Biker jailed for son's 122mph ride!!

[Swiss Toni]

unless it was going backwards it would be hard to defend (the "-" to the right of the speed indicates the target vehicle is going away as against a "+" if it was coming towards as the Yaris is )

You'd be amazed at the speed the rotating vent on the roof of a Police Dog van...

 

[Dieselman]

You'd be amazed at the speed the rotating vent on the roof of a Police Dog van...

Thinks quickly...

I'm sure there's a market for rotating helmet coolers there.....

 

[Sp!ke]

So a sudden severe gust of wind or an imperfection in the road, a bird, a sudden atmospheric phenomena will have you better prepared in a Hayabusa doing 130+ (which still has only two wheels) but not in a nearly two ton car. Come on...!

I know it sounds far fetched but dont knock it until you've experienced it. A mere 130mph is just ticking over on these things, at 180mph you can take both hands of the bars and steer it with your hips with absolutely no drama.

On one of the top speed days I did, the weather was as bad as it could be. 80mph gusts coming in at right angles to the runway. One moment a huge gusts and then sudden stillness.. completely unpredictable. It was decided not to do the top speed runs until the weather settled and do do 1/4 mile runs instead because it was so bad. Whilst I was content with a low 10s @ 148, many were significantly faster. There's no way I would have risked going much over a ton in my car in that. The bike however just took it in its stride.

You have to remember that the bikes were designed to do more than 200mph in safety. The faster you go, the more downforce is created and the more stable they become.

 

[Dieselman]

You have to remember that the bikes were designed to do more than 200mph in safety. The faster you go, the more downforce is created and the more stable they become.

Do bikes create downforce.? Don't know, but those wheels sure create a lot of gyroscopic effect, which is why they can't steer quickly at speed.
The gyro would keep the bike upright in a hurricane.

 

[Sp!ke]

You might have a point about the gyroscopic forces, but steering is still fairly agile.

Have a look at some of the ghostrider stuff for a first person perspective and you'll see that there's no real drama flicking the bike around three lanes at 180+.
Again I dont agree with glamorising these antics really but watch it if only on educational grounds.

9 minutes of utter lunacy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShacMAn_HK8

 

[Sorry Pete]

Did anybody see that Cops and Robbers Police Interceptors 999 program recently with a biker who had clonked a low flying pheasant with his head? He was riding at the legal limit and was lucky to keep his head, but it was in a right state! Hitting something at 122 does not bear thinking about. A friend of mine is a pro bike racer and refuses to ride on the road. 'Too dangerous' is his excuse. Gotta see his point really.

Saw that one!

Ok everyone, I don't want to start a whole bikers vs cars thing here, but the fact is that we all share the same road space. What I think it comes down to is using that road space responsibly. I don't think that was demonstrated by this chap here.

Okay, here we go:

Someone raised the question of whether he'd be prosecuted if he was on an unrestricted Autobahn. That's a good one, probably not, unless they decide to hit him with something I recall happenning to a biker in the USA, with his toddler on board.
In any event motorways/dual carriageways are inherently safer - no oncoming traffic = lower closing speeds = time. I don't think there are any unrestricted single-carriage roads in the world. ([edit] Oh wait.. Manx?)

I'm not saying bikers are unstable at that speed, or that the guy was inexperienced, it's just my opinion that I don't think that sort of speed is intelligent on public roads: save it for track days?

There's an old pilot saying that goes something like this: The three most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you, runway behind you, and a tenth of a second ago. At least the last two applied after my head-on 3 weeks after passing my test. Not smart, very scary, everyone walked away. If I'd have followed that little bit of advice re: being able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear, on your side of the road, that could have been avoided. It was a wake-up call that has influenced my driving attitude and behaviour ever since. It doesn't mean I can't "make progress" where progress must be made

Rant over.

 

[Uberwagon]

The speed is not an issue in my eyes, compared to a car the distance needed to attain that speed is massively less.

The problem is the YOUNG pillion and the lack of full protection in the conditions.

Inappropriate speed definitely.

If the conditions were different then just speeding would suffice, no pillion, dry etc.

Dave!

 

[kwakdonut]

Another idiot spoils it for all the bikers out there.

Remember that the road safety morons will jump on this big style with yet more 'bikes are dangerous', 'lets ban bikes' slogans etc etc

I have no sympathy for this stupid man but as a biker I cringe at yet another to$$er fuelling the anti-bike brigades tank!

 

[JumboBeef]

For anyone to travel at 118mph on a busy single carriageway road, in the rain, riding/driving anything, is just moronic!

 

[bluevenetian]

I fail to see why people are saying things like "130 mph is not really that fast for a superbike" or "getting up to 122 mph doesn't take long on a bike like that" -- Surely its the time it takes to STOP from those speeds that are important, not whether the bike is aerodynamically stable etc etc....????? just my tuppence worth -- i'll get back in my box now!

 

[daveuj]

At the A&E they are called organ doners (that says it all).as an ex biker think he was mad don't like the wet.60 year old biker killed this weekend in Derbyshire lots of this round Matlock each year in the spring & summer.

 

[Ronnie]

Whilst I dont wish to condone in anyway what he did, it is a litte harsh when you consider other offences where people get more lenient penalties, the problem lies with the Courts and their inconsistencies..........rob and beat up an old lady in her home and you get a free holiday !!

