Never crash again

Obviously we can’t promise that. But here’s how to make it pretty unlikely…

 

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1. Look in the mirror

 

Write down your rough year-by-year mileage since you started riding. Then add any crashes for each year. From that you can work out a rough interval between each crash: short at first, then getting longer and longer. What’s yours dropped to? One every 80,000 miles is pretty decent. The best we know for an experienced 40-something rider is 300,000 miles. And counting. 

Do this Use the maths to evaluate how good you are – then ponder what you need to improve

Don’t do this Worry about detailed mileage too much. You’re looking for the big picture

 

2. Ride at least 6000 miles a year

Insurers say that the more miles you do, the more risk you’re exposed to. But it works the other way as well: if you don’t ride much, you’re not getting much practice and your skills will go rusty. In other words, you’re a permanent beginner. An old martial arts adage says it takes 10,000 repetitions for something to become second nature. That’s just as true of riding motorbikes.

Do this Commute on your bike as much as you can, then ride it somewhere warm and sunny in the holidays. This will have the added benefit of making you a happier and better person

Don’t do this Hide in the garage and polish the bloody thing

 

3. Get really good

It’s OK to have a low level of skill most of the time – as long as you ride accordingly. But when the unexpected arrives, you need seriously grown-up ability. Trackdays are great for hardwiring reflexes. An enduro experience boosts machine control and physical endurance. Trials will give you miraculous low-speed poise. A day’s short track training delivers massive improvements in cornering and acceleration. And of course there’s advanced road training.

Do this At least once a year, organise a few friends to ride dirtbikes, trials, a trackday – whatever

Don’t do this Imagine that passing your test made you a decent rider

 

4. Learn to loathe group riding

We all ride in groups – it’s only natural. But there are three reasons why it isn’t the ideal way to get around. The rider in front blocks your view of the road ahead. Peer pressure can make even the sanest person behave like an idiot in a bid to keep up. And the slowest riders end up in the place which demands the highest level of ability: at the back, trying to go faster than they are comfortable with.

Do this If you have to ride in a group, agree some rules that don’t pressurise other group members into exceeding their skills

Don’t do this Hang around on the internet and go for Sunday ‘blasts’ with complete strangers

 

5. Check your head

A study by Sussex Police of 55 fatal bike crashes found that 37 involved sportsbikes. Virtually all the riders were men aged 25-44, riding on summer weekends, crashing through rider error. The study also interviewed 256 riders to establish their attitude to biking. The report’s author, Simon Labbett, linked the prevalence of sportsbikes in fatal crashes to the ‘different psychological outlook’ that he found in sportsbike riders, compared with riders of classics, tourers or cruisers. “In these crashes, lack of control isn’t necessarily an issue,” he said. “It’s more the chip in your head.”

Do this Ask mates whether they think you’re a menace

Don’t do this Ignore them when they say you are

 

6. Maximum awareness

It’s what riding a bike is all about. Awareness of your ability – being realistic about how good (or bad) you are. Awareness of your surroundings – using your forward vision to give you the right speed, gear and road position. Awareness of other road users – working out what all of them (even the idiots) are going to do.

Do this Consciously practice being as aware as you possibly can of yourself, the road and everyone else

Don’t do this Lie in a ditch with a broken leg yelling, ‘It’s not my fault’

 

7. Don’t test your reaction time

Actually, you can, on humanbenchmark.com. I’m about 0.3 seconds. A 17 year-old I know is about 0.27. Some young people can apparently get down to 0.1. It doesn’t matter, because it’s irrelevant. What gives you time and space on a bike is forward planning. As Met Police training chief Les Brown said: “I will never let my bike take me somewhere my brain hasn’t been five seconds before.”

Do this Have a cushion of space and time around you

Don’t do this Hurtle into a bend thinking you’ll sort it out half way round if something goes wrong

 

8. Read this leaflet

It tells you the five commonest causes of crashes. They are: screwing up a left-hander, ditto a right-hander, hitting a car at a junction, getting an overtake wrong, and panicking after riding too close or on a bad surface. Quite handy, really. Police evidence adds a refinement: most urban crashes are the car driver’s fault. Most rural crashes are the rider’s.

Do this Read it. It can’t do any harm. roadar.org/riders/info/ride-safe.pdf

Don’t do this Say it doesn’t apply to you

Words: Rupert Paul