Just got my first ever fine..

[nick_charles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif He was once on a motorway in a Sierra Cosworth, many years back when there were actual open speed limits in the UK, and opened the taps on the way back from a shift at 3am, he opened the taps right up to 150 odd mph, then a bird flew into his windscreen and hit the huge spoiler at the back! Mess! Its sad to think i will never actually be able to have fun like that in a car

The Sierra is a 1980s car - I remember when it came out, at this time and for many years before that there was a strict 70mph limit on Motorways. I starting driving in 1984 and I have never come across a open speed limit in any UK road in that time. The Cosworth was introduced in 1985 or 1986.

A History of Speed Limits
------------------------
Britain's Speed Limits have come a long way since 1865 when the Locomotive Act restricted the speed of horse-less vehicles to 4mph in open country and 2mph in towns. The act required 3 drivers for each vehicle - 2 to travel in the vehicle and 1 to walk ahead of it carrying a red flag. Hence the Red Flag Act was born.

Speed restrictions as we know them today came into force over 60 years ago in 1934 when a 30mph limit was brought in for roads considered to be in 'built-up' areas. This particular limit is still used today.

Other roads had no limits, until 1965 when the Minister for Transport introduced a 70mph restriction for all roads, which included highways and motorways.

In 1977 the speed limit for cars and motorbikes on dual carriageways was set at 70mph with single carriageways carrying a 60mph limit.

---------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Al4x]

ahh open speed limits, the stuff of dreams!

 

[Baines93]

Ahh, yes, i was a bit out there n_c

Thanks.

Matt

 

[tjumper78]

66km/h = 106 mph...
what kinda scooter goes 106mph?
i just cant imagine it... as far as i know, a scooter is a dinky size motorcycle that a lot of food delivery guys ride around here. is scooter a full-sized motorcycle in netherlands?

 

[Al4x]

noo, 66km/h = about 40 mph

 

[nick_charles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjumper78 /img/forum/go_quote.gif 66km/h = 106 mph... what kinda scooter goes 106mph? i just cant imagine it... as far as i know, a scooter is a dinky size motorcycle that a lot of food delivery guys ride around here. is scooter a full-sized motorcycle in netherlands?

A scooter isnt really a motorcycle, the design is somewhat different. The classic Scooter design i.e Vespa or Lambretta is like a really low slung pair of small wheels with a big arse where the engine sits and a upright wind shield at the front. In the UK in the 1970s there was a fad for Mopeds that aimed to be like dinky motocycles - my brother use to ride one of these

http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/galle...ort%201974.jpg

which I was able to use for a few months.

but the king of this design was the Yamaha FS1E

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...23/mrmay23.jpg

 

[AudioPhewl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjumper78 /img/forum/go_quote.gif 66km/h = 106 mph... what kinda scooter goes 106mph? i just cant imagine it... as far as i know, a scooter is a dinky size motorcycle that a lot of food delivery guys ride around here. is scooter a full-sized motorcycle in netherlands?

Your conversion is the wrong way round. 100kph = ~62mph.

As for the whole bikes > cars thing, there is a LOT of logic that suggests ignoring the bike thing altogether. I fell in love with the idea of a motorbike back when I was 14... the original FireBlade. I loved the 1994 facelift where it gained the "foxeyes" whilst still retaining the originals colours - white, red and blue.

However, I did my car test at the age of 19, and spend 6 wonderful years on the roads before I decided to do my bike test. I eventually took it when I was 25, after becoming bored with cars(bought a very nice Subaru Impreza, and quickly realised that if I wasn't doing sensationally illegal speeds, it was uninvolving and unrewarding to drive), and have never ever looked back. But with hindsight, holding off on getting a bike until I had a good few years of road experience was a superb decision. There are so many people out there who make poor decision after poor decision whilst on the road - and on a motorbike, you have to be able to plan for these bad decisions as well as work around everything else on the road.

By all means, do your test and get onto 2 wheels. It's a brilliant sensation and experience, and no car will ever compare to it. Just be very aware that every day, people using 4 wheels on the road will be oblivious to the fact that something smaller than a car could possibly exist. Every roundabout you join, every junction or set of traffic lights - nobody is expecting to see you, because they're always expecting to see another car.

Despite having a bright red motorcycle, and always having my headlamp on, morons after morons are just looking for a car, and when they don't see it, they believe their right of way is clear.

You'd struggle to lose a limb, or break your neck in a modern car, even doing something very extreme. But on a bike, even with the right gear on, you're so vulnerable...

...still, I do it every day, in all weathers. There's just something about it that is on a level beyond being in any car.

~Phewl

 

[Baines93]

They are still popular now n_c.


