Up the speed limit

[130wide]

With all the cops out collecting revenue from anyone riding/driving over 105ks I have been sitting on bewteen 105-110ks on the main roads.
Just did 600ks last Sunday where I was lossing concentration when riding on the open road due to the low speed, as soon as I hit the back roads and lifted my speed by 30ks+ I was sweet.
The only problem with riding back roads all the time is dodging the cattle, farmers, cow shit and some times riders coming the other way.
The only other way I see is to ride at a speed on the open road where my concentration is up and to keep doing runners from the cops. Either or it's all good fun.

[Lou Girardin]

In Italy, they've just raised the motorway limit to 150km/h, was 130. Their equivalent of the MOT said that scientific studies showed that higher speed was safer, as it kept drivers alert.
Now, where can we hire scientists like that. Instead of the Victorian prats they use now.
Lou

[merv]

Yeah I don't understand all this concentration on speed let alone worrying about improving roads too much. How long before we are all living sterile lives cruising on Intertstate type highways flat as a pancake with bugger-all curves in a vehcile controlled by sateliite or something. On another thread it was mentioned about an e-prom to make your bike go like Rossi is riding it, but damn the bureaucrats will make sure the e-prom makes it go like your granny is riding it. In Pomgokia they already have GPS tracking in rental cars and are experimenting with fining people based on that technology picking up speeding. What then, for everyone to get their thrills, do they then take on even more dangerous sports to keep the ACC costs up. I've said before we are all going to miss Kaitoke hill and damn how long before they bulldoze the Rimutakas?

[Kiwi]

I go never over 100 km/h – ask bikerboy, he know it exactly



see ya

Kiwi

max 105

[SPman]

Originally posted by Kiwi
I go never over 100 km/h – ask bikerboy, he know it exactly



see ya

Kiwi

max 105

 

 

Oh yeah.........

[SPman]

Seeing as how when the roads are clear, the av speed seems to be around 120-130, I cann't see any reason for not raising the limit to at least 130, and then hammering things like careless and inconsiderate driving, stupid passing, etc..............oops....silly me....of course, you can't do that by rote....the BiB might have to think, have skill and judgement and actually know about what constitutes driving skills......and thats probably beyond 85% of them these days!

[wkid_one]

Surely they should focus on penalising distractions while driving - like cellphones. smoking, makeup, kids yelling, turning to talk to passengers, old men in hats.

I will say it again - surely there has to be a minimum level where the law of diminishing returns says - given the number of drivers, car and miles done - this is as low as we are going to get the road toll by focusing on speed....

• Drink Driving - Yes
• Non Warranted/Registered Cars - Yes
• Running lights - Yes
• Intersection Behaviour in General - Yes
• etc

Yet we don't ever see the cops focusing on this - instead they focus on the bikers (because we speed) and the boyracers (because they make their cars look and sound like they speed). 

Yet as a segment of the driving population - bikers are probably more aware of our mortality everytime we ride, our need to improve our skills, the mechanical soundness of our bike (excl.  KK), the road conditions and generally concentrate harder as a result of these things.

As for mister 'Cash Register' Cop - 100 tickets in 8 hours, where is the community focus of that - pulling someone over for 61kph??  Does that 1kph over 60 make that much of a difference - where is the statistical data to justify this.

In NZ - we are running off speed limits set years ago - and the only thing that is the true limiting factor is the condition of our roading infrastructure.  It would be an interesting economic exercise for a consulting firm to undertake to look at - if they spent the present budget for the police focus on traffic laws and spent it on roading instead - whether this would have a bigger impact on the road toll than the police - plus the benefits are more long term.

[merv]

