View Full Version : Biker clocked at 122mph with son
Kutcher
03-02-2009, 04:46 PM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7865197.stm
A Devon motorcyclist has been told he could face jail after he was caught speeding at 122mph (196km/h) - with his 14-year-old son riding pillion.
Kutch
RandyB
03-02-2009, 05:33 PM
That's a shame, but the real tragedy is the home of Common Law and "a man's home is his castle" now bans driving (as punishment) before sentencing. How far we have come.
Bob1100RTC
03-02-2009, 05:38 PM
My son enjoys an occasional run thru the first 3 gears on the RT. Done in the right place I see nothing wrong with that. Life is about having a little fun now and then even though fun is rapidly being regulated out of our lives.
MotorradMike
03-02-2009, 06:58 PM
Wheel bolts torqued?
Good tyres?
Dynabeads in?
Coming home from hospital without your boy would be tough.
Stuff happens, make sure you do your best not to have it happen to you.
john1691
03-02-2009, 08:09 PM
While tempted to be a "cool" Dad once in a while, it is more important to be a "good" Dad, and therefore a good example to a future rider. The dumb stuff I do when he isn't with me is up to me, but when he is along, I try to be the best rider out there, which includes (mostly) following posted laws and limits. I've been riding on the street for 24 years, when he starts out he'll be a noobie, so I don't want him thinking it's ok to be doing 122mph right off the starting line. I know, like me, he will eventually, but hopefully my mentoring will keep him in check long enough to get some experiance first.
Manfred
03-02-2009, 08:29 PM
That's a shame, but the real tragedy is the home of Common Law and "a man's home is his castle" now bans driving (as punishment) before sentencing. How far we have come.
The real tragedy is that anyone would think this man shouldn't be punished. He was more than 2 times the 60 MPH speed limit with a minor on the back. Outlandish disregard for everyone's safety - his, his son's, everyone around him. Such foolishness has no protection in any law. If he was on private property, that would be slightly different story. On a public road - the guy behaved irresponsibly; and driving is a public contract of sorts that cannot exist if drivers cannot reasonably rely on one another (to obey traffic rules).
Seems to me the pre-trial punishment is very lax.
100mph+ riders have become the U.K.’s version of loud pipes problems in the U.S. No defense or rationalization needed. He admits to the offense and will have to deal with how ever the law dictates.
That said what I found REALLY scary about the BBC story was the William Shatner in the Pricline commercial lead in to the video.
henzilla
03-02-2009, 09:12 PM
seems to be a double standard at times, speeding in one state is not speeding in the next...55 vs 65MPH as an example. Yes, this guy tipped the scale quite a bit and was not as responsible as some feel he should be. News stories don't always give all the facts and sensationalize the rest. If " he is on private property" I assume a track, would be different? You can get hurt doing the speed limit and also be a danger to other drivers doing the limit with or without your kids on pillion. Heck, we even used to be able to ride in the back of a pickup truck in Texas before it was decided it was too dangerous and now it's illegal also.
I have had mine on the back from age 6 to age 30, I am as safe as I can be ,but I gotta say there's a lot of wiggle room on how fast that is...doing 80 on IH-10 seems very safe...and legal here.
mervingry
03-02-2009, 09:15 PM
A father risking his child's life is very irresponsible. Jail is probably too good for that moron.
RJM2096
03-02-2009, 09:50 PM
A father risking his child's life is very irresponsible. Jail is probably too good for that moron.
Agree 100% :thumb
122 in the rain, what's the problem? Good grief, what was he thinking, after all, the bike could go 220, guess he was showing good judgement, Sarcam!!!
As for taking away his license before sentencing, boo hoo. Driving is not a right, it is a privlege granted by the state. Some DUII laws take away the privlege prior to trial. It is fairly easy to keep your license, do what the law says. And a double standard? I dont know, speeding in one state is speeding in another, you go faster than the sign says you can, that is speeding.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7865197.stm
A Devon motorcyclist has been told he could face jail after he was caught speeding at 122mph (196km/h) - with his 14-year-old son riding pillion.
Kutch
Hi Kutch -
Having gone 140mph, 2-up, is a lot like the sound of a tree falling in the woods. If nobody hears/catches you, did it really happen?
Put another way, "go fast" because you really, really want to; not just because you and your scooter simply can.
Works for me and mine....
J.K. :wow
P.S. - Question authority!
- Do it!
- The andrenaline rush is absolutely incredible.
- An experience you'll never forget.
- Tests your courage, skill, and machine.
- More fun than the Law legally allows.
- Allows you to sit in stern judgement of mere motorcycle mortals.
