Safe Speed Forums

if you have traction control, find a quiet road, give it plenty of revs and dump the clutch or if it's auto, give it a bit of a poke out of a junction. It's worth knowing what it will do.

I agree 100%.

I've been riding since I was 9 years old (at competition level), and passed my car test 10 days after my 17th birthday.
My first car was a MK1 Granada 3 litre Ghia with a 4 speed manual box. I'm now 40 and (as you can imagine) have driven quite a few examples of both good & bad engineering in my time.
Without meaning to sound conceited, I think it's reasonably safe to say that I will have very little in the way of problems with regards to keeping either a 2 or 4 wheeled vehicle "under manners" if I am stupid enough to push it too hard in the first place.

Like you say though, it's certainly a nice bonus to have the electronics in place if (when) things do go wrong......if nothing else, it's one less thing to have to concentrate on when trying to sort things out.



I've just put 4 brand new (and moderately expensive) tyres on it, I think I'll wait a few thousand miles or so before I start ripping the rubber up if it's all the same to you

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

I think the point is that it won't rip the rubber up.

It doesn't take many minutes to get to work,

What I was wearing on Friday kept me warm snowmobiling in Ohio My ears got frost bite, but wasn't wearing a lid, just a hoddie:D and can keep me warm(ish) for a couple of hours on my little bike.

You have clearly no idea how dirty a car gets getting driven to a farm every day. I have had brake problems on cars before because of this.

I have, last year, had you have a sideways moment on a busy roundabout on a saturday afternoon, which was saved without any problems at all. I guess learning to drive off road on slicks helped there.

All of these passive safety features on cars just make people think they are safer than they are. I don't want, ABS, traction control, etc, it just lulls people into a false sense of security. I'd sooner have better tyres and brakes and predicatable handling. And I think it is better for me to pay attention.

Neither my car or bike have much power (bike brakes are rubbish too!) so dropping a cog is out of the question. They do say power gets you into more trouble than it gets you out of. Forward planning anyone?

What next, tell me to drive an SUV to be even safer. No thanks.

Oh I do


I've been sideways more than once myself (a 3Litre Capri in the wet is loads of fun), and like you, had no problems in correcting it without the aid of anything other than myself and a deft bit of footwork.


Some people undoubtedly fall in to the "trap" of thinking they are slightly more bulletproof when the car they are driving is loaded with electronics, I am not one of them.
By the same token, it's nice to know they are there.


As Johnsher said earlier, let's see where your "attention" truly is when you are facing a possible life or death scenario.


I suppose that all depends on your interpretation of "rubbish".

My Kawasaki Z9 (30 years old next year) has no problems in stopping itself from fairly quick speeds. Newer bikes that I have ridden in the past have brakes that are bordering on dangerous where they stop so quickly (and I personally like that).
I would have to say that if you can't (puposely) raise the rear end at 30mph, then yes indeed, your brakes are rubbish.


Well that all depends on the situation, and who is at the controls.


I'm not lecturing you at all Adam, other than to point out your earlier contribution could have done with a little more thought.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but I couldn't care less for your (or anybody else's) personal safety while you are out there, the only person I'm worried about is myself.
Obviously I would never consider doing something that would make me responsible for yourself (or anybody else) suffering any kind of loss, but if you get it wrong for any reason, I won't lose any sleep over it.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

unless he takes you out in the process.

Adam, don't you think it rather arrogant to believe that you are so good that your amazing skill will be able to handle any situation? I should know because you sound like me about 15 years ago...

That's why I said, all I worry about is myself.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

err, that quite obviously wasn't directed at you... but sorry for the confusion anyway. (and I've fixed the original now)

Apology gracefully accepted, and my apologies in return for the somewhat "sarcastic" statement about the apology being public (although it was meant to be how it "read" as I originally thought you were having a pop at me).

My post is also now "fixed"

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

Blimey! I think I've missed something here!

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Just a point of note, althought the subject seems to have passed. Adam, if I'd been riding my bike this morning I would currently be led up in hospital with (at least) a broken or crushed leg. Instead I managed to pull my car 10 year old car, with no ABS or traction control out of a rear-end skid that had me on the wrong side of the road and facing a large fence with no problem at all (actually I was quite pleased with myself because it was the first time I'd ever been in that situation!). There's little you can do (traction control or not) if you round a tight corner to find the entire road slick with black ice. Thankfully there was nothing coming the other way

Cars have their uses.

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

Nope, don't really have enough skills, so I generally err squarely on the side of caution, or at least getting home with out troubling my no claims bonus. I've had enough near death experiences without inviting them...

I ride approximately 8 miles to work every day. The minimum count of very near misses is 3 in the morning and 3 going home. Car drivers do not look - they may turn their heads but that's all. Chinese proverb - you looked, but did you see?

Slightly off-topic and back to filtering - I do it all the time. I put my main beam on in the hope that it will catch a drivers eye, I cover my front brake at all times, I assume EVERY car will pull across me without indicating, I watch for the slightest hint of movement, I never filter too fast, I ride in a low(ish) gear. And I always assume that I have not been spotted by any vehicle until I have passed them. Even then, I'm not so sure that my existence has actually registered, when competing against CD players on full volume, coffee in one hand and mobile phone in the other etc...