Like a great deal of motorcyclists, I use a bike to commute. Yes there are potential issues with riding a bike into the centre of London, or any major town and city, but its the ease of using the bike that makes it such a viable option. You always get a seat and you're not reliant on anybody else to get you to where you need to be. Traffic also doesn't matter.
As I result I know my routes to and from work extremely well. Although I couldn't draw a map of their locations, I know every single manhole cover, the vast majority of the bumps, I know exactly where to place my bike for a particular turn that gives me the best view/surface and I know where the dreaded speed cameras are. I know which lights have cameras and I know which junctions are dangerous and worth slowing well down for despite what the traffic lights say. I'm all too aware of potential hazards and there are some parts of the journey I dread and am therefore thankful when I get through them. East Finchley High Road I'm looking at you here. As with everything though, there is a flip side. With familiarity comes complacency. With complacency comes danger and with danger comes a far greater risk of injury. I read somewhere that most people, riders and drivers alike, are at a much greater risk of serious injury on roads they know extremely well. So what can be done to ensure you get to where you need to be going? I guess its just the normal stuff really. I would like to say that I try and see danger everywhere. Is that car going to move? Why is that person standing at the side of the road? Is that person looking for a parking space instead of the road?
I know that If I rode around in a paranoid state, I wouldn't get anywhere, so for me, its balancing the awareness of what could happen, with the probability of what is most likely to happen.
As I result I know my routes to and from work extremely well. Although I couldn't draw a map of their locations, I know every single manhole cover, the vast majority of the bumps, I know exactly where to place my bike for a particular turn that gives me the best view/surface and I know where the dreaded speed cameras are. I know which lights have cameras and I know which junctions are dangerous and worth slowing well down for despite what the traffic lights say. I'm all too aware of potential hazards and there are some parts of the journey I dread and am therefore thankful when I get through them. East Finchley High Road I'm looking at you here. As with everything though, there is a flip side. With familiarity comes complacency. With complacency comes danger and with danger comes a far greater risk of injury. I read somewhere that most people, riders and drivers alike, are at a much greater risk of serious injury on roads they know extremely well. So what can be done to ensure you get to where you need to be going? I guess its just the normal stuff really. I would like to say that I try and see danger everywhere. Is that car going to move? Why is that person standing at the side of the road? Is that person looking for a parking space instead of the road?
I know that If I rode around in a paranoid state, I wouldn't get anywhere, so for me, its balancing the awareness of what could happen, with the probability of what is most likely to happen.
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