http://www.asiaone.com/Motoring/Drivers/Story/A1Story20090727-157357.html
Mon, Jul 27, 2009
The Straits Times
Sit tight, ride right
By Tim Mcintyre
Motorcycle fatalities in Singapore have been rising continuously for more than a decade now.
Last year, 108 motorcyclists and their pillion riders died on the road.
Mostly young riders, they account for nearly half of total road fatalities.
As of May this year, those applying for their Class 2B motorcycle licence, the most basic of three riding licences, are required to attend three theory lessons on defensive riding before they are allowed to register for the Traffic Police practical test.
These lessons are in addition to the mandatory four theory lessons and seven practical sessions trainees must clock and pass.
While schools teach riders the safe way to ride and common sense tends to keep most riders out of harm's way, there is no substitute for riding experience.
Staying alive on crowded Singapore roads as a motorcyclist is 1 per cent inspiration and 99 per cent paranoia.
In other words, a rider should trust no one while on the go.
Your enemies include everyone from pedestrians to prime movers, all of whom are close enough to inflict grievous bodily harm.
Keeping cars, trucks, buses and cyclists at arm's length is key to your survival as a motorcyclist.
Do not ride in traffic, ride through it
Remember what they taught in driving school about a safe following distance, one car's length for every 15kmh?
The reality is more like one car's length for every 50kmh.
Any gap bigger than two cars and other motorists will see it as an invitation to cut into your lane.
Which will naturally incite vehicles behind you to tailgate - to "encourage" you to close the gap.
Or worse, overtake you dangerously out of annoyance.
There is a better way to ride among cars.
When traffic is light, stay within a lane.
When traffic is heavy, ride between lanes.
While this is not the official line taught in riding schools, it is perfectly safe if done correctly, as thousands of motorcyclists here will tell you.
The trick is to ride at a speed slightly but not excessively faster than the fourwheelers.
Believe it or not, it actually makes you more visible to drivers.
They are more likely to notice a motorcycle approaching from behind as opposed to one in the adjacent lane, travelling at the same speed and tucked in their blind spot.
And you reduce the risk of being sandwiched in a multi-car pile-up.
No gaps, no sweat
Things get dicey when there is stop-start traffic or when there is a road-hog holding up traffic.
You will notice plenty of gaps in such situations, within lanes and between lanes.
Watch out for sudden and unpredictable overtaking and lane changing.
If possible, ride away from such a situation.
Hot spots
Gaps can occur anywhere.
Other hot spots are more predictable, like any road leading to and away from an ERP gantry.
You are likely to have panic braking, abrupt overtaking and vehicles forcing their way into traffic from the road shoulder, all at the same time.
Apart from ERP gantries, retiree Azman Ismail says there are other hot spots to look out for: Serangoon, Jalan Besar, Geylang and Balestier roads.
Says the 58-year-old Honda 400 rider: "On these roads, cars are entering and exiting from left and right. Jaywalkers are waiting in the middle of the road. Foreign workers are cycling against the flow of traffic. These roads are the most dangerous."
Timing is everything
You cannot be run over by a cement mixer if you are snuggled in bed.
Not being on the road at the same time as half of Singapore significantly reduces your probability of being an accident statistic.
If work or study arrangement permits, ride after 10am and before 5pm.
Alternatively, you could aim to be a model employee by getting to office before 7am and leaving after 10pm.
Do whatever it takes to stay off the road between 8 and 9am, and 6 and 7pm.
If you cannot change the time of your commute, consider cutting its length.
By moving house from Ang Mo Kio to Pasir Ris, aircraft technician Peter Chua slashed his daily commute to work from 30 to 10 minutes.
That is 40 minutes less stress and eliminated risk as well as more family time every day for the 42-year-old father of two.
Eye spy
See and be seen.
This is not about wearing bright, ugly vests but about maintaining eye contact.
When passing cars or when riding behind another motorcycle, make sure you can see their eyes in their rear view mirror.
