theroad@mag-uk.org PO Box 18519 London E11 4HF
it seems the roads are full of the damn things, but of course what’s actually happening is that your mind is now programmed to notice them because you have an interest in them. Another example is the way a pickpocket will distract you with one thing whilst carrying out a theft in what would otherwise be a way that you would actually notice. If you were standing still, bored to death on a railway platform, you’d probably notice movement in your back pocket, wouldn’t you? As it is, you actually still feel the movement as your wallet is removed, but the information is unwittingly discarded as unimportant compared with the task of helping the ‘lost’ passenger who has started asking you questions. So it’s my theory that many people have never consciously programmed this filter to say that when they’re driving their cars, motorcycles are important too, and it’s these people who sometimes end up saying, “Sorry mate, I didn’t see you,” when what they should really be saying is, “Sorry mate, my eyes did indeed take in the image of you coming towards me, but my subconscious mind discarded it as unimportant, thus my conscious mind had no opportunity to respond to it and so I pulled out anyway.” On this basis, the ‘Think Bike’ ads are about the most effective thing the authorities can do to reduce motorcycle casualty rates. The current obsession with Hi-Viz worries me as it encourages people to say, “Why yes, if motorcyclists are dressed in dayglo we’ll see them”. Of course if we’re not then it’ll be assumed to be our own fault if we get knocked off. Monty
Jon M Montgomerie IEng. MIET Black is the new yellow
The results of the laboratory test published in The Road issue 38 suggests that slightly more people would pull out in front of a biker not wearing Hi Viz and that too many drivers are not looking properly. The sample used in the laboratory test included 77 people. Of these, 63% would have pulled out on a biker not wearing hi viz. This rate drops to 51% where high viz is worn. This means that even if wearing hi viz and keeping your lights on, every other driver is likely to pull out on you and it gets worse if not wearing the gear EU boffins want you to wear. Thankfully, drivers are not really that bad, although bad enough. For several years my journey to and from work has been through dawn and dusk. Pupils at a local school wear black uniforms, sometimes with a coat over the top. In the near dark and often mist or rain, the black uniforms always show up, any other colour also shows as a silhouette but not as clear and sharp as black. On getting near, colours
begin to show. I’ve never seen a school pupil wearing dayglo but the crossing patrol shows up as a silhouette, although reflective strips show under high beam lights.
The answer to all these problems probably, is to encourage all road users to look out for people wearing Hi-Viz and people wearing other dark colours, and keep count of them for a month. At the end of the month they would realise that not only can they see all road users perfectly well, they will have looked out for vulnerable road users. Maybe the habit will stay with them and lives will be saved? Mike
Life insurance higher for bikers I’m an avid motorcyclist who works in Financial Services as a Financial Planner. Just recently one very large European-based insurer, Ageas, (formerly known as Fortis Life), has changed its underwriting criteria for life insurance and sickness accident policies.
They now ask the question, 'does the applicant ride/own a motorcycle over 50cc. Applicants whose age is below 55 and fit this criteria have their insurance premiums increased substantially. We have access to the whole of the life insurance market from Aviva to Zurich and none of the others do this – yet! Paul, Stafford
Iron Butt rider survives without dayglo! In the Iron Butt Association (IBA) UK we have bi-monthly European Ride to Eats (RTE's). This is where we select a location and all turn up for a photo and meal, then ride home. Recently we had a run to Colditz Castle in Germany. I took the DFDS Newcastle to Rotterdam ferry which gave me an enjoyable three days with one day to get to Colditz, a day in Colditz and a day’s ride home of about 1,000 miles. Luckily The ROAD dropped through my door as I left on Thursday 20th October which would give me no end of right riveting reading whilst on the ferry.
I was pleased to ride through the new Tyne
Tunnel which is now free due to our campaigning through MAG and it won’t be long before I can use the Humber Bridge for free also. Sadly I read in The ROAD that only 1% of bikers are MAG members, shame on the other 99%! We in the IBA who promote safe long distance riding are also in a minority of the biking brotherhood so know how MAG must feel. Of the 20 members who turned up for the Colditz Castle photo call I was shocked to learn that I was the only MAG Member! It is not quite as bad as it sounds as there were German, Belgium and Swiss guys present but I can assure you that I will make
Ed, Well it looks like the High-Viz threat has got under many rider’s skin and understandably so. There are voices out there on the interweb claiming that there is no danger of this being introduced in the UK and that MAG is being alarmist in flagging it up. Those of us with long memories however recognise the evolutionary signs of a progressive campaign that begins with persuasion and proceeds to compulsion once voluntary use has reached a critical level. Any effort to elicit a statement admitting to a plan from a Government agency will of course be met with a denial. This will be couched in the usual jargon about there being no plan to introduce a mandatory requirement. In fairness there probably is no plan by those in who the authority to enact legislation is vested.
This should give us no cause for complacency however as the evolutionary process moves independently of party politics and is fueled by the irrational elements within the road safety lobby who love gimmicks and refuse to recognise a distinction between the adoption of what they see as a sensible precaution and the enforcement of that precaution on pain of criminal charges. The process by which ideas turn into laws is like a dormant disease that flares up as soon as the conditions favour it. MAG understands this process and we will continue to defend the right of riders to dress as we see fit, not as others, who have no empathy with the freewheeling motorcycle lifestyle, wish to dress us. Freedom of choice must always be qualified but in this case it is entirely appropriate to apply it literally.
The ROAD 25
it my personal quest to get my fellow IBA UK Members to join MAG as soon as I can. I also have to report that I completed the trip safely without having to resort to full sleeve day-glo clothing, a miracle I know. I was also able to establish my own decision on the speed I rode at on the unrestricted German autobahns, again without any apparent harm to me, my motorcycle or the public at large; amazing eh? Dave Badcock
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