Are You a PEEPING TOM?…
Whether I’m driving or riding, I always make a point of looking around my road environment to spot early hazards or look for hidden dangers or potential situations!…Just put it down to my slight personal paranoia!
I’m constantly scanning all around me…in front, to the sides and yes…behind me too! I’m looking at other vehicles…bikes & bicycles and pedestrians…whether they’re on the road…or not.
I acknowledge what I can see…and wonder what I can’t see!
E.g. I’m approaching a queue of slow moving traffic with a mix of cars, vans and lorries. I’m on a minor, winding road with many property entrances. At certain points there is a gap in oncoming traffic and space to reenter the queue further ahead.
Why do I not choose to overtake the traffic, when other riders may easily want to? What am I thinking of that stops me from making a ‘safe’ overtake.
Well it’s a combination of factors, but the following gives an insight!
- My long view of the road ahead is partially obstructed. I cannot see vehicles coming from a bend…especially…a left hand bend…obscured by vehicles and a right bend obscured by vehicles and side verges & vegetation!
- Vehicles may suddenly emerge from property entrances to either merge with the queue or cut across it…and this is compounded by greater likelihood during the rush hour traffic.
- Vehicles doing U-Turns. Especially so in stationary traffic, vehicles may suddenly pull across my path.
- Vehicles may close gaps which I want to sneak into or may drive closer to the centreline, thus closing the gap between the rider and oncoming traffic…whether the rider is stationary or not.
- Driver profiling! (I’ll discuss this more later)…do I get an uneasy feeling that the drivers ahead have either not seen me or will obstruct my movement in some way.
- I’m in no rush! In fact I rarely am, so I do not use higher speeds around slow or stationary traffic. Be that overtaking or filtering through. I tend to make gradual movements and progress through/past traffic, giving myself lots of space and margin for anyones error. I always say to myself…”I’m going slow, but still going a lot faster than these queuing cars!”
I often see other riders ahead of me (as I did on the morning of writing this article) making their way through traffic…some being cautious and some being…well let’s just say…enthusiastic, and some that are
generally cautious and making slow progress but then who lunge for an overtake and narrowly avoid an accident or were plain lucky that a vehicle didn’t emerge from around the bend.
It is so easy to make errors in judgement when around slow moving or stationary traffic, and I’ve certainly made a few howlers over the years, but many incidents that the emergency services deal with and that occur in these situations are for the most part a combination of riding error and driver poor observation.
One technique which I have used for many years is to try to identify potential hazards from other road users. I use ‘Driver Profiling’ to determine whether they are a potential threat to the stability of my ride.
I look at their driving speeds, road positions, vehicle spacing, observation of other road users and use of their mirrors & indicators. I check whether they have foreign number plates or generally seem unaware of their location.
I start analysing from some distance away and as I approach I’ll look through rear and side windows to check whether the driver is paying attention to the road or are they being distracted by something or someone else…either inside or outside of the vehicle
When I’m on the road…I’m looking at driver’s & rider’s actions and what they potentially will be and most of all, I make early decisions to give myself extra buffer room and enough time to stop…just in case!