Speeding

[tonyidle]

I had motorcycles & some pretty big ones to boot & never had an accident.

My ex wife's husband was killed recently in a motorcycle accident (not his fault) & he was one of the most careful riders I've ever known but, on a motorbike your highly likely to be injured or die when it does all go wrong, too much modern traffic piloted by folk who think they're the only ones on the road.

I've been driving cars now for 43yrs without an accident, an awful lot of that was driving front line ambulances & very often at high speed.
It's all about reading the road & knowing when speed is inappropriate.

I was brought up farming & was used to driving tractors & machinery from the age of about 7 & kept my nose clean there too.

However, I had the luxury of a huge disused WW2 airport on our farm, we bought old bangers & drove them like madmen until they died, then went to the scrappy & bought another, this gets madness out of your system.
Track days are the modern equivalent.

So to sum up, I think I've been very lucky as well as careful.

I think I'm lucky and careful but I can't match that . My accident history: motorcycles 3. None my fault. The first two were cars turning without signalling, both very low speed (sub 20mph) and different circumstances. The third was an inattentive friend who ran up the inside and clipped the handlebar (I closed the throttle to begin slowing). That was at in excess of 90mph - no injury I simply slid a very long way despite it being a pretty substantial highside. Cars 3. One my fault caused by following another vehicle out of a give way filter. I glanced right, car approaching, stopped. So did the vehicle in front a split second before I did. Very slight bumper / paintwork damage. The other two were blatantly not my fault. Both were crossroads with me on the major through road. Neither 'pulled out' on me. Rather they approached with no intention of stopping and weren't visible in advance. Different crossroads in different towns.

So I've been lucky. I started riding and driving on farmland from around 12 years old. It doesn't prepare you for the road as such but means that when you do start you are not learning to control the vehicle or having to come to terms with its limitations - which is a huge plus when you're learning everything else. Having a motorcycle sideways on the road is not something I'd want to practice. I've hinted on here that I may have driven a bit quickly in the past. I can honestly say that my driving quickly has never been the result of 'racing' another vehicle or as a result of the red mist. It has never occurred on a road subject to a 30mph limit. But other than that I've driven as fast as conditions and my skill level allowed - basically every time I went out in or on a vehicle. So my favourite road of all time - the A6 Shap to Kendal - has seen lots of fun .

 

[Richard n Ann]

”the performance is awesome, there is nothing else like it BUT if you cannot exercise restraint >95% of the time then don’t bother. You will either end up losing your licence or killing yourself.”

Yeah I used to be like that years ago, I couldn't exercise restraint sold the bike and bought a caravan. I'm alright now though... Mostly

 

[bigtwin]

I’ve been binned off my bike twice, both by women drivers!! 1, I was in 1st gear just setting off from some traffic light, she cane straight across the carriage way and into me, two policeman witnessed the collision. 2, I was STATIONARY near the Großglockner road In Austria and she chucked the BMW X5 into reverse and came back around 15ft and clattered into the front of a Harley Davidson Electraglide, with all my lights on, knocking me, the Mrs and the bike to the floor, she didn’t see me Make of that what you will??

Hmm, I nearly did that once. It was an automatic vehicle; as the lights changed I pressed the accelerator and very quickly realised that it was in ‘R’ and not ‘D’, slammed on the brakes and was thankful that I hadn’t smacked into the car behind me. Gave me the fright of my life!

Ian

 

[Tigertom]

Here is one video of a fast car and fast bikes,
a) are they irresponsible
b) are they driving safely
c) should they be fined



I'm not going to make a judgement as we have all broken the speed limit

TT circuit out of Ramsey on mad Sunday, all one way till you get to creg ny baa on the other side of the mountain. No speed limit, almost no rules just don’t stop on the road.
So the video is totally irrelevant to real world road craft.

 

[Baldeagle7470]

Exactly why I have never ridden a motorcycle 🏍 I would kill myself no doubt about it.
I do not know anyone who has had a motorcycle and not had an accident.

Just have to always remember,the throttle goes both ways.

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[gus-lopez]

BUT if you cannot exercise restraint >95% of the time then don’t bother. You will either end up losing your licence or killing yourself.”

I realised upon passing my test that there was no way I'd be alive for long if I carried on riding a bike . So I 've stuck to cars & vans.

I know very few who have cars and have not had an accident.

 

[ambulancekidd]

So my favourite road of all time - the A6 Shap to Kendal - has seen lots of fun

Ah now that is a beautiful road on a motorbike, especially if the conditions are right.

Of all the first class motorbike roads I've ever been on, the one right on my doorstep takes the biscuit, its the A713 from Dalmellington to Castle Douglas.
From Dalmellington, you go through the black rocks, knee down stuff on a bike but I've been to a few fatal collisions & very serious injuries there, usually by riders/drivers who have ran out of talent.
This is followed by an almost 4mile straight, there's just a slight left hand drift, I've seen a few machines maxed out there & oddly enough never been to a motorbike accident on that straight. Been to a few car accidents where they've hit a deer etc.
This road is nearly deserted & until the Scottish police forces merged was right on the far flung edges of Strathclyde or Dumfries & Galloway forces, the chances of seeing a traffic cop there were nearly zero & this still holds true even with Police Scotland being in charge.

Now I'm not advocating speeding, my comments are merely an observation.

 

[tonyidle]

Ah now that is a beautiful road on a motorbike, especially if the conditions are right.

Of all the first class motorbike roads I've ever been on, the one right on my doorstep takes the biscuit, its the A713 from Dalmellington to Castle Douglas.
From Dalmellington, you go through the black rocks, knee down stuff on a bike but I've been to a few fatal collisions & very serious injuries there, usually by riders/drivers who have ran out of talent.
This is followed by an almost 4mile straight, there's just a slight left hand drift, I've seen a few machines maxed out there & oddly enough never been to a motorbike accident on that straight. Been to a few car accidents where they've hit a deer etc.
This road is nearly deserted & until the Scottish police forces merged was right on the far flung edges of Strathclyde or Dumfries & Galloway forces, the chances of seeing a traffic cop there were nearly zero & this still holds true even with Police Scotland being in charge.

Now I'm not advocating speeding, my comments are merely an observation.

One I used to like in your part of the world was the original from Fort William - Spaen Bridge - to Kyle of Lochalsh. Mind you I'd be pushed to name I road I haven't enjoyed in the Highlands.