gets put's away just for speeding is daft idea. But just my view.
Yes its a criminal conviction. If he does anything further within the suspension period the sentence will stand & he'll do the time. Yes I suspect it's declarable to US.
I could not agree more. A decent % of my awareness on motorways etc is looking for cameras, which is dangerous, me doing 10-20mph above an agreed limit, on a clear road, with good visibility, is not. Average speed cameras and variables speed limits, where a person has to keep looking at their speedo, rather than paying attention to the road, can not be good for safety. I'm sure it has been said many many times, but often the worst drivers, with the least awareness, are the ones who drive the slowest.
The problem even though it may be more dangerous for other road users too if others are just watching their speedo, BUT it is a BIG revenue stream and as such the law will not change regarding VS cameras!
Which locally to me had been a huge issue as they major of Bristol decided to introduce 20MPH limits to many of the roads around here. Why is is A BIG issue: 1) Many wide long safe (no major accidents) roads are now a 20 limit. you get people doing 18-19MPH and annoying others because of this so people overtake. Result could be more accidents. 2) I SH*T you not we have many side roads that are 20 limits that have a 30 sign up 200 yards before lights. So people can speed up going towards a junction with lights. Then 200 yards after the lights they the straight main road becomes a 20 limit. Work that out. 3) having a 30 limit for 50 years in a center that is changed to a 20 limit in a short period of time and having speed cameras put up withing a week on the same street is only going to do 1 of 2 things. make people drive by staring at the speedo and 2, think the speed camera is up to make money. which of course that would never happen. thing is all councils only talk to charities and companies that want speed's lowered. And the only way we are every going to get no accidents is to reduce the limit to 0. Biggest gripe for me is that they keep on about cars and bikers etc ... speeding yet most o the near missed are from A**holes who cross roads without looking. be they in their teens or pension ages. Pedestrians have no awareness of traffic most of the time. I was taught at a early age to look, listen then cross when safe. I did this to my daughters. Seems parents can't be arsed nowadays Rant over
IMO...as council and Police budgets get squeezed tighter and tighter by central government policy, we will only ever see more and more "accident/speed prevention" measures coming into force. Whilst they may deny that new limits and stuff aren't money driven, I think it's blatantly obvious to the majority of road users. Of course the nanny speed lobbyists and environmentalists love it, seeing the motorists getting another whipping. Just a shame that no politician or group will stand up to the wave of controls through fear of becoming marginalised. Too many years ago than I care to remember, when cars first started to get "black boxes" and more electronic controls, I said to my other car nut mates, "why not incorporate into the ECU a speed control, that when you enter a 30mph zone, wont allow the car to go beyond that" This was after couple of us got busted by the new fangled VASCAR..remember those Rover SDi V8s. Of course in those days throttles were still cable operated and the tech was in its infancy, just about managing to control the ignition timing. But a few years ago, IIRC, I did see an article that someone had developed such a device as more cars were/are fly by wire. A transponder built into the road, like the magnetic loops for traffic lights and fixed "scameras", triggers the ECU. Never heard anymore about it since, maybe someone on here can shed some light, But..I think that kind of tech would never get the go ahead, Why ?..because central government and regional authorities would lose a massive cash cow in all the fines and penalties they harvest that prop up their fat cat salaries.
@Remal You're right tho! I witnessed a young girl (maybe 20 or so) pull out from a 'T' junction alongside my house last night and to the right about 80 yds from the 'T' junction is a bend of maybe a 55-60 degree angle coming down a hill so the hill and the traffic using the road is obscured. The girl looks right first then left (!!!) then without looking back to her right, pulls out. Common sense tells you the last looks should have been to the right, and she pulls right across the path of a car doing 30mph around the bend then stops in the middle of the path of the car like a rabbit in the headlights! ...and thats the problem, there is no common sense these days, everyone is in a rush and the youngsters are as bad if not worse than the old folk who are in general myopic when it comes to bikes. Driving standards are now at an all time low. I am beginning to sound like my dad of years gone by, but when I was younger you had cars like mini's (the original), 1lt and 1200 Opels or 1100 escorts which couldn't pull the skin off a rice pud, these days even a 1400 Corsa can get up and go and will get you into serious grief as a newbie driver, and with the advent of PCP deals you can get into a brand new 100bhp super mini for £30 a week! Most working teens can afford that, even if they can't afford the insurance!
I said exactly this to my daughter the other day Not to mention the taxes from luxury/sports cars that would no doubt see sales go though the floor if they were truly limited to 30/70mph. If they truly wanted to stop speeding, or create renewable energy, or a whole host of other things, it could be done with ease, yet it is just bollocks, and in no ones financial interest.
