A friend of mine recently had a crash on his bike. It was the typical crash where a car pulled out of a side turning right into his path and hey presto he went over the front of the car and broke his leg. He’s spent a week in hospital getting over an operation to have a titanium pin fitted to help the bone heel correctly. How did this crash happen I hear you ask, how come he didn’t stop in time…? It’s an obvious answer… He was doing 40 mph instead of 30 mph in a 30 mph zone. I reckon he would have either stopped or come off without so much damage to his leg and bike if he was going slower.

As a young rider/driver I was up there with the best of speeders so I’ve been there and done it. Now though I’m a reformed rider/car driver. I’m not saying I won’t push on a bit on a country lane or motorway where conditions allow it but in the 30/40 mph areas around town I stick to the limit no questions asked. As I’m entering a slower zone I make sure I’m already at the correct speed beforehand and stick to it right through until the speed limit changes. There are some obvious bonus’s to this. If there’s a coppa or someone lurking around the next corner with a speed camera, I wont get any points. If a young kid steps out on front of a parked car, I have a good chance of stopping or swerving around them and if a car does the dodgy on me I have a good chance of stopping short of contact…

These speed limits are set in place to protect one and all and should be adhered to where ever possible. The only time I’ll speed up in one of these areas is to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle.

So the next time you guys and gals enter a 30/40 zone, slow down to the correct speed and show the queue of cars behind you that bikers can ride safely. It’s actually rewarding seeing them all driving slow behind you, fuming. If they try and egg you on, don’t bite coz just as you speed up, you could get zapped by a lurking speed camera and earn yourself a brucie bonus…

Rant over. Ride safely…