Find the cobs over here are quite reasonable. If you get stopped on a bike its likely you'll mostly get a talkin to.....i know from experience thats not the same in the rest of the UK. lol @ HippyRC  .......flippin eck girl thats dead easy to say when you ride a 125 but really dont think you have any right to criticise anyone elses choices.                                                                                                                                                                             

i got stopped by an unmarked black Hayabusa near Wetwang, rider in black with silver helmet, saw an unmarked Aprilia RSV at Squires once                                                                                                                                                                               

@kwakgirl - the fact I'm still, for now, on a 125 makes no difference and I resent that sly dig. Everyone was a learner once!!!  I didn't criticise anyone's choice of bike. I criticised the fact that some people think speeding is fine because "it's a nice windy road!" 

If you think speeding is fine then come back and tell me that when you or a loved one is hurt or killed by a speeding idiot, whoever that may be - that goes for cars as well as bikes

                                                                                                                                                                             

OH FFS! it wasnt a sly dig! it was a statement of FACT! Not a criticism for being a learner.   and as it happens i think speeding is fine if it is "Appropriate" speeding! i.e. a limit consummate with your experience, ability, bike, road conditions and everything else you take into account when considering risk! But you simply dismissed EVERYONE who speeds as indulging in "selfish stupidity".   I would say that probably applies to around 80% (or more!) of the people on this site. Must be good to be so far up there on your high horse......just remember its a long way down!                                                                                                                                                                                 

HippyRockChick

If, as it has been suggested recently, the national limit for dual carriageways and motorways is raised to 80 mph does that mean that 79 mph is suddenly safe?  What if it is eventually raised to 100 mph or further?  Is it a safe speed because the law of the land says it's no longer illegal?

The fact is speed plays only a small factor in accident statistics.   Much more dangerous than speed is driving inappropriately in poor weather conditions /  poor visibility / a poorly maintained vehicle / inadequate braking distance / on a poor road surface etc. etc.

In fact studies in road accidents suggest that a driver is less likely to have an accident driving outside of their comfort zone because they are aware of the heightened risk and drive accordingly.  This is why it is often said you are most likely to have an accident within five minutes of your home.  You're driving in territory you know well at relatively low speed and therefore tend to switch off presuming you are safe.
The phenomenon is known as 'Risk Compensation'.

Who is the safest driving in the following scenarios?

Someone driving on a busy dual carriageway at 50 mph with a 70 mph speed limit in force but only five yards behind the car in front.

Someone driving at 150 mph on a deserted motorway in good light.

The reason speed has been singled out by the authorities as being inherently dangerous is because it is easily measured, can be automatically photographed, and is extremely profitable in terms of fines.  Adding the stigma that speeding is automatically dangerous is really just a justification for making it 'taxable'.

And if speed is so very, very, very dangerous why are our emergency services permitted to exceed limits?  Surely a huge risk to both themselves and the public. 

Black "Busa" roaming the streets of Lincolnshire, unmarked, saw he had pulled two bikers..then going towards Worksop from Lincoln , a blue "Busa", yet again unmarked.. he'd pulled a car over this time...Beware guys and gals...                                                                                                                                                                             

Yes speeding kills you bunch of nutters.
If you travel at 31mph in a 30mph zone and crash you will DIE.
However , if you crash at 69mph on a 70mph road , you will be perfectly ok . Especially if your bike clothing has some wafer thin foam rubber in it.
Remember peeps , a bike is for fun , not just for xmas.
Dusty x

lol Dusty...behave yourself lad!                                                                                                                                                                              

Well I cam off in April on a car park at 5 MPH in a 10 MPH limit and lived but ripped the rotor cuff and tendon on my left shoulder and arm. So your wrong Dusty I'm not perfectly OK Im still off work lol                                                                                                                                                                              

That's cos you is probably the one millionth exception to the rule JP

Ps - hope it does get better, really soon!!!!!
                                                                                                                                                                             

