Team-BHP - The Safe Riding thread

Hi,

After a potentially serious accident http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...you-learn.html and a few close calls, all in the space of last year, I became serious about riding safety and began reading (“Proficient Motorcycling” by David Hough, and various web-sites: Motorcycle Safety Site, ADVrider - Powered by vBulletin etc) and observing various potentially hazardous situations while riding. I also began writing down safety tips, based on my reading and personal experiences. Till date, I have written 25, or so, such tips, which I am planning reproduce on this thread.

Rather than putting down all 25 at one go, I’ll put up one per day so as to elicit discussion and comments from others who are perhaps more experienced than me, on each and every one of the tips. So the discussions will give a well-rounded picture, rather than my sole opinion. Please understand, I am no expert, but just a learner (1 year, 11,000+km), so treat these tips with caution, and feel free to discuss them.

The way to use some of the tips is to visualize the depicted situations and your correct response, so that when the situations arise on the road you can react without conscious thought.

Riding should be done in a focused mental state of alertness and anticipation (like a cricketer waiting to receive a ball). Learn to recognize this state, and always be in it when you ride.

Ask this question as you start your ride to put yourself in the right state of mind: Am I C-triple-A? i.e. CAAA: Cautious, Alert, Anticipating and Avoiding hazards.

If you are upset or angry (this includes road rage!), be conscious these emotions are dangerous, so calm down and focus on your ride. Keep your eyes on the road. Don’t get distracted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollin' Thunda (Post 1797278)

Dude, this is a thread that i plan to subscribe and read constantly. guys, hope to get proper participation on this forum, especially the newbies. i was going through other threads, where a kid was getting to ride his yamaha with a LL and with almost no exposure to safe driving tips.
A thread like this is invaluable to them.
kudos to you ..clap::thumbs up

Good thread.:thumbs up.

You need to be more cautious when on bike than in a car(2 wheels v/s 4 wheels).One point that i would like to add.

Always Always be aware of what is around you.That includes front, back, left and right.Constantly check your rear view mirror.And get into a habit of checking whats at the side without moving your head too much (from the corner of your eye) so as to not loose focus of whats in front of you.

Another observation that i have made is that whenever i encounter an animal crossing the road it would make more sense to pass the animal from behind.Unlike us humans most animals find it difficult to walk backward and would continue to walk ahead.So if i see an animal crossing the road it would be less likely that it would turn around.

Again, anticipate the obstacle well in advance and please keep enough distance, as after all its an animal and its movements are unpredictable.

Scan 8 seconds ahead, scrutinize and react 4 seconds ahead:
Be aware of the traffic situation upto 8 seconds ahead of you; start slowing down, changing direction, etc, according to traffic and road conditions 4 seconds ahead [as a thumb-rule, 1 meter for every kmph of your speed. That is, if you are traveling at 50 kmph, start adjusting to the observed traffic and road conditions 50 meters ahead of you, while also looking ahead at least 100 meters].

Scrutinize and be very alert to the traffic on the road, from side-roads, on the road-side, as well as the surface condition (potholes, bumps, speed-breakers, etc) of the road itself within the 4 second distance, more so for the traffic nearest you. Anticipate other vehicles' moves assuming they will not show indicator signals. Apart from motor vehicles keep a close watch on cyclists, pedestrians, animals (dogs, cattle, etc), till you pass them. Don't fixate on any one object, keep your eyes roving. If you cannot see 4 seconds ahead, as on a curve/turn, then slow down and stay on the left.

At night, ensure that your head lights reach at least 2 seconds ahead, otherwise slow down (so if your head lights reach only 20 meters ahead do not travel faster than 40 kmph).

If you are new to motorcycling and cannot respond fast enough on the road, the best thing you can do is to go slow till your reactions on the bike become natural. Cultivate good riding habits from the beginning and good riding will become second nature and come automatically.

Are you using Mirrors, Indicators, Lights, Horn, Front brake, Flasher (MILHOFF)?
This may be natural to experienced motorcyclists, but newbies need to remind themselves of the ‘extras’ beyond rear brake, clutch, throttle and gears that they should also be using all the time. Before starting out on a ride, go through the MILHOFF check-list to refamiliarize yourself with the positions of the various switches and to see that they are working; also see that the mirrors are adjusted to give as wide a rear-view as possible.

