05-31-2004, 02:19 PM
from Brain P. on GTAM
I think it's a good reminder for us.
Quote:There's a sticker found on a good many race bikes that's not meant for the spectators or the sponsors, but rather for the rider - it's usually within the rider's view, like on the top of the gas tank or in the instrument area, and it says this: "STUPID HURTS!"
With all the crashes reported lately, and with this being the beginning of a new season, perhaps those of us who have been around for a while can refresh our memories and share them with those less experienced, of the things that are "stupid".
"Stupid" is different from "illegal". "Illegal", on its own, gets you a ticket and costs you money and aggravation, but you still get to see the wife and kids. "Stupid" gets you in the hospital or worse. Things that are "illegal" can also be "stupid", but there's an awful lot of things that are "stupid" without being "illegal", and there are sometimes opportunities to do "illegal" things that aren't necessarily "stupid". "Illegal" can be determined by reading the Highway Traffic Act. Let's focus on "stupid" and let's start with the obvious.
1. Riding under the influence is stupid. You need balance and judgment. The maximum blood alcohol content that isn't "stupid", is ZERO.
2. Riding under the wrong frame of mind is stupid. If you're upset at your boss or your customers or your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend, stay off the road.
3. Riding without proper protective gear is stupid.
4. Racing on the streets is stupid. Save lean-angle competitions, top-speed contests, and drag-racing for track days.
5. Not maintaining your bike in tip-top mechanical condition is stupid.
6. There are certain provisions of the Highway Traffic Act that are not only illegal to disobey, but also stupid. Stop signs. Red traffic lights. Speed limits in school zones or residential side streets with kids playing.
End of obvious stuff. Start of nasty riding habits and patterns that can get you killed.
7. Passing cars on two-lane roads in areas where you don't have full view of AT LEAST three times as much space as you think you need is stupid. How do you know what's on the other side of that hill or around that blind corner or coming out of that intersection which you can't see? I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I'VE SEEN RIDERS DO COMPLETELY STUPID PASSES, ESPECIALLY TO KEEP UP WITH THEIR BUDDIES. Don't even think about it! If there is any doubt at all, DON'T PASS. Very frequently, riders in the front of a group can make a pass approaching a visibility issue, but those in the back should wait until it's clearly safe to do so. Yeah, it splits up the group. SO WHAT? Later is better than never. Do you want to arrive by bike, or by ambulance?
8. Not accounting for possible reduced-traction conditions is stupid. Cold tires. Painted road markings, especially when it's wet. Steel plates or steel maintenance covers ("man-hole covers" is the old non-politically-correct term), especially when it's wet. Railroad tracks or streetcar tracks. Pavement that is worn smooth. Sand or dust, especially in the area outside or between where car tires usually travel in the lane. Spilled fuel or antifreeze, especially on ramps. Puddles of water. Gravel. All of these can ruin your day. Most are visible and avoidable if you are paying attention. If there is doubt, SLOW DOWN.
9. Riding through intersections without FULL AWARENESS of ALL vehicles approaching that intersection is stupid. The majority of fatal car/bike collisions happen at intersections. Scan for vehicles in the intersection or approaching the intersection from all directions. SCAN FOR BLIND SPOTS WHERE YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO SEE a vehicle approaching the intersection and assume that there IS a vehicle in the blind spot. Do a little risk assessment - which situations have the most risk. Predict what those drivers are going to do. Determine what YOU can do to make yourself more visible to the vehicles presenting the highest risk and do it. As you approach closer, determine what YOU can do to reduce the risk of being hit even if the driver does the stupid move, and then do it. Frequently, this will involve slowing down, moving to the left or right of your lane to make yourself more visible some distance from the intersection, covering the brake lever, then moving to the opposite side of the lane in the last second before the intersection (sometimes speeding up in the process) to put more distance and time between yourself and trouble. YOU are the one who will lose any battle with a car, regardless of who makes the big mistake, so YOU have to do every preventive action possible. (This becomes habit after a while - and IT WORKS. I rarely have anything even resembling a close-call any more.)
