Think bike

Riding a bike for the past 4 years has changed my driving style dramatically.

Safety is now my main concern, be it on the bike or in the car, rather than just the journey, my music, passengers as it was before I became involved with bikes.

Just remember, everyone is trying to kill you :D
 
djbenjo said:
...everyone is trying to kill you
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that and "You're invisible" are my riding mantras.

When I see "think bike" on the gantries and on sign posts, in a car I read it as a reminder to look out for more vulnerable road users, when I'm on the bike I treat it as a reminder that I'm near invisible.

As for filtering I stick to the Polices 20/20 rule. Never in traffic going faster than 20mph, and never at more than 20mph faster than traffic.

Finally say thank you and be courteous, my Mum taught me that one.
 
In fairness it works both ways - there are plenty of car drivers who don't pay enough attention but there are also plenty of bikers who seem to be completely unaware of a drivers blind spot and insist on sitting in them. If bikers kept a bigger distance from the car in front and drivers paid a bit more attention, there's no reason bikes need to be invisible
 
iaind said:
In fairness it works both ways - there are plenty of car drivers who don't pay enough attention but there are also plenty of bikers who seem to be completely unaware of a drivers blind spot and insist on sitting in them. If bikers kept a bigger distance from the car in front and drivers paid a bit more attention, there's no reason bikes need to be invisible
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Heh, I dunno, I wasn't in the driver waiting to come onto the roundabout's blindspot (x 1 million) or the blindspot of the one pulling out in front of me.

I know what you mean though, Mr. D.
 
You mean the one where you should be doing a shoulder check...?

But as said drivers need to check the blind spots more and not just for bikes, but also EVERY rider needs to be aware of blind spots as your average driver does not check them, hell I even forget myself sometimes so its easier not to put yourself into danger if you can.
 
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Sagalout said:
Can someone draw me a paint diagram of which blind spot bikes are sitting in?
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I can't do it at work but just imagine a badly drawn (in paint) picture of a drivers view in front, a road with dashed hazard line down the middle except there's a big black circle taking up about 90% of the image. :p

Then imagine you have 3 monitors showing the side windows too in the same badly drawn paint image and with equal size black circles. :p

This is probably why some woman pulled out on me on a roundabout this morning when I was in the car. By my logic, if a blind spot of 90% of your vision means that woman pulls out on me then she MUST have a blindspot of 90%. Faultless logic, that.
 
As a biker and driver of a fairly fast car I can appreciate points from both sides of the argument here, however if you've ever ridden a bike for any length of time you'll appreciate that drivers must watch out for bikes, some bikers will ride like morons and cause accidents themselves but I'm sure the majority (like myself) just want to enjoy a decent ride and be in one piece at the end of it! Some of the anti-biker arguments made in this thread really are laughable generalised bull****. I hope I never meet some of you whilst riding, sounds like I could be in for a nasty accident if I did! Luckily for me I have a bright yellow bike and a bloody loud exhaust so I tend to get noticed by other road users without a struggle :) The fact that I always wear my full protective gear (no matter what the weather is like) and don't want to die anytime soon should also be in my favour!!!
 
They always sit on the back right of your car, yes you can "shoulder check" but having to do this constantly means your not looking dead ahead.

Who would be wrong if im shoulder checking for some biker revving in my blindspot and ran a child over infront of me which I didnt see because i was looking behind me ?

I would, id be done for dangerous driving as a result, and 9/10 the biker wouldnt stop at the scene.

The mantra "im invisible" is a good one, because when your sitting in my blindspot, you are.

Its compounded by the fact bikes are so fast that you dont even see them come into your blindspot, one minute theres a clear road, next your wondering whats making that noise that you cant see in your rear mirrors.
 
twoblacklines said:
They always sit on the back right of your car, yes you can "shoulder check" but having to do this constantly means your not looking dead ahead.

Who would be wrong if im shoulder checking for some biker revving in my blindspot and ran a child over infront of me which I didnt see because i was looking behind me ?

I would, id be done for dangerous driving as a result, and 9/10 the biker wouldnt stop at the scene.

The mantra "im invisible" is a good one, because when your sitting in my blindspot, you are.

Its compounded by the fact bikes are so fast that you dont even see them come into your blindspot, one minute theres a clear road, next your wondering whats making that noise that you cant see in your rear mirrors.
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Seriously, if you're incapable of driving safely down the road whilst being all the while aware of what's going on around you, including your blind spots, you need to stop driving before you kill someone.
 
twoblacklines said:
They always sit on the back right of your car, yes you can "shoulder check" but having to do this constantly means your not looking dead ahead.

Who would be wrong if im shoulder checking for some biker revving in my blindspot and ran a child over infront of me which I didnt see because i was looking behind me ?