(There will be more on the use of the front brake, mirrors, etc, later.)

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@quickdraw Please Post: others will be lucky to 'draw' on your experience! :)

Always signal when you turn, change lanes, overtake vehicles, or even just skirt obstacles. This is to avoid being hit from behind. It is best to signal at least 5 seconds before you actually change directions, to give time for others to take notice and react. Do not change directions suddenly. Always do a RVM+head check [see 1 below] before you change direction and/or speed, or begin an overtake. Also do a RVM+head-check when you are merging (from the road-side or a side-road) into moving traffic. Otherwise check RVMs every 7-10 seconds atleast, whenever forward traffic conditions allow. At all other times, keep your eyes on the road. If a vehicle honks for ‘side’ behind you, never yield (i.e. move to the left) without looking at the RVMs; it could be overtaking you from the left!

1. RVM: rear-view mirror.`Head-check': slight movement of your head in the turn direction to check if there is any vehicle in the RVM blind spot on your flank.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollin' Thunda (Post 1803338)

1. RVM: rear-view mirror.`Head-check':

</p>The sad part is that most of the youngsters nowadays remove the RVM's as soon as they take the vehicle from the dealer. They dont understand the importance of this. My cousin is one such idiot and he learned it hardway. He tried to overtake a truck and didnt notice the speeding Indica cab on his right. He had a nasty fall from pulsar at speeds greater than 90KM and it took him 3 months to recover from the injury. The first thing he did when he was back on his bike is fix the RVM's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay4587 (Post 1798355)

Know your machine well.
Make sure you are well versed with your machines capabilities and limitations.

i have seen people taking there machines to its limit and then trying to get more out of it,which sure is an invitation to disaster

+1 :thumbs up this happens specially with underpowered vehicles like Splendor and CT100 where they hoard 3 people and try to take it past 80kmph

An incident that happened last night

Guy in Passion plus without a helmet riding zig zag in front of cars and blocking them riding at 45-50kmph [For that narrow lane this is a high speed]. I noticed him from a distance and decided to keep him in front of me. Unfortunately there was a speed breaker and he slowed down by which time i too reached it. After crossing it he started revving like crazy trying to outrun me on the RTR. I was well versed with the street and knew that there was another speed breaker a short distance away.

He revved so crazily he was about to push me to oncoming traffic in order to overtake a car in the front. I slowed down and moved to the left, let him pass and thought "What a moron!!" continuing my way. A little further saw this same guy having a tiff with a sumo cab driver. :D I guess he nicked the sumo or vice versa and was getting a mouthful from the driver.

Turn on the head-lights : (a) At dawn and dusk, even if you think there is enough light to see clearly.
(b) On the high-way, even in broad day-light. This increases your visibility to others. As a moving spot of light is instantly located and followed by the eye, it decreases the chance of two-vehicle collisions. So if you are speeding (which you shouldn't :eek: ) keep your head-lights on. It also makes you more noticeable in other vehicles' RVMs. It may even discourage oncoming cars, SUVs and trucks from making in-your-face overtake attempts that push you off the road. But don't count on it.
(c) Don't forget to turn them on at night:) Use the HIGH-beam only on a road with little traffic. Even so, switch to low-beam when an oncoming vehicle approaches, or you are close behind another vehicle going in your direction (the high-beam is blinding even seen in RVMS).

Flash your lights (a) when you feel some oncoming vehicle is encroaching into your path (b) when you are attempting an overtake and find oncoming traffic approaching; flashing your lights says, "I'm coming through!". In case you have trouble locating the flasher switch, just turn on the head-lights for an equivalent effect. However, do not assume that the other vehicles will respect your flashing lights; always have a Plan B in case they do not.

Horn: Thank God you are not in the West, where honking is taken to be discourteous. In India to honk is to be polite, as showing consideration for others; it is considered rather more impolite to run people over. But for God's sakes, don't go down the street at full speed with your horn blaring. But honk to warn pedestrians/cyclists you are coming. Honk to make 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers notice that you exist. Honk if you see a pretty girl [but keep your eyes on the road!]. Honk if you love God. But do not assume for a moment that the pedestrians/cyclists/2&4-wheelers/girl/God will necessarilly take the slightest heed of you. So be prepared with necessary action when they don't!