Reducing Speed Limits On Popular Biker Roads

[KTMsm]

Police Scotland are trialling reducing 60s to 50 using the excuse that reducing the speed limit will reduce motorcycle accidents


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80lz57l1j9o.a...

They did this locally after a biker died, doing probably 120+ in a 60

They reduced it to 50 because although he ignored 60 of course he would have obeyed a 50 limit FFS !

[John D.]

Does seem a rather pointless token gesture.

[Altitude]

It'll then be followed with average speed cameras.

We're our own worst enemies. If people didn't both take the piss, and stop yeeting themselves into trees you'd never have this, but because enough cannot stick even close to a limit and are desperate to remove themselves and others from the gene pool each summer it'll happen over and over and over.

There's another popular road near me that's getting average speed cameras on it purely to catch bikes.

[Tindersticks]

Part of the reason is aholes with race cans taking the absolute piss. Don’t be surprised when that starts to have consequences.

[Mr Tidy]

KTMsm said:

Police Scotland are trialling reducing 60s to 50 using the excuse that reducing the speed limit will reduce motorcycle accidents


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80lz57l1j9o.a...

They did this locally after a biker died, doing probably 120+ in a 60

They reduced it to 50 because although he ignored 60 of course he would have obeyed a 50 limit FFS !

That's the sort of illogical excuse that keeps getting trotted out these days sadly.

The last couple of years I've done a few trips around Scotland in my car with other owners of the same model organised by someone on a forum for them, and I expect we use some of those roads too!

Living in Surrey it's a treat to find some good roads with very little traffic.

[mikey_b]

Tindersticks said:

Part of the reason is aholes with race cans taking the absolute piss. Don’t be surprised when that starts to have consequences.

^^^This^^^. Act like a tt, pissing off everyone within a mile-wide strip alongside every road in a nice area, then this sort of thing happens.

Unfortunately everyone who rides more discreetly (not necessarily slower, just less obviously riding like a tt), gets caught up in the same crackdowns.

[66mpg]

They also plan to raise the speed limit for HGVs to 50mph. With every vehicle allowed to travel at the speed limit it will make legal overtakes much more difficult to accomplish. You’ll just play follow-my-leader all the way to your destination (yawn).

[scorcher]

I expect a lot of speed camera are sited at accident black spots which in fact are where people have crashed at 100 mph plus whilst drunk or drugged and it wouldn’t actually make any difference what the speed limit was originally. Sounds like a good excuse though

[milu]

Drives me mad. If they must put cameras on roads. Fair enough I suppose. But just enforce the current limit, 60mph. But no, we have it reduced first then average speed monitoring.

I drive lots for work and these blanket 50 zones are appearing everywhere.
As said above. If you’re willing to exceed 60 by a lot then why would 50 have been any different?

[black-k1]

This:

Altitude said:

It'll then be followed with average speed cameras.

We're our own worst enemies. If people didn't both take the piss, and stop yeeting themselves into trees you'd never have this, but because enough cannot stick even close to a limit and are desperate to remove themselves and others from the gene pool each summer it'll happen over and over and over.

There's another popular road near me that's getting average speed cameras on it purely to catch bikes.

and this :

Tindersticks said:

Part of the reason is aholes with race cans taking the absolute piss. Don’t be surprised when that starts to have consequences.

100%


Reduce it to a 50 limit, possibly add a few double white lines, spend a few weekends with some camera vans and hey presto, it stops being a bikers favourite road and the problem goes away.

[Biker's Nemesis]

Those roads in that article are one's I use a lot. I use them to get onto the better roads.

One of the main reasons I never post routes is to stop knob heads spreading the word, you know the "Google Map timeline" look at me types.

It'll make no difference to me.

[Hugo Stiglitz v2]

A708 Moffat to Selkirk....noooooooo


To overtake someone driving at 40 you really need to lift up your skirt and run like buggery.

So you'll hit 70 for a short period. The camera van will be sat right in that spot.

So everyone will end up in a slow snaking formation with appalling frustrated overtakes on blindspots etc as drivers won't want to risk it on a safe straight..

[STe_rsv4]

so another 3 of my most popular roads getting kyboshed.

So the rural 60 limit wasn't being adhered to and bikers are killing themselves? I've got a great idea, lets reduce that limit, they definitely wont exceed that one, especially in such an unpopulated area with little chance of it being enforced.
Not sure how they will enforce this reduction on those roads mind? average cameras? may just have enough "mud" on the number plate to avoid it being read. Static or roadside cameras, these are pretty rural roads and not always a guaranteed "capture" for the revenue chasing chods.

I've noticed lately there appears to be a few hypocritical comments on the BB threads lately regarding the race can / power ranger remarks that insinuate its all their fault these measures are happening as if some of these superbike owners never exceed the limits themselves? I've been on plenty of rides on these roads. sometimes even with ex coppers on their "standard" exhaust supernakeds and we were making safe / decent progress without risk of taking out any trees.