I would, id be done for dangerous driving as a result, and 9/10 the biker wouldnt stop at the scene.

The mantra "im invisible" is a good one, because when your sitting in my blindspot, you are.

Its compounded by the fact bikes are so fast that you dont even see them come into your blindspot, one minute theres a clear road, next your wondering whats making that noise that you cant see in your rear mirrors.
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You make out like you need to be constantly looking at us when we are behind you..

Look once, note we are there, and be aware that at some point we are going to come past.

You shouldnt focus 100% of your attention on one thing anyway, you should always be looking around, not "dead ahead" otherwise how do you see any other hazards? Such as the kid about to run out in the road?
 
http://www.youclaim.co.uk/Motorcycle accident/motorcycle-accidents-analysis.htm

Of all assessed incidents, 6831 (38 %) involved ROWVs (Right of Way Violations). Less than 20 per cent involved a motorcyclist who rated as either fully or partly to blame for the accident. The majority of ROWV accidents were found to be the fault of other motorists, occurring at T-junctions. This could have a significant outcome on altering common perceptions of blame in future motorcycle accident claims.

Over 15 % of total cases involve loss of control on a bend, corner or curve. Riders having this type of motorcycle accident were nearly three times as likely to be 'rated' as inexperienced. This phenomenon is reflected in the cost of higher costs for younger riders who seek insurance to cover costs in the event of motorcycle accident claims.


its from 1999 but doubt its changed much
 
one thing I'd like to add.... there is no such thing as a 'blind spot', thats something created by car drivers who don't pay attention to the traffic around them.

if there is any doubt, don't just reply on your mirrors...


edit: I try and make eye contact with other drivers, mind you I've been knocked off even after some old grey hair made eyeball contact with me first :(
 
growse said:
Seriously, if you're incapable of driving safely down the road whilst being all the while aware of what's going on around you, including your blind spots, you need to stop driving before you kill someone.
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+1 to that! Seriously you only need to do the shoulder check when your are maneuvering, it takes a split second to do, where the bike is when you are travelling in a straight line is irrelevant, if hes not an idiot he will position himself so that he is easily seen in the interior mirror.
 
twoblacklines said:
They always sit on the back right of your car, yes you can "shoulder check" but having to do this constantly means your not looking dead ahead.

Who would be wrong if im shoulder checking for some biker revving in my blindspot and ran a child over infront of me which I didnt see because i was looking behind me ?

I would, id be done for dangerous driving as a result, and 9/10 the biker wouldnt stop at the scene.

The mantra "im invisible" is a good one, because when your sitting in my blindspot, you are.

Its compounded by the fact bikes are so fast that you dont even see them come into your blindspot, one minute theres a clear road, next your wondering whats making that noise that you cant see in your rear mirrors.
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9/10 the biker wouldn't stop at the scene ????? :eek:

Who the hell do you think you are making accusations like that ? :mad:

So all bikers are criminals now as well ??? :rolleyes:

If you'd hit a child it would be down to your own rubbish driving observation and hazard perception nothing to do with the biker. Or will you keep blaming your 'blindspot' for your ineptitude ?
 
lol twoblacklines, offence intended as your a moron, so you can be 90% sure that a biker wont stop at the scene of an accident, not just any accident but a child being run over? what an ignorant and utterly wrong view.
of course you would be at fault as it would your own lack of skill and perception. the only time you need to worry really what behind you is if your planning to change course/perform a manouvere if your own a straight piece of road even if the biker is 2cm from your bumper its up to THEM to stop if you need to emergency brake so why worry, the only time its an issue is if you need to pull off to the left of right/overtake in which case you should be very aware of what is behind you anyway :/
 
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Rich1988 said:
lol twoblacklines, offence intended as your a moron, so you can be 90% sure that a biker wont stop at the scene of an accident, not just any accident but a child being run over? what an ignorant and utterly wrong view.
of course you would be at fault as it would your own lack of skill and perception. the only time you need to worry really what behind you is if your planning to change course/perform a manouvere if your own a straight piece of road even if the biker is 2cm from your bumper its up to THEM to stop if you need to emergency brake so why worry, the only time its an issue is if you need to pull off to the left of right/overtake in which case you should be very aware of what is behind you anyway :/
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Ditto. Times a lot.

EDIT: Except replace "your" with "you're" :p
 
I have nothing against bikers weaving in and out of (stationary) traffic and jumping queue's, it's what's tolerated by police here and I think it's totally acceptable, they're smaller & can pass so why should they waste their time waiting in a queue ?
That said, I do think sometimes they take too big chances and try to pass in gaps way too small too fast, I'm often afraid one day someone will end up hitting my mirror. I do think most car drivers need to look out more for bikes, me included, I have been surprised by one a couple of times when sitting in a jam.
 
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