[jambutty]

Originally Posted by entwisi

<Devils advocate>
not condoning it wholly but one thing that isn't mentioned about the speeding is what time/conditions etc. Not knowing this road I can't comment fully and yes its illegal but there are roads I've ridden on my bike where I know there are no junctions, nothing to pull out, good visibility etc. put that road at 6am on a dead sunday morning and a properly focussed and concentrating driver can do that sort of speed in relative safety.

Likewise 30 mph past a school at 3-4pm on a wet windy, horrible winters night is plain stupid.

</devils advocate>

In the UK it is a maximum of 70 mph on specified roads and that means precisely what it states. It does not mean you can go twice as fast if the roads are dry and clear of other traffic. The time and road conditions only come into the equation if they are less than favourable and drivers are expected to reduce their speed to take them into account if they are, not increase their speed just because it happens to be dry and clear.

Whether you think that the road conditions would allow you to travel at excessive speeds in safety is irrelevant. Go above 70 mph and you break the Road Traffic Laws. It is as simple as that.

All speed limits are qualified with - if road conditions allow. There are thousands of miles of country roads where the speed limit is 30 mph yet to travel along them at that speed would be foolish. What sort of a response do you think that your defence of “your honour I was only doing 29 mph but I had to go wide at the bend otherwise I couldn’t have negotiated the corner” would bring?

On the face of it 10 weeks clink does seem lenient but he was also banned for three years and order to re-take the test.