A couple of bikers here in UK, were sent down for a 28 day holiday courtesy of the government and given a two year ban followed by an extended test to get licence back for doing 157 and 148 mph. Howls from both sides, too much! not enough!.....any thoughts. Before you ask, Kawasaki 1200 and 750.

I think it's appropriate.  I am a firm believer in stiff sentencing as a deterrent;  if the deterrent doesn't work then the sentence is not stiff enough.  And for people inclined to ignore any deterrent, at least harsh sentences keep them from endangering society, for a while anyway.

"First offense" (even if true) shouldn't be a defense.  No reason to be driving 150, or even 100.  That is what track time is for -- road racing, moto-x, drag racing, whatever your thrill medium.

If those two had killed somebody else....  As a parent in particular, it makes me angry when some Squid-boy does a lane-split wheelie down the freeway at 120 (hyperbole, but at least 80 or 90, yes, I have witnessed this).  If he/she caused an accident that hurt my child, I would kill the individual myself if the accident didn't.

Trev

Ditto on what he said. Lane splitting is a huge privilege....I cant believe some people misuse it. The 10-15 mph speed differential is all you need to get ahead of hours of waiting in a cage. And if you are lane splitting for longer than the 2-3 mile stretches (which I have in the past thanks to accidents or just plain bad highway design but not on a daily basis Thank god) everyday either move closer to work or search for alternate routes/times.
Cool.
Srinath.

I hope they had a good time, I mean, speeding. Was it worth it? IMO that's pretty harsh, but as someone said on the Bay Area Riders Forum, "If we don't start policing ourselves and practice self-restraint and 'portray' compliance (added in), we will be policed and regulated. In an area where the speed limit was once 55mph, it will be lowered to 35mph." We must actively cooperate with those appointed over us in order to preserve our already limited freedoms. If we can show them that we can control ourselves, they'll look elsewhere where there is trouble, like speeding cagers and drug dealers.

Yeah, the "that's outrageous!" argument doesn't really hold up.  If you don't want to go to jail and lose your bike, just don't break the law!  I agree that irresponsible behavior can result in a legal backlash; better to quit while you are ahead.

Trev

Yeah, I'll go with all of that, interesting to get the U.S. perspective. The excuse offered in court was "a burst to get past a tractor trailer on a long left hand bend" (be like right hand for u) considering the U.K. limit is 70 double does seem a trifle excessive. Providing they dont punch a warder they will probably get 50% off the jail time anyway but I imagine it will be a fairly sobering experience. Thanks.

i personally think the laws are an issue.  well, that on top of americans that can't drive worth a crap.  i wish we had tha autobaun here along with some of the laws in place that go with aditional freedoms. however we don't have the public transportation in place for people to use when they loose their liscense's.  for example, it's punishable if you are in the left lane and not passing someone.  no eating or cell phones or reading, etc while driving on the autobaun.  there are posted speed options and the penalities are not as stiff if you cause an accident while driving or riding within those limits, however if exceeding those limits and cause an accident then the penalities are very harsh.  some cars on the roads today feel unsafe driving at 70 mph where as my car feels most comfortable at 80 mph.  that's why i have a radar detector.   :nana:

:mrgreen:

brandi

long but interesting:

http://christianparty.net/mvfr.htm

The odd thing about the German Autoaun comparison is that they stick rigidly to the "no limit" policy because they always have but if you buy a car or a bike in Germany it will be limited in power. "Social responsibility contract" they call it. Seems a bit daft to me when the BMW you but in England or Holland or whatever turns out to be more powerfull than the one from Munich!