Speed limiters?

I can't really see this happening remotely soon to be honest- like the race bike registration, it's just some politician's 'bright' idea as they've got a bee in their bonnett and have looked at some report or other and made a decision.

just been reading a study done for the deptartment for transport about motorbike accidents where it was found that:

"Travelling in excess of the speed limit was considered to be a contributary factor in just 3.5% accidents on the motorcycle accident database. Of these, 62% were a result of the motorcyclist speeding."

[squirrel_hunter]

From my memory having read numerous reports over the years the majority of accidents are Right Of Way Violations where the car driver has "looked, but failed to see". My solution to reduce the number of motorcycle accidents is to ban cars.

Thats not going to happen and I doubt that speed limiters (other than what currently exist) will ever see the light of day. And even if they did I would not have one on my bike. Further I can't see them being retro fitted so bye bye to the new bike market until the manufactures kick up a fuss over lost sales.

Every now and again these reports come out and grab the headlines on a slow news day. Unfortunately all this report does is show 2 things 1) You can prove anything with statistics 2) The governments response to road safety can be summed up as "We still want you to crash, but just at a slightly slower speed".

[ScottishRawker]

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

Hands up who has ever had an accident on the road at licence losing speeds?
Hands up who has ever had an accident at significantly less (>10mph less) than the posted limit?

I think there'd be far more hands up in the second group.

i have to say my crash on my old 125 was at under 10mph,

but the chance of someone having crashed at license loosing speeds, i have very little faith that they are still around to tell us about it.

but to be honest i think more bikers crash at under 10mph than at high speeds

i agree with the above posts saying that a lot of accidents are down to inexperience, my first crash was due to that on a roundabout, (wet drain cover) second was a car on the wrong side of the road.

the more you ride, the more u learn, thats my 2p

If I recall, there was a similar thing back in the late seventies about restricting the speed of 50cc bikes back in the days when a Yam FS1E would do over 45 and all road legal 50s were then restricted to 30 MPH in the UK.

A similar thing happened a year or tow later whith the restriction of a 125 to 12 BHP.

OK both of these were learner measures but it stinks IMHO.

Never say never. Lets just hope it doesn't happen.

More of the Nanny state at work.....

Originally Posted by Beenz

If I recall, there was a similar thing back in the late seventies about restricting the speed of 50cc bikes back in the days when a Yam FS1E would do over 45 and all road legal 50s were then restricted to 30 MPH in the UK.

A similar thing happened a year or tow later whith the restriction of a 125 to 12 BHP.

OK both of these were learner measures but it stinks IMHO.

Never say never. Lets just hope it doesn't happen.

More of the Nanny state at work.....

like you say these are only measures to ensure learner riders dnt have a machine that can, if nailed, flip u str8 over the back of it. so in my opinion these are good restrictions.

but to restrict the top end speed of bikes is stupid, as most people have already said the majority of crashes have to do with low speed slips, diesel spills, and stupid car drivers who dnt knw what time of day it is, cant remember how many theyve had, are too busy chattin on a mobile, or just too over the hill to have a reaction time under an hour.

both times that ive been hit by a car theyve come out with the classic: "oh, i didnt see you there mate" my obvious response was "you didnt f****** look did ya!?!"

if they want to reduce fatalities they should make all drivers, and riders take an advanced driving course of some sort, and quite possibly some sort of faraday cage for inside cars so mobiles CANT be used while inside the car.

Watch the bike accident rates increase and the biker nos being killed increase because we can't accelerate out of danger (especially when overtaking.....)

Would you buy a bike that was restricted to 70 mph?? I wouldn't and I can't see very many dealers selling new bikes that were restricted to 70 can you?? They'd soon shut up shop due to lack of trade and financial difficulties...

From Reuters:

LONDON (Reuters) - Powerful motorcycles could have their top speed capped to try to cut the number of riders killed in accidents, an influential group of MPs said on Thursday.
Electronic speed limiters, already fitted on some scooters and high-performance bikes, could be required by law if the government adopts the committee's ideas.
"Motorcycle accident rates are far too high. They have been for 10 years," the House of Commons' Transport Committee said in a report. "It is time to consider radical action to tackle this problem."
Many "superbikes" with large engines have devices that restrict top speeds to 186 mph (300 kph). The committee did not suggest a top speed limit.
A total of 569 motorcyclists were killed and nearly 6,000 seriously injured in accidents in 2005, according to Department for Transport figures.
Giving evidence to the committee, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said it saw no need for motorbikes that can comfortably exceed the 70 mph limit twice over.
The charity suggested that engine size be limited to 125cc
"A case was made to the committee for limiting the speed of the more powerful motorcycles, though some technical issues still need to be resolved," the committee said.
The government should commission research on speed limiters to "stimulate a sensible debate" on the issue.
The committee said it appeared to be government policy to encourage greater use of motorcycles, despite concerns over safety and the environmental damage.
"This may be another argument in favour of reducing the maximum power and speed that is available on these vehicles," the committee reported.
The Motor Cycle Industry Association says road safety can be improved by better training, changing attitudes and improving roads rather than just focussing on speed.
Technology that interferes with a rider's control could be dangerous, it says.
The Department for Transport had no immediate comment

I think a speed limiter would cause more accidents than not having one TBH...

Imagine going for an overtake and the limiter kicks in

Originally Posted by sarah

just been reading a study done for the deptartment for transport about motorbike accidents where it was found that:

"Travelling in excess of the speed limit was considered to be a contributary factor in just 3.5% accidents on the motorcycle accident database. Of these, 62% were a result of the motorcyclist speeding."

So less than 2% are a direct result of speeding then...

...that dosnt bode well. Perhaps this'll mean we'll all get stabilisers for our bikes instead

Matt

[Edit] On the bright side, for us 33bhp riders, it means that we can finally keep up with you full-power boys and girls