- Hot girls will think that you're cool and dangerous.
Finally, you know that you're skilled, cool, and lethally dangerous, and have the courage to successfully do it, again.
hlothery
03-03-2009, 01:08 PM
A father risking his child's life is very irresponsible. Jail is probably too good for that moron.
I disagree........I think it will be very good for him. :D
One measuring stick for this might be........if you were doing a track day with full safety gear, would the track approve having your child as pillion?:scratch
rspennachio
03-03-2009, 01:24 PM
yep, not such a good idea. Getting caught in the rain sucks but you can't out run the weather even on a gixer 1300
Rapid_Roy
03-04-2009, 12:29 PM
......That said what I found REALLY scary about the BBC story was the William Shatner in the Pricline commercial lead in to the video.
Pricline? Typo or Freudian slip?
:ha
jcpuckett
03-04-2009, 01:00 PM
A father risking his child's life is very irresponsible. Jail is probably too good for that moron.
I think riding in Beaumont TX on US 69/287/96 at the posted speed limit while all those crazy, aggressive, macho Texans in their "big wheels" pickup trucks are doing 20 over weaving in and out of traffic is much more dangerous than riding across western Utah on I-80 at between 90 and 95 mph with my 13 y/o son in tow. Traffic density low, weather perfect, 90% of other traffic going within + or - 5 mph of my velocity.
Pricline? Typo or Freudian slip?
:ha
Take your pic they both work. :brad
Motorcycledaily.com (http://www.motorcycledaily.com/04march09_baddad.htm) has an update. The rider was sentenced to six months in jail and an 18-month driving ban.
yellowrosefarm
03-04-2009, 04:34 PM
What if he and his son had been on the Autobahn on a sunny day? Is speed the issue here or the conditions and illegality? I've been 120 two up on a two lane with my old girlfriend, at her insistance, "just to see what it felt like". That was about 25 years ago, though, and my perception of how big a deal it was is different now, than then.
lamble
03-04-2009, 04:51 PM
The kid wasn't wearing any protective clothing other than the helmet. The guy went by two speed cameras (these are large yellow boxes and have signs saying they are there (granted they are still a money making scam and hidden tax, but basic observation and you see 'em).
He was speeding considerably and the perception of a more likely accident due to rain and the kiddie on the back, is what caused the judge to hand down a custodial sentence.
The '100+ in the UK is like loud pipes in the US'...don't get that at all.
We don't have county speed limits, ours are national, so there's none of the "whoops officer, still thought I was in Texas" style pleas over here. Speed cameras are non discriminatory, that's good and bad. Good in that everyone runs the same risk of being caught for speeding, bad because a camera can't tell if you are asleep at the wheel and zig zagging all over the road so long as you aren't exceeding the activation speed set for the camera. You could be drunk, drugged, looking the wrong way, but stay below the signed speed and that's okay, right up until the moment you hit someone.
Anyway, the argument in the press is, if you want to ride and risk killing yourself, fair enough you run the risk of getting caught. Stick a kiddie on the back and your actions effect others, especially when those others don't have a say in the matter.
...The '100+ in the UK is like loud pipes in the US'...don't get that at all.
In the US my perception is the loud pipes on bikes issue has galvanized a core of people to be against bikes in general. Comments about loud pipes are included in virtually every negative comment, article or piece of proposed law I hear or read.
In my reading in the UK the galvanizing issue seems to be speed. The series of YouTube videos of 150mph+ riders and the effort by law enforcement to track down, the chase by the Sussex police etc. seem to have become a focal point of those against bikes.
The two issues are not related beyond being rallying points for anti motorcycle groups.
lamble
03-06-2009, 04:56 AM
In the US my perception is the loud pipes on bikes issue has galvanized a core of people to be against bikes in general. Comments about loud pipes are included in virtually every negative comment, article or piece of proposed law I hear or read.
In my reading in the UK the galvanizing issue seems to be speed. The series of YouTube videos of 150mph+ riders and the effort by law enforcement to track down, the chase by the Sussex police etc. seem to have become a focal point of those against bikes.
The two issues are not related beyond being rallying points for anti motorcycle groups.
Okay, I see where you are coming from and yes that does seem to be part of it. Of course here in the UK we don't have the cruiser culture, it tends to be super sports bikes, which look fast and sound fast, even when they are within the limits set. That doesn't help.
Plus, in the UK, it's such a small place, you are always somewhere where other people are, there's no vast expanses where you can "get it out of your system", without impinging upon someone else's sensibilities.
Still, the fact that this one case has raised such publicity, shows how rare an occurrence it is.
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