Overtaking

:blast yep, I was there! Used to drive Pug 306's around Gravesend and Dartford. I look back now and cringe .... :toungincheek
 
:blast yep, I was there! Used to drive Pug 306's around Gravesend and Dartford. I look back now and cringe .... :toungincheek

Minivan WWW604G pale blue with white doors, Heartbeat style round Barnsley during the late sixties :eek:

Pick a drunk up ... no problem, drop him off on someone else's patch :thumb

:beerjug:
 
Sometimes the reasons for doing a commentary is not always understood. As has been pointed out the faster you go ,the more difficult it is to get the words out before you are past whatever it was you were talking about.
In fact this in itself gives you the answer and the real reason for doing a commentary in the first place. The faster you go the further up the road you should look .So by having to talk about what you can see, you have to look as far as you can see thus improving your observation,and this is one of the main reasons for doing it
I have heard many comentaries where the driver is so busy trying to fit everything in that it becomes a nonsense. that against some Police instructors who ,even at silly speeds could talk in a relaxed manner but pointing out hazards and describing their actions well in advance. It is an art in itself.

Exactly that. I often give myself commentaries and have to get into the habit of shortening my comments, being a bit more 'clipped' in my delivery, particularly pressing on.

Giles, many thanks for these threads. I did my advanced training a while ago and have been meaning to redo it again as I know I'm rusty. These threads are acting like a brushing up and make me think even more about my riding when I go out. I'm off in a short while for a week around the country visiting friends and will be remembering this and putting it into practice along my way.
 
agree with the above. I have read all of these and not done much riding recently until saturday on an IAM rideout. BTW someone fell off on ice under trees. :augie It seems like a lot to remember but little light bulbs kept flashing on
- don't stick to the line find the best surface
- link the bends together lining up the white line on exit
- hang back for overtaking
- look down the inside to get a better view
- look far ahead to the critical bend which may be after those you are approaching
- use all the road when safe

these are just a few of things i think i was doing better but I now know I have learned a lot from these threads. thanks Giles et al

:beerjug:
 
:thumb Good stuff blokes.

I'll try and do one more thread on 'putting it all together' - we'll do some comentary if I can improve the sound on the video .... !!
 
Firstly I should point out that not all Police drivers are Advanced trained and of course there are idiots as in any walk of life. When I was a young plod vans and Panda cars did not have blue lights or sirens so only advanced traffic drivers could do the blues ant twos thing. Made sure we did not rely on the lights without proper training. Vans especially in rural areas only had a blue light for use when stationary. It is inevitable that when you give some young bobby a vehicle with a blue light on the top and then tell him that he needs to get to an urgent job that he is going to drive like a pratt.

Yeah, to be fair, the local police driving is generally of a very high standard.

Good stuff, btw, Giles.
 
Video and audio on clips

:thumb Good stuff blokes.

I'll try and do one more thread on 'putting it all together' - we'll do some comentary if I can improve the sound on the video .... !!

What are you using for your set up. I am on Autocom with the audio coming direct from the Autocom, either vi the 3.5 mm jack plug or spare pillion lead.
 
What are you using for your set up. I am on Autocom with the audio coming direct from the Autocom, either vi the 3.5 mm jack plug or spare pillion lead.


Yep - that's obviously what I need to do! One of my work colleagues has a very good camera on loan, I tried an external mic (sort of tie clip on job) but it wasn't good enough. We'll try running it through my autocom. :thumb
 
Giles
Just like to say thanks.
From your original post about "snapping the throttle" alongside the vehicle you are overtaking.
This statement seemed to stick with me for some reason.

Anyway I was out yesterday with a couple of mates and tried overtaking as mentioned and really noticed a difference.
As I was alongside the vehicle I didn't snap the throttle but eased off considerably and just slotted in using engine braking.
Certainly smoother and I felt more relaxed with this approach also.
I notice a lot of people overtaking and then you see the brake lights as they are trying to push back in.

I'll keep reading and learning.

