Straightening the road

[Drew]

Besides, it just feeds the trolls and fuckwits

Hmm, that's quite inflammatory. Trolling works this way, no?

[scumdog]

Do you always ride parallel to the center line? If not then why do you 'straighten the road' by apexing a corner in your own lane?

A childish effort.

Anyway, I bet one or two here know of cases where mates/loved ones departed because 'someone' decided it was safe to cut a corner they couldn't see around but 'thought' it was OK.

The old "I can't see any danger - ergo there ISN'T any danger" mentality.

[haydes55]

The threads about straightening corners. Not overtaking. I tend not to overtake on corners.



Normal overtaking, go for gold. Make sure its clear and pin that fucker.

I have overtaken around corners with limited visibility before. Safely as well.

Left hand sweeper after a straight, line of traffic (10 or so cars). Overtake most on the straight, I'm on the far right of the oncoming lane, from the position I can see about 150m ahead (that is a very approx measurement as my eye ruler is pretty crap, but basically plenty of time to rejoin the line of traffic if a speeding car came around the bend). Cruising past the cars at about 110km/h so I can easily slow to the pace of the traffic.

Another time I overtook on a tighter left hand corner whilst riding in a group. A very experienced and safe rider was ahead of me. He overtook safely and stayed about 50m ahead of me holding even pace in the opposite lane, I knew he could see further around the corner and stayed in the oncoming lane to signify it was clear to overtake.

Sorry if it's hard to follow my description, but I have one 2 occasions overtaken on corners I couldn't see around, done safely with no risk of a head on.

[swbarnett]

A childish effort.

No. A valid question to those that ask why one should "straighten the road". Valid because the "correct" line around most corners under most circumstances is definitely straighter than the corner itself.

Anyway, I bet one or two here know of cases where mates/loved ones departed because 'someone' decided it was safe to cut a corner they couldn't see around but 'thought' it was OK.

The old "I can't see any danger - ergo there ISN'T any danger" mentality.

There in lies the perception problem. Crossing the center line with clear visibility is not the same as cutting a blind corner. If done properly with a firm knowledge that there is no danger then what's the harm?

[Ulsterkiwi]

Positioning close to the centre line for a left - hander to get a better view and create more time for an appropriate response makes a lot of sense. HOWEVER, if a rider failed to sacrifice that position for oncoming traffic, it's plain dumb and if it was a Roadcraft test, it would be a fail. Roadcraft specifically talks about applying the rule flexibly to cater for each individual circumstance. There are blind bends and blind bends!

That would make sense given what I have been taught by instructors, mentors and my limited experience. 'Never sacrifice safety to maintain position' always rings in my head. Even on the most familiar of roads other road users can create enough variables that you rarely ride exactly the same line each time you ride that road.

I see the sense in taking corner in such a way as to maximise visibility but if I do that and see a B Train coming my way and its a windy winter's day then I am going to get as far away as I can!

[george formby]

No. A valid question to those that ask why one should "straighten the road". Valid because the "correct" line around most corners under most circumstances is definitely straighter than the corner itself.


There in lies the perception problem. Crossing the center line with clear visibility is not the same as cutting a blind corner. If done properly with a firm knowledge that there is no danger then what's the harm?

If you have awareness, intention & ability & your action is conscious & considered then probably none. Alas, I see little of this attitude on the road.
Lack of all the above is far more common & should be expected.

[george formby]

I see the sense in taking corner in such a way as to maximise visibility but if I do that and see a B Train coming my way and its a windy winter's day then I am going to get as far away as I can!

Yup. I want as much space & time as possible to get out of dodge and will use as much road as I need to achieve that. Within the law, of course.

[haydes55]

It was only safe because you were lucky. There has been a lot of debate that we should never trust the judgement of others on the road and you think that is safe?

Luck had nothing to do with my survival. I allowed myself 2 escape routes as well as plenty of time to safely re-enter the traffic flow. The only possible situation where my overtake would carry any risk would be if a large vehicle came around the corner at 200km/h. Then I would of had to go straight to the center line brake for half a second and pull behind the car (I was on the little 300 so no chance of accelerating into a gap). If it was a wall of motorbikes going 250km/h I would have just gone 1m wider and ridden in the oncoming lanes shoulder.

Luck is something that dead people relied on. I never leave any situation where my life is at stake to chance.

There are plenty of situations where breaking the law is safe. And plenty of situations where following the law is unsafe. I choose to do what is safe, if Mr popo wants to try tell me otherwise, I'm an arrogant enough cunt to try make his day enjoyable.....

[swbarnett]

If you have awareness, intention & ability & your action is conscious & considered then probably none. Alas, I see little of this attitude on the road.
Lack of all the above is far more common & should be expected.

Agreed. I just mean to say that the action is not inherently dangerous unless it's abused. I dare say this is also the attitude of the UK cops.

[swbarnett]

I would have just gone 1m wider and ridden in the oncoming lanes shoulder.

Bad idea. If the opposing vehicle also tries to avoid a collision they will more than likely veer left, right into your new path.

[george formby]

Agreed. I just mean to say that the action is not inherently dangerous unless it's abused. I dare say this is also the attitude of the UK cops.

Cops being abusive! Shirley not?

I have been pulled in the UK for being a dangerous dick head & ignored for exceeding the speed limit in a safe situation by the feds. I think same as here common sense prevails quite often.


Seeing the number of people who cut corners, cross the centre line, makes me think they do not know where there vehicle is positioned on the road. Not thinking, looking or giving a shit.
I reckon more than 30% of oncoming vehicles I meet on my daily commute will be over the centre line. During the holidays getting towards 70%.

[Urano]

at 2:41 ish into the video the riders straighten the road, ie cross over the centre line to smooth out their route but only when they can see well ahead.
How would this go down with NZ police?

do they really have problems if there's a broken center line?

(by the way, the thing i noticed is that in a similar road, with bushes, trees, bends and not always the clearest visibility, here it wouldn't have been a broken line...)

Why 'straighten the road' - I thought motorcycling was all about flowing through the bends and corners.

have you seen their bikes? i'm pretty surprised they even lean...

[haydes55]

I hope you are assuming there is a big enough gap between cars to pull into and it would be very easy to predict that wrong if they are bumper to bumper. I do agree there can be some situations where following the law is unsafe but not plenty otherwise the law would be relaxed wouldn't it? Traffic law that is.

The cars were going 80-90ish km/h. They weren't bumper to bumper. Even following with a 2 second gap there's plenty of room for a motorbike, even staggered with the cars or alongside the cars still in their lane.

[george formby]

have you seen their bikes? i'm pretty surprised they even lean...

Contact patch is the same as any big bike. It's stopping them leaning that gets me.

[Ulsterkiwi]

When riding the earthquake damaged roads in ChCh "position" can vary very suddenly so I focus on safety and who cares about riding the same line for the sake of it being the same line anyway.

huh?

lots of people seem to think you talk crap, I don't know, but it takes a special kind of special to sound like you are arguing with someone who has just made the point you are trying to make.