This reminds me of an article in one of those tuner magazines (Import Tuner or Compact Car) where one of the writers rides an SV650. Basically he was riding on a similar type of road out in California (full of curves and what not) and passed a WRX going below the limit. THe driver of the WRX then starts to speed up and tailgate the rider so close that the rider almost lost it on one of the curves. This leads to the guy explaining how cars and motorcycles turn differently.
People will still find something to hate us for even if we're law abiding.
The few creating a problem for the rest of us...
Hell I think I did once today on the freeway in my cager! In fact it feels like I'm standing still in a car going 100 compared to my bike at 100.Chris8187 wrote:I know plenty of people that have admitted to going over 100mph in their regular car.
I just don't think thats really all that fast.
Lets see, the majority of freeway limits are 65 round here, and the flow of traffic moves at 75-80, so 100mph is only 20mph faster than the flow of traffic...which really isn't all that much. It's not like your "flying" past everyone at that speed, just maintaining a good passing speed.
Not that I do it often...only on rare occasion.
Just saying that "reckless speeding" isn't as black and white as the soccer moms would have you believe.
And even doing those speeds I still see a lot of ghetto-racers (you know the souped up civics and other crappy cars) hittin those speeds on the highway all the time!
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JC Viper
- Legendary 2000
- Posts: 2198
- Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:12 pm
- Real Name: JC
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- Years Riding: 7
- My Motorcycle: 1984 Kawasaki GPz900R
- Location: New York, NY
Looks like I'm being proven right about motorcycling becoming more restrictive to the point it makes no sense to have one.
From TWO magazine (UK mag) someone wrote in a letter stating that he has to pay £500 for a DAS course and an insurance quote for £1700 for a RG125 bike. At the end he states it would be cheaper to get a car until he can run a decent bike (21 yrs old is when you can be fully licensed for a larger bike).
This is all in place because supposedly the government thinks that all these bike accidents are caused only by rider inexperience and larger cc bikes without taking poor driving to consideration. Sure he is 17 so granted it may be quite expensive but if it's cheaper for him to drive a car then he's out of luck. At least, for now, in the US I find that bike insurance is 3x cheaper than for a car the last time I was quoted.
I started off on a 250 inexperienced and I managed to ride sanely. So don't think such an out of whack tiered system is an answer. Also it may not be banned but it can be prohibited through restrictions.
From TWO magazine (UK mag) someone wrote in a letter stating that he has to pay £500 for a DAS course and an insurance quote for £1700 for a RG125 bike. At the end he states it would be cheaper to get a car until he can run a decent bike (21 yrs old is when you can be fully licensed for a larger bike).
This is all in place because supposedly the government thinks that all these bike accidents are caused only by rider inexperience and larger cc bikes without taking poor driving to consideration. Sure he is 17 so granted it may be quite expensive but if it's cheaper for him to drive a car then he's out of luck. At least, for now, in the US I find that bike insurance is 3x cheaper than for a car the last time I was quoted.
I started off on a 250 inexperienced and I managed to ride sanely. So don't think such an out of whack tiered system is an answer. Also it may not be banned but it can be prohibited through restrictions.
One thing you can count on: You push a man too far, and sooner or later he'll start pushing back.
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JC Viper
- Legendary 2000
- Posts: 2198
- Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:12 pm
- Real Name: JC
- Sex: Male
- Years Riding: 7
- My Motorcycle: 1984 Kawasaki GPz900R
- Location: New York, NY
Here's a sick idea: http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl ... 6#16907532
Imagine a nightmare for everyone because of arses who feel they own the road.
As Cars Collide, Belgian Motorists Refuse to Yield
A Shortage of Stop Signs And Quirky Driving Rules Create Culture of Crashes
By MARY JACOBY
September 25, 2006; Page A1
BRUSSELS -- The intersection outside Isabelle de Bruyn's row house in a quiet residential neighborhood here is a typical Belgian crossroads. It has no stop signs. Now and then, cars collide outside her front door.
"The air bags explode. One car flipped over in the street. Part of one car ended up here," says Ms. de Bruyn, a real-estate agent, pointing to her front steps. Her brother-in-law, Christophe de Bruyn, adds: "In America, they have stop signs. I think that's a good idea for Belgium, too."
The suggestion isn't popular at the Belgian transport ministry. "We'd have to put signs at every crossroads," says spokeswoman Els Bruggeman. "We have lots of intersections."
