FAST IS DANGEROUS

Silver plated Sh*te more like

It only makes you more dangerous if you pay no extra attention to your environment to compensate, and most people pay much more attention (on bikes at least) when travelling at higher speeds.

Originally Posted by jonboy

See I personally think that there are very straight and empty stretches of motorway that early on a summer's morning are (in the right and experienced hands) perfectly safe to achieve these sorts of speeds. I mean look at Germany's Autobahns for instance.

I once had the displeasure of attending the post mortems of two young soldiers, who had been driving at around 130 on the autobahn.

Suffice to say they didn't survive their jaunt, when the driver lost control. Interestingly both driver and passenger, had broken their right ankle by trying to brake. Their skulls were shattered like eggshells and they were the only PM's I ever attended where no tools were required to remove their brains.

Just for info by the way to try and get a message across that although the autobahns have no limit they are also amongst the most dangerous motorways in europe.

i always thought they were the safest for some reason.

Originally Posted by bikageboy

i always thought they were the safest for some reason.

You'd be wrong. The safest motor ways in Europe are our own.

Germany's roads have a better record but not the autobahns.

ok - i stand corrected

Originally Posted by Patch

ust for info by the way to try and get a message across that although the autobahns have no limit they are also amongst the most dangerous motorways in europe.

Not so. The west German autobahns (as distinct from the less well built Eastern ones) are not among the most dangerous in Europe, certainly they have a higher fatality rate than the UK (oddly Europe's safest) but if speed is the issue then how come the Americans driving at 55mph have a much high fatality rate than the Germans?



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Originally Posted by jonboy

...if speed is the issue then how come the Americans driving at 55mph have a much high fatality rate than the Germans?

Good point. I'm going slightly off topic here from jonboy's point, but It always amazes me that American bikers ride with no helmets - have they no idea of safety at all?

Originally Posted by jonboy

Not so. The west German autobahns (as distinct from the less well built Eastern ones) are not among the most dangerous in Europe, certainly they have a higher fatality rate than the UK (oddly Europe's safest) but if speed is the issue then how come the Americans driving at 55mph have a much high fatality rate than the Germans?



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The americans binned the drive 55 in most states some years ago in fact their interastate limit is now highr than our own motorway limit IIRC.

Don't get me wrong I am not of the speed kills breed, in fact if you look through my posts on the subject that should be clear. I am not however of the speed is safe breed either.

Crashes happen for a variety of reasons, rarely speeding hoever the severity of a crash is generally increased by the speed of the vehicle(s) involved.

Given that we all need to keep moving some casualties are inevitable.

building a false belief, however, that riding a motorcycle at high speeds on public roads is not dangerous is quite frankly very irresponsible, it is. Not because of the speed but because of the changing road conditions.

If people like Dave Jeffries, Joey Dunlop etc can be killed riding on closed roads with all their skill and experience because of a small oil spill then you and I combatting that as well as myopic idiots have got to accept the increased risk.

Sorry to answer your point on America, any country where there is no test required to get behind the wheel of a vehicle or ride a bike is naturally going to have a higher casualty rate whatever their speed limits.