Really enjoy your videos. Thanks for taking the time to help us be safer riders. I did notice a problem at 3:27 though; I want to put forward a hypothetical scenario. Slow turning off vehicle with trailer. Car following hasn't seen you, but saw the lovely open road behind you. See's the car on his right at the junction stop. He see's this as an opportunity to slip round the rear end of the trailer to his right, Thus sending you head over heels at 40 mph. In my opinion, the correct procedure there would have been to slow to 30 and adopt position 2, not 3.
This comment is ment as banter and I want to thank you as a new rider your channel has been fantastic. But it seems to me with the camera mounted on the helmet and if you watch closely I would have thought I would have seen more movement if you where doing shoulder checks . I know that these are a weakness in my riding. Thanks again for great content everone is human.
bobbydj01 Yeah actual lessons don’t cost anything after you pay annual £40 joining fee, then just a donation towards the petrol money of the tutor you could need between three of them to ten of them each one is for two hours then the test which is £73 and then you have to be retested every three years if you want to hold the grade Gold, silver or bronze but that’s what I like about it,the retest are important as you get older. I’ve been riding 44 years so the tutor said I needed three lessons just to polish me up so I’m waiting for my test now I believe that all the tests are done by ex or serving police officers mostly traffic
Interesting at 14.20 there were 2 lanes of traffic and you have been notified that the inside lane is being stopped 200 yards ahead for road works, Many drivers as did the cars in front immediately pulled over to the offside lane but you were correct in that you passed them on the inside lane until you were almost at the roadworks and fortunately you were able to zip into the offside lane as traffic started to move off. Some drivers complain but they shouldn't as they are just as entitled to do what you did and then zip in left/right/left etc. all vehicles are allowed to drive up to the restriction and then zip in left/t right/left/right. However if traffic was stopped you would also have to stop and with all those car drivers that you passed on your offside and behind you some would not not give you priority and allow you to move forward in front or them. This can create a problem can't it.
Hi J. Some points to add if I may ? The term "offside" for many of us , has always been used to describe any part of the other side of the road beyond the marked or imaginary centre line ? Just raising it for "viewers" clarity that's all ! (Not discounting the "offside" term being typically used to describe wheels and mirrors etc on the right-hand side of a vehicle ?) I agree with you, because I usually phrase the commonly used lane positions (to associates) as position 1, 2 or 3 to keep it simple for them. With Masters or observers training i have even used the terms ... deep, centre, wide and crown, because of the integration of safety, stability and view becoming more relevant during those more intense mentoring sessions ? Really, i just try to minimise overloading newcomers with too much info ... my analogy is to describe position 1 as where a left car wheel might roll, 2=centre of lane, 3= where a right car wheel might roll ... and introduce a slightly safer position ( with oncoming traffic) being representative of the car drivers seating position just left of that. Yes we now have 4 positions already. but each is only discussed during a debrief of a particular circumstance that the rider has just experienced. As an IAM examiner you know what i mean there !. The whole subject of positioning, as you say, should be dynamic and flexible with the safety element taking foremost importance. Worth noting too in this video, that the traffic island / chevron section of the road offers a separation gap (mostly) from oncoming traffic streams, and can offer more space to a rider being situated near there ? Another overlooked area I often see is the misreading and misinterpreting of hazard lines with folk not understanding their different degrees of intensity, over " centre" or lane lines ? More paint = More restraint . Maybe a video on that could go well ? Nice to see you converted over to 2 wheels ;-)
Another fantastic video reg, thank you. Are you planning on making one on throttle control as, I’m having problems balancing my throttle in general. Thanks and ride safe.
I disagree with the position 2 stopping traffic lights because incase you get rear ended you wont be crushed between two cars. So I tend to do position 3 just incase.
Good stuff Reg. What I find is that a lot of Associates/riders read Roadcraft and/or the IAM book regarding position, and that is what they do on the road. I call it "text book riding". They fail to be flexible, not adjusting (sacrificing) their position for safety. Failing to maintain that safety bubble. I too resort to mentioning position one and a half, and two and a half, though I know some people use 5 positions. I still prefer the basic 3 positions of nearside, central/sump lines, and offside, with some flexibility given the size of the road you are on. Good point regarding lateral movement on approach to a junction helping with being seen. One thing I often find riders forget about is the second reason for positioning. We position "to see and to be seen". Many riders over concentrate on the first. I look forward to your future motorcycle videos. The microphone was better this time. I use a Drift camera and mic inside a Schuberth flip helmet. I find having the under chin wind guard installed makes a huge difference to sound quality.
In the IAM publication from several years ago called "How to be a Better Rider" the advice and guidance is to adopt a central position in 30 mph limits, although the book does also talk about the importance of an imaginary safety bubble too. Nevertheless, the stress on central positioning implies a more static approach.
I've had feedback like that going through town when positioning out for left hand bends, but it can easily ignore the point that you position not only to see but to be seen. At the end of the day there are no hard and fast rules for something like positioning (bar the rules of the road, of course), you've got to use your common sense in every situation, prioritising your safety bubble at all times.
