Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

I agree - a GPS or any other gadget can be distracting! (I have experience)! Your topic is a serious call to all!

I have a mate who always rides far too close to me, and in my blind spot.

No matter how many times i tell hi to stay back - he just doesn't seem to listen.

Not even after he caused over R17K damage to my bike by riding over it when I went down.

Needless to say i don't ride with him that often.

I ride for the pleasure of it, I don't want too many distractions when I'm on the road. MY cell phone stays in my pocket, normally switched off, my GPS is locked when I'm moving, to do away with the temptation of fiddling with it while the wheels are rolling. I don't have comms between me and my pillion either, which suits me fine (please don't tell Dale I said that!!) ;) Any form of distraction, no matter how small, takes your concentration away from what you are supposed to be doing, and riding a bike needs a lot more concentration and focus than a cage. In an emergency, things just happen quicker on a bike and a fair amount of offs are caused by folks not concentrating on what they're doing.

Just a note. KTM riders tend to sit and ride. This has the immediate affect of shortening your visibility. I'm going to make an assumption and say prolonged exposure to this would lead a KTM rider to not look around the corners.

My 2cents.

This type of accident is waiting to happen to anyone and is not too chossy about who either.

So never judge or second guess.

But not to see the stoff streep???? Hullo.

And talking of distractions, sunglasses, music, GPS monitoring, GPS adjustments, IPOD, Mobile phone, Email and Text, all erode your environmental awareness.

I'm guilty as charged on all accounts.

But when it gets busy in the office, I have a kiuls switch ofr electronic peripheries and instantly shit themoff, wip down the shades and focus on the road.

Many is the time, especially in pre-dawn or pre-dusk conditions, I stand to by shutting off the extras and focussing on the orad and environment, escaping many shaves, some close because they could be anticipated.

I only ride wingman to  a precious few - Geoff, Danny, Rusty, Rony, Charly, JdJ, Verne to name the few, and there's nothing more exhilerating than riding in tight formation, swishing and sweeping through the bends, just ahead of the roosters watching the shadows and skimming over the road.

But you have to be very confortable with your wingman's style and capability. Especially their use of throttle and compression.

but accieents happen so quick,  so quick.

When heading for a head-on, there should be no guessing about which side of the road to pass the other rider.  No dancing.  You head for your side and they must head for their side.  Every time.

I had a head-on on dirt around a blind corner in the bakkie.  It was extremely embarassing for me - I was on the wrong side of the road, cutting the corner.  It was obvious - there was the car, my bakkie, the skidmarks ... all on the car's side of the road.  Ok, it was a single-lane dirt road, but still!

So, with the benefit of hindsight and not really having been there or having all the facts, what should you do in a similar situation:

1. Emergency braking drill - lock the back wheel and work the front brake.  In a curve this would probably straighten the bike and cause it to drift wide (in this case to the correct side of the road for the bike).  
2. Given that the outside of the curve was loose gravel and probably off-camber, the bike might have low-sided and rider and bike would have slid off the road - a safer option than hitting a car head-on.
3. If the rider controls the braking and does not low-side, he will have bought himself more time and more control at a lower speed, to head for the correct side of the road and evade the bakkie.

So, is this ideal then?

1. Brake hard and head towards the correct side of the road
2. Either come to a controlled stop off the road (braking all the way), or
3. stop braking and regain steering control and ride around the car and the curve.
4. If the car persists in heading for your side of the road, or loses control and heads towards you, keep turning as much as you can to pass it on the correct side.  The chances are the car driver's reflexes are inclined to make him head for his side of the road.

But yes, this is theory and accidents happen fast and are called accidents for a reason.  Ride slower where you cannot see clearly far enough ahead.  And looking for rooster tails is useful but not definitive.  Remember: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence:

• Seeing a dust trail means there is a car coming, but
• Seeing no dust trail does not mean there isn't a car coming.

I have been almost caught out a few times where a car was stopped on the side of the road (so I didn't pick it up when scanning the curves ahead).  So I assume the corner ahead will be clear, but suddenly this car has turned onto the road!

Those blind rises in the Karoo can be dangerous so I stay well left when going over them.

You need to learn to multi-task.

I can twist the throttle, look at the GPS, keep an eye on the road and the speedo, listen to music, light a smoke, and do my nails......

..... all while standing.