Wow! So, in your experience the act of discretely admitting that you may have been going too fast (braking & a friendly wave) seems to help avoid getting a ticket? Anybody else out there using the same approach? I'll have to try that next time.

 

Works for me, they KNOW you are speeding, believe me. The more you B.S. them the deeper the hole you dig. It's kind of a respect-professional courtesy-appeasement thing. Goes a long way, or so I think. They know they've done their job, you act like it was an accident and sometimes hey, no big deal. Everyone always figures they can connive their way out of bad behavior. Stepping up to the plate goes a long way in a lot of venues, it sometimes is the best play, but heck what do I know..."opinions are like..." You know the rest of that old line.

 

Hilarious ! Y'all probably don't realize how much you sound like sportbike riders ! (This is a GOOD thing, of course !) Makes me wonder how many are bike riders as well, we of the adrenaline addictions ! So many similarities between the offensive and defensive points, driving a Mini and riding a sportbike. I love my bikes (BMW K1200RS and Yamaha R-1) and I love my MCS ! Does it get better ? Well, maybe aerobatics in aircraft, but that's another subject altogether.

 

Benn riding Sportbikes for over 20 years, starting with Suzuki GS1100E, various RD's and RZ's, ZX-7's and now a Buell that I am trying to work into the MCS deal so I'll be on 4-wheels for a couple of years until my 2-year old daughter can just reach the paassenger pegs on a bike. I have a 1978 RD 400 stashed that needs a restoration, so I won't be completely BIKELESS...

 

My commute is 82, but you shouldn't say you're going for mpg when you cruise at 70. You get more mpg when you do 55mph. Granted it's not as fun, but you do get much better mpg.

 

I have a Honda RC51, 1000cc V twin sport bike. I have owned many motorcycles. The fun thing about the MINI is whipping through corners and being able to go sporting in bad weather and on dirty roads. Oh and three times the range on a tank and being able to jump in without suiting up and driving all day without getting wornout. As far as power though at 1 hp for 6 lbs with me on board the RC51 is a whole different story. The MINI is more like a 250cc bike where you have to work the motor.

 

I agree. There are so many things that peeve me with traffic laws. Another one would be no turning left on a red left-turn arrow, even when visibility of the oncoming traffic is excellent, and there is obviously nobody coming, etc. So many needless rules that just slow commuting down infinitely more than they boost safety.

 

So speed doens't kill?

Wow, NOW you tell me

 

Not with the "OMG EVERYBODY'S GONNA DIE!!! LIKE RIGHT NOW!" certainty that the lawmakers would have you believe, anyway.

 

Actually, I think there was a Federal study of speed limit laws after the 55 MPH speed limit was repealed and the states out west went back to 75 or whatever and they found the deaths from speeding ON THOSE ROADs went down. Something about 55 mph was just to unnaturally slow for those road.

NOT the same on two lanes where excessive speed does kill

I always wanted to drive in Nevada and Montana when the speed limit was R&P. Some years ago I did and found it utterly boring. The road was boring, the scenary was boring and, in fact, there was no sensation of speed. TOTALLY Boring. Being out alone in the desert is BORING,. It was better to drive slower and watch the tumbleweed blowing across the highway

 

To the best of my knowledge, a close reading of the various studies will show that it is mostly the DIFFERENCE in speeds between cars that is the main cause. If everyone is traveling at close to the same speed, there is very little chance of a crash (just ask the Blue Angels). However, coming up on a slow car with a speed difference of 20mph or so, you're asking for it.

 

^^ YES what anteken said! ^^ (resisting a strong urge to say "DUH")...

Did this thread start out as a "giggle"?

Speed limits and speed-traps, school zones and surrounding traffic, and things of that nature, are taken into consideration when I "maneuvre"...

Having the ability to do that, is sort of the point of my MINI.

Use care when motoring, like you always do... Nobody wants a crunched MINI (something we all have in common?)

Tatt

 

As I read on a MOTO web entry, it's not the SPEED that kills you, it's the rapid DECELERATION....

Goes also for the extreme speed differences in racing, kind of like the factory teams against the privateers in Superbike racing or even the 600's and 1200-two cylinders they ran together in the Daytona 200 this year. Big difference in speed between leaders and the back markers. Makes it much more dangerous for the fast guys and the guys they hit as well...