Stay Upright - Staying Safe
Being safe on the road is the responsibility of all road users. There is absolutely no point in just apportioning blame to others; we as riders need to honestly appraise "situations" that cause us to take evasive action, brake severely, or just get a fright.
Such an appraisal needs to include: what you did, or didn't do; what you saw; what you did about it; if you saw a potential hazard and did nothing, then what do you think you should have done?
Such an example could be:
You notice a car ahead on a side road to your left, indicating their intention to turn right across your path. Do you think "Okay, they will wait until I pass. They can obviously see me", or do you reduce speed as you approach, cover (Set up) your brakes, move to your right slightly (if space available) and check your mirrors for following traffic? Remember, there will be more than one hazard involved in most situations. All of these manoeuvres will take very little time and effort, but can go a long way to ensuring your safety.
Another example of a more proactive approach to safety would be:
You are following a slow moving truck, which you are keen to overtake. You stay in the right hand side of your lane to try and establish if you can, in fact, overtake. The truck then suddenly swerves to the left and all you can see now is why the truck swerved - to avoid an oncoming vehicle overtaking in your direction. What was the main problem here? What are you now faced with? The answer that seems to be most common is the rider was just following the truck too closely, not maintaining their 3 second gap. If you retain your 3 second gap, thus staying further back, your vision will be enhanced and you will maintain your safety buffer and have room for options of avoidance. This will also give room for the oncoming car to complete its overtaking move. This does not make the car driver right, it just keeps you safer and surely that is what road safety is all about - looking after yourself and having your own road strategy and sticking with it.
Even if you talk to yourself about what you are seeing around your riding environment, this is a good thing to do, because you tend to look for more potential hazards, identify & acknowledge them and plan your response.
Until next time,
Stay Upright. . . . . and stay safe
Wayne Carter
Stay Upright
Motorcycle Techniques
ROAD SKILLS REFRESHER COURSE - TASMANIA
With the focus on road riding and safety this month, Stay Upright are providing a NEW road skills refresher course for Tasmanian riders. Proudly sponsored by MAIB & The Tasmanian Motorcycle Council Road Skills Refresher Course, this new course is available NOW to Tasmanian riders.
Want to improve your road riding skills and feel more confident when riding on the highway or in traffic?
Learn and practice the most effective low risk road riding techniques with Australia's foremost rider training company.
Topics covered include-
_ Effective rider thinking styles and decision making to reduce risk
_ Braking techniques
_ Safe cornering skills
_ Lane positioning
_ Plus other low risk riding strategies
_ As well as 4 hours on-road training with a qualified Instructor
This one day course is available through all Stay Upright training centres (subject to minimum number of 5 persons per course). An opportunity not to be missed by all Tasmanian Road Riders.
Cost $50.00 per person - limited places available. Register now by phoning 1300 366 640 or (03) 62721588.
More on refresher training in next month's Stay Upright article
