STREET SMART

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/StreetSmart68.jpg

STREET SMART TIP OF THE DAY #68

 

When Caught in Heavy Thunderstorm

And Visibility is This BAD!

 

Don't Risk Staying on the Road...

Go Hide Somewhere Safe...

or Go Straight into a Shopping Centre.

 

A Tropical Storm nomally last About half-an-hour.

That's when the Big Cauliflower Cloud

Pours out it Water on Mother's Earth.

 

3 NCR ride:

 

Lovely Weather thru the trip except...

 

Penang to KL Sector.

Rain all the way.

We were Caught in Extreme Heavy Rain...

Around the mountain pass near IPOH.

Visibiliy was really bad.

The Water Outside the Visor makes it very difficult to see,

The inside of the visor is fogging up.

Open a gap to let in cool air to clear the mist..

Water comes in & blur the visor from the inside.

 

Those with Glasses are in a worst situation.

 

Pullin over into shelter is definately a good idea.

 

While waiting for the rain to clear...

I notice an ambulance on the other side of highway

Speeding towards I assume an Accident.

 

Remember!

It is Weather like this that causes Crashes.

U can't see them clearly, they can't see U clearly.

The roads are slippery & water logged

You are miserably wet... Your Boots are filled with water.

And your concentration is way down.

 

Don't Chance It! It's not Worth It!

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/StreetSmart69.jpg

 

Street Smart Tip of the Day #69

 

Be in Correct Gear for the the Road Speed & Traffic Situation

 

When to Change to a Lower Gear:

 

1. Travelling at Low Speed

2. Going Up Hill

3. Going Downhill, cos eng braking slow the descent & assist the brakes

4. Approaching a hazard or doubtful of traffic conditions,

- lower gears gives greater flexibility to accelerate or decelerate

5. On slippery roads, where engine braking is used to lose speed genty,

- So as to avoid skidding

[endlessloop]

An Incident to Share

 

Very nice pictures Spectrum

 

This incident happened to my friend recently.

 

It unfolds like a scene out of the recent Traffic Police advertisement.

 

Scene 1:

My friend is on the bike, travelling on the clear lane. On the adjacent 2 lanes are cars queuing up in rows to turn at the junction up ahead.

 

http://www.picturesky.com/albums/userpics/11669/normal_Scene1a.JPG

 

[Scene 2:

Well, you never know when this happens:

 

 

 

http://www.picturesky.com/albums/userpics/11669/normal_Scene2a.JPG

 

Suddenly, a pedestrian stepped out amongst the row of congested cars, right into the path of my friend's bike. The pedestrian did not check for traffic properly before stepping out.

 

 

 

 

What happened after that?

 

My friend E-braked.

Though the bike slowed down, but not in time to stopped completely.

The bike hit the pedestrian. My friend fell off his bike.

 

Fortunately, the pedestrian was lightly injured. My friend was also not too badly injured.

 

The gloves protected his hand. But he had some big wound on his knees. His wrist ligament is stretched or torn, when he broke his fall with his hand.

 

Oh, and not forgetting about the bike.

The bike suffered some superficial scratches and the handle bar was slightly bent.

 

What can be done to avoid this?

 

 

Or are such unexpected incidents completely unavoidable?

[TeePeePhobe]

Nice artwork Lip Sing, did u draw the second pic yourself? This is a classic textbook scenario you describe, your friend is lucky that the offender is a pedestrian not the metal hulk of a car. I give at least a 3/4 lane buffer to the vehicles in the queue, this serves to improve my field of vision to the right as well as gives more reaction time to myself. If possible stay out of the immediate lane to the left of the queue. Watching the position and orientation of the wheels of the cars will give a hint if they're going to come out of the queue, signals or no signals.

 

However, even the best predictive/premptive riding style will not help when u encounter a driver who does not understand what the concept of gradual lane change is all about. I encountered this once when riding up the slip road lane to enter NUS. Some idiot queued at the traffic light suddenly decided he wanted to enter KentRidge, cutting in suddenly without any prior hint of intent. Braked till my rear lifted up and my front started squirming. I only made it because I was covering my brakes in preparation to brake soon anyway. Covering your brakes does help to reduce emergency reaction time although some mag test seem to suggest it does not help. I think their testing is flawed, the test riders already know to expect an ebrake, taking the element of surprise out of the situation.

[Ravon11]

For me.. i wil try to go slow.. or maintain the speed.

 

or i wil try to keep a look beyond the cars. as most bikes r taller than cars, look 'over' the cars for hazards. can also look thru the windows if they r clear..

if there is vans or buses, which we cant c.. then mayb keep to the center of the lane so as to avoid in emergency.