Trouble is our bureaucrats are looking across the Tasman and over there in SA as an example, they have just lowered a whole lot of the 110km/hr highways to 100km/hr. Quite the opposite approach to the Italians as noted above. In the end who is crashing? I would say not the average guy that regularly exceeds the limit in good conditions. The dickheads that crash are those that screw up no matter what speed they are going. It is true however the greater the speed on impact the greater the damage. Why penalise all the safe riders/drivers because a few screw up. They always set the rules to suit the incompetent or lowest denominator. Every time shit happens the reaction seems to be "God we need a rule to tighten up on this", never "Silly fucker screwed up he should have been more competent". Same thing happens with these "killer roads" gotta straighten them out etc etc. We seem to have some behaving more like the Yanks with "not my fault, who can I blame?" attitudes, but without the excessive litigation that goes with it over there. Without risk everyone will be bored like morons and how do we stop this rot setting in here in NZ? Given how many people don't like sticking to the speed limit how come it is being regulated so hard? It is almost like when it comes to the crunch its a bit like OK as long as its not in my back yard and all the silly fuckers say things like "dangerous hoons and boy racers down my street, we need judder bars, lower speed limits, ban them after 9pm" and all that stuff. So how come then it seems the sensible people are outnumbered by the politically correct few? I am buggered if I know. Do we need to start a petition to get the speed limit raised or something? But then we would be labled troublemakers. Worse than driving a slow tractor up the steps of parliament.

[Marmoot]

no...no.......

Higher speed limit + WELL-EDUCATED drivers/riders = GOOD

Higher speed limit + STUPID drivers/riders = BAD

Lower speed limit + WELL-EDUCATED drivers/riders = BAD

Unfortunately, our drivers level is really bad.......

(BRING BACK DEFENSIVE COURSE'S SKID PAN!!!!!)

[Lee Rusty]

isnt it amaazing how every one thinks they are a good driver /rider and other people are crap.
you think you a re safe at 130 -150 km so does the other guy

its only a matter of time until neither of you are not around any more

[bluninja]

Originally posted by Lee Rusty
isnt it amaazing how every one thinks they are a good driver /rider and other people are crap.
you think you a re safe at 130 -150 km so does the other guy

its only a matter of time until neither of you are not around any more

Wow! An amazing piece of over generalisation. It's true that part of the social conditioning, and male psychology makes men  overconfident....but come on...if that's really what you believe maybe you should be looking for a job walking in front of cars waving a red flag as they drive sedately behind you....I'm sure that would reduce the road toll overnight.

There's times and places when I feel the risk of accident is low enough for me to go that fast. There's times and places when I think 50 kmh is too risky. I make a judgement on the appropriateness of my speed for the conditions. Some days I get it wrong...either way. One day someone else will get it wrong at the same time as me and we have an accident.....but such is life.

TTFN

[Lee Rusty]

dont you feel that that is a tad arrogant - what the other person they are only doing what you do - and you feel your safe - so do they
your reasoning that one the other or both deserve to die or be injured is at best flawed.

[bluninja]

Nope, not arrogant...but I can see that what I wrote makes it appear so to you. I will continue to maintain, and improve my roadskills and riding. I will make the best judgements that I can as to my riding/driving style and speed with regards to the prevailing conditions. I will try and ride/drive to a system that reduces errors and mistakes or the impact of them. However I WILL make mistakes and errors of judgement from time to time that may not be covered by my safety systems.

Despite all this; if I make a mistake and another road user is on their game, then it may not result in an accident. If we both have our moments distraction/error at the same time then the chances of an accident increase. This is not arrogance, merely an observation of risk reality. This is not just a speed issue, though speed reduces my time to take remedial action, and increase the damage injury

And do I say anywhere that either, or, deserve to be injured? NO, that's something you have made up in your head! 

TTFN

[Sharkey]

There has been lots of bitching in many and varied forums about the crapness of other drivers and how it is up to motorcyclists to look out for number one, and lights on aren't worth a damn, and SUV drivers are the worst, because whilst they think they are safe they definately are not. And yet here we have many of the same people who made those comments arguing that these same crap drivers be allowed to travel at 130-150. Madness.

What we really need are dedicated motorcycle roads with no cars, cow poo, on coming traffic. Then we could make the speed limit whatever we like. Wait a minute...... we do have such roads. They are called Pukekohe track days.......

[130wide]

My brother and I have done a few 1000 milers and 350's in the past, there would be no way I would have finished any of them had I sat on or around 110kmph.
A mate of mine had to pull out of a 1000 as he was on 70 demerts so was averaging 110-120ks at this speed he lost his alertness and decided for the best to pull out to be safe.
All the times we finished we would be traveling at or over 140ks, it's not the speed that kills it's the ability of the rider, what he/she looks for, road condition, other vechiles, weather, bike set up etc. If you are checking these things every second you ride and adjusting your speed to the condition, you have a good chance of staying up right no matter how fast your going.