Police seek rider clocked at 212km/h

Cartoon / Rod Emmerson

Police are hunting for a motorcyclist spotted travelling along a busy stretch of State Highway 1 at a speed described by one officer as unsurvivable if there was a crash.

The rider was clocked doing 212km/h at Manakau, near Levin, about 9.30am yesterday. The bike was travelling south towards Otaki, but did not travel through the town, police spokeswoman Kim Perks said.

The officer who clocked the rider radioed ahead to warn Otaki police, who headed out to pull him over at the Otaki Bridge.

It was possible the rider lived locally, and inquiries were under way, Ms Perks said. There was a suggestion the bike could have been fitted with dealer plates.

Sergeant Stu Kearns of the Waitemata serious crash unit told the Herald a crash at that velocity would be unsurvivable, and the rider's chance to react to an emergency in time would be cut dramatically.

"There's not enough leather or protective gear that would save your skin at that speed."

Mr Kearns said the rider would be covering nearly 60m a second at 212km/h.

As the average driver reaction time is about 2.5 seconds, the rider would travel 147m before he could react to anything happening in front of him.

He would then need a braking distance of about 272m, meaning any hazard would have to be almost half a kilometre away for him to stop in time.

"His body is going to be subject to the road, and whatever object he hits."

The only reason racing motorcyclists sometimes survived such high-speed spills was because of their protective gear, and the absence of "roadside furniture", he said.

Traffic Institute vice-president John Gottler said a motorcyclist who crashed at 30km/h had a one in 10 chance of being killed, while a rider involved in a 50km/h crash had a one in nine chance of dying.

Quick end

What happens at 212km/h:

* Distance being covered is nearly 60m a second.

* Reaction time is 2.5 seconds which means 147m travelled before reacting.

* Braking distance is 272m.