Safety Horizon

[BuckBuck#1]

Twelve Seconds

Open road, nothing in front of you, straight as.

Stock crossing sign (or no sign)

How. What. Why – did s/he lose control?

Update 72hrs after this Original Post.

How. What. Why - did 'they' lose control?

A topic that perhaps was of interest to some but alas
I suppose human nature is like a lot of group rides, there is a tendency to stray.

[The Singing Chef]

Twelve Seconds

Open rode, nothing in front of you, straight as.

Stock crossing sign (or no sign)

How. What. Why – did s/he lose control?

Cow shit? Oil spill, Chain broke? engine seized? tyre blew out? s/he jumped off?

[DrunkenMistake]

Suzuki Squid?

[BuckBuck#1]

Cow shit? Oil spill, Chain broke? engine seized? tyre blew out? s/he jumped off?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. (all at the same time...and if so then...) Yes.

An open road in the country is different than downtown.

Traveling at 100kph your stopping distance is...oh well: when traveling behind a car or stock-truck is...oh well, but more importantly it is how far ahead can you see that enables you to anticipate.

Twelve seconds - count off the distance when next you ride.

[Hitcher]

How. What. Why – did s/he lose control?

Because s/he couldn't spell road?

[BuckBuck#1]

Dang. Probably too busy looking up the dictionary and texting.

[Latte]

at 100kph 12 seconds is ~330m (could be wrong, just rattled numbers in my head). Where/Who did this magical 12 seconds come from?

[bogan]

at 100kph 12 seconds is ~330m (could be wrong, just rattled numbers in my head). Where/Who did this magical 12 seconds come from?

12s sounds like a bloody long time. Used to be a guy here who could stop in 2 or something

Or maybe the OP is referring to an accident that happened?

[Lurch]

Since when did KB become a podium for preachers?

..oh wait

[tigertim20]

Twelve Seconds

Open rode, nothing in front of you, straight as.

Stock crossing sign (or no sign)

How. What. Why – did s/he lose control?

animals ran out?
spontaineous rare anuerism?
drunk?
hawk hit them?
fell asleep?
tyre blew out?
engine lunched, wheels locked up?

[bluninja]

12s sounds like a bloody long time. Used to be a guy here who could stop in 2 or something

Or maybe the OP is referring to an accident that happened?

I used to start from 0 kmh and cover 100m in under 12s.....it's a long time. A bike on a wet road (coeffcient of friction approx .5) should stop in less than 100 m. even with 1-2 seconds reaction and thinking time. So that would be about 6 seconds, so where has this 12 seconds come from?

[BuckBuck#1]

Twelve Seconds

Open rode, nothing in front of you, straight as.

Stock crossing sign (or no sign)

How. What. Why – did s/he lose control?

I thought it worthwhile to put a quandary question out there - there is no specific answer other than to be alert to hazard detection. Out on the country road traveling at 100kph the professional instructor refers to a 12 second horizon to constantly 'sweep out to and back from' being alert to potential hazards.

Yesterday for me it was a new baby lamb outside of the fence alongside a culvert. Seen at approximately 4 seconds.

[tigertim20]

the time and brain energy spent deciding how many seconds it is is time not spent on deciding the best avoidance technique, or the next hazard. . .

[blackdog]

An interesting question BB.

I am all for taking into account the greatest possible margin for safety. I am always looking as far forward as possible to identify hazards, and am a huge advocate of not having less visible road ahead than is required to stop.

12 seconds though? I think you are out to lunch.

Factually, I can stop from 100mph in substantially less than 5 seconds. I am not interested in finding out how fast I have to be going to take 12 seconds to stop.

As for ever having 12 seconds of clear road ahead to scan on NZ roads, it simply does not happen (midnight on Himitangi maybe, as an exception).

Who was it that suggested this '12 second' method to you? I wouldn't mind discussing NZ road and riding conditions with them.

[Deano]

Haha.

The 12 second rule is a pretty common practice taught by many driving instructors.

Google '12 second rule' (I can't copy and paste the address) - LTNZ is the first hit and explains it all.