I can maintain a steady pace no problem, rather check my mirrors though to make sure theres no police around! Riding properly, I'll have you know I've attended bike safe and when the officer asked me the biggest consideration when overtaking, I responded "one wheel or two"!
With ever changing speed limits, amd cameras popping up all over in mobile vans, maintaining 30 in a 30 religiously (ie not exceeding 33) means lots of concentration on the speedo as much as the road. When you've seen the copper or van, its too late, so only option is two or three the usual amount of time spent looking down. Probably more as a conscious 'have I creeped' check than anything...in a 50 plus it doesnt matter if you drift 5mph up, or down, that much and a steady thottle with up and down hills is easy to manage.Then add driving an auto, or large engine bike where a few hundred revs down a hill adds 10mph, and yes you do have to spend more of your time staring down that obs on what is really going to kill you or, as the speed-kills would want, looking for that kid who hasn't been taught the green cross code and who's parents think everyone else is to blame run out between 2 carsHTH
Exactly, ever heard the expression a bike goes where you look, much better to be planning ahead! Speed limits are made because of drivers / riders inability to ride and adjust their speed accroding to the conditions and surroundings. Environmental issues will probably be a factor in any revisions too. I dont need a flashing 20 outside a school at certain times of the day, because I'm aware that there could be small inexperienced pedestrians around, hence I slow down to a speed which I'm happy that I could react at. This would probably be less than 20, but at this point I'm really not interested in my speedo, instead gathering information of my surroundings and developing situations that I may have to react to. Sounds ridiculous but if there was no speed limit and you were a responsible road user, there would be no reason to have a speedometer, it would be of no use just a distraction.
I don't really see what all the fuss is about, the Law demands their pound of flesh, the circumstances don't usually come into it for everyday minor indiscretion, they don't care how or why its always points / fine or both, so why should they worry about who takes the blame, the outcome for the court is the same.
A rider or driver of any skill or advanced training will know their speed and the limit they are travelling in.
Whilst there's no denying the smugness of this statement, it doesn't actually hold water in every case. A rider/driver with advanced skills will have a very good idea of his speed (within a couple of miles per hour) on-track or on roads he knows well, but on a piece of road that he doesn't know, or in hazardous conditions (high traffic volumes, presence of young pedestrians, etc) he won't know his speed to within a couple miles per hour. And if he does ... well, he is spending attention on it when he would be better off applying it elsewhere.
and that is the naivety of understanding Advanced riding...........the fact that you have never been down a particular road before wont make any difference as you have the skills to read the road ahead....regardless and in particular whether you have been down it before as the circs of the road will have changed....
Heh. Naivety. I see what you dd there. Whilst advanced training is undeniably useful, and imparts skills that would probably be lacking otherwise - the thing it is best at teaching is the belief that you are entirely in control of your destiny at all times. Heh. Naivety.
Never said they don't, but alas a couple of mph isn't accurate enough when it comes to an undulating road, with a 30 mph limit and lots of potential hazards to keep you attention. To use the Keith Code analogy, The threat of a speed camera takes up too much of your $10 bill of attention. And I simply don't believe anyone who says it doesn't, as in that case approaching a speed camera, fixed easily spotted jobby, you wont need to look at your speedo either because you will know within 2mph you are at or under 30, wont you :wink: following me has often been likened to two things; every road has a bend because I don't do straight lining and its like the ad where whatever is around the corner is avoided, so I am happy with my keep me alive skills thanks, its just the keep my licence and don't lose my house because I get caught doing 34 in a 30 4 times in 4 years of driving which is around 180k miles for me in often unknown andnever visited before places
Put it this way. An average driver ... all he has to worry about is spotting traffic cameras, his attention is focused there, and on the car immediately in front of him. There's a whole world of hazard out there that doesn't faze him, as he simply is unaware of it. He can watch his speedo, maybe the road in front and he's as safe as houses. Well, his licence is, anyway. A skilled driver (definition does not exclude someone who hasn't passed the IAM) is juggling all the hazards Joe Average is, plus the other potential dangers as well. He is trying to not only keep his licence safe but also other road users around him. Any part of his attention that is robbed by the artificial speed limit imposed by a traffic camera comes from a limited pool, as Keith Code (and Bradders) indicated. Note, I mention artificial speed limit - there's a speed at which it is relatively safe to travel a section of road that often has little in common with the posted speed limit. The variance can be plus or minus. Not that Joe Average makes any use of this knowledge. It's actually worse than this - Joe Average's meager road craft skills will be sorely taxed by the presence of a speed camera, unless he decides to slow down to twenty in a thirty, thirty in a forty, etc. Joe Average then quickly becomes Joe Popular. Not. Don't even get me started on the Average Speed cameras currently in use on the South-East section of the M25. Miles upon miles of motorists spending far too much attention on their speedometers, for far too long, on far too much chunk of road. Not too bad for the skilled driver in this case, they're using a road that's safe at 70mph but currently limited to 50 (due mainly to narrow lanes), but for Joe Average? Not so good.
So now we know. Eight months not suspended is quite severe for this I think, and he only got 10% off for the late guilty plea (not 33% for an early guilty plea). Wonder if he will appeal against sentence on the grounds it is to high? Maybe just suck it up.
The pair of them should be forced to share a cell. That would indeed be a severe sentence and also a genuine deterrent to others in their situation.
I am very surprised at these sentences. Just shows how mixed up our legal system is when violent offences seem to be treated so leniently in comparison. I also think the seriousness of the original case should be a factor in the level of punishment for the subsequent conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He tried it on big time and pleaded guilty at the 11th hour so custodial sentence yes, but just a short one and a very heavy fine and costs. She was stupid to go to the papers and took some very bad advice pleading not guilty but surely 8 months (OK she'll be out in about 3?) serves no real purpose? A few months supended sentence and another heavy fine. The woman's life and family reputation is in tatters....
this isnt about a speeding offence, its about someone who has pursuaded you and me the public that he was trustworthy enough to make decisions on our behalf on a national scale..........in reality he is a liar and a cheat, and deserves to be treated beyond what the ordinary MOP would of got! i think its too short a sentence, personified in this case by the lack of minerals to admit his offences at the very earliest opportunity no doubt seeking every which way to try to get off with them. She got her revenge but has paid a price too.....
For two supposedly highly intelligent people they have both been incredibly stupid. Think there was little option other than jail, pity a few of the bankers that screwed this country over are not in there with them! I'm sure there are plenty of couples or ex-couples who have taken points for each other that will feel slightly worried now..... Best advice is keep your mouths shut. I do feel genuinely sorry for the couples kids with both parents in jail.
They've both been made an example of somewhat, but that's not to say they don't deserve it. For intelligent, successful people to think they can bend and break the rules is just stupid. Perverting the course of justice is a very serious crime as it undermines the very rule of law itself and each of them should have known better. I feel a tiny bit sorry for her, in as much as at the time it happened it would have been difficult to refuse to sign for the points if he'd insisted on making a big deal out of it. I would have probably given her half his sentence to reflect that. No sympathy whatsoever for Chris Huhne though. No doubt he'll make it rich form the inevitable book deal and the endless serialisations of his time in jail in the newspapers... TOSSER!
