Going too slow through the corners
Being slow isn’t all that bad. You just have to be consistent and look out for others. I’m a motorcyclist, don’t hold it against me. I have been riding for quite some time now. I’ve seen a lot on the road and I ride through all sorts of weather. I don’t care. I believe that the weather is always fine, just the clothing is crap. Well, sometimes not suited to the conditions. I’ve ridden through minus 15 degrees centigrade, up to 45 degrees, through snow, ice, flood waters, sand, oil, gravel, grass, bees, trees, mud, barriers and so on. I’ve done stupid things. But I never drink and drive, or ride. I don’t speed (excessively).
These days you don’t have to do much wrong to end up in the hot water. You have to watch the speedo all the time and look out for cops. I know they do their best to prevent us from breaking the law. You have those who don’t care about the law and just tear through traffic any way they want. then you get the others. They are the law abiding citizen. They do everything right, really right. They do it so right that they are oblivious that they become a slow coach on the roads.
I have spoken to one of those people at a party a while ago. She was adamant about going slow through corners and fast on a straight line. When you have an overtaking line she speeds up so others can overtake her easier.
BANG!!!
My head just exploded. Id you want to let other road users past, you don’t speed up! You should do the opposite. You sloe down! But I fell on death ears. That was the moment in my riding career when I noticed that we have a problem on our roads. People are oblivious to other on the road and incapable of thinking straight.
So here we are, on a motorcycle up a beautiful stretch of road, following a car, or cars, doing 40km/h in an 80 zone. We have wonderful corners and double unbroken lines, but we’re stuck behind a line of slow moving obstacles. In this case I refer to the Black Spur in the Yarra Valley. It’s bad enough that it’s only 80km/h. In front of you you have a Mercedes SL convertible that is well and truly capable of hooking through the bends as fast as any motorcycle with an average rider on top. But no. The balding driver is more interested in what lies beyond the seam line of the short skirt occupying the seat next to him.
However, we’re in luck. Up ahead there is a slow line, a place for slow vehicles to pull over to the side and let faster traffic pass. I anticipate the move, two cogs down, a quick espresso between the eyes to wake up and……… Nothing! The SL holds his line and trundles along as if he owns the road. At this stage I give up. legally I’m not allowed to overtake and I do like to keep my licence and money for another day. I fall back asleep.
This is why we need signs to let slow drivers know that they are slow. Maybe another sign a bit further up: “You are still too slow! Pull over or we blow you into the next millennium!!!” I would call this; positive encouragement. Sure enough, people need to drive to the conditions and abilities. If the conditions don’t warrant higher speeds, that’s fine, we all understand. If your abilities aren’t up to scratch, that’s another thing. Go and attend a advanced driver training. Well on some case a basic driver training is already an improvement.
I had my rant. I just make a mental note to pick the roads and days of riding a bit more careful.
Stay safe out there and rubber side down
Danny
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