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XP@
19th February 2007, 12:17
When is 50Kmph = 100kmph?

When you are texting!
In a 50 zone if you look away for 3 seconds you will have the same chance of stopping as if you were doing 100.

This article explains (in the best anti-speed camera propaganda speak) how not paying attention is dangerous.

http://www.safespeed.org.uk/inattention.html

As a rider if you are looking effectively then looking where you are heading is your major concern every second you are on the road. But if you are paranoid and insist on looking at your speed and in your mirrors then your asking for trouble.

You could also put yourself at 110kmph, look at your speed and fuel, this takes 1.5 seconds. If something happened as you look down you would have as much chance of stopping as if you were going faster than 135kmph.

Now stick a cellphone into the hands of someone behind the wheel of a car, and tell they can use it!

slinky
19th February 2007, 12:33
im one of the check mirrors check speed ppl...... might just have to try and cut down on that!

Wasp
19th February 2007, 14:09
holly ****, thats um interesting....

j_redley
19th February 2007, 19:59
A friend of mine a few years ago on his bike looked in the mirror, and when he looked up a nice cage had pulled out and stopped infront of him. He ended up going over the handle bars.... luckily he was ok... just wounded his pride. This really wakes you up to how long it takes something to happen...

Toaster
19th February 2007, 20:24
Texting while you ride.... now THAT would get some looks.

apteryx_haasti
20th February 2007, 06:38
Texting while you ride.... now THAT would get some looks.


But how would I do that and eat my sandwich at the same time?

Maha
20th February 2007, 06:46
But how would I do that and eat my sandwich at the same time?

Has been done....well sort of, followed a female on the motorway once, she was eating an apple while riding.....:yes:

idleidolidyll
20th February 2007, 06:47
you're right but that's what the cops/govts have done to us.
we are so focused on speed that we must constantly check our speed all the time to the detriment of safety sometimes.

the cops are often also to blame for traffic jams, i see this almost every day on Auckland's motorway:
you are driving along and suddenly the traffic slows dramatically. It crawls along for the next 20 miuntes and then suddenly speeds up. You look around for the cause of the holdup and there it is: a marked cop car or a radar van on the side of the motorway.

Did the drivers 'slow' to 100kph? Nope, they were only doing 80kph when they saw the cop/van but felt the need to slow suddenly below even that speed.

so what's the effect of these sudden slow downs? Well tailgating and accidents of course!

apteryx_haasti
20th February 2007, 06:52
Has been done....well sort of, followed a female on the motorway once, she was eating an apple while riding.....:yes:


Oooo, a challenge...

*gets out cellphone, sandwich and laptop*

bigmyk
20th February 2007, 07:08
you're right but that's what the cops/govts have done to us.
we are so focused on speed that we must constantly check our speed all the time to the detriment of safety sometimes.

the cops are often also to blame for traffic jams, i see this almost every day on Auckland's motorway:
you are driving along and suddenly the traffic slows dramatically. It crawls along for the next 20 miuntes and then suddenly speeds up. You look around for the cause of the holdup and there it is: a marked cop car or a radar van on the side of the motorway.

Did the drivers 'slow' to 100kph? Nope, they were only doing 80kph when they saw the cop/van but felt the need to slow suddenly below even that speed.

so what's the effect of these sudden slow downs? Well tailgating and accidents of course!

Yeah but is that the cops fault or the dickhead who thinks they need to "slow down" for the said cop/radar van?

idleidolidyll
20th February 2007, 07:10
Yeah but is that the cops fault or the dickhead who thinks they need to "slow down" for the said cop/radar van?

both IMO

the dickheads are paranoid but the cops must also know that they are causing the hold ups

unhingedlizard
27th February 2007, 09:47
But how would I do that and eat my sandwich at the same time?

Its easier when you put your novel in front of the clocks. Wedge it in tight cause if it comes out you'll spill your beer.

Korea
27th February 2007, 10:30
I'm amazed that it isn't illegal to use cellphones while driving yet.
I mean c'mon police, think of the revenue just waiting to be collected!

Marmoot
27th February 2007, 10:50
But how would I do that and eat my sandwich at the same time?

Eating your sandwich while driving is safer than monitoring your speed making sure you're not exceeding speed limit.

When you're eating sandwich, you can do that while looking ahead.

When you're checking your speed you can't look ahead.

Speed limit endangers life?