Yes, i see the dangers, benefits, and disadvantages, but you have to live a little. If everyone was molly-coddled then everything would be dangerous. I also know about car drivers! My mums boyfriend is also a bike rider
so mum would have problems stopping me

.

He is also thinking about getting he and I a scooter for the place in france, so A) i may be able to bring it home at 16 and use it to add to my car/bike savings while enjoying the cheap running costs until i have enough, probably a couple of years, and B) i will have a little more experience of riding, albeit only 6 months or so!

If i was on a scooter for a year or two while saving for a bike would i be reasonably bike-road-wise?

 

[nick_charles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ahh, yes, i was a bit out there n_c Thanks. Matt

Personally I am rather in favour of robust speed limits, certainly in built-up areas. Two years ago I was in an accident where a young girl ran out in front of me - I slammed on the brakes but not fast enough to avoid knocking her over - thankfully I was going quite slowly and she was not hurt , but if I had been going 10mph more she would have been badly injured.

As I get older and my reaction times inevitably get worse I do not have the same belief in my godlike driving prowess that I had when I was in my 20s.

 

[AudioPhewl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If i was on a scooter for a year or two while saving for a bike would i be reasonably bike-road-wise?

More-so than someone with no experience. Experience is a funny thing, you can't really base it on how many years you've been doing something, more along the lines of how much you've seen, how many "incidents" you've avoided, and being able to understand why.

I did 30k the first year I passed my driving licence. For many years after that, I was doing 80-120k per year for work. Much of it on the motorways, but plenty around town and the usual humdrum of city traffic. All of it without so much as a light tap from another vehicle.

5 years of that, and I figured I'd learnt enough to give me a fair chance on 2 wheels.

But, having said that, you're the only once who can judge whether you have enough experience to truly understand the risks involved with being on an inherently unstable machine capable of hitting 100mph in 6 seconds...

or as little as 5 seconds for a truly modern sportsbike. Go read up on what a Hayabusa or ZX-12R will do if you've got the guts to keep the throttle open... they're positively breathtaking

.

~Phewl.

 

[tjumper78]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al4x /img/forum/go_quote.gif noo, 66km/h = about 40 mph

damn it. i feel dumb now.

 

[Baines93]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick_charles /img/forum/go_quote.gif Personally I am rather in favour of robust speed limits, certainly in built-up areas. Two years ago I was in an accident where a young girl ran out in front of me - I slammed on the brakes but not fast enough to avoid knocking her over - thankfully I was going quite slowly and she was not hurt , but if I had been going 10mph more she would have been badly injured. As I get older and my reaction times inevitably get worse I do not have the same belief in my godlike driving prowess that I had when I was in my 20s.

I am too, fully in favour in built up areas, estates, schools etc, but on some empty country roads, especially in some places i went in Scotland, where you didnt see a house or car for miles, i dont see the harm in a higher speed limit. Open is risky due to kids who think they can drive mainly, but hey, they dont obey the limits anyway...


Thanks for the informative and interesting post Phewl

Matt

 

[aaron313]

I just... don't speed. It's not hard, and it saves lives.

On the other hand, the other day I parked in a part of a lot where I thought it was kosher. Apparently not! My ****ing car got towed, and it cost me $230. Was I putting anybody's life in danger? No. Would a ticket have worked as well? Yes. Oh well, at least the towing people were nice, as my beef is not with them, because they didn't decide to tow me.

I am glad I didn't confront the guy who called the towing company (I know who it was), because I would have gone all Silence of the Lambs on him.

 

[apatN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioPhewl /img/forum/go_quote.gif More-so than someone with no experience. Experience is a funny thing, you can't really base it on how many years you've been doing something, more along the lines of how much you've seen, how many "incidents" you've avoided, and being able to understand why. I did 30k the first year I passed my driving licence. For many years after that, I was doing 80-120k per year for work. Much of it on the motorways, but plenty around town and the usual humdrum of city traffic. All of it without so much as a light tap from another vehicle. 5 years of that, and I figured I'd learnt enough to give me a fair chance on 2 wheels. But, having said that, you're the only once who can judge whether you have enough experience to truly understand the risks involved with being on an inherently unstable machine capable of hitting 100mph in 6 seconds... or as little as 5 seconds for a truly modern sportsbike. Go read up on what a Hayabusa or ZX-12R will do if you've got the guts to keep the throttle open... they're positively breathtaking . ~Phewl.

Damn, that really is fast.. I still want one one day, though. I like the looks of the Suzuki GSX a lot. I have this atm. Also in Rossi colors but then with another exhaust, wheels and some repainted parts. Baines, if you ever get a scooter: don't get the Honda X8R as it's really hard to find any good parts for it. It's 'unique' in that way.

 

[milagu]

Well, sorry to hear, that sucks! If you like to have fun though I doubt it'll be the last....