But insurance companies seeking an easier way to sort out who's at fault in Belgium's frequent fender benders have lobbied for a solution. And so now the government is in the process of making changes to a traffic rule at the heart of Belgium's problems. It is known as priorité de droite, or "priority from the right."
The law evolved from a rule adopted nearly a century ago in neighboring France, intended to offer drivers a simple rule of thumb: Always yield to any vehicle coming from one's right unless a sign or other road marking instructs otherwise.
That was meant to modernize an even more unwieldy rule of the time: Right of way went to the driver of the highest social rank. Horse-drawn carriages were still in common use, and, after accidents, "it wasn't unusual for the passengers to get out of their carriages and compare their titles and ranks in the nobility," says Benoit Godart, a spokesman for the government-financed Belgian Road Safety Institute.
Even more confusing, a driver in Belgium who stops to look both ways at an intersection loses the legal right to proceed first. Such caution might seem prudent, given the lack of stop signs. But a driver who merely taps his brakes can find that his pause has sent a dangerous signal to other drivers: Any sign of hesitation often spurs other drivers to hit the gas in a race to get through the crossing first.
The result is a game of chicken at crossings, where to slow down is to "show weakness," says Belgian traffic court lawyer Virginie Delannoy. Neither driver wants to lose this traffic game, she says, adding: "And then, bam!"
To make matters worse, cars on many of the smallest side streets still qualify for priority over those on major thoroughfares -- so long as they are coming from the right. That forces drivers on many boulevards to slam on their brakes without warning, and some get rear-ended as a result. On certain roads, the rule is suspended, but the only indication of that is a small yield sign drivers often overlook.
Today, failing to yield is the cause of more than two-thirds of the accidents at unmarked Belgian intersections that result in bodily injury.
It contributes to Belgium's relatively high traffic fatality rate, analysts say. Last year, deaths in Belgium from driving accidents were 11.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in Paris.
Other countries have more stop signs and traffic lights. By comparison, deaths in the Netherlands were 4.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, 6.1 in Germany and 8.7 in France -- countries that border Belgium.
Although the U.S. has a higher number of fatalities in absolute numbers -- 14.5 per 100,000 inhabitants -- there are more cars on the street in the U.S., as a percentage of the population, than in Belgium. Americans also spend on average more time in their cars, traveling longer distances.
Imagine a nightmare for everyone because of arses who feel they own the road.
As Cars Collide, Belgian Motorists Refuse to Yield
A Shortage of Stop Signs And Quirky Driving Rules Create Culture of Crashes
By MARY JACOBY
September 25, 2006; Page A1
BRUSSELS -- The intersection outside Isabelle de Bruyn's row house in a quiet residential neighborhood here is a typical Belgian crossroads. It has no stop signs. Now and then, cars collide outside her front door.
"The air bags explode. One car flipped over in the street. Part of one car ended up here," says Ms. de Bruyn, a real-estate agent, pointing to her front steps. Her brother-in-law, Christophe de Bruyn, adds: "In America, they have stop signs. I think that's a good idea for Belgium, too."
The suggestion isn't popular at the Belgian transport ministry. "We'd have to put signs at every crossroads," says spokeswoman Els Bruggeman. "We have lots of intersections."
But insurance companies seeking an easier way to sort out who's at fault in Belgium's frequent fender benders have lobbied for a solution. And so now the government is in the process of making changes to a traffic rule at the heart of Belgium's problems. It is known as priorité de droite, or "priority from the right."
The law evolved from a rule adopted nearly a century ago in neighboring France, intended to offer drivers a simple rule of thumb: Always yield to any vehicle coming from one's right unless a sign or other road marking instructs otherwise.
That was meant to modernize an even more unwieldy rule of the time: Right of way went to the driver of the highest social rank. Horse-drawn carriages were still in common use, and, after accidents, "it wasn't unusual for the passengers to get out of their carriages and compare their titles and ranks in the nobility," says Benoit Godart, a spokesman for the government-financed Belgian Road Safety Institute.
Even more confusing, a driver in Belgium who stops to look both ways at an intersection loses the legal right to proceed first. Such caution might seem prudent, given the lack of stop signs. But a driver who merely taps his brakes can find that his pause has sent a dangerous signal to other drivers: Any sign of hesitation often spurs other drivers to hit the gas in a race to get through the crossing first.
The result is a game of chicken at crossings, where to slow down is to "show weakness," says Belgian traffic court lawyer Virginie Delannoy. Neither driver wants to lose this traffic game, she says, adding: "And then, bam!"