10. Riding in traffic at a speed faster than other drivers expect to see is stupid. Reason - Most drivers don't look further around their vehicle than their immediate surroundings and a lot of drivers don't use their signals, so you get less warning of their stupid moves. (Yes, this is stupid of THEM, but YOU are the loser of any battle, so YOU have to compensate for their deficiencies.) Most drivers don't check their mirrors or shoulders for long enough to determine a "closing speed", they only check if another vehicle is there. If you are closing faster than perhaps 20 km/h depending on conditions, you might not have enough time to react to avoid a collision. NO SPEEDING IN TRAFFIC, NO WEAVING THROUGH TRAFFIC. EVER.
When reading the above paragraph, "traffic" means "one other vehicle on the road". That's all it takes to cause trouble. Time for a recount of an actual incident. I'm driving to Shannonville on the 401 in a van towing a trailer with my track bike on it. It's 6:30 AM in the middle of nowhere. Nobody's on the road except one other clod in a clapped-out Ford Tempo doing 80 km/h in the left lane for no reason. I'm cruising at X km/h in the right lane (in a VAN, towing a TRAILER - X isn't very fast, but it's more than 80). The moron in the Tempo chose the worst possible time to decide that perhaps he really didn't need to be travelling in the left lane. If he had bothered to check the right mirror, I'm sure that my van and trailer would have filled the ENTIRE mirror, but that didn't happen. Next thing you know, I'm on the shoulder with the trailer hanging out in full oversteer mode, one wheel off the road. Which leads to the next point ...
11. Not being fully aware of the ignorance and lack of skills of the average "cage" driver is stupid. The people that are going the SLOWEST are generally the people who lack the necessary skills. People going fastest and weaving thru traffic are those who don't give a damn. You don't want to spend any more time near either of those than you have to ... but you don't want to close up on them at a speed that's likely to result in a collision if they do an un-mirror-checked un-shoulder-checked un-signalled lane change ... and the clods crawling along slowly are the most likely to do that. Approach slowly, then once reaching the point of no return, punch it and get the heck out of there.
12. Doing stunts in traffic is stupid. And remember, "traffic" means "one other vehicle on the road". Read points 10 and 11 again ... and remember that if you're up on one wheel, even if you're the best rider out there, it's going to take longer to slow down or turn ... and then read points 10 and 11 AGAIN.
13. Riding in the "blind spot" of other vehicles is stupid. After this many years, I have a subconscious "blind spot alarm" that signals an automatic "get out of here" response. Work on that! If you get cut off, ask YOURSELF the question: was I in the blind spot? If "yes", it means the other driver COULD NOT see you. Getting cut off under those circumstances is NOT the other driver's fault. It's YOURS, for being there in the first place.
14. Riding side-by-side with other vehicles is stupid. It removes a possible escape path. No riding side-by-side with cars in the next lane. NO RIDING SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH YOUR BUDDY ON HIS BIKE IN THE SAME LANE. This behaviour trips my "blind spot alarm". (And remember this when riding in groups: motorcycles have blind spots, too. If something develops that requires a sudden lane position change, with no time for a shoulder check, you had better not be right beside your buddy, out of his peripheral view and out of view of the mirrors,)
15. Passing other bikes in the same lane is stupid. When a group of riders is passing a car, SINGLE FILE. See points 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, because this type of thing violates all of those. No, my FZR400 cannot pass a car as quickly as your GSXR1000. I would still appreciate it if you WAIT until I'm done. I want the space until I'm done with it.
16. Not continuously working to improve your skills is stupid. If you're new, take the college course. If you're almost-new or not-so-new, take the FAST course. Go to track days. Practice counter-steering and threshold braking under controlled conditions (no traffic). Learning is fun and makes you better!
17. Not being self-critical of your own behaviour and learning from your own mistakes is stupid. We have ALL done stupid things. If you have a close call, THINK about what happened. Perhaps the other driver did something stupid, but remember, YOU are the loser of any battle with another vehicle, so it is YOUR responsibility to do whatever you can to avoid hazards. What could YOU have done differently to avoid the situation? Use that to improve your own riding in the future. The day you stop learning is the day you stop living ... but recognize that mistakes will happen, by EVERYONE, including YOURSELF.
I'm sure others can think of more ...
I think it's a good reminder for us.
