Genesis

I think you will find that the person speeding is in the wrong as much as the person who pulls out..in UK law anyways. Re the 'bad person', if you were to kill someone (or I was for that matter) and its proven that our excess speed was to blame (and its sooooo easy to prove IF that is the case..marks on the road et al) then we would be 'bad people'. I don't think the next of kin of the victim would think we were 'good people' if our flouting of the law was a direct cause of the death of their loved one. And we must not say it will never happen because we all make bad judgements sometimes. Alas sometimes those bad and unlawful judgements kill people. Then the shit is upon the fan big time. I never want that in my life so I stick to the rules.

chocolate cake

Agree on many NZ roads 100kmh is way too fast for the road conditions, but that national speed limit applies equally to narrow windy roads as it does to the odd stretch of two lane road and the occassional long straight roads. Needless to say the speed cameras are on the latter two.

The penalties I've picked up in NZ are 116kph going downhill on two lane stretch on virtually my first serious outing, a kop going the other way. I didn't slow down as I didn't realize you could get caught from opposite direction. Other 111kmh by a camera on a new by pass.
If I drove anything like I did in the UK I'd have had the full quota in a few months most modern cars will easily exceed 100km idling along without much effort. I now use the cruise control to avoid any further such mishaps.

Presumably DD refers to drink driving? To compare speeding with drunk driving is absolutely ridiculous. The %age of drink driving is certainly worse in NZ than back home and certainly needs attacking. I've no qualms with that.

Likewise at last it's illegal to use hand held mobile and drive. Why it should 5 years later than anywhere else, god knows.

Justcol

"In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught."

Genesis

No one is comparing d/d with speeding per se. BUT they both do have the same result sometimes..death. My point was one bloke wants d/d folk locked up and in the previous sentence says he's bringing his speed radar to Nz with him. D/d is dangerous so is speeding. If you own a radar detector methinks you are in for some serious speeding. The faster you go the bigger the mess. I do not want some tosser doing 140kph slamming into me and my family as he/she deems it 'appropriate'.

Sambellina

Phew!! That is such good news!!

Sambellina

Thanks for the advice colandros!

I can't believe I now have 9 points! I've had a licence for over 12 years, but acquired 9 points in the last two!

It's so easy to get zapped in the UK these days too, with average speed checks, speed and police cameras EVERYWHERE! On top of that it can be quite ambiguous the difference between 30 and 40, then 50 and 60 roads, there aren't always signs. That said I got most of my points on the motorway, so no excuse!!

I do quite a bit of driving with work, so picked up my points in various parts of the UK. I'd been so long without any that I probably wasn't too concerned about having 3 or 6 points, now I have 9 though its a bit more concerning! So, yes I've learned my lesson and now drive to the speed limit EVERYWHERE!! I have to say though, I was never reckless, I never used to speed in built up areas, too many people / cameras - but admit I did on the motorway if relatively empty.. as do most people it appears, as I now get passed all the time on the motorway, plodding along in the slow lane!

By the sounds of it I was lucky not to pick up any points in NZ on your motorways! Yep, I won't be taking any chances, they sound stricter over there than they are here!

Thanks again for the advice xx

Stormer999

No Genesis, I know it sounds bad if you read too much into my detector. I train riders for their Advanced Motorcycle test and am not a race boy in matching leathers. I ride a Honda Blackbird that will clock 200mph (320kph) but will travel in heavy traffic sweetly at 10mph and cruise effortly at M/way limits two up with luggage (I do the latter!). Our cameras in Warwickshire allow only a very tiny leeway on speed, hence I train riders to travel at the speed limit to plus 10% (providing it is safe to do so) using the speedo error and not inviting some idiot to attempt an overtake by us going too slowly. I travel at the speed limit, especially near any built up area and do not want to pick up points for inadvertently straying slightly over a 30 and gaining points for 34mph! My mindset by taking the trouble to pass my Institute of Advanced Motorcycle training and test, and then enter the arduous route of becoming an Institute Observer to train others in my own time voluntarily with no recompense financially I hope will show I am safety conscious.
Is the car driver that takes his/her family out without taking further training other than the basic test as sensible?

cappuccino

My friend was stopped for speeding yesterday - doing 135km/h whilst overtaking on one of those passing double lanes. The cop was coming the other way and my friend agreed that the speed limit had been exceeded.

This cop was quite friendly and said that he would only note the speed as 110 km/h and let them off with a warning. I think that my friend is very lucky especially as I have never heard of anyone being let off before. Anybody here just had a warning?

Justcol

Whe we first arrived 18 months ago i still had my old UK paper licence.
I first got stopped doing 120 in a 100 and got let off when asked to produce my licence.
This happened again a few weeks later when stopped for 65 in a 50.
I think the manky old tattered uk licence put them off.

Justcol

I love this guy

lardyl

that figures

Genesis

But would you like this brainless tosser and his 400kg machine coming thru the windscreen of your family's car at 200mph? If that happened I doubt you'd love him so much aye? I have never seen such crap, selfish, dangerous arrogant riding. And you put him on a pedestal? Duh.

Justcol

The bike only weighs around 200kg

"Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty well-preserved body,
but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out
and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a ride!”
Hunter S Thompson (another of my heroes)

You will never get me to see your point of view.
I dont care how many crash scenarios you want to thow into the mix.
Shit happens on a daily basis to people who are much more deserving
of a long and happy life than i am and also to tossers who i wouldnt
piss on if they were on fire. You live your life and when your numbers up
thats it off you go, so you make the most of your time here and stop
worrying about everybody else.
I cant control what what happens to others. I might have a front tyre
blow out at 40kmh and plough through a group of kids tomorrow
or i might do 200kmh down an empty road, with my sences buzzing.
adrenaline pumping, screeming Yeeeeehhaaaaaarrrr inside my helmet
and harm no one.
who knows?? i dont.

Genesis

200kg, 400kg..whatever. At 200mph it is not going to give you a positive face lift. I guess at 10kg and that speed its going to kill you. But its all harmless fun isn't it? Until someone dies. Then its not funny anymore is it? My mate killed road racing in London c1979. Loads of fun until he hit a parked car and died 2 hours later. 22yrs old. Clever or not? That's your hero on his 400bhp motor bike waiting to happen. I wonder how how many innocents he will take when he fecks up?

Justcol

Oh please dont bring the "lost friends" card to the table, it doesnt work.
I've lost friends myself and yes it is sad,very bloody sad but doesnt change my mind.
No its not funny when people get hurt but i'm not going to live my life
worrying about other peoples what ifs.