Junctions – by Dave (who’s just like you)

Most bike collisions happen near T-junctions, crossroads, side turnings or roundabouts – so beware. Statistics suggest most of these are caused by driver rather then biker error; the SMIDSY scenario (Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You). Since as a biker you’re likely to come off worst, you need to develop a systematic approach. So a few basics: never, ever overtake at or near a road junction or a petrol filling station, however clear it may seem. Perhaps the car in front hasn’t seen you and is going to turn right, or maybe left and the cyclist emerging from the junction thinks it’ll be okay to pull out across the road. That car which is stationary at the offside junction, front wheel not moving, should be okay but… preoccupied driver not looking at the road but talking to his passenger so not expecting a bike to be accelerating straight at him, so without looking he pulls out – bang! At Norfolk Advanced Motorcyclists (NAM) we use the tried and tested IPSGA system so, for example, for a left turn: Information: mirrors, allround vision, signal if necessary. Position: bike towards the left of the road. Speed: mirrors, check speed, signal if necessary. Gears: right speed, right gear, final mirror. Accelerate: After the turn progressively accelerate to an appropriate speed. NB: Give yourself time and make your intentions as clear as it’s possible to make them.

Remember too that many drivers are involved with stuff other than driving the car, like tuning the radio, looking at themselves in the rear-view mirror, shouting at the kids, checking the GPS or, of course, taking that all-important phone call. They look, and some really do look, but far too many do not ‘see’ single track vehicles, aka motorbikes. This means you must assume a driver might do anything because he might and probably will, so always expect the unexpected.

The old saying that a winking indicator means nowt except that the bulb is working could save your life, so don’t rely on any vehicle’s indicator as gospel.