[moanthebairns]

Firstly, I was exposed to this last week living up here. At no point from the reports or interviews with politicians was there any indication that this was to cut motorbike fatalities. This is the first account I've seen referencing bikes, this was not initially portrayed as way to restrict bikers from speeding or flinging it into the scenery.

To say it is a result of riders with loud exhaust that travel beyond the speed limit is specious reasoning at best. This has been a result of a statistically horrific year of road fatalities and crashes up here from all modes of transport.

To me this is a classic SNP/Greens policy (SNP do not hold majority up here so have had to get into bed with the Greens for a lot their policies to pass) devoid of any research on the topic or proof that their restrictions will make a notable impact. Just look at minimum pricing they have pedalled out or the reduction of the drink drive limit up here.

Doing 20,000+ miles up here yearly what I have noticed that I personally feel is the reason for such high fatality rates.
- Increased tourism since covid, the roads in which they're travelling on are frankly ridiculous now due to the volume of vehicles and the influx of driver/rider that isn't familiar with roads like these. This can range from foreigners travelling on the wrong side of the road which has killed a few this year, to drivers pissing about doing 30mph on a NSL, to parking on verges obscuring junctions.
- The standard of the road surface is appalling especially down the borders. The roads aren't being maintained to suit the increase in tourism.
- Lack of policing. Central belt still has regular Traffic Police out, but you're more likely to see a camera van than police on patrol. Down the borders there seems to be nothing. This is due to cuts to the force.
- Lack of training, bike safe was stopped up here due to lack of funds. I often think this is a hugely underrated for a new rider.

One of the roads in question, the A7 I used to ride every Friday at rush hour and back home on Saturday morning for a year or so visiting my o/h. I can tell you I've done some speeds on that road. You learned where the loose chippings were, the junctions, the speed cameras, the pot holes. Where to overtake, where not to, making it a 50 mph would do the square route of fk all. What I did notice there was some horrific driving mainly from locals in motors who do that route to Edinburgh everyday that weren't much over the speed threshold. Illegal/dangerous overtakes born out of frustration of slow moving HGV's or car drivers driving 10 mph below the speed limit.

The solution is better education, better driving standards, better roads, reducing congestion. This is the 'easy fix' which won't change fk all.

[STe_rsv4]

moanthebairns said:

The solution is better education, better driving standards, better roads, reducing congestion. This is the 'easy fix' which won't change fk all.

Stop spouting utter sense.
the poor Gubberment want ya dosh

[Hugo Stiglitz v2]

Education doesn't work. You need to be listening to be educated.

Plenty of people out there who think it's revenue generation and targeting poor them but the sad fact is when you've been to numerous smashed up bodies in cars etc no one cares.

You can be a seriously good rider in your head and have put together a thousand nice lines before but speed always has a habit of mixing with road conditions.


As for ex cop riders. Sorry they are human too. Even the best riders.

Sadly plenty of my local ones come off or had life changing injuries in training rides or operationally.

There I'm back to being BRAKE! Again

Edited by Hugo Stiglitz v2 on Monday 2nd December 12:12

[black-k1]

STe_rsv4 said:

moanthebairns said:

The solution is better education, better driving standards, better roads, reducing congestion. This is the 'easy fix' which won't change fk all.

Stop spouting utter sense.
the poor Gubberment want ya dosh

It's not about the money they will raise, it's about the money they want have to spend. Sorting the problems properly will cost a lot of money that they don't have. This way they can be seen to be doing something without actually having to spend significant amounts of money. In fact, the "income" from the subsequent fines will likely cover the costs of the changes.

Similarly, telling the average voter they are a poor driver and need to get further training is likely to be a vote loser where telling the average voter your going after "the idiots" they see on the road every day is a vote winner.

[moanthebairns]

STe_rsv4 said:

moanthebairns said:

The solution is better education, better driving standards, better roads, reducing congestion. This is the 'easy fix' which won't change fk all.

Stop spouting utter sense.
the poor Gubberment want ya dosh

I honestly fear that if one less person than the year before is killed on these restricted sections of roads during this trial it'll be all the Government need for their blanket role out of 50mph on single carriageways in Scotland.

[66mpg]

Every time I see another road that has had its speed limit reduced “for safety” I wonder about all the vehicles that traveled along it at the higher limit without crashing into the scenery, or other road users, that didn’t cause any injuries or fatalities. Are they not represented in the decision making process? Why are we always catering to the lowest common denominator all the time, instead of trying to improve their skills or banning those who can’t/won’t concentrate on the job in hand off the roads for good? No road is dangerous in itself, but the conduct of some of those who use some of them surely is.

[Biker9090]

We're on the way back from Devon at the moment. The best part of 15 miles stuck behind a queue of traffic following Farmer fking Giles in his Defender who didn't once go past 35mph.

I'm convinced some of these fatalities are the result of frustration at smoothbrained creatures going obnoxiously slow.

This will only add to the fatality rate as people will be too scared to cane it to get past these s