| It's all down to whether we can demand double standards in my view.
Should we expect the law to clamp down on car, van and truck drivers who pull out without looking, spill diesel, talk on mobiles and the hundreds of other things they do to two wheeled road users that range from simply discourteous to downright dangerous? I think most of us would agree that of course we should expect the law to make some effort to make the roads a safer place for us (even if the realities of strapped resources and over reliance on speed cameras mean that the law can't be adequately policed).
So can we argue that we want the roads to be a safer place so that we've got a better playground to go stunting in?
IMHO the road is not a place for stunts, especially because the number of people who can do stunts well are a tiny handful, the rest are just wannabees who seem to me like they're on the very limit of their machine control and sometimes over it. The problem with those people I've seen who have a stunt mentality is that they need to feed off an audience and I've seen some pretty irresponsible foolery down high streets crowded with traffic and unwary pedestrians. I also had a gixer that followed me for a mile or two in my car last year then overtook me on his back whee,l landed it badly, and nearly lost the front end right in front of me. OK so he probably saw the DSC sticker in the back window and decided to show the 'Ducati riding tosser' how a real riding god rides, but he may also make a habit of that with Joe Public.
When you've got that sort of behaviour happening it's not surprising that Joe Public thinks all bike riders are dangerous tossers who need locking up. It just plays into the hands of the road safety fascists and gets 40 mph speed limits in open countryside (all the way for miles between villages)on otherwise wonderful roads.
Me? I'm no angel, but I stick to 30's and 40's. National speed limit out on open roads? well, it's my license and I have been known to hoik the front wheel over hump back bridges, but only when I'm not endangering (or showing off to) anyone else  |