Safer Motorcycling - Top Autobiographies

Safer Motorcycling.

In the 1970's, I bought a brand new Honda CB750K7. At the time it was cutting edge technology, way ahead of anything British. I was really into motorcycling but I still had a lot to learn and it showed.

I loved my bike and indeed it was an impressive bike, a real head turner for it's day. But one day stands out that could have ended in complete disaster and when I think about this incident now, it still brings a shiver to my spine.

I was on an 'A' road with a pillion and behind a queue of fairly slow moving traffic. I wanted to overtake and of course I had the power and it would be quite an easy and safe move. Nothing was coming the other way (British roads and driving on the left) A quick check of my mirrors showed me that no one else behind had decided to go for it before me. Dropping a gear, the bike accelerated quickly and smoothly and I pulled out and would make the manoeuvre easily.

All was going well when suddenly my worst nightmare happened. A car from the queue decided to pull out with the same intention as me. The unfortunate thing was that I was virtually alongside him when he pulled out.

My passenger was also seeing all this and I could feel him clinging on to my chest so hard I could not breath. I managed to avoid the car by swerving onto the grass verge. It was fortunate that the road in question did not have a curb or any drainage ditches as I fought to keep control of the bike on grass at about 60mph. I did not dare brake or close the throttle too quickly since this would cause me to lose control with the limited grip on grass.

After slowing down, the car rapidly moved ahead and I wrestled the Honda back onto the road and back into the flow of traffic and not a moment too soon since I was seconds away from running out of grass verge. I had got away with it by the "skin of my teeth" especially with a passenger. About half a mile up the road I got the opportunity to overtake the rogue car and point at my mirror as I passed him as a signal for him to look into his mirrors before making the same manoeuvre again.

From then on though I would always be extremely wary about overtaking queues of vehicles and would often wait until some had overtaken themselves first. Though a bit frustrating, it was always a lot safer. Often these days, what I will do when overtaking is to flash my headlight on full beam in the hope that it will be noticed by a driver that might be tempted to pull out having not seen me.

To be fair, when looking to overtake, you are so intent on trying to see if anything is coming the other way that you forget that another vehicle could already be overtaking you and that's why mirrors in this situation are so important. Of course we are all imperfect, and I have on occasion forgotten to look into my mirrors myself when overtaking, only to realise with a jolt what the consequences could have been.

Motorcycle Safety - Top Autobiographies

Motorcycle Safety

After riding motorcycles since 1970 and suffering several crashes and near misses, I got to thinking a lot more about safety. When you are young, you tend not to think as much about safety as you perhaps should. I was the same.

For example I tried to get "air" on my Suzuki 100 two stroke on a hump backed bridge. I got air alright but what I had not considered was what was on the other side. I went at it with some enthusiasm and the bike shot into the air but as soon as I could see the other side of the bridge I realised with a jolt that there was a junction and a car waiting to pull out.

It was no use applying the brakes in mid air and I knew that this was going to end badly. I landed just yards from the stationary vehicle and applied the brakes hard in panic mode. Of course both wheels locked up and a collision was inevitable. After all, the simple laws of physics were going to apply whether I liked it or not. It is not possible to stop in less distance than the laws of physics will allow. It would have to be a miracle.

This is in fact what happened. A minor miracle occurred, in that the car began to move off, just at the right time. Of course it was too late but when the collision happened it was just a moderate bump but since I was already on the brakes, the inertia on impact was enough to have me sprawled over the cars boot!

The car stopped as I unceremoniously slithered back over the handlebars and fuel tank of my still upright motorcycle. No damage was done to either vehicle and we went our separate ways. I was shaking like a leaf, my arms felt like jelly and it taught me a valuable lesson. I was exceptionally lucky to get away with this little misdemeanor.

The moral of the story I suppose is obvious, "if you can't see, don't assume that the road is clear" or words to that effect. There are many scenarios that this will apply to especially when thinking of overtaking on a bend but there are a lot more subtle situations that you might not have thought about.

One that could be lethal concerns junctions. This is a real life situation that has taken lives. You are travelling behind a large vehicle, it's a bit slow but you can see for miles ahead and it's clear. The motorcycle is capable of passing this vehicle in seconds. Unfortunately, you failed to spot the junction on the left about 300yds or so and the car wishing to pull out to turn right. He has quite a fast car, he also estimates that the lorry is traveling slowly and knows that he can pull out rapidly before the lorry gets to the junction. Because you are behind a large vehicle, the car driver cannot see you and does not assume that there is anything behind the lorry.

You make your move after checking your mirrors, pull out to make the perfect overtake but at the same time, the car has pulled out safely with plenty of space and has saved time waiting for the lorry.
The car turns smartly to the right only to be confronted by you accelerating hard to pass the truck.

The best advice about motorcycling that was to ever cross my path, is "assume that you are invisible".
It might seem to take all the fun out of what is an incredible experience but there is a time and place for everything but it's definitely not near a junction.

Statistics show that most motorcycle accidents occur in and around junctions so never ever let your guard down whenever there's a junction about. Can you think of any more scenarios like the one above that you can avoid? I had several motorcycle crashes but none were serious. They say you learn by your mistakes but this is one sport where it could easily be your last.