Dartmoor Motorcycle Training
SPEED - WHY IT ALONE DOES NOT KILL!
by Mike Gill, Dartmoor Motorcycle Training
So often we see road safety adverts in the media telling us that speed kills! well I, personally, feel that it is a very misleading statement. Speed might be a major contributing issue, but the fact will remain that normally it can be safely used (within
the legal limits) to make progress on our roads if we all keep to the rules.
It is for all of us to understand the best speed for each vehicle type to progress along each section of road, depending on the risk factors as they present themselves. So if I were to try and travel at 50 or 60mph in Duke Street, Tavistock, not only would I be exceeding the recommended speed limit and risk a fine, but I might not be able to see all the hazards in time to consider my options and then take an appropriate action. The limit in Duke Street is 30mph like many other parts of Tavistock, but with so many shoppers and vehicles looking for a parking spot, 20mph can feel too fast on many days, especially around lunch time.
As road users it is up to us to learn ‘self control’ and reduce our speed when the hazard factors build up to the point that we feel the risk is greater than the reward of getting to our destination sooner.
So what are those rules?
I tell trainees not to travel faster than they can see to stop - simple but give it a thought next time you enter a blind corner.
I also explain to them that knowing your braking efficiency and never getting close to it on the road will help them to understand the safety margin they are building into their vehicle control techniques. Particularly as bikes cannot brake very effectively when in a serious corner, so it is better to have slowed first then enter the corner whilst slowly building speed up as the corner opens again and they can see further along the road. If bike brakes are used during a corner with any serious intent the effect is to bring the bike upright and hence straighten the corner - oops now I am heading into that hedgerow!!
Another riding tip I offer and explain is to see a reasonable hazard and to ease off the power slightly, to drop from say 30mph to 25mph (not much more without serious consideration for any vehicles behind and warning them by use of the brake light). The gain now is that if the
hazard develops into a full blown ‘I have got to stop’ situation the brakes have less work to do and we remain in control of our vehicle.
So when does speed kill? When it is
maintained right up to the back of a vehicle that gave warning it was slowing to stop but we missed it and rammed into the bumper. When common sense and the law suggests that it is wise to travel at 60 or 70 mph on a major road and we get carried away with the performance of our vehicle and see if it will do the magic ‘ton’ i.e. 100mph and now we are covering the road 60% faster than good sense and the law suggests, but worse are we really still able to see a clear road ahead and be able to stop? Possibly not, so it is not the speed that kills but the actions of the driver/rider. A vehicle travelling greater than 30mph that hits a small person even slightly will have more moving mass than they and much more
kinetic energy too! This massive imbalance means the small person will be tossed aside while enduring the force of a couple of tonnes on a human structure designed to protect itself with skin and muscle from minor falls to the ground while walking and running.
So think hard about your use of speed, it does not kill alone, but it will lead to trouble when it is not appropriate.
Small social plug - I am planning to ride over to the Paignton Bike Show at the end of April on Friday 30th leaving Tavistock at about 9am. Anyone wishing to ride over the moor (40mph limit) and particularly inexperienced riders on moped and 125cc bikes should come along to be ‘buddied’ with a more experienced rider. All I ask is that we keep to small groups of 3 or 4 and you each wear a hi-viz vest. The return trip will leave Paignton at about 3pm.
Dartmoor Motorcycle Training
0844 884 5068
* CBT DAS A2 Improver & Advanced Courses *
www.dmcts.co.uk
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Based in Tavistock
A friendly bike school
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