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Proficient Motorcycling. David L. Hough
Читать онлайн.Название Proficient Motorcycling
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isbn 9781935484677
Автор произведения David L. Hough
Жанр Сделай Сам
Издательство Ingram
I’ll offer some guidelines:
| Speed | Minimum Sight Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 to 50 mph | 4 sec | |
| 50 to 60 mph | 5 sec | |
| 60 to 70 mph | 6 sec | |
| 70 to 80 mph | 7 sec |
Give these numbers a try, and see if you agree with my suggested minimums. If your reflexes are really quick and you can make consistent hard stops without dropping the bike or highsiding, shave off a second. If these minimums make you a little nervous, add a second. The point is to have a method of gauging honestly how your speed stacks up to your and your bike’s stopping performance. If you find that you are consistently entering blind situations at speeds too fast to stop within your minimum sight distances, the message should be obvious: get on the binders and slow down quickly whenever sight distance closes up.
When you are approaching a blind situation such as the crest of a steep hill, is it reasonable to assume that there isn’t a problem ahead, even though you can’t see the road ahead? For instance, let’s say there is a driver on the other side of the hill backing up to make a turn into a driveway. Should you brake just because your sight distance is temporarily limited? Personally, I have seen enough hazards just over a hill or around a corner to be very suspicious. I don’t think it is reasonable to assume the road is clear when you can’t see the road ahead within your stopping distance.
To Obey or Not to Obey
As traffic grows more congested and aggressive, more motorists are bending the laws. You may find yourself in the dilemma of having to decide whether to increase the risks of a crash or increase the risks of a traffic ticket. For instance, consider those no passing zones marked by double yellow lines. Years ago, road crews were more realistic about the hazards and more frugal with the yellow paint. We could pretty well depend on the double yellow lines warning us of real hazards, such as hidden dips where another vehicle might be hidden from view or side roads where other vehicles could suddenly pull out. But some road crews have gradually extended the double yellow lines farther and farther, until some highways are double-yellowed from one end to the other. If you’re riding a quick motorcycle, it’s frustrating to hang back behind a creeping motor home or overloaded gravel truck when you can see the other lane is clear and you know you have plenty of zip to get around. More and more of us are giving in to the temptation to just ignore the yellow lines and get on with the ride.
If you were motoring along at 55 or 60 mph, would you brake for this situation? I don’t think it’s reasonable to assume the road is clear on the other side of this hill, even if traffic on the road has been light. When sight distance closes up, I believe in immediately reducing speed and preparing for evasive action.
You might be tempted to ignore the no passing lines and get around this slow-moving truck, but before you leap out and accelerate, scrutinize the situation ahead. Are you absolutely certain the truck isn’t about to make a left turn into that side road ahead?
Legally speaking, it’s no more illegal to pass over a double yellow than to exceed the posted speed limit, but the laws of physics are self-enforcing. Being on the wrong side of the road at warp passing speeds is certainly an invitation to a head-on collision if a car suddenly appears from around the corner or a local resident pulls out of a hidden driveway.
You’ll have to decide for yourself when and where you are willing to risk passing over the double yellow. My advice is to never, ever be out in the wrong lane while crossing a bridge, approaching the crest of a hill, rounding a blind curve, or riding through an intersection. But what about a long uphill sweeper where you can see the road eight or ten seconds ahead? And when you come up behind a vehicle waiting to turn left from a busy two-laner, is it smart to come to a sitting-duck stop, or should you swerve over onto the shoulder, pass on the right, and keep moving?
Regardless of the law, before you decide to zip around any slow-moving or stopped vehicle, take a good look at the situation, and try to figure out what’s happening and what’s about to happen. Is there a side road or driveway into which the other vehicle could turn? Is there a tree-shaded intersection ahead from which another vehicle could suddenly materialize? Is the other vehicle going slowly because the driver is about to make a left turn? It’s unwise to pass in any areas where there are roads or driveways along the highway, even if it isn’t a no-passing zone. And before you pass a stopped vehicle on the right, take a good look behind you to ensure that someone else isn’t in the process of zooming around you.
Wandering Drivers
While around half of all fatal motorcycle crashes are the result of the rider losing control, the other half are collisions. So a big part of managing the situation is to be aware of what the drivers around you are doing. The other day, a mini-van driver who had been tailgating me for several miles finally zoomed on by straddling the centerline. Even though I was maintaining 60 in a 55, I think the close pass was a message, perhaps “you’ve been holding me up long enough,” or “motorcycles don’t belong on the highway,” or maybe just “move it or lose it, biker boy, I got places to be.” While such aggressive actions tend to anger me, they don’t scare me quite as much as drivers who wander over the centerline or halfway onto the shoulder or who change speed for no apparent reason. I can only assume that wandering drivers don’t have their brains fully engaged in DRIVE, or their brains are fogged with chemicals, or they are distracted by a conversation on their cell phones. Whatever the reason, it’s a scary situation for vehicles hurtling toward each other at closing speeds of 130 mph, separated only by a pair of four-inch yellow lines painted on the pavement.
It’s not uncommon for motorists to misjudge the radius of a turn and drift over the centerline halfway around a corner.
Entering a corner from the outside of the turn helps you avoid those Wandering Willies who drift over the centerline.
Whether it’s an act of aggression or a disengaged brain on their part, drivers who wander over the centerline can pick you off if you don’t take action to stay out of the way. If there’s a collision between a motorcycle and a heavier vehicle, you know who’s going to get hurt. On curving