Was the thread ever on topic?
Dammit. I was going to look for my binoculars too.
Not inappropriate or impertinent, mate. I have lurked on Safe Speed via Google (comes up in a lot of searches) for a number of years. I did know Paul Smith's face when he was alive as he popped up on the news from time to time and was rather unforgettable. Although it was some time before I connected him to SS and learned, sadly, that he had died. It is good to know his work continues.
I was finally promped to break my silence by a speed camera van deployed in the wet. It was not the first time I had seen such foolishness. I had long believed they were nothing more than money making devices masquerading as road safety. I had always been brought up to question authority and found speed cameras to be oppressive, contrary to everything I believe encourages responsible, safe driving and really just a money spinner for those in power. How anyone could deploy a mobile speed camera in the wet I do not know - I witnessed two near crashes due to aggressive braking and being on two wheels in the wet made it even more dangerous for me personally. As you know the lack of grip available in the wet means one has to be a bit more careful when braking - but if I had two cars rear end each other in front of me, despite the distance I left between myself and them, it could still force me to take evasive action or end up hitting debris or anything.
I remember a time -just!- when people could drive about fairly unhindered. You were free to determine what speed you were going. You weren't distracted by speed camera signs every 500 yards and constantly diverting your attention from the road to scour the adjacent scenery for yellow boxes. Speed cameras have been about since the early 90s, nearly a decade before I was able to drive (or in fact ride, as my perefered method of transport dictates), but I didn't come into contact them initially and always set my own pace. They trouble me. I think the cure in this case is worse than the illness. Governments rely too much on the speed kills message and lucrative systems of enforcement, big business is involved, and the justice system and corporate entities do not make healthy bedfellows. I am opposed to instant justice and the fact innocent people may be desuaded from appealing as it is easier and cheaper to just take the 3 points and the £60 fine. I am opposed to the fact speed limits are set too low, artificially low, and then enforced to the letter. I am oppose to road safety being governed by adherance to a numerical value - there has to be more to it than that. I am opposed to legislating common sense and penalising good, safe drivers who safely exceed a limit. I am opposed to the lack of responsibility or accountability the authorities display, particularly with regard to cameras actually causing accidents and the lack of transparency in general. I am opposed to the unilateral debate on speed, with groups like Brake being routinely consulted, and local councils constantly lowering or setting impractically low limits based on their recommendations. I would have said inattention or carelessness was a far greater killer than speed. Speed can be used appropriately and people should be encouraged to think for themselves and drive accordingly. I am opposed to the issue being used for political point scoring and anyone seen lower limits or slowing drivers down or erecting cameras is automatically painted as a modern day folk hero. I am opposed to the lack of facts the speed kills lobbists use. There are many more reasons but those are but a few.
I do not know why there aren't more people on these forums. You only have to go for a ride around to realise that we live in a culture of over-zealous enforcement, demonisation of speed (speed kills etc.) as the sole cause of accidents and that to drive everywhere at the limit as we are supposed to do would be impractical and pointless. I am not saying limits should be disregarded or that they are all wrong but that they are only part of the process that determines the safe speed you can travel. Cameras and the paranoia created by over-zealous enforcement, not to mention the detremental effect it can have on someone's driving, actually detracts from what makes a good, safe journey. That is the ability to concentrate on the road and identify and act on hazards as they develop. I have seen coppers trying to catch bikers locally by hiding in a bush on a corner. Literally on the corner. That annoys me. They don't seem to have considered or care about the potentially disasterous consequances their actions could have. The last thing you want to force a biker to do is divert their attention to the speedo or be forced to brake while bike is lent over.
I think I have a collapsed arch. The only bike boots I have ever found that do not fall apart are Oxtars but those boots are definitely not made for walking
I am part simian, yes.
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They do smell nicer though and don't burp as much. 
I don't trust very hairy men, I reckon they're too close to Neanderthals. (It’s a good job he doesn’t read this forum) 
