Bikers cleared of speeding

I think they were lucky. Stands to reason (in my head) that if you measure the average speed (typically over a 1/4 mile) the way the police did, then both bikes will have been speeding (though you don't provide an accurate speed for either rider).

That said, the A68 is a bloody mess for cameras these days. There's no need for speed-traps on there. The whole road has been turned into a death-trap by littering every safe overtaking opportunity with Gatsos. I'm surprised they found a stretch where they could see 1/4 mile that didn't have a Gatso on it...

Agreed, by all accounts they should have been done for it so were very lucky.



But that is where we are at, you arent even allowed to speed while overtaking, if you cant overtake without speeding then you ought to just be happy to plod along behind that car...

I shudder to think what the future technology will bring and we all end up at the speed limit all the time.

Yeah, they were lucky.

If it was me who was on the bench, I'd have had no problem with accepting the 'proof'.

Oh, can some one explain this bit, please?

I know, and that's where Gatsos can't do the job of two big burly men in a fast car with flashing lights. Whilst I accept that there is a clearly defined speed limit, and anything above is illegal, traffic police on the ground can see that some speeding to expedite an overtake will make it a safe manouevre. A Gatso on the same spot is indiscriminate, and causes hazards.

I've seen myself trapped on the A68 behind a straight-line-warrior. You know the type - can't do more than 40 on a bend, but floors it the moment they hit a straight. And I've seen me bolting past as soon as we exit the bend only to have to wind straight off the throttle right alongside him for the Gatso timing marks on the road, and then power on to finish my overtake. That leaves me exposed for several seconds that were unnecessary on the wrong side of the road. And that happens to me most times I'm on that road.

Anyway, that's a topic that's been done to death. And it has nothing to do with the pair that were cleared. After all, 88.62mph average over 1/4 mile is hardly expediting an overtaking manouevre. (Even though we may claim that at the time! )

They served him a nice ice-cream sundae for his inconvenience?

They put their hands up and surrendered as they knew they could not win.


As for the "proof" - radar type guns are notoriously unreliable on bikes let alone two at a time!

The thing that got me though was the interference of the trees behind which they were hiding - hmmmmm what happened to police vans being obvious so as to slow down traffic and save lives - surely they were not trying to catch people to collect fines? perish the thought!

Seem's there's safety in numbers then!

The idea is that if you dont know which bush the camera is hiding behind you will expect it behind EVERY bush so will never speed.

They arent trying to stop you speeding past cameras they are trying to stop you speeding AT ALL, never, even on a perfectly straight completely empty bit of motorway in good light at 5am on a summer morning.

On our little trip up to Scotland the only place I got any unwanted attention was on that road. It was an under cover car & I was making serious progress. Soon as I saw him, I instantly went into IAM mode, but he still followed me a good 5+ miles after.

There are a disproportionate number of road side cash machines there. You can see them way off & they do look a bit lonely, out in the middle of no where- surprised they don't get torched.

Must remember that when we go up - mind in the Landy not so much temptation to speed anyway!

I think the A7 is a much better bet. It runs parallel to the A68 and no cameras and I've not seen any Police either.

It's slower, but a much more satisfying ride, with plenty of twists and turns.

Call me sad, but I pop down to Galashiels for lunch every couple of weeks, I absolutly love that road!!