Delphinus
27th February 2007, 12:47
I rekon is not so much the speed limit, its the super-strict enforcing of it. venture 11km's over the limit and WHAM mega fine. Most people can get the feeling for a certain speed and stay around that fine without having to look at the speedo.

sunhuntin
27th February 2007, 20:59
seen a high school kid on a scooter txting once. *shakes head* i cant even reach to make sure my other keys are in my pocket without it affecting me... and thats looking straight ahead.
im always darting from mirrors to road and back again... more so with cars i feel are getting to close, or appear to follow me for too long.

idleidolidyll
28th February 2007, 07:53
I rekon is not so much the speed limit, its the super-strict enforcing of it. venture 11km's over the limit and WHAM mega fine. Most people can get the feeling for a certain speed and stay around that fine without having to look at the speedo.

yep
how often do we look at our speedos not because we're doing anything unsafe but merely because we're paranoid about the tax collector?

I reckon at least every minute or so and that adds up to a hell of a lot of time with your eyes either off the road or focussed at a different distance.

i know i've looked up on a number of occassions (after checking speed) to see something has suddenly appeared making life dangerous for me. In fact I reckon it's worse on a bike where we have to look further away from the road just to see the speedo

i guess this thread modifies the old cliche to "Speedos Kill"

Marmoot
28th February 2007, 10:54
i guess this thread modifies the old cliche to "Speedos Kill"

Bring on the Speedo Cops!

V Twin Raver
28th February 2007, 14:02
Bring on the Speedo Cops!

some things never change

Daffyd
28th February 2007, 21:27
I recall a few years ago, a motorist was charged and convicted for careless driving causing death after hitting a cyclist. His defence was that he was checking his speed and when he looked up again the cyclist was on his bonnet. I wrote to "Autocar" and queried how many other accidents/ near misses were caused by this action. They agreed with me to the extent that I won the "Letter of the Month" prize, (a $300 model BMW 3.0CSL Le Mans racer)
The next month my letter was replied to by the road safety plod boss, Kerr? I think. He rubbished the suggestion, saying that "it only takes a millisecond to check your speed". What a load of shit! And this guy is/was top dog for road safety!

DougB
1st March 2007, 22:01
I am guilty of speedo watching, on a pension I cant afford a fine.

My problem is multiplied when riding my scooter in town as it is automatic and sounds the same at 65k as it does at 55. I have to check the speedo or 70 comes up real fast and the engine is doing about the same revs as at 55.

Yes the cops make my ride unsafe. I will be more aware and try to modify my riding habits some how thanks to this thread.

bikemike
3rd March 2007, 23:02
I reckon it's worse on a bike where we have to look further away from the road just to see the speedo

I was tootling, not tooling, on a 'sports' bike the other day. At some times I could not see the clocks at all. When I was aware of this and made adjustments, I still could not see the tacho without a head movement.

Would take a good half second to move head, focus and register the speed and look back up to the road ahead. Also mirrors were a little useless unless I minced my arms in to get a partial view. Did not like at all.

Having said that, even on my GS, where I can see perfectly behind me, and the clocks are in my field of vision at all times, it still takes thinking time to keep checking the speed. I have been doing this a little lately and it's pissing me off, hence noticing it on the sports bike. It's not the instantaneous check that worries me most (you can always move or skip it) but the insidious undermining of the calm progress and control that comes from riding what you see, and not to arbitrary speed limits. It's the repeated breaks in concentration that comes from repeatedly checking speed against speed limits that reduce the underlying quality of that concentration and increase the likelihood that at any time-even if you are not suffering clocks-itch at that specific moment-your concentration, speed or position are not what they should be and that this might lead to an increased chance of an accident.

It's a diversion to say that there are so many other hazards to deal with that the distinction might be seen as absent; watching speed limits is arbitrary, it does not in itself contribute to the smoothness or safety of your ride. (The other specific intrusion would be billboards, hoardings, excessive community and event signage and so on, that's been discussed elsewhere I think).

This is a real issue, not a bit of pub philosophy. I absolutely see that it can have a negative affect on road safety. Guess it depends on what your riding style is in the first place though...

Id like to see him check his clocks a thousand times a second :-)

"it only takes a millisecond to check your speed"

avgas
3rd March 2007, 23:33
and do not drink caustic soda....that too has a warning in the user manual....
come on guys surely you should already know all this?