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Old 09-05-18, 10:13 AM   #24
Red Herring
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Default Re: Oh no, not again (speeding)

Quote:
Originally Posted by 650 View Post
I can see automated speed limitation of cars and bikes becoming the norm in the very near future. In all honesty, I'm blown away it's not happened already. Regardless of what people think, coppers aren't revenue agents, they genuinely want people to be safe - and not have to report the death of a loved one due to speeding/careless/drunk driving, etc.
So ask yourself this, genuinely. How many of us would bother riding bikes recreationally if either every time you went over a speed limit you automatically got fined, or all bikes were physically restricted from being able to break speed limits? Nobody goes out and buys a Fireblade or an R1 because they intend sticking to the upper speed limits. My personal moral compass means I'm pretty good at observing limits in built up areas, not because I necessarily think it's dangerous to exceed them in certain places but because I take a certain amount of pride in my riding and discipline is part of the process, but if I were being truthful, and I am, the national speed limit doesn't feature very much in my riding plans.

You're spot on saying coppers aren't revenue agents, but it's not them imposing the vast majority of speeding fines. Most coppers (there are always exceptions) apply a certain amount of common sense and look at time and place, and although over my career I certainly issued my fair share of tickets they were seldom for speeding. It might have said "excess speed" in the box, but that's only because it wasn't big enough for me to fit in "Riding like a ********...."

Speed enforcement is dealing with the symptom, not the cause and it makes pretty much no difference whatsoever to road safety, not in the big picture.
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