Traffic Blitz-Know your rights

[StrongTurd]

Attend superbike school. At the end of the course they require that you be able to make 5 emergency stops from 160 within 20 meters. Cars take much longer.

And this skill has actually saved my ass...

Yeah right.

Your claim is SO ludicrous that it is not even worth arguing the point. Go and do a Google search on stopping distances.

 

[Leitmotif]

Take a ride on my bike. Check the stopping distance. Just please try not to tear my gearbox apart. Or just go to the Kyalami superbike school and ask them.

The engineer's maxim: 'If the results disagree with the theory, accept the results and develop a new theory'.

 

[StrongTurd]

@ noxibox: People tend to get a false sense of security when driving in modern cars. I don't care how many active and passive safety toys you have; if you hit a solid object at 200 km/h your ten airbags, safetly cell, impact beams ABS, EBD, BAS etc. etc will not prevent you from pushing up daisies faster than you can say speed limit.

 

[Alan]

True

 

[StrongTurd]

Take a ride on my bike. Check the stopping distance.

Whatever you say, bud. I take your word for it. BTW if I ever run into you I'd like your autograph, please. Michael Schumacher can go from 100-0 in 17 meters pulling > negative 4 Gs. You, on the other hand, can go from 160-0 in 15 meters on a road bike. That's simply amazing!

 

[noxibox]

@ noxibox: People tend to get a false sense of security when driving in modern cars. I don't care how many active and passive safety toys you have; if you hit a solid object at 200 km/h your ten airbags, safetly cell, impact beams ABS, EBD, BAS etc. etc will not prevent you from pushing up daisies faster than you can say speed limit.

We're not talking about 200kph - even in a modern car that speed feels fast, particularly to the average person. Otherwise everything you mention supports my point and the research. You can stop faster and modern cars handle better, plus they'll provide significant protection in an accident, therefore your maximum safe speed is higher. People gravitate to the speed at which they feel comfortable and ignore the speed limit. And they're going to continue to do so.

Lower speeds are not inherently safer. The above statements also agree with the idea that people are more likely to not react in time if they're forced to travel too slow. The car feels comfortable and safe so your attention wonders. And at urban/suburban speeds having an accident is highly unlikely to hurt you. Only motorcyclists and cyclists pay attention no matter how slow or fast they're going. Let your attention wonder for a second on a motorcycle and next thing you know you're bodysurfing the road hoping the idiots in the cars are paying enough attention not to drive over you.

 

[Leitmotif]

StrongTurd: true, for a closing speed of 200km/h. Box pilots get far too comfy at any speed, though. The worst offenders are 4x4s, whose drivers tend to believe they're invincible. Hence the driver figures everything will get out of his/her way, and often doesn't bother with more than cursory observation... missing something like the bike in the lane they just decided to turn into.

Awareness and attention matter more than any amount of cage.

 

[Alan]

No matter how attentive you are there are situations where an accident will occur. How fast you are travelling will have a direct effect on wether you survive or not.

 

[StrongTurd]

Alan, I couldn't have put it any better myself.

 

[StrongTurd]

You can stop faster and modern cars handle better, plus they'll provide significant protection in an accident, therefore your maximum safe speed is higher.

I do not argue that fact. My problem is with breaking the law that stipulates that you shall not drive faster than 120 km/h on a public road. Heck, there are many laws that I don't like but that doesn't prevent me from still obeying them. If everybody were to do whatever they please then there would be anarchy in South Africa. But hey, there IS anarchy in SA already!? See my point?

 

[icyrus]

I do not argue that fact. My problem is with breaking the law that stipulates that you shall not drive faster than 120 km/h on a public road. Heck, there are many laws that I don't like but that doesn't prevent me from still obeying them. If everybody were to do whatever they please then there would be anarchy in South Africa. But hey, there IS anarchy in SA already!? See my point?

Driving everyday in JHB traffic I can safetly say that speeding is not the biggest problem on SA roads. The metro pigs... er... cops should first focus on getting people to drive like humans in traffic then go after the casual speeders.

They wont though, as one is more profitable than the other. Let no-one tell you that the safety of the people using the roads is the metro departments first priority.

 

[supersunbird]

As if you have never ever went over 120...

 

[StrongTurd]

Sunbird, do yourself the favour of once travelling on the Ben Schoeman at 110-115km/h in the centre lane. I do that almost religiously on a daily basis (barring traffic jams, of course). You'll notice that the only vehicles that do not overtake you at that speed would be the ones that CANNOT do so. Yes, obeying the speed limit is a very rare sight in SA indeed.

 

[LandyMan]

I got caught doing 197kph.....got out on bail 16h00,what a rush

Come now ajak, only 197kph. You'll have to do better than that to impress

Imagine a dark night, around 10pm, on the N1 between Pretoria and Centurion, not a lot of traffic ... eish, can land you in deep trouble (read jail cell)

And bikes don't have airbags

 

[noxibox]

Hence the driver figures everything will get out of his/her way, and often doesn't bother with more than cursory observation... missing something like the bike in the lane they just decided to turn into.

That's why they invented ball bearings Very effective against morons in cars who travel too close.

 

[IanC]

Sunbird, do yourself the favour of once travelling on the Ben Schoeman at 110-115km/h in the centre lane. I do that almost religiously on a daily basis (barring traffic jams, of course).

That's a sin that would earn you a fine in most European countries. If you hog the middle lane in the UK you are liable to 3 points on your licence and an £80 fine (same as for speeding) ... the charge would be obstructing the flow of traffic.

 

[supersunbird]

trucks are going real slow in the slow lane, in the middle are idiots going at 80 to a 100, so i do 140 in the fast lane with everyone else cause i cant do 120 in the middle lane.

 

[kaspaas]

This is definitely going to come in handy.

Most important thing not said: When you get stopped - switch on the voice recorder on you cellphone/MP3 player.

Be as sweet as you can, ask all the questions you can think of around the legality and keep the recording going non-stop as long as possible, because if they give you trouble, you've got all recorded.

A few mugshots of the cops as well as the roadblock might also be handy.

I've used my cellphone cam very well to record evidence - matter settled next day.

The bad section of the police hate modern technology because they get nailed by it.

 

[IanC]

trucks are going real slow in the slow lane,

... and that's mostly because the trucks are (1) unroadworthy (2) badly loaded and (3) over loaded. SA cops seems to be concentrating on revenue generating schemes such as speeding and not enforcing any other law. This attitude will never win them the support of the road-using public and hence Arrive Alive initiatives will never work.

in the middle are idiots going at 80 to a 100,

This is generally because some truck doing 40.001 kph has pulled into the middle lane to pass a truck doing 39.998 kph.

 

[Steamroller]

Take a ride on my bike. Check the stopping distance. Just please try not to tear my gearbox apart. Or just go to the Kyalami superbike school and ask them.

The engineer's maxim: 'If the results disagree with the theory, accept the results and develop a new theory'.

What bike do you have?
The Koenigsegg CCR stops from 100kkm/h in 34,7 m(warm brakes) and 35m(cold brakes) yet your bike stops from 160km/h in less than half that? K@K man.... I tell you what I will go park my car on the N1 with a sign 15m infront and you can try stop from only 100km/h? how is that?

MotoGP needs you because you obviously know far more than they do.


EDIT - Here are some tests done by pro's with a complete PDF of the results.

http://www.msgroup.org/forums/mtt/images/MotorcycleBrakingTests.pdf

The best 30 stops from 100km/h they could get using a Honda Fireblade(1000cc Superbike) had an average of 38.3510m in 2.9287sec and with a deceleration of -0.9713 G's