 

jus my 2cents worth..

[Gallant]

Originally posted by endlessloop@Sep 24 2005, 05:48 PM

An Incident to Share

 

Very nice pictures Spectrum

 

This incident happened to my friend recently.

 

It unfolds like a scene out of the recent Traffic Police advertisement.

 

Scene 1:

My friend is on the bike, travelling on the clear lane. On the adjacent 2 lanes are cars queuing up in rows to turn at the junction up ahead.

 

http://www.picturesky.com/albums/userpics/11669/normal_Scene1a.JPG

 

[Scene 2:

Well, you never know when this happens:

 

 

 

http://www.picturesky.com/albums/userpics/11669/normal_Scene2a.JPG

 

Suddenly, a pedestrian stepped out amongst the row of congested cars, right into the path of my friend's bike. The pedestrian did not check for traffic properly before stepping out.

 

 

 

 

What happened after that?

 

My friend E-braked.

Though the bike slowed down, but not in time to stopped completely.

The bike hit the pedestrian. My friend fell off his bike.

 

Fortunately, the pedestrian was lightly injured. My friend was also not too badly injured.

 

The gloves protected his hand. But he had some big wound on his knees. His wrist ligament is stretched or torn, when he broke his fall with his hand.

 

Oh, and not forgetting about the bike.

The bike suffered some superficial scratches and the handle bar was slightly bent.

 

What can be done to avoid this?

 

 

Or are such unexpected incidents completely unavoidable?

you can draw a picture! woderful,

 

actually it is very dangeous when the lane U are riding no car in it,u should slow down watch out for the un-expected car suddenly swoop into your lane from next

lane or a pedestrian just walk into the lane.

 

 

Always expect the un- expected when u are on the road.

[burningacid]

most of us mention about slowing down when approaching scenarios like these... but seriously, how many of us really do what we preached? Personally have seen frens around me do likewise.. I guess ultimately its up to how u feel on that particular time that day.. sometimes, i tend to not to be in a mind (too tired?) to have all these checks so sometimes i also tend to "ride blindly"..

 

hopefully most of us can do what we preached..

[Spectrum]

"or i wil try to keep a look beyond the cars. as most bikes r taller than cars, look 'over' the cars for hazards. can also look thru the windows if they r clear.. "

 

Well Said Ravon.

If u can't see... be able to stop if someone/thing jumps out infront...

 

Losing Concentration

 

It is Important to be Extra Cautious when "TIRED"

When Our Guards are Down...

We loose our Concentration...

 

That's when accidents happens.

(it's like the Overheating lite comin' on in our bikes...

...except it is probably worst, u need to pull over)

 

Best take a Break... Stop for a cup of Coffee or teh...

Wash your face... refresh before getting on the road again...

It really helps...

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/ResizeofSignals01M.jpg

[endlessloop]

Originally posted by TeePeePhobe@Sep 24 2005, 07:31 PM

Nice artwork Lip Sing, did u draw the second pic yourself?

"U-can-Draw huh...

(will have to ask u do some future illustration)"

 

Thanks TPPhobe and Spectrum.

Unfortunately, all my art teachers during my school days did not appreciate my drawings.

My drawings are so-so only. It's nothing compared to the computer desktop publishing skills of Spectrum. Spectrum: If u still need my old-technology illustrations, let me know.

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/ResizeofSignals01M.jpg

Street Smart Tip of the Day #70

 

Using The Indicators

 

Smaller bikes Indicators are not very effective cos lamps are

Relative low Wattage.

This is especially true when direct sunlight shines on their lense.

Consider arm signals... (control of the Machine is of course a higher

Priorty)

 

Using your position will also make your intention clear...

Eg left, center or right side of lane...

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/ResizeofSignal02M.jpg

 

Cancelling Indicator Signals

 

Leaving an indicator working after making a turn confuses other motorist

and can easily cause an accident.

Do not accept an indicator signal as complete proof of another driver's

Intention when you are waiting to emerge from a side turning.

 

Look for supporting evidence such as an obvious slowing down

before you move out.

 

Most Machine does not have indicator self-cancelling mechanism.

Alway make sure you cancel a signal immediately after you

Have complete the manoeuvre.

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/ResizeofSignals10M.jpg

Do You Thrust The Signals Of Other Road Users

Or Do You Wait for some other Confirmation

Of Their Intentions?

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/ResizeofTailLiteMcopy.jpg

 

Using the Brake Light

 

Use the Brake light to Indicate that you are slowing down

Or Intend to Stop.

 

Remember to carry out rear observation before using your brakes.

