'Boy Racer' laws and bikers?

[TonyB]

I hope your right spudchuka
I used to work with a woman who's husband was done for slamming into the back of a vehicle on the motorway. According to their side of the story the car was driving slowly up an on-ramp, they were going to get past with ample time to spare, but the car cut across the hatched lines as soon as it was possible to do so, and still travelling at low speed. He had no chance of stopping, but he was done for causing the accident as he had hit a moving vehicle from behind. End of story as far as the law was concerned.

[MSTRS:Me]

It probably wouldn't be hard to convince the Court that if you were indeed racing your R1 then the SS would have been left for dead at the start line.

Personally I can't see the situation you described happening. Thats just my personal view of it.

I think his point is that this scenario could be one of those 'grey areas' and that some cop with gallbladder troubles *could* ping him.

[TonyB]

I think his point is that this scenario could be one of those 'grey areas' and that some cop with gallbladder troubles *could* ping him.

Something like that, yeh. If the biker wasn't a fine upstanding citizen with a good record and a good lawyer I could see this going badly. Paranoia? Probably :spudwhat:

[spudchucka]

I think his point is that this scenario could be one of those 'grey areas' and that some cop with gallbladder troubles *could* ping him.

Still got to get it through Court though. I reckon it would be pulled if the "offender" decided to defend the charge, (in the circumstances described).

[MSTRS:Me]

Still got to get it through Court though. I reckon it would be pulled if the "offender" decided to defend the charge, (in the circumstances described).

I would hope so. But, if said 'offender' felt he/she could not afford to defend the charge, then they'd be gone.

[TonyB]

Still got to get it through Court though. I reckon it would be pulled if the "offender" decided to defend the charge, (in the circumstances described).

Can you imagine the prosecutions reaction to the biker saying "I was going slowly- my bike can do 0-100 in under 3 seconds"
"Mr x, a Commodore SS is regarded as a 'fast car' is it not?"
"Umm. yes"
"Much faster than a normal family car?"
"yes"
"And it takes around 6 seconds to reach 100 kph from a standing start"
"About that, yes"
"So a fast car will do 0-100 in 6 seconds, yet your motorbike will do it in under 3?"
"Yes"
"Tell me, Mr x, why do you need to own a road going vehicle with such massive preformance? I have some information here that states that there are NO production cars that can match this. Why do you need so much performance?"
"Ummmmm"

Actually, how the hell WOULD you justify it?

[Wolf]

"Tell me, Mr x, why do you need to own a road going vehicle with such massive preformance? I have some information here that states that there are NO production cars that can match this. Why do you need so much performance?"
"Ummmmm"

Actually, how the hell WOULD you justify it?

"So I can get out of the way of fuck-headed boi racers trying to do "0-100 in 6 seconds" right up my arse, your Shysterness."

[scumdog]

Someone, can't recall who, once told me that we were supposed to only accelerate at "a reasonable rate" - in response to my habit on the old TS125 of getting up to 50km/h as fast as I possibly could (generally a lot quicker than the car beside me).

You're saying that as long as there's nothing to impede our passage we can take off like SCUD missiles so long as we level off at the legal limit?

Of course you then have to look at "unneccessary display of acceleration" part of the B.R. Act.............

[Drunken Monkey]

...
Cops know this and learn very quickly that it isn't worth while cutting corners and doing things half arsed if you intend taking somebody to Court...

First up, thankyou for taking the time to clarify your post

I have no doubt the process works out when they get to court, however I was more pointing at the element of "let's try this and if the defendant queries or takes it to court, just drop the charges so it never makes it to court", i.e. no real intent on taking it to court in the first place.

...
I don't know how long ago your old man was a cop or traffic officer but a hell of a lot has changed over the last 10 or 15 years.

T'was a lot longer ago than that. He was sent to HK in the 70's as part of the clean up of corruption in their police force.

However my most recent experience was a former colleague who's charges were dropped when his lawyer sent the usual letter to the police that the charges were going to be challenged. This was only last year. Perhaps I'm being unfair and the motivation was economic rather than intimdatory.

[Ixion]

For it to fit the boy racer laws the loss of traction has to be "sustained". Slight wheel spin and sideways drifting could still be prosecuted as careless driving though.

Hm. Front wheel drive cars, it is often hard to avoid some wheel spin when getting under way on a steep hill, especially in the wet. But as the boy racer law specifies an "exhibition" of loss of traction, presumably "I didn't mean to " would be a valid defence (assuming of course that the other evidence was in accordance). The requirement that it be "exhibited" (which implies an expectant audience, as is the case at these boy-racer things), and "sustained" would appear to rule out using that section to clobber someone who accidently provokes a bit of wheelspin getting under way.

Not to say that a cop whose is a bad mood might not use it as a convenient catch all to frighten someone with

[Gen]

Dunno mate, that's what I'm trying to find out. The guys here at work seem to think thats exactly how it works ie: if you are 'racing' someone and they crash you are in deep shit.

If you are racing them you are part of the problem.You could assume that if they were'nt racing, there would have been no accident...

[TonyB]

If you are racing them you are part of the problem.You could assume that if they were'nt racing, there would have been no accident...

You missed my point. Due to the huge difference in preformance between a car and a sports bike, it is possible to be riding at a normal pace and be held up by a car that is 'racing' you. As I said, this has happened to me two weekends in a row. It's quite likely that the drivers of these cars would genuinely believe that I was racing them, when in reality they were slowing me down from my normal pace (hills were involved, so while the car is labouring up the hill, the bike has no such problem).

[Wolf]

You missed my point. Due to the huge difference in preformance between a car and a sports bike, it is possible to be riding at a normal pace and be held up by a car that is 'racing' you. As I said, this has happened to me two weekends in a row. It's quite likely that the drivers of these cars would genuinely believe that I was racing them, when in reality they were slowing me down from my normal pace (hills were involved, so while the car is labouring up the hill, the bike has no such problem).

Because tha sad-arsed little Mazdabators do not even consider that the Wanker Rotary engine is inferior in all ways to a decent motorcycle, the possibility that the bike is inherently faster than them doesn't cross what passes for their minds. If it's faster than them, the rider must be trying reeeeaaaaallllly hard because their Mazdas are da shitz, right? Nah, they're just shit.

Best thing you can do when they're holding you up is have your pillion break out the thermos and some sammies, or light a ciggy and settle back with the newspaper - to convey to the losers in the car that the current pace is not remotely like a race...(If you were a politician I'd suggest that you pull out the newspaper...)

[R6_kid:Me]

spoke to the police one drunken night recently at the beach... asked what car was mine - pointed at the helmet in the backseat - im with that guy but i only ride bikes.

Then asked if the said "boy racer" rules apply to bikers. Reply was 'it applies to all vehicles and drivers'

does that mean that if my 90yr old gran in her 10tonne truck accelerates unnecisarily (sp) that she can be charged as a 'boy racer'?

[Lou Girardin]

spoke to the police one drunken night recently at the beach... asked what car was mine - pointed at the helmet in the backseat - im with that guy but i only ride bikes.

Then asked if the said "boy racer" rules apply to bikers. Reply was 'it applies to all vehicles and drivers'

does that mean that if my 90yr old gran in her 10tonne truck accelerates unnecisarily (sp) that she can be charged as a 'boy racer'?

Welcome to the world of indiscriminate, populist law-making.