Same as me and my partner

We don't drive together very much, but if we do, the potential for hassle is always there

I accept that I drive very fast sometimes and that she doesn't like it - so it's pretty rare for me to put my foot down with her in the car. This only happens out of town, the only place I drive fast

The reason I get mad about her driving is that she will drive fast(ish) where I think it's wrong to - for example car parks or town centres

Even where we live, where there is a 20mph limit she frequently ignores

This does wind me up, not least because I have been known to follow people to their destination and berate them about their driving

 

A bit of a generalisation there, I think.

FWIW I think, from my own observations, that bikers tend to be better at observing the 30s and 40s than car drivers.

Once out on the NSLs I have to admit that I ignore them and ride according to the conditions but with an upper limit in mind.

As for road markings I would say that some are ludicrous - double white lines even where it is safe to overtake in a car, and even more ludicrous when you think of the way a bike accelerates. Of course if UK drivers adopted the practice of at least 90% of French drivers i.e. pulling over a bit to let a bike past when overtaking is restricted by an unbroken white line, there would be fewer complaints about bikers ignoring road markings.

I make no apologies for the numpties such as the idiot jailed yesterday for doing upwards of 130 in an NSL.

 

He was actually jailed for driving whilst disqualified and dangerous driving (which of course included the 130mph stuff). Apparently 17 Police vehicles and a helicopter were needed to apprehend him.

 

Thanks, but I already knew what the actual charges were.

 

[Also, playing devils advocate here, why is it unfair to criticise your driving when this whole thread is about criticising other peoples driving?

At least you have an opportunity here to defend yourself - the ones we are criticising don't have that chance. ]

Fair point!

 

Sorry, it just touched a nerve when I saw the headlines for this relating to the biker being jailed for "speeding" when there was far more to it than that.

 

Of course Phillip, but I can only speak from my own experience

One is killed or rendered quadraplegic round here most weekends

Invariably, months later, at an inquest or some other enquiry, loss of control of the bike at illegal speed will be a major, if not sole cause of the accident

I am fully accepting that numpty car drivers are responsible for many accidents too

Although 'pulling out in front of a bike' is often cited as the cause of the accident, the fact that the biker has approached the junction at three figure speeds needs to be factored into the equation

I also think that enthusiastic bikers are much more aware of surface conditions and other risk factors than car drivers

But this doesn't seem to stop the red mist descending when it comes to speed limits and road markings

I don't suggest for one minute that observing speed limits guarantees safety on the roads, but in many of the accidents I read about, and knowing the roads well, I can see how excessive speed has been a major factor

 

It's really the experience thing there;

The true biker who's ridden every day since it was illegal to do so is probably a lot more circumspect than the 'Born-again thritysomething biker' who bought one because he had a FS1E when he was 16 and rides his R6 or whatever in the same mein, having larded around in a car for the interim.

The latter can be a royal PIA.

 

Fourtysomething please
And it was a Kawasaki AE50 ( Although I always wanted a Fissie )

Although I brought a Harley partly because I didn't want to be tempted to drive fast nutter style

I'm happy to potter along in the line of traffic listening to the burble of the pipes

 

[QUOTE=dreamer,Aug 13 2008, 09:58 AM] I've found that the square approach (go out, take a look, overtake, pull in) combined with strong acceleration tends to avoid people closing the gap - either they close the gap early on in which case you can just pull back in, or you accelerate past them quickly before they've had a chance to react.