ADUK Archive

drivingschoolnewbury wrote:My argument was if a trained police motorbike rider can get it wrong what chance do the rest of us have?!?!?

Your argument was that if a trained police motorbike rider was willing to take risks then nobody should attempt to overtake. I didn't see how the two were linked.

Gareth wrote:

drivingschoolnewbury wrote:My argument was if a trained police motorbike rider can get it wrong what chance do the rest of us have?!?!?

Your argument was that if a trained police motorbike rider was willing to take risks then nobody should attempt to overtake. I didn't see how the two were linked.

From reading the full post, I think DSN is just acknowledging how risky overtaking is, and that if someone who 'ought to know better' can get caught out it shows the lengths the rest of us should go to to be sure the overtake is actually a good idea before we commit to it.

Many people, both drivers and riders, look for opportuities to overtake. IMHO they'd be better off looking for reasons not to overtake, rather than looking to see if theycan

For motorcylists, they're usual blessed with machines that have considerable power:weight ratios, allowing overtaking in a way car drivers rarely comprehend. And that leads to an attitude of 'because I can, I will' - it's only a recent phenomenon because of the bikes, 'people' have always pushed things to (and beyond) the limits . . .

There are three main types of crashes riders have:
Junctions, with right of way violation by the other driver; usually urban, slower, injuries
Cornering loss of control, usually rural, and rider error ('too fast for owner'), higher speed, often fatal
Overtaking, rural, often fatal

Gareth wrote:

drivingschoolnewbury wrote:My argument was if a trained police motorbike rider can get it wrong what chance do the rest of us have?!?!?

Your argument was that if a trained police motorbike rider was willing to take risks then nobody should attempt to overtake. I didn't see how the two were linked.

I never at any point said that the police motorbike rider took risks. He may have done I don't know. As afar as I'm aware he did all the correct checks but there was a "concealed" entrance. "Concealed" by it's very nature means that you can't see it. So my point is that if a trained police motorbike rider couldn't see the concealed entrance what chance do the rest of the driving population have?

foxtrot_mike wrote:I held back slightly and then indicated mirror, signal and began to move out

Don't think anyone else has covered this, but one thing to bear in mind is that the signal should be an "indication of your intention" rather than something to reinforce your current action. Think of it more like asking permission to do something and then gauging the responses from traffic around you before committing to the manouevre. My understanding is it takes 4 or 5 flashes of the indicator before the "average" human reacts, although I think it can depend how expected your manouevre is...

Chris

ScoobyChris wrote: [ one thing to bear in mind is that the signal should be an "indication of your intention" rather than something to reinforce your current action. Think of it more like asking permission to do something and then gauging the responses from traffic around you before committing to the manouevre.

A fun game to improve forward planning is to 'ask permission' (and mentally build in time for an answer) before braking . . .

I have been using my indicators a bit more than I used to and I have noticed a difference in my observation as you have to observe more when you indicate as well to see who might adversely be affected by your information given.

I have not come across any Motorbikes to play with yet though

foxtrot_mike wrote:I have been using my indicators a bit more than I used to and I have noticed a difference in my observation as you have to observe more when you indicate as well to see who might adversely be affected by your information given.

I have not come across any Motorbikes to play with yet though

Conversely the opposite is true.

Many drivers indicate whether another road user will benifit or not.

A comment I often make to learners, especialy when they are moving off or pulling in, is, "Did you check your mirrors and blind spots? Was a signal neccessary?" I know of some instructors who say that they teach to always indicate when moving off or pulling in, "just in case".
In my oppinion this can lead to poor observation or complacency.