 

[Mr E]

I fail to see why people are saying things like "130 mph is not really that fast for a superbike" or "getting up to 122 mph doesn't take long on a bike like that" -- Surely its the time it takes to STOP from those speeds that are important, not whether the bike is aerodynamically stable etc etc....????? just my tuppence worth -- i'll get back in my box now!

It's also the risks and outcomes involved that should be considered, and not just for the rider / pillion but for other road users as well.

As soon as someone focusses on their own abilities in a mixed environment such as a public road I begin to cringe - whether that be a biker, car driver, cyclist, horse rider, etc.

At 130 mph you're travelling 58m / second. At that rate of travel, thinking of reaction times, sight lines, etc, where could you safely travel at that speed on a public road?

If I remember rightly, sight lines for junctions, etc, are based on 3.5 second decision/reaction times - hence why highway planners tend to default to 100m sightlines on uncontrolled junctions at main roads.

So my personal view is that, regardless of the vehicle used, to travel in excess of the speed expected (which would usually be the limit, but there is a basis to use a percentile value for the road population) is to be working outside of the design parameters of the system and not something I would be happy with. Even if it is within the parameters of a single componant of the system - my own limits and abilities, and those of my vehicle - the same may not be true of all the components of the system which fails at the weakest link (which may be machanical failure, change in road surface, some unexpected reactions from other drivers, etc, etc, etc).

But back on topic - no-one has the right to risk the life of another by the deliberate result of their actions in the way that this chap did with his son.

 

[janner]

122mph might not feel fast on a modern bike and it might well stop quickly but the ground that you'll cover before you even hit the brakes at that speed will be huge. 122 into a bend, in the wet, deserves a long ban and three months behind bars is well justified in my book.

 

[PJayUK]

It does have to be said that many bikers are complete cocks. I have lost count of how many times I have nearly wiped one out on the M25 when there "filtering" at ridiculous speeds in slow moving traffic. I used to be an avid bike fan but wouldn't have another one.

 

[Uberwagon]

This happens time and time again and people concentrate on the speed.

It was inappropriate speeding, not the speed itself.

"Oh but it's the time you take to stop"

So put yourself in a position where your view is clear, your environment is controlled and you are aware of your limitations. He didn't do this so is suitably punished.

"Selfish **** for putting other people in danger"

As above, choose your location, if you see another gvehicle in the distance, adjust your speed accordingly, or junctions, or road furniture, the visibility available. He didn't do this so is suitably punished.

If you ride or drive fast make sure it is in an environment you can control, people on here talk of going 95/ 100mph on the motorway, but how many leave a lanes gap between them and the other cars? Oh it's not a big speed so it's still safe, they are thinking of the children etc and other mindless daily mail tosh.

He did a bloody stupid thing imo and although harsh, I can see sense in the judgement given.

APPROPRIATE speed is never an issue.

Dave!

 

[st13phil]

First things first: I don't condone what Mr Bennett did and I would not do them myself. I also agree with Mr E's comments about the responsibillities that go with sharing roadspace with others, but...

Personally, I think a better punishment would have been to make him work with kids who have suffered trauma due to motoring accidents for a few months as maybe that would have made him reflect on his actions and any future ones too in a way that a custodial sentence probably won't. However, it's quite clear that the judiciary wasn't looking at how to punish or improve this particular individual, they were looking at how they could scare the rest of the population into toeing the line.

 

[Mr E]

If you ride or drive fast make sure it is in an environment you can control

Absolutely agree - except that there is so much out of your control in a public space.

For example, on a track someone will have inspected the track and surrounding prior to you setting foot on it. You will have a briefing about the bits of tarmac you will be driving/riding on. Immediate action is taken to warn and recify hazards. Lots of variables have been taken out of the equation in an environment that is designed for the speeds intended to be travelled.

So what happens on the public highway? Marshalls to warn of the oil spill? Someone has inspected the surface to make sure it is up to the job and has no pot holes, worn surfacing or other hazards? All the hedgerows have been cleared well back so that you have space to move into as well as reducing unexpected visitors to the road environ (although I do remember seeing bunnies on the track at Silverstone...)?

Imagine how different your driving on a track would be if the armco was 3 feet back from the curb, and a random car was coming the other way...

Your statement about inappropriate speed is correct - but most people who quote that line forget to say "inappropriate for the environment" and also forget the environment that they are talking about.

 

[Wezzel]

IIRC it wasn't so long ago someone on this forum was boasting about doing 200mph on the Autobahn with his Fiancée/wife on board. Most people here gave him a virtual pat on the back and many congratulations.

Is this really so different? In either instance the slighest outside influence could have had disasterous consequences. I can't help thinking of the roadkill I've seen on dual carriageways and motorways over the years - from rabbits, badgers and foxes to a fully grown deer. I stopped, not so long ago, to pick up the rider of a Harley who was sitting in the road coverd in blood after hitting a young deer.

When all is said and done though, and bearing in mind the overcrowding of our prisons and the community service handed out to little scroats who beat the crap out of people for fun, I think a custodial sentence was well over the top. A very long ban would have hurt him badly (but probably still not as much as the boy's mother did when she saw the news!)

 

[JumboBeef]

IIRC it wasn't so long ago someone on this forum was boasting about doing 200mph on the Autobahn with his Fiancée/wife on board. Most people here gave him a virtual pat on the back and many congratulations.

Is this really so different?

Yes, it is totally different!

On an Autobahn (and I've driven on them) you expect to see cars travelling at double the speed you are doing. In the UK, you do not expect to see someone doing more than double the 60mph limit!