@JP ouch for the rotator cuff,
ouch for the fractured wallet
Big, big ouch for the 'red face' , falling off at 5mph in the car park.
luckily you have only told 50,000 people , oops.
It could have been worse. If you were doing 11mph. You would have died and killed everyone in the carpark,
some people would have branded you a '' mindless , selfish , stupid idiot.
Get well soon
Dusty x

some people would have branded you a '' mindless , selfish , stupid idiot.   Thay already do lol. As for telling 50,000 people I dont give a stuff we all can make a mistake mine was thinking the works car park was ok and not covered in dry sand and grit from the winter 3 months prior                                                                                                                                                                             

how fast it is safe to go on a road has nothing to do with the speed limit. It is all about traffic and weather conditions.Sometimes it is safe, but illegal to go a lot faster than the speed limit. In poor weather conditions it is not safe to go anywhere near the speed limit. thats why, if everybody was a good driver. We would not need speed limits. But due to the morons that are on the road. We do.

  Hi Tim, nice to see you posting on the forums. Well said.                                                                                                                                                                             

Hi Tim,           it's a bit of a paradox, but the speed limits are what's killing the ''morons''. While the majority of motorists do drive to suit the road and the conditions ,sadly, the ''morons'' stick to the legal limit. 60MPH round a blind bend , over a humpback bridge etc. 30MPH through a narrow city street , with parked cars both sides, when the schools get out.  I think the problem is that the Govt. and the DSA expect people to improve their driving skills AFTER their test , the majority of us do and never stop learning, but, there is an awful lot of people that should be removed from the roads.  Idiots speed, but not all speeders are idiots. The Govt. pick on speeders to show ''the voters'' they care and are doing something about road accidents. personally , I don't believe a word of it.  The vast majority of road accidents happen on rural roads , to single vehicles[no one else involved]at speeds below the limit. I'm sure most people reading this, could think of a couple of dozen reasons for these accidents. I'm just as positive that some people couldn't think of any . Keep the shiny side up . Dusty x                                                                                                                                                                              

Fell off in the warming up paddock at Snetts, put a hole in me kneecap. Not sure if there was a speed limit in the area. But that will be another long story from the 70's, along with slugs in mouths and clothes off for football..... How come the Germans can steam along their Autobans at Top Gear speeds... legally, with wiping out the rest of Germany, answers please on a post card to BBC at Dunsfold Surrey...                                                                                                                                                                             

Seen this week-
M5 near Bristol,black 12 plate BMW 5 series,no boot badge but think it had a big engine going by how quick it went past me!-looks standard except for lights in grill and back window brake light.
Same area on M5-11 plate silver BMW 3 Series estate,no boot badges and second door mirror on nearside
On the M62 they also have a black 5 series BMW and two Skoda Superbs,late models,one metallic green,one metallic burgundy.

feck they must be doing well on the mainland...... in N Ireland the unmarked police cars are all mondeos! lol lol  & they are dead easy to spot too...they are clean (biggest give away! lol)....they have no visible dealer adverts (either on plate or back window) and the aerial on the back is huge or more likely they have two!

Unmarked cars are usually pretty easy to spot if you train yourself to observe the telltale signs. 

It will almost always be within three years old.  There will be no stickers on the glass.  Numberplate will be plain.  It will be clean.  Usually there will be two people in the front and none in the back.  It will have a rear view mirror on the passenger side.  The rear screen will have a digital display screen set near the bottom.  It'll have more aerials than usual.  Officers often leave their caps on the dash for quick access during a stop. Often times they will be wearing their Hi-Viz coats inside the car.

But the biggest give away is that it will be driven with a competence that other drivers usually can't match - decent braking distance, correct road positioning, good anticipation, correct Mirror Signal Manoeuver procedure, making good progress.
                                                                                                                                                                             

LOL and the indicators arent optional extras!