(Video) Katman bait

[onearmedbandit]

I'm the opposite. I ride a 1000cc sportsbike. I ride slower on the straights than I do through the corners. No need for anything more than 120-130 on the straights, but as the corner comes up so does my speed (within reason, I am after all not on a race track). I'd much rather wear a ticket getting caught mid-corner than on a straight.

Bear in mind that I'm not some reckless hoon, I choose my time and place very carefully now. And I leave a decent margin for error. Yup, one day I may get caught out, but I'll always take responsibility for that. Even if I'm not around afterwards to say it.

[Ocean1]

No the third option? let 'Darwinism' take it's course.....

Seriously though Ocean,
if some wont be 'educated' and some will not accept a level of personal responsibility for their choices and how they affect others on the road; (really that is the crux of any argument over road rules) then TPTB are going to step in with a heavy handed approach.
There are so many on the road bike/car/truck who really believe they are 'superior drivers' and wont get 'caught out' often they are 'right', they leave the trail of carnage behind them.

I was serious.

What sort of arrogance leads one to assume that someone who chooses to behave differently to themselves needs “educating”? Isn’t it rather more likely that you’re ideas about how they should behave are deficient? They’re the ultimate authority on the topic, after all.

As for the responsibility issue, firstly; society has removed the mechanisms whereby people learned what consequences were possible / likely as a result of different types of behaviour. So you shouldn’t come over all shocked and mortified if they behave like nothing is ever going to seriously interrupt their somewhat protected lives. Secondly; what possible difference does having anyone “accept” whatever responsibility they may or may not have with regard to any particular incident? The outcome is completely unaffected by whatever they consider the causal structures behind it. And forget about compliance to the rules as some infallible guide to what’s safe, and it’s utter nonsense to suggest that adherence to some arbitrary speed limit will automatically absolve anyone of the responsibility of their actions.

What I suggest is in fact the reality, completely unrecognised officially (and usually otherwise), is that people behave in such a manner that THEY believe represents a level of risk to both themselves and others that’s acceptable to THEM. This is nature’s default setting, and I can’t see anything in society’s attempts to the contrary that makes me believe there’s a better way. Or in fact any other viable way at all. In fact the imposition of anything else is, I believe an unacceptable abrogation of what I see as something any human should see as an inviolable right.

If you believe otherwise then I can only point out that there’s rather a lot of us, and we’re never going to get consensus on what level of risk is acceptable. I find I don’t feel threatened by the chance of dying on our roads, not when that risk arrives at parity in about 120,000,000 kilometres. Maybe you do. I’d suggest that to lower that risk much further you’d find yourself sacrificing rather more than you think in exchange.