@@hyperthunk "Prioritising your safety bubble at all times" sounds suspiciously like a hard and fast rule. Let me see if I can explain. It's far from unusual for a motorcyclist's trimming of road positioning (especially in 30 and 20 limits) to be misinterpreted. The ironic (perhaps even perverse) consequences are that another road user or pedestrian interprets the motorcyclist's movement as an invitation - to pull out from a driveway, a parking space, a junction, etc. etc. I've experienced this on several occasions in busy town work contexts. Had I actually held my position, albeit with already established lines of sight, I strongly suspect situations would have developed differently. Even if the other road user doesn't interpret the rider's movements to protect their safety bubble as an actual invitation as such, they may still reconsider their own decisions, and think "hmmm, I was going to stay here, but now a few more feet/yards have opened up, I think I can actually squeeze through." And at that point the steps taken to maintain the safety bubble have actually created a danger bubble.
@@Unfunny_Username_389 yeah I totally get that, and I guess this is the point about that safety bubble: it's not just about keeping yourself away from hazards, but it's also keeping drivers away from encroaching on you. I live and ride in Central London, and believe me I'm probably more aware of the challenges of handling pushy drivers with no consideration for safety margins than most. Approaching it systematically though, remains tough. There's always a trade off between moving out of the way of some idiot who is getting a bit too familiar, and dominating your position to project the message "stay out of my space". So yeah, believe me I get what you're saying, and what I'm saying is that it depends on a case by case basis in town just like anywhere else, if you should position here or there. And "putting safety first" is indeed one of the few hard and fast rules on the road - always puts safety first, end of. I didn't phrase it right though, because I said "prioritising your safety _bubble_, which led to confusion about my words. It's funny, because I suspect we'd all be in violent agreement about applying the system 99% of the time on the road, and the other 1% is a bit meh. If you look at 95% of riders in London they've got a damned death wish and anyone pursuing better riding or using advanced riding techniques is gonna be a joy to be alongside by comparison!
The suggestion to tone down positioning in the 30/40s is with reference to busy towns where you'd be continually moving from position 3 to 2 and back to 3 for every oncoming car/vehicle. This can be counter productive, and can look very confusing to other road users (as mentioned). If there's still a major safety or vision advantage to position for a particular hazard or circumstance, you still do.
Great video but I have a question about when you stop behind a car. With each time you stopped you could not see the cars mirrors and so, I would suggest, that they could not see you. When I did a enhanced rider course it was suggested that taking up a position either a bikes width left or right of centre was best. The reasons given were you then have a clear escape path should the vehicle behind be failing to stop and also makes you very clear in the car in fronts mirror on whichever side you have stopped. I’d appreciate your view on this?
Did none of the cars have an internal rear view mirror? So how are you invisible? Most drivers, if doing rear observation, rely heavily on the internal mirror. I'd agree with your point if behind vans, lorries, buses, etc. (though a lot of those now have electronic camera rear view mirrors)
@@mikeroberts You're invisible if they've got a big load of shopping that's obscuring the interior mirror, or if there are tall passengers on the back seats, or if the mirror's fallen off. But let's assume that those things never happen for a moment and go to 27:24. A van, a fire station, a hatched box, a set of temporary lights at roadworks. A "hazard rich" environment for you. The lights could've changed, the van could've stopped in the box. Next, a vehicle could've needed to exit the fire station. As you'll know, these things can all happen quite suddenly - and often, everyone is trying to do the right thing. In any case, perhaps the van's old, and has no camera. It starts to reverse, because it can't see the rider. The rider struggles to move his bike, and drops it. He falls under it. The van continues its manoeuvre. It all sounds a bit far-fetched. But a very similar accident happened to a member of my advanced group - an experienced rider and observer of many years was reversed over by an army truck and died. There was an inquest recently, in fact. A freak accident, and we're still not quite sure how it panned out. But a terrible and tragic one all the same. Without all the details it's difficult to draw lessons but I suppose it's stuff like ensure sight lines with (wing i.e. external?) mirrors, and always always consider a beeeep to alert drivers in front if there is anything around you - and them - that may cause them to even think about reversing. Also - keep your distance when stopped. We say "tyres and tarmac" in the car context - but with bikes more breathing space is required, and being to one side or t'other, where a sight line with external mirrors can be achieved is probably all worth considering. Etc.
@@Unfunny_Username_389 I did say for vans/lorries etc. I agreed with the original comment. At the timestamp you linked to I would just have held back further (I'd also have waited until the van left the yellow box 😉). None of this is set in stone. That's why the comments sections are great discussion places.
Position 2 at traffic lights? My observer would disagree. 1 or 3 as you don't want to be the ”meat in the sandwich” if a car doesn't stop behind you? Also, give up position for safety, but may need to reduce speed too?
Hi Declan, As I approach a junction etc, I tend to control the speed of the vehicle behind me; thereby reducing the risk of being hit from behind, when I take up position 2.
At my Fellows’ test there was a major issue about stopping at lights on a fast gyratory system. Our club and my Observer teach that you should get to the least vulnerable side of the lane, but the examiner maintained that I should have sat in the middle to be as obvious as possible and discourage people from coming alongside. On reflection I agree with him, but keeping a sharp eye behind - but then do you hold it in 1st in case you need to move quickly?
It depends 😉 on whether you are going left, straight or right, the number of lanes, if there may be a filter light the vehicle behind could use but you can't. Lots of variables.
