Should the speed limit be different for bikes?

[pegasus]

going faster is,nt the solution to getting somewhere quicker.

going at a constant steady speed will always be quicker (imho)

so why not introduce a cruiser lane for bikes doesnt have to be as wide as a normal lane..but disallow cars from using it.

Rather than having different speed limits for bikes and cars, I've always thought that there should be different classes of licence, with different proven standards of competency, that should allow vehicles (both cars and bikes) to be driven at correspondingly different speeds.


.

[Balky001]

Originally Posted by vltn3

going faster is,nt the solution to getting somewhere quicker.

going at a constant steady speed will always be quicker (imho)

so why not introduce a cruiser lane for bikes doesnt have to be as wide as a normal lane..but disallow cars from using it.

or going faster more constantly

[Balky001]

mind you, we'd still be prone to being killed by drivers that didn't see us and U-turned for no reason. It's not the speed of the bike but the reactions and roadcraft of the numpties around us that dictates our progress.

Originally Posted by jonboy

Rather than having different speed limits for bikes and cars, I've always thought that there should be different classes of licence, with different proven standards of competency, that should allow vehicles (both cars and bikes) to be driven at correspondingly different speeds.


.

Best idea yet. Perhaps even linking the licence to insurance records.

//edit: Only problem is, the police won't know what class of licence you hold untill they pull you over though

For example, if I get nicked for speeding tomorrow by a cop, being a young(ish) bloke on a fairly quick bike I don't think I could complain too much. But I've always thought it extremely unfair to give speeding fines to people who are driving fast (but otherwise safely - i.e. it's perfectly safe to do 100mph on the motorway in good conditions) who have been driving for 30 years with otherwise unblemished licences and hold full no claims discounts.

[Balky001]

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

Best idea yet. Perhaps even linking the licence to insurance records.

//edit: Only problem is, the police won't know what class of licence you hold untill they pull you over though

For example, if I get nicked for speeding tomorrow by a cop, being a young(ish) bloke on a fairly quick bike I don't think I could complain too much. But I've always thought it extremely unfair to give speeding fines to people who are driving fast (but otherwise safely - i.e. it's perfectly safe to do 100mph on the motorway in good conditions) who have been driving for 30 years with otherwise unblemished licences and hold full no claims discounts.

Won't the arguement be that the best drivers can go at the current max and poorer or less experienced will need to slow down, especially after all the billions the Gov has spent trying to ascertain what the maximum speed limit should be. I wonder if they'd say a 999R handles better than a HD and therefore could go faster?

problem is though Junior arent your speed limits lower than ours in the UK ? Ive got a mate emigrating to Canada in about a months time and he was telling me about the driving test, speed limits etc and how they differ to us. Mind you saying that have you got a more tolerant police force and better roads ? I know youve got more roads and less cameras - hence the reason Ive got my paperwork on the go to come over - apparently 440,000 visas have been issued by the Canadian Govt for people to emigrate over... nice !

Possibly.

Chances of anything changing are remote though.

Going after speeding is great for the government on so many levels. The fines bring in lots of money, it makes them look like they're doing something about road safety, they can cut police as a result and use cameras instead, and best of all it irritates motorists. The governments main road transport policy is to **** us all off, not to try and keep us safe.

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

A number of countries already have differing speed limits for different classes of vehicles, and of course we have different speed limits for lorries and busses, so there may be a precedent already.

Damn, that was the major point that got me thinking about it- cars are to bikes, as lorries are to cars

Can't believe I left it out of my initial post. Cheers

Originally Posted by jonboy

Rather than having different speed limits for bikes and cars, I've always thought that there should be different classes of licence, with different proven standards of competency, that should allow vehicles (both cars and bikes) to be driven at correspondingly different speeds.


.

Yes, I've often thought that IAM/ROSPA certification should give you the (legal) right to go a bit quicker.