Keep up the good work
:beerjug:
JJ
 
:thumb Good stuff. I don't really 'snap' it shut either, (even though I wrote the word snap :rolleyes:) everything should always be silky the silk worm ...
;)
 
Errr, trying to think of an example off the top of my head when you would wish to show yourself and be, a little bold, shall we say...
What about say a long row of parked vehicles on my side of the road, on a very very gradual left hand bend. Yes, it's for me to give way to oncoming, but maybe I've started my maneuver, something then comes into view, there's no where for me to come back in, and the better option would be to be bold, come right out, stand proud and give the vibes, 'I've started so I'll finish, I'm coming through' .... That sort of thing!
:thumb
I'm just read through the threads again and picked this up from Giles.

It's similar to a regular situation in my local small town. There are always cars parked up on the left leading up to the double yellows just prior to a RH blind corner (30 limit). Sometimes there can be 7 or 8 cars parked there, no big gaps between. You have to pass the cars expecting a vehicle to come round the corner and that vehicle has to stop to let you continue or it would be a stale mate where one has to reverse.
Now on a bike you have to show yourself and show the driver that you are there or they may not even see you.
Maybe being on a bigger bike helps (I ride an RT12), but it always works for me. I command the whole side of the road, and aim to be angled and heading for my side of the road after the last car. Oh, and always offer a thank you hand when we pass mind.

I have no problem with this, maybe it from years of riding narrow country B roads and learning quite quickly that is you hide in the gutter and don't command your position on the road the 4x4 coming the other way will barrel on through with inches to spare on your side but a few feet on their side from the verge! if your lucky, forcing you to battle with the collapsing verge, branches sticking out or plain just try and stop on less than ideal surface. Seems to work for me.
\v/
 
Excellent thread:thumb2
With regard to the "Driving/riding into oncoming traffic is safer" I completely agree with this, especially if you are in an articulated truck:thumb Not yet had another road user not see me:D:D
 
Excellent thread:thumb2
With regard to the "Driving/riding into oncoming traffic is safer" I completely agree with this, especially if you are in an articulated truck:thumb Not yet had another road user not see me:D:D

30 years with the Plod, mostly on 'bike's. Often listened to a myopic car driver say "Sorry officer, I didn't see him" and in the next breath say ... "He was going so fast!"

So if you didn't see him how can you say he was going sooooo fast :eek:

N E V E R had anyone say they didn't see the truck :thumb

Good one att :thumb

:beerjug:
 
Most tin box owners just wanna get from A-B, no interest in Roadcraft or vehicle handling skills, or even avoiding killing someone, it is not on their Radar.

That is why we get so many silly laws and speed limits, all to be seen to be doing something (other than insisting on better driving standards as that would probably upset voters and no Government would want that) about our safety.

Had one yesterday, behind a car about to turn left into a Garden Centre (Now IMHO all garden centres junctions should be treated as accident black spots) and there was a car wanting to come out (turning right).

I positioned myself well towards the centre of the road and made sure I had a good line of sight up to the car pulling out, in fact I could see over the car in front anyway so was well visible.

I knew the dozy old bag in the car would just pull out, she waited until the car was actually turning in at which point she lurches right out in front of me, had I either been going around the car (I know you should not, but many bikes often do this and meet a sticky end) or started to accelerate as the car in front cleared my path we would have collided.

As I kept my speed slow as the car turned in I was able to just roll off a bit as she pulled out and let he get clear. However if I had hit the old cow you can gaurantee all of the excuses would come out "He came out of nowhere", "He was Speeding", "His light dazzled me". Oh, and of course as I glared at her (or tried to) I noticed she had still not even registered my presence.

I am sure the coppers here get that a lot, someone who fialed to see a vehicle somehow managed to both be dazzled by it and observe how fast it was going as it "came out of nowhere"

I am not sure if riding around a car turning left is technically an overtake, but have seen a few accidents happen this way, it used to happen on the A40 near Cassington about once every 5-10 years, now they have put in traffic lights there and we have an accident every 5-10 days instead- Progress :nenau
 


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