Mopeds limited to 28MPH?

And how safe is a cycle at 15 mph on the same? ;-(

Yup. For a while I had a Yamaha T80 Townmate that was a 3 speed auto (and shaft drive) and was good for about 45 mph downwind. Often quite uncomfortable in a 40 with everyone doing 45+.

I think the rules for a moped used to read something along the lines of a 'two wheeled vehicle with an engine capacity of no more than

49cc, that cannot exceed 30 mph and equipped with pedals as an alternative means of propulsion'. I don't think they even needed a speedo for the MOT (*because* they couldn't exceed the std urban speed limits).

I liked the way the Yamaha FS1E got round the pedals thing by having one you could release and then position them both like footpegs (as did others no doubt, like the Fanticmotor 'Cruiser' if I remember correctly). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

they have been speed limited to 28mph since 1977

I think it should be mandatory to have driven a motorbike for several years before being allowed to drive a car. I suggest 4 years, so pass the motorbike test at 17 then be allowed the first car provisional at

1. That way every car driver would have some practical experience of riding a motorbike and hopefully more sympathy for other motorcyclists.

Exceptions for those with a disability that would prevent riding a motorbike - lack of legs or an arm, perhaps.

In Denmark the speed limit for a knallert (moped), 16 year old driver and no registration plate is 30 Km/h or 18.64512 Mph.

Sometimes you could easily race a moped on a good bicycle!

A popular but illegal hack (literally) was to hack away about 1cm of the piston near the inlet port. That would enable sucking in the fuel/oil/air mixture at a slightly earlier time of the 2-stroke cycle. A more obvious hack was to bore out the inlet pipe, which was usually restricted by the manufacturer to achieve 18.64512 Mph.

Impractical, some folks wouldn't want the risk of getting on a bike (or even bicycle).

I suggest 4 years, so pass

No, just give all drivers tests every four years. All ages, no exception.

Wouldn't it be safer to ban bikes on the road?

It seems ludicrous we have to wear seatbelts in a car in the name of safety, yet can ride a bike in such an exposed manner.

I think it should be mandatory for anyone using a powered vehicle of any sort for business use to have to pass a test before doing so. Like all these delivery drivers that use mopeds, etc. And there should also be a limit on now long you can drive one on L plates.

[...]

Where would they ride other than on the very limited number of cycle paths then?

Chris

That is going to be extremely costly. And disruptive to industry. So nice in theory, but a nightmare to implement.

On footways alike so many cyclists?

In society, it would be safer to ban smoking, drinking, swearing, singing, congregating, dancing, barbecuing, snoring, snorkelling, swinging, sun-bathing, sky-diving, and angle grinding.

Some want to ban humans driving altogether, and put it totally in the hands of robots.

Should we?

Compulsory addition of bike ejector seat and parachutes...

No, seriously. Something needs to be done to improve all drivers/riders awareness of nearby hazards. Maybe 'rider alert!!' needs to be screamed by the next generation of sat navs, gaining lock on nearby bikes and pedestrians via compulsory on car sensors and fitted transponders.

Less cars on the road, safer drivers, less accidents, more use of public transport, more money for public transport.

OK, phase it in. Drivers in dangerous cities, i.e. London, have to tested every four years.

I'd rather that than a tax based on vehicle emissions.

Nightmare to implement? Nah, we've bought into Microsoft technology.

That software can do anything...

;-)

How do you work that out?

safer drivers, less accidents, more use of public

I thought there was?

It's a mistake to assume there are more serious accidents per vehicle mile driven in a so called dangerous city, than in a more rural area.

And many accidents wouldn't be stopped by making sure every driver could pass a driving test. Like those caused by drinking or drugs, etc. Faulty vehicles and so on. Kids who think they are so skilled they can avoid having an accident.

I doubt it would reduce driven miles by a significant amount.

Yeh, right. ;-)

Pretty well every single moped you see in London doing delivery duty is on L plates. It could be some do have a qualified driver using them - but they certainly don't seem to have read and understood the highway code. But then that sadly applies to the vast majority of those on two wheeled devices of all types.

With the exception of maybe the disabled in some circumstances (but not all), driving is a privilege not a right. Too many drivers/riders expect the later, but have attitudes unsuited to it especially when sidelined by advertising making them "fit" into a particular car like a youth chooses his Reebok trainers just to be seen.

Some of the standards of driving around here are poor. Some of the cars are a poor choice. We could usefully lose some of the incompetent bats that can't see over the steering wheels of their silver Mercedes boats. We could also weed out those with aggressive tendencies.

I live in a part of NW London where we are going to get thousands more residents with all the building work going on. This will translate into ownership of much more cars, and the controls on paying for a parking space or a city congestion charge won't effect those that can pay it.

Let's assign the privilege properly to those that can actually drive.

They can ride their bikes the same places I can drive without a seat belt[1].

[1] For info I always wear a seat belt, and have always done so.

I think you're missing the point. If something as dangerous as driving without a seat belt is an offence it stands to reason, given the appalling death and serious injury statistics of riding motorbikes, that riding bikes should be considered in a similar context.

That is an interesting concept, where locations of other road users can be known by collision avoidance systems. Would be quite simple to stop cars from pulling out in front of motorcyclists, or indeed any vehicle. Not so long ago a vehicle approaching a Y-junction was masked by my passenger door mirror causing a rush of adrenaline when I discovered my error.