This is aimed at the certain sector of the motorbiking fraternity who absolutely positively must speed and must overtake at any costs and screw everything and anyone who gets in their way.

I have to say that little bothers me when I drive, I am a very calm and collected person behind the wheel and I pride myself on being a responsible, patient and observant driver.

Its very rare I shout or rant about anything except for one thing, Motorbikes.

Now I am not saying that I don´t like motorbikes, I have owned them in the past and I like to ride them occasionally, but as I live in between the M6 and the Derbyshire peak district I have to put up with them everyday of my life as the bikes go up to the peak district to race around the tight country roads.

Fine, I have no problem with them riding round the dales.

What I do have a problem with is this

"Wwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeoooooooooowwwwwwww!"

listening to motorbikes screaming up and down the road I live on night and day at ridiculous speeds. The police have caught a biker speeding on the road outside my house doing 93mph before now! That´s three times the limit. And this was on a Sunday afternoon!

Two incidents have made me this cynical about motorcyclists in the past 6 months or so.

The first being on a Saturday morning I was going to the Gym about 10am and was pulling off the side street where I park my car, on to the main road which for as far as I could see was clear, but my telepathic powers let me down that morning and didn´t tell me was that there was a motorbike coming down the road at more than twice the speed limit which is 30mph.

The road I live on is fairly straight for about 400metres but has a very slight left hand bend half way down it which means you can´t see all the way down the road only maybe 150metres.

As he was going so fast he approached my car with alarming speed, we both had to slam full on to avoid him hitting me. I took 2 feet to stop, only just having set off, where as he left a streak of rubber more than 50 foot long.

It was obviously his fault as he was going far too fast round a blind bend and as he approached the junction I was pulling out of and he had to slam full on.

He then made several hand gestures making out that I was a stupid **** and it was my fault. Sorry, but if you where doing 30mph, the speed limit, then he wouldn´t have had to break so hard and I would have had more than enough time to pull out of the junction. As a result of this I now open my car window to listen before I pull out of this junction.

Needless to say I was livid by the time I got to the Gym.

*** Since this was orginally written the said junction now has had traffic lights installed on it as there was a fatal accident involving a motorbike and a car in which the driver of the car and a biker where killed. Seeing a motorbike embedded into the side of the car is a sight I will never forget as we where one of the first people on the scene, being right outside our house. ***

The second incident was roughly the same situation other than I was going round a right hand bend on one of the country roads near my house. It´s also a 30mph road. When on my side of the road coming towards me, on the wrong side of double white lines, at unbelievable speed was a motorbike. (I am not exaggerating either)

Now he´s on my side of the road going so fast that he couldn´t swerve back onto his side of the road. He´d have fallen off and stuffed his bike into the front of my car, otherwise.

I slammed full on, scaring the living crap out of my wife and the driver who was behind me at the time.

To prevent a head on collision with my car (which he would have lost hands down, mine is a big car) he had to veer to the left hand side of my car and the car behind me. Almost crashing into the grass verge in the process.

Now if anyone wants to say this was my fault then I suggest they consult a Psychiatrist on the grounds of being stupid.

The biker then stopped and made several hand gestures and shouted something at me. Its funny how he didn´t stick around to argue with me, or the driver of the car behind me, when we got out of our cars and started walking towards him. The driver of the other car was as angry as me!

I would like to say that it´s the impatience or inexperience of youth but the funny thing is its not. Most of the bikers doing this are middle aged men who are trying to rekindle what´s left of their youth. Most people in there late teens, even early twenties wouldn´t be able to afford the insurance on most of the bikes we see, anyway.

I have only Four things to say on the subject and these are:-

1. Dont be so selfish, Have some thought for others.
If your riding through a village or town have some thought for the people who live in that community. I dont think any of you would appreciate a stream of speeding motorcycles screaming round your neighbourhood day in day out.

2. Speed limit´s.
Try to stick within at least 150% of these. There, they´re for a reason. They´re to stop you killing yourself, killing somebody else or to protect the community your traveling through.

3. Go to a race track.
If you want to kill yourself, sod off onto a racetrack and do it. It´s a lot safer for you. And if you do fall off they have medical facilities so you won´t be laid in the middle of the road waiting for an ambulance to get there.

4. Know your Limits.
Try to know the limits of your machine. If the road is a 30mph then there is a good chance that your bike won´t go round its corners at 90mph. If you ride outside of your own and the bikes limits the only thing you will eventually be riding is the long escalator to the pearly gates.

On a different note: I could ask the Police to do something about this but their idea is to buy a helicopter to catch speeding motorcyclists. How they can justify buying a helicopter to do this I´d love to know (Any coppers what to justify the expense, though not!). I am told that its been bought to stop them killing or injuring themselves. Hmmmm!

I am not saying don´t ride a bike; or dont go and enjoy yourselves; what I am saying is kill your speed in our towns. Don´t be an idiot. If you must speed do it somewhere out in the country or on a race track, where the likelihood to do harm or cause a disturbance is less, especially to others.

Let´s face it if I bought a bike and sped up and down the road in front of your house all day and night you´d be p**sed off as well, right?

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