To make matters worse, cars on many of the smallest side streets still qualify for priority over those on major thoroughfares -- so long as they are coming from the right. That forces drivers on many boulevards to slam on their brakes without warning, and some get rear-ended as a result. On certain roads, the rule is suspended, but the only indication of that is a small yield sign drivers often overlook.
Today, failing to yield is the cause of more than two-thirds of the accidents at unmarked Belgian intersections that result in bodily injury.
It contributes to Belgium's relatively high traffic fatality rate, analysts say. Last year, deaths in Belgium from driving accidents were 11.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in Paris.
Other countries have more stop signs and traffic lights. By comparison, deaths in the Netherlands were 4.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, 6.1 in Germany and 8.7 in France -- countries that border Belgium.
Although the U.S. has a higher number of fatalities in absolute numbers -- 14.5 per 100,000 inhabitants -- there are more cars on the street in the U.S., as a percentage of the population, than in Belgium. Americans also spend on average more time in their cars, traveling longer distances.
One thing you can count on: You push a man too far, and sooner or later he'll start pushing back.
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Fast Eddy B
- Legendary 500
- Posts: 598
- Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 6:30 am
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- Years Riding: 12
- My Motorcycle: 02 Fazer FZS600
- Location: Derbyshire, England, UK.
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Kal
- Site Supporter - Gold
- Posts: 2554
- Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2004 8:08 am
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- Years Riding: 14
- My Motorcycle: 1998 Kawasaki GPZ500S
- Location: Nottingham, UK
By and large the tiered licence system works.
We are taking it to an unnecessary levels with DAS being moved to 25 because we need to be in step with the rest of Europe.
At the end of the day insurance rates are based on accident/theft statistics. Insurance is a cut throat business here and if a company can drop its insurance premiums for you it will.
The sad truth behind insurance statisitics is that a young inexperienced rider on a powerful motorbike (or driving a powerful car) is more likely to have an expensive accident than people in other brackets. It's just the way it is.
By restricting through licence and cost the availability of powerful vehicles by the time a rider can get one they are generally experienced enough to handle it.
It is possible to gain an unrestricted licence at 19 in this country, but to do so you need to have had a restricted (33bhp) licence for two years which means that the rider has two years of experience before throwing a leg over a silly sized machine.
As for the limiters. My main problem with them - because we don't need 210mph rockets on the road is the way they function. They cut in when a rider cracks the throttle, which would screw up my cornering as I ease off into a corner and pour the power on at the apex to sling shot the bike out of the corner.
I have no problem with a limiter that cuts in at 90+ mph and tops the bike out to that speed. Afterall that is 20mph over the national speed limit here. If they are going down this route though then all traffic should be limited to 90mph not just bikes.
For the record most cars in the UK will hit a ton ton-ten given a long enough straightway. I've been ton up in a friends one of these
We are taking it to an unnecessary levels with DAS being moved to 25 because we need to be in step with the rest of Europe.
At the end of the day insurance rates are based on accident/theft statistics. Insurance is a cut throat business here and if a company can drop its insurance premiums for you it will.
The sad truth behind insurance statisitics is that a young inexperienced rider on a powerful motorbike (or driving a powerful car) is more likely to have an expensive accident than people in other brackets. It's just the way it is.
By restricting through licence and cost the availability of powerful vehicles by the time a rider can get one they are generally experienced enough to handle it.
It is possible to gain an unrestricted licence at 19 in this country, but to do so you need to have had a restricted (33bhp) licence for two years which means that the rider has two years of experience before throwing a leg over a silly sized machine.
As for the limiters. My main problem with them - because we don't need 210mph rockets on the road is the way they function. They cut in when a rider cracks the throttle, which would screw up my cornering as I ease off into a corner and pour the power on at the apex to sling shot the bike out of the corner.
I have no problem with a limiter that cuts in at 90+ mph and tops the bike out to that speed. Afterall that is 20mph over the national speed limit here. If they are going down this route though then all traffic should be limited to 90mph not just bikes.
For the record most cars in the UK will hit a ton ton-ten given a long enough straightway. I've been ton up in a friends one of these
Last edited by Kal on Thu Dec 14, 2006 11:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
Kal...
Relationship Squid...
GPZ500S, CB250N, GB250Clubman
Relationship Squid...
GPZ500S, CB250N, GB250Clubman
