tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post3731207446340084178..comments2023-10-28T19:42:01.039+01:00Comments on Going fast, getting nowhere: Close oneRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-35330350064258143742009-08-10T01:30:56.996+01:002009-08-10T01:30:56.996+01:00I think a lot of it is down to assumptions (and we...I think a lot of it is down to assumptions (and we've all heard the one about making as ASS of U and ME, har har). I assumed the van was going slowly because it was a van - much older and scabbier than the one I selected to illustrate this fine piece of prose and logical argument. I couldn't see round it, but I assumed the spot in front was empty. Bad move. I'll remember it next time I am following a slow vehicle that I can't see round.<br /><br />I suppose the other thing is the kind-of secondary safety of riding style. The fact that I rarely get close to other vehicles and usually give them plenty of room is what kept this to an oo-er moment, rather than a nee-nar blue flashing light moment. If I'd been doing one of those elliptical overtakes where you nearly clip the guy's rear and then front bumpers as you pass and pull back in, I may not have been writing this.<br /><br />I love motorcycling, and want to do it for as long as possible. Simples!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7099099432720184584.post-48330903496208545182009-08-09T22:53:15.321+01:002009-08-09T22:53:15.321+01:00Lot of stuff this weekend I have sympathy with!
B...Lot of stuff this weekend I have sympathy with!<br /><br />Box vans have been the cause of my two closest calls ever. Both observation-related, which perhaps indicates something about the vehicle: they're not taken as seriously as they could be. Typically, you have no idea if it's a rental and the driver hasn't a clue how to handle it, or a caffeine-crazed pro-hauler outrunning the tachos of doom (Terry Pratchett quote, iirc). They're ubiquitous, without being as blatant a hazard as, say, an artic. And they are very difficult to see around or through! In short (rather like 4x4s) they encourage bikes to want to be in front of them...<br /><br />My only multi-vehicle crash was when a white van turned left in front of me. The taxi waiting to turn right in that side road pulled out when he saw the van do so and neither of us saw each other until too late. If it hadn't been wet, I'd have stopped before planting my knee in his door with bone-crunching force (and probably would feel less arthritic to this day). I blame me, however - I couldn't see the far side of the junction and should have allowed that fraction more time until I could.<br /><br />The other was more like yours - a non-accident. Overtaking a long vehicle on a single carriageway: I could see the van in front and had time to take both of them. Except that a pheasant ran out in front of the car that I couldn't see in front of the van. Nowhere to pull in, no gap in front of the van where I had expected one and oncoming traffic made it a close shave! One of those things - I'm not sure I could have anticipated it, but equally, probably should have held back since the visibility to clear road wasn't there.<br /><br />Neither experience has made me give a second's thought to packing it in. There's no reason why they should. You learn from doing, be it good or bad! I don't rely on luck - although on occasion I have been lucky when it counted.<br /><br />I like the point about "no excuses". That's exactly what it is on a bike. It's your life: having the moral high ground or legal recourse count for very little beside that. But as long as you accept that responsibility and learn from your mistakes, all you folks out there who like to say "oh, I'd kill myself on one of those things" should know that not doing so is a perfectly valid alternative.<br /><br />Glad you chose to exercise it!endemoniada_88noreply@blogger.com