 

~ Use your brakelight as an early indication of your intention to slow down

Lighly touch your Brakes, will in advance of the anticipated hazard,

To alert the Driver behind to your intention.

This especially useful when the driver behind is too close.

[endlessloop]

I have an opinion regarding headlights and signal lights.

 

Many bikes have a single-headlight design such as super4, phantom, shadow. In my opinion, during night time especially, there is a slight disadvantage to this design. And it is not because they are not bright enough.

 

From a distance in the darkness, the single-headlighted bike, appears only as a single point of brightlight. When all people can see is just a dot of light in the darkness, it may be difficult for car drivers/pedestrian to estimate how far your bike is away from them and your approaching speed.

 

Try observing other bikes with only a single headlight turned and try to assess their speed/approach speed towards you. Do this at night at a place whic is poorly lighted. You realised you need more time to estimate or has difficulty in estimation.

 

Contrast this to cars. It is easier to assess their approach speed at night. Why? They present two headlights that are a distance apart from each other giving a 2-dimension appearance.

 

And when the bike/car (or any object) has 2-dimension, instead of a single dimension, it is easier for the human-eye to guage it's depth, distance and hence approach speed.

 

So if you have a single headlight turned on only, there is a risk that at night, some "blur" or impatient drivers may misjude your distance or approach speed and turned into your path as you approach them.

 

Therefore, those bikes with single main headlight design, I would suggest modifying your signal lights so that they turned on whenever the main headlight is on. This way, your single headlight bike becomes one yellow light flanked by 2 orange lights and becomes "2-D" instead of a single-D at night.

 

Some bikes already have this problem solved. These bikes have "small" lights that turned on together with the main headlight such as the jap sportsbikes of the last 5 years. Some bikes even have twin headlights.

 

[The_Sheriff]

Those "small lights" are called Pilot lights.

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/StreetSmart71.jpg

 

Flashing Your Headlights

 

Use headlights flashes when the horn would not be heard,

And in the place of horn in the night.

Headlight flashes should only be used for one purpose:

To inform other road users of your presence.

Never Assume that a headlight flash

From another driver is a signal to proceed.

 

Be aware that some drivers may interpret a headlight

Flashes as an act of aggression.

 

A Headlight flash can be used before overtaking in daylight

To Alert other drivers to your presence.

Flash your headlights early enough to allow the

Other driver to react to it.

 

When & For how long is a matter of fine judgement.

It depends on your speed and the road and traffic conditions.

 

Use it when speed makes it likely that the horn would not be heard.

 

Using Hazard Warning Lights

 

Use it to alert other drivers to your presence when your have stopped.

It is sometimes used in poor visibility riding...

Or to warn the vehicles behind that there is a hold-up.

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/ResizeofPicture01.jpg

OBVIOUS! Driver's intention is to turn left into small road.

He put out his left signals to let motorist know what he will be doing.

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/ResizeofPic2.jpg

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/spectrum2100/2.jpg

 

Dangerous? Perhaps if U are Crossing the Minor Road as a Pedestrain.

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/Signals3.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/Pic3.jpg

 

STREET SMART TIP OF THE DAY #72

 

Do You Thrust The Signals Of Other Road Users

Or Do You Wait for some other Confirmation

Of Their Intentions?

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/ResizeofECP01M.jpg

 

Turning in from a Side Rd or Any Junction...

Always be sure the Intention of the Vehicle that may run into You.

Otherwise... Just Wait a little while.

 

Remember! Some may change their Intention at the very Last Minute...

[calvin]

was almost hit by a car that signal left but turn right instead......

 

learned never to trust other vehicals signals but only as an indication that they might want to change direction or speed..... let them pass or be prepared to stop....

[Spectrum]

Cousin of mine was Hit by a Car that went straight with a left signal "ON!"

His car was badly damaged.

Fortunate to escape with Minor Injuries.

 

He was waiting to turn right at a traffic junction near Katong Shopping Ctr.

Saw the Car from opp side with left turn signal flashing...

Initiate the turn... Crash!

 

"If only he had waited... "

[Spectrum]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/2100spectrum/ResizeofEastCoast01Mcopy.jpg

 

Junction In front of Katong Shopping Ctr...

Well, It could be Any Junction.

That's the Most Happening Place... To make An Impact!

 

Note:

 

If you forget to switch off your turn signal...

the Opposite Traffic may Just turn into Your Path!

 

Be Alert!

[myxilplix]

Technically, the vehicle turning left has right of way over the vehicle turning right. Even if they are turning to different lanes.

 

But nobody really cares about traffic rules do they?