Not the Chair’s Chatter

It had been a fantastic day of biking so far. But then….

“I am definitely going to hit that car.”  I had absolutely no doubt. This was going to be very messy, very painful and my MV Agusta was going to be very expensive to fix.  “I am DEFINITELY going to hit that car.”

The car in question had been coming in the opposite direction on one of the fast open A roads sweeping over Salisbury Plain. It had paused to turn right across my lane into a side road. I, and the three bikes behind me were making er... excellent progress. The vehicle seemed to be waiting for my bike and those of the lads behind me to pass him before he turned right.  Except it didn’t wait.

With the slowest of manoeuvres, as if starting the turn in 3rd gear, he crawled across my side of the road leaving me staring at the broadside of an estate car. “I am DEFINITELY going to hit that car.”

I braked. Maybe I swerved.  I don’t really know.  But I missed the rear of the car by a whisker whilst still carrying a fair speed.  The chaps behind me couldn’t believe how I’d avoided a collision.  We cracked on.

I have to admit that this incident spooked me for a few days after.  It had been more than a year since I’d passed my Advanced Test and I felt that I was a far safer rider than I’d ever been thanks to the brilliant instruction of the Observers and the system they teach.  I had had no other “moments” at all since I joined LAM and my confidence on two wheels had been as high as ever.  

It wasn’t so much the actions of the other driver that spooked me, but the fact that I seemed resigned to hitting the car. 

Why was I not thinking “how do I avoid hitting this car?”. What could I have done better to improve my chances? What did I learn? 

Could I have braked harder?  Probably.   I’m sure that the majority of motorcyclists don’t appreciate or use the maximum stopping potential of their bike.  

Could I have swerved, or swerved more to avoid the back of the car that had just turned across my path? Perhaps.  

I’m sure some of you are thinking “you should have been going slower”, “you should have been wearing a high viz”.   Whatever.  I think I would have had a similar dilemma at a slower speed if I’d been closer to the car.  

For me, whatever mitigating actions I had failed to take on that day had not been practised enough beforehand to become an automatic response when the crisis arises.

You can pass your IAM Advanced Test without ever having been in a similar situation.  But the onus is entirely on us to equip ourselves with the skills to avoid similar situations and react appropriately when we encounter them.  Learning doesn’t stop with a test pass.  

Fortunately, LAM has continued to help. 

So what have I done about it?  I used my PATTA allowance and got myself on a Skills Day - highly recommended. And I’ve signed up for the next Machine Control day run by LAM.  Every day is a potential learning day.   Don’t wait for a “moment” like I had to kick yourself into the finding your next learning opportunity. 

Martin Chamberlain

LAM Treasurer