Is sunstrike a reasonable defense??

[FROSTY]

Riding my newly aquired zuki on a good ol ride i was headin home --
Directly in my face was the sun -the instrument panel a black invisibility in front of me.
I was on the matamata straights with no cars as speed references--speed crept up a tadd.
Not deliberate and not licence threatening. but none the less against the law
would the sun blindness make a defence for speed tickets ya think?

[Motu]

Would it be a defence if you ran a kid down because of sunstrike?

[Big Dan]

i've always liked the late Loosebruce's way of counter-acting sunstrike just pull a wheelie and that sound do the trick but to answer your question i it is a reasonable defense whether or not it works is in the laws hands

[far queue]

Would it be a defence if you ran a kid down because of sunstrike?No, it wouldn't be.

I know someone who ran down and killed a cyclist due to sun strike. The judge's view was that if he couldn't see properly he should have pulled over and waited for the sun to go down further until he could see. He was found guilty, lost his license, and I think got PD as well. The sun strike was genuine not just an excuse for poor driving - the cop that attended the accident also nearly added to the carnage to, due sun strike, himself.

[FROSTY]

nahhh sorry not sayin it right-
view in front was clear but angle of the sun made instruments a black shadow not readable.

[far queue]

nahhh sorry not sayin it right-
view in front was clear but angle of the sun made instruments a black shadow not readable.I still don't think you'd get away with it. You'd likely get the response at the roadside of "yeah right" here's your ticket. I believe you, but I don't think it would be found an acceptable excuse by Mr Plod.

[dogsnbikes]

:sunny: guess it depends on who you get

I binned my bike a few weeks ago and my defense was it was gods fault he made the rain :innocent:

you cant help something that natural

but I have found having 2 strips of insulation tape across the top of my visor stops the sun strike :sunny:

[Ixion]

Speeding is an absolute offense. You can get done for speeding on a pre 1948 bike with (legally) no speedo at all. Up to you to ensure that, somehow , you always ensure that you remain under the limit. After all, you could have slowed down to a speed certainly below the limit, eh?

So, no not a defence. But might be mitigation, if everything else stacked up . Wouldn't like to bet on it but maybe a chance, unblemished record for 100 years, etc. Depends how fast it was. 111kph , sounds possible. 130 kph less so. Grovel. Piteously.

[Motu]

I often get sunstrike on the digital dash of the NX Coupe - I just shade it with my hand to glimpse a reading.If you need to do it with your right hand on a bike,do it on a downhill.As Ixion says - it's up to you to keep within the speed limit,you fuck it up,you pay.Simple as that I reckon.

[riffer]

Not according to the ACC ads it doesn't.

As far as they are concerned, the only possible reaction to a change of road conditions is a reduction in speed.

[WasPhantom]

I suspect that the return argument would be that you weren't riding to the conditions, something along those lines anyway.

Personally I work on the basis that if I get caught, I get caught, one up for them [*shrug*]

[Pwalo]

No.

Did you actually get a ticket, or this a hypothetical?

It's the same old situation. If you're unlucky enough to recieve a request to contribute to the governments consilidated fund pay up unless you can prove it wasn't you.

[R6_kid]

it doesnt. I got done for 115kmh on the NW one afternoon at about 7pm in the middle of summer. Had my hand up to block the sun so i could see where it was going so wasnt paying attention to the speedo... i was actually doing 127kmh but told the cop i'd had bike on dyno and it only got to 245 whereas my speedo had said 265 on the 'track' and hence thought it was possibly 10% out. He let me off with 115 but said he got me at 117 (i was pushing 130 the whole time)...

He said the same thing as above, if i couldnt see properly i should have slowed down a bit to compensate.

[DEATH_INC.]

Would it be a defence if you ran a kid down because of sunstrike?
Maybe....it IS good enough if you pull across the road in front of a motorbike :angry:

[Deano]

Maybe....it IS good enough if you pull across the road in front of a motorbike :angry:

Now that would be some good case law to know.

[Wasp]

Maybe....it IS good enough if you pull across the road in front of a motorbike :angry:
yeap sure is, hurts too

not sure if this has been said but doesnt it say in the road code to reduce your speed if you get sunstrike?

[SPman]

How about "I need glasses to read but cant wear them when riding, I can't quite decipher the speed on the speedo without dangerously disregarding whats going on on the road and staring at the speedo cos the nos are too close together"! . officer!

Never tried that one yet, but its true.

[Quartermile]

Riding my newly aquired zuki on a good ol ride i was headin home --
Directly in my face was the sun -the instrument panel a black invisibility in front of me.
I was on the matamata straights with no cars as speed references--speed crept up a tadd.
Not deliberate and not licence threatening. but none the less against the law
would the sun blindness make a defence for speed tickets ya think?

Yep


Would it be a defence if you ran a kid down because of sunstrike?

Yep


No, it wouldn't be.

I know someone who ran down and killed a cyclist due to sun strike. The judge's view was that if he couldn't see properly he should have pulled over and waited for the sun to go down further until he could see. He was found guilty, lost his license, and I think got PD as well. The sun strike was genuine not just an excuse for poor driving - the cop that attended the accident also nearly added to the carnage to, due sun strike, himself.

Wrong

My old Principal killed an old lady by running her down while going through a pedestrian crossing and he got off all charges due to sunstrike

[pritch]

One of the very first rules of riding/driving:

"If you can't see, STOP!"

No fine detail. No interpretation to worry about. No bullshit. Simple really.

OK, so I can think of the time I fucked up in that regard, fortunately at low speed, only dented a mudguard and my pride.

A local Harley rider a year or so back was less lucky, he tried to drive up a telegraph pole. Died in the attempt, the Coroners finding was "sunstrike".

Ignore the rule at your peril, and don't whinge if you ignore it and it bites yer arse.

[Rotor]

a lot comes down to the Judge on the day
so hope he/she has had sun strike for a better judgment

[Quartermile]

a lot comes down to the Judge on the day
so hope he/she has had sun strike for a better judgment
WTF, most people have had sunstrike.....

Also you could say you felt it un-safe to stop, as it would have been, They love that word:yes:

[mstriumph]

no

10 characters

[Toaster]

Riding my newly aquired zuki on a good ol ride i was headin home --
Directly in my face was the sun -the instrument panel a black invisibility in front of me.
I was on the matamata straights with no cars as speed references--speed crept up a tadd.
Not deliberate and not licence threatening. but none the less against the law
would the sun blindness make a defence for speed tickets ya think?

No it isn't - at all. There is good case-law that shows it is no defence.

[imdying]

On this sort of topic, I was surprised how unaffected (given my previous experience with other LCD objects) the SVs dash is by the sun. I had just assumed it would be a total turd in bright sun, but I've never been unable to see it, which is kinda nice :yes:

[Biff]

My guess is it would work against you.

Mr Frosty: sorry coughicer, sunstrike
Mr coughicer: so are you tellimg me you couldn't see properly and you continued to ride
Mr Frosty: erm, no, I erm, just give the fkin speeding ticket...

ya never know....

[Morcs]

Part of the highway code is to 'Ride to the conditions'

Which pretty much means you cant use anything as an excuse...