motorcyclemeditation.com

Picking through London traffic today, pondering a statistic quoted earlier on the radio, according to Volvo thirty percent of accidents are rear end collisions. More worrying, half of those happen without even an attempt at braking, presumably, driver distracted or checking sideways, easy to imagine that they take place at some speed.

Well, there you are innocently sitting in your car, must be a bit inconvenient if someone shunts into the rear, damages the paintwork, crumples the metal, maybe pushes you back in the seat, headrest cushioning the impact. Annoying to have to get out, exchange insurance details, maybe wait for the rescue service.

Now on the other hand, take the same situation on a motorcycle. Backwards cartwheel, spine snapped and neck broken before you hit the ground, there to have your legs crushed. Survival unlikely, probably just as well. No fun at all.

Except that it won’t happen. Emerging almost unbidden as a motorcycling capability, the awareness of vehicles behind you. This having nothing to do with caution, more the simple consequence of having just been behind them, studying, then overtaking. In fact, you’re half hoping that someone will try and overtake back, this giving you the opportunity to reassert pecking order. Something coming faster from behind, an unmissable phenomenon.

A different situation arising when not on the open road. A stationary queue of traffic ahead, coming up to it, slowing down, stopping, a prime candidate for the driver behind to slam into you. Which is why motorcyclist instincts shudder at the mere thought of doing such a thing. Sure, slow down, but by less than the cars, and don’t bloody well stop until you’re sheltered between lanes, if anyone’s rear ended it can be the car that used to be in front of you.

A discipline so routine as to be automatic. Firmly discouraged by motorcycle training, but to hell with that, your survival’s your responsibility.

Oh look, here I am filtering between lanes, what good discipline, comes with zero cost anyway, in fact carries a big practical advantage, stops you getting stuck in traffic, must have overtaken hundreds of cars like this already today.