| Helpful Pointers for Observers and Associates. |
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| Roundabouts - Lane Discipline
or Straightest Line ? |
| In general the
group observers will suggest that the best choice is lane discipline. However, if there is little traffic around and/or if
the road surface is particularly wet or slippery then the alternative could well be to pick a straight line and cross
lanes. If you opt to straight line it then the observer will expect that your
use of the "Roadcraft System" should be very proficient. The crossing of lanes requires additional observation prior to the
position change and again for the exit. The straight line method is usually faster and hence the observations need to be sharp
and accurate. The Lane discipline method is generally considered to be safer and if traffic is present then there is more
predictability for other road users and less likelyhood of error. If an incident were to occur then the "straight line " method
may not be viewed favourably by insurers etc. |
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| Mini Roundabouts -
Exit Signalling - Yes or No ? |
(a) Left Turns
require a left signal.
(b)Straight Ahead requires no signal although usually the presence of a mini roundabout is because
it was a busy junction previously and hence there is nearly always other traffic and a signal to the left as you prepare to
exit on the 12 o'clock exit gives other traffic notice of your intentions.
(c)
A Right Turn requires a Right signal as you approach but the need to reverse the signal and indicate a Left turn as you are
exitting the roundabout is not required. Cancel the signal as you leave the roundabout is more than adequate and is less work.
(d) Generally these roundabouts are for 3 or 4 approach roads although I'm sure that someone will no doubt tell me of
one with more than 4, but there should be no interim exits that don't follow the above guidelines. |
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| Overtaking
on Motorways - signalling to return to the slower lane. |
| After an overtaking
manouvre there generally is no need to signal "Left" to show that you are returning to the slow lane and this applies to dual
lane motorway but in the case of a 3 lane motorway there are additional considerations.. The exception to this is if you are
returning to the centre lane from the offside lane of a 3 lane motorway. This is because there may be traffic from the nearside
lane that is about to enter into the centre lane to start an overtake or make a lane change due to motorway exit markings
etc. In this case the use of signalling that you intend to return to the centre lane could prevent an incident where you and
the other traffic are attepting to get into the same space in the centre lane. |
| Also there may
be a need to signal that you are returning to the nearside lane when you are squeezing into a gap after an overtake.
In this situation you are becoming more of a hazard to the vehicle that you just overtook and hence they need to be highlighted
as to your intentions. This should not generally happen to an experienced advanced motorcyclist but is a situation that "Observers"
encounter when out on an observed training run and the associate may have overtaken and rejoined the nearside lane and
correctly, not needing to signal, as they become less of a hazard to this traffic
as the gap increases. However the following observer may need to signal as the "Following" position is to be taken up. |
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| Comfort
Braking or Brake-Lighting for other traffic. |
| Not a particularly
clear title for this but there are 2 situations when the brake lights are seen generally on the bikes of new associates. The
first situation is where the associate is not fully confident that the corner speed obtained is safe, and if it is fractionally
high then the brake light is often seen to come on but the bike brakes are not actually applied with any noticable force.
As confidence levels increase then this will be rarely seen. If the corner speed is excessive then slowing down by application
of the brakes prior to entering the bend is preferrable to failure to complete the turn. In simple terms "If you need to brake,
then do so." |
| The second scenario
is where you may be approaching a speed limit and will need to slow down. The use of the system would therefore suggest that
you use the "information" namely the speed limit sign, your own speed, the presence of other traffic following etc and then
consider your "position" followed by a change in your speed. A well planned approach
would have the observations for following traffic assessed before committing to a speed reduction. But assuming that there
is no hazard with slowing down then smoothly close the throttle and decelerate selecting gears as required and apply brakes
if necessary. If there was traffic following closely then further observations would be required to ensure that the vehicle
behind is not becoming an increasing hazard. It is not necessary to gently brake to "Flash" the brake lights at the following
traffic to warn of your intentions. This may cause the driver of the following vehilce to over-react if they were to assume
that you were suddenly braking. Again as an advanced rider there may be circumstances where you chose to "give" information
that normally is not required. |
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