oneleggedfreak

Well who would have thought it?

Speeding fines are to be increased and could see you banned after two offences,

The new system of fines will not be based on the current fixed penalty system, the new 6 point system will only come into affect when the driver goes over a set speed limit.

For example in a 30mph area if a driver will still receive 3 points and a £60 fine for any speed allegedly up to 45mph BUT if a motorist goes above 45mph in a 30 zone they will receive 6 points and a £100 fine.

There were calls for a change in the penalty system after there was an increase of 20% in child road deaths last year. As research has shown that a pedestrian hit by a car at 35mph is twice as likely to be killed as one hit at 30mph.

Here is a list of the proposed speeds when the 6point penalty will be imposed.
32mph in a 20mph zone.
45mph in a 30mph zone.
57mph in a 40mph zone.
70mph in a 50mph zone.
82mph in a 60mph zone.
And finally
94mph in a 70mph zone.

As of yet unsure when these will come into effect so just take things a little more steadier.

Stay Safe,

oneleggedfreak

This was bought to my attention a little while ago by a friend of mine Deano who thinks you all should be made aware of these changes.

Keep up the good work Deano.

Please check out the petition and add your name to lend weight.

Changes to the law mean cars emitting less than 100g of CO2 per kilometre travelled would be exempt from paying Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax), while motorcycles are still required to pay.

Your Chancellor Alistair Darling in his first budget outlined this last week, under the auspices of rewarding motorists for driving ‘green’ vehicles.

Despite Darling’s aim, the rate of road tax paid by motorcyclists is set to double in 2009, with the annual charge for a typical 125cc commuter bike set to grow from £15 per year at present, to £33 in 2009.

This makes nonsense of the revised rates of vehicle excise duty, as motorcycles tend to emit less CO2 and use less fuel than cars, with the average CO2 output from motorcycles at 110g/km.

So why do those who ride greener two wheeled vehicles, use less road space and do not contribute to congestion get penalised whilst 4 wheel motorist whose vehicles use under 100g/km are exempt from road tax…. Makes a mockery of your plans

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/motorcycle-tax/

Stay Safe

oneleggedfreak

Now you’ve got to feel sorry for this bloke, Imagine you out for a nice Sunday afternoon ride cruising down the dual carriage way when OOPS your bike goes one-way and you go another,

What would make this worse how about you and your bike sliding along the road at 85mph passing a speed camera and FLASH, not only do you face reporting a single vehicle fault claim but also a possible speeding ticket, although I suppose technically you could claim at the time of the incident you were not RIDING the bike,

This poor 50 year old Dutch motorcyclist was clocked at 137kmp (85mph) on the A28 at Staphorst after laying down his Kawasaki ZRX 1200, on the sunny side of things this gentleman was cleared of the speeding charge,

On Wednesday 16th of May I had the chance to do something I had not done since I was a kid, my wife and I were invited to go and watch the King’s Lynn Stars compete against the Edinburgh Monarchs at the Norfolk Arena.

What a night! these bikes are a 500cc engine fuelled by methanol, they go from 0-60 in 2.5 seconds that’s faster than a Formula 1 Car and on the straights average around 75mph. On top of this they go round the sweeping corners at an average speed around 60mph SIDEWAYS with NO BRAKES—WHAT A BUNCH OF NUTTERS!!

They race around an oval circuit that’s around 300 metres in length for 4 laps in an anti-clockwise direction as the bikes are only able to turn left and to get around such tight corners at such high speeds they actually have to accelerate.

A standard starter bike cost around £3000 and then the set up of the bikes is changed to suit the individual rider. Now I’ve seen larger front wheels on my wife’s mountain bike than these things have and each tyre costs £30 which needs replacing after every meeting.

Speedway fans like every other sports fan will travel the length and breadth of the country to support there teams, some of the riders are as young as 18 (oh to be that young and reckless again).

I would like to thank Keith (Buster) Chapman on behalf of myself and my wife for a fantastic nights entertainment and we would also like to wish the King’s Lynn Stars, Tomas Topinka, Shaun Tacey, Kevin Doolan, Kozza Smith, Rusty Harrison, John Oliver, Simon Lambert and Rob Lyon, every success in the British Premier League, GOOD LUCK LADS AND GO WIDE OPEN.

Stay safe,

Oneleggedfreak.

Now like most of you out there I like to think myself a law abiding citizen, I pay my road tax, I pay my insurance and I abide by the laws of the road.

I drive with due care and consideration to other road users and keep an eye on where I’m going and what I’m doing.

So what really gets my goat is the idiots on pushbikes be them in their day-glow Lycra shirts and shorts with their aerodynamic helmets (protective headwear is always advisable) or be they the teenage BMX – Mountain bike stunt riders, who think that the Highway Code does not apply to then,

Only the other night on my way home from work I was approaching a set of traffic lights when a idiot on a push bike decided that without looking or signalling to cut across three lanes of traffic, then as the lights turned red he then thought he did not have to stop but cut across the oncoming traffic to mount the pavement and continue on his way.

Now I think that if I had done any of these things on my bike I would have received a torrent of blasts of car horns from aggravated car drivers or even started a new career as a grill ornament or had I been riding on the pavement the old bill would have taken a dim view on my riding style.

Now WHAT really winds me up is that before anyone can drive a car or ride a motorcycle on the road we have to past tests, pay insurance and pay road tax, so why can any cretin jump on a push-bike and ride like a idiot and when (NOT, if) they are involved in a accident the blame is usually placed on the car or motorbike rider.

Now most people who have been involved in a collision with a bike (hopefully the pushbike rider was or is not hurt) will claim for the repairs to their car or motorcycle from their own insurance. BUT if anyone is hurt or damage is done to property the police should be informed. NOW HERE IS THE BEST BIT; as far as I’m aware you may be able to make a claim against the bike rider through their public liability clause in their house hold insurance ( If they have any that is).

How about instead every other road user footing the bill why doesn’t the government make a test compulsory for pushbike rider’s also compulsory insurance, then if the government has not made enough money; instead of wasting money with GATSO cameras and community support officers why don’t the police sit outside of the local high school in unmarked police cars and as the school kids leave at the end of the day hand out fixed penalty’s for riding on the pavement and help build even better community relations. OOPS PERHAPS TOO MUCH SARCASAM THERE?

Stay safe

Oneleggedfreak.