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How do I get the Police to offer me a speed awareness course? Advice needed please

Discussion in 'Ducati General Discussion' started by THJ, Aug 20, 2012.

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  1. Thanks for information people... I made a conscious choice to stay off the forums since the rather ‘bitter untimely end’ to Ducatisti.co.uk , but I’m glad to see the spirit of the original intentions of that site live on here.

    I was indeed doing ‘65+’ of speed (it was not in 3 figures for those wondering), I think that the officer may have made a conscious decision to give me the FPN for my benefit, he was a fellow biker.

    Indeed, to be honest the money & points are not really the issue to me. Riding a XXX and a XXX I half expected ‘at some point my luck would run out’ – are not exactly bikes that are made to be ridden within the speed limits (no matter what anyone claims), I just ‘liked’ having a clean license – I must be old fashioned. I will admit I am a bit cheesed off to be caught on a bright warm sunny day on a clear open road driving safe without endangering anyone or myself, but I was speeding so no one’s fault but my own.

    I know that’s what annoys me most, I’ve ridden it for the past 15-20 odd years never a problem, but it’s my fault and I’ll take it on the chin. The thing that really pisses me off most is the guy who nearly killed me driving the on the wrong side of the road and crashing into me head on last year only got 6 points! Buts that’s another story.

    I have used the North circ for the past 15-20 years, I know where all the fixed camera points are and I expect the Police out in dodgy/dangerous weather, I just didn’t expect them out on the clearest dryest day of the year. A lesson i have learnt today!

    Thanks to the ducati2242, xxanthxx, figaro, mattmccabebrown who have posted about effect on insurance premiums – I was not aware of the ‘minimal’ impact so that’s something good to know.

    Good luck on your recovery Pixie, been there done that myself – I have only been back on the bikes for a few months after nearly a year off learning to walk again etc... I’m not sure I agree with ‘your speed kills’ mindset, it’s the ‘dangerous driving’ that causes the damage in my opinion. But my best wishes for your speedy physical & mental recovery it takes time, but you will get there in the end - I nearly have.
     
    #21 THJ, Aug 20, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 19, 2013
  2. what an uplifting post to read HH! I was wondering how the recovery was going so good to read that you are now up to riding and sounding mentally fit despite everything :upyeah:
     
    #22 Chris, Aug 20, 2012
  3. I'd be amazed if you would save £750 over 5 years but if thats your experience then i believe you. points never caused me that much grief i have to say and co incidentally i am doing just such a course tomorrow. I did not ask for it but am happy to do it. Ducati insurance dont care and certainly not 750 quid care !
     
    #23 Desmoboy, Aug 20, 2012
  4. Quite.

    I don't necessarily decry speed limits. They are there for a reason, but often that reason is not particularly well thought out. That is completely normal: you wouldn't expect legislators and road traffic pros to get everything right; no one else does, why would they?

    Speed limits are fixed (well, most of them are) and take no account of time of day, weather, density of traffic etc. Doesn't mean you shouldn't have them, does mean that they don't set a moral imperative. There is a short stretch of road near me with a broken white line (OK to overtake then) after a solid white line and before another solid white line. I have ridden this often and come to the conclusion that it would be suicide to use this stretch to try and overtake pretty much anything - even a tractor if you were Ducati mounted - as it's on a bend with rubbish visibility of on-coming traffic. But I can think of whole stretches of road with solid white lines with perfect visibility. Cross one and find yourself in court, cross the other and perhaps find yourself dead.

    I am very sorry for what happened to Pixie, but just saying that 78 in a 50 is intrinsically dangerous, or foolhardy is just something I don't buy. (If that was the point being made.) It depends where the 50 is and what's going on. Hell, this country has a blanket 50 limit on non-motorways. Do I feel bad about blatantly ignoring that on the open road? Not remotely. But if I come up to houses, I roll right off the throttle.

    My two criteria for speed adjustment: (1) what do I think is safe (2) how likely am I to be caught (bearing in mind that what I deem to be safe is often illegal).

    And before anyone beats me over the head with a stick, I stick almost religiously to 30 and 40 limits. The open road is where I do my thing. (Also respect solid lines too, though I increasingly ask myself why I do).
     
    #24 gliddofglood, Aug 20, 2012
  5. A route I used to use between Worthing and Tonbridge had a glorious twisty bit - up and down hills, through the trees ... it also had broken white lines for reasons I cannot begin to comprehend. There was no way at all you could safely overtake in that stretch.

    Equally, there are stretches of road I regularly use which are double-white lined that are perfectly safe to overtake on, in either one or both directions.

    The safety aspect is a grey area, the legal one is not. Use your best judgement for both issues.
     
    #25 Loz, Aug 20, 2012
    • Like Like x 2
  6. Man thats really sh1t :frown::frown:I hope that it is all behind you now
     
    #26 mattmccabebrown, Aug 21, 2012
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