RiderSite.com - Motorcycle Forums

read this tonight.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20091028/tuk ... dbed5.html

I'm not suggesting that what he was doing was fine - I wasn't there - I can't assess the situation - and I doubt it was very clever.

..... but the judge seems to be implying that the main issue determining the sentence was the actual speed itself rather than any specific danger ....

Sheriff John Horsburgh told Purves: "The speed at which you were driving this motorcycle makes a custodial sentence the only appropriate one."

.... which would not be the view of our European brethren in Germany where there are stretches of road where the speed you were driving is irrelevant.
Come to that, those in the IoM have a similar view.
Of course they would also throw the book at you for inappropriately dangerous riding but surely the emphasis would be on the specific danger.

Certainly the speed law in the area of the offence was exceeded many times over - no argument - but to state that the reason for the custodial sentence is due to speed rather than a specific danger is poor.

I think the quote you used suggests the prescriptive nature of speeding penalties. As we all know pretty much anything up to 30mph over 70 on a motorway gets you fines and points. More than a ton and you're into ban territory.

I reckon that the Sherrif has had a look at his chart and 166 in a 60 = jail for 9 to 12 months, so the only lattitude he has is on the length of term.

Personally if I'd been his brief I'd have calimed he was attempting to attend to a potentially horrendous blue rinse incident