No, you are not trying to start a staring contest.
You are just making it almost impossible for other motorists to ignore you.
Eye contact is even more important at traffic junctions.
"Cars that inch forward from the side or opposite lanes are the worst - you do not know if they are going to stop or accelerate," says Mr Terence Wee, a 37- year-old rider of a Honda Africa Twin.
"If the driver returns eye contact, that is a good sign. Then right of way applies. But if he is arguing with his wife, I get ready for something stupid to happen."
Expect the unexpected
"Do not ride as if you have the right of way, even if you do," says Mr Timmy Lim, who commutes 80km a day from Eunos to Jurong Island and back on his 1,000cc Kawasaki.
"And drivers here almost never use their signal lights when turning. So you have got to anticipate and prepare for this. Watch out also for erratic driving. It usually means the driver is using his phone or scratching himself. Steer clear."
Mr Deyna Chia, 34, who rides a Yamaha TDM, notes: "Assume drivers do not see you. I am always on the alert for sudden lane changes. I will let drivers know I am there by flashing my high beam, using the horn or by blipping the throttle. And I wear a bright red jacket when riding."
Shut up and sit down
There is a time and a place for idle banter but a moving motorcycle is not one of them.
Once on the go, resist the temptation to talk to your pillion (no matter how hot he or she is) or communicate with fellow bikers via hand signals, or take calls via your hands-free.
Mr Chua, who has been commuting on two wheels for almost 25 years, has a simple rule: "Before each ride, I turn my phone off."
Ride white
A strange thing happened to me the other day on the road.
Not a single vehicle cut me off.
On the expressway, cars in the right lane signalled left before merging with the middle lane.
They went through all that trouble so I could pass unhindered.
Then it dawned on me: I was wearing a white mesh motorcycle jacket and a white helmet - the colour of law and order on the roads here.
[email protected]
The writer is a rider of 24 years and has learnt many lessons
- sometimes the hard and painful way. He contributes occasionally to Life!.
For more The Straits Times stories, click here.
Mon, Jul 27, 2009
The Straits Times
Sit tight, ride right
By Tim Mcintyre
Motorcycle fatalities in Singapore have been rising continuously for more than a decade now.
Last year, 108 motorcyclists and their pillion riders died on the road.
Mostly young riders, they account for nearly half of total road fatalities.
As of May this year, those applying for their Class 2B motorcycle licence, the most basic of three riding licences, are required to attend three theory lessons on defensive riding before they are allowed to register for the Traffic Police practical test.
These lessons are in addition to the mandatory four theory lessons and seven practical sessions trainees must clock and pass.
While schools teach riders the safe way to ride and common sense tends to keep most riders out of harm's way, there is no substitute for riding experience.
Staying alive on crowded Singapore roads as a motorcyclist is 1 per cent inspiration and 99 per cent paranoia.
In other words, a rider should trust no one while on the go.
Your enemies include everyone from pedestrians to prime movers, all of whom are close enough to inflict grievous bodily harm.
Keeping cars, trucks, buses and cyclists at arm's length is key to your survival as a motorcyclist.
Do not ride in traffic, ride through it
Remember what they taught in driving school about a safe following distance, one car's length for every 15kmh?
The reality is more like one car's length for every 50kmh.
Any gap bigger than two cars and other motorists will see it as an invitation to cut into your lane.
Which will naturally incite vehicles behind you to tailgate - to "encourage" you to close the gap.
Or worse, overtake you dangerously out of annoyance.
There is a better way to ride among cars.
When traffic is light, stay within a lane.
When traffic is heavy, ride between lanes.
While this is not the official line taught in riding schools, it is perfectly safe if done correctly, as thousands of motorcyclists here will tell you.
The trick is to ride at a speed slightly but not excessively faster than the fourwheelers.
Believe it or not, it actually makes you more visible to drivers.
They are more likely to notice a motorcycle approaching from behind as opposed to one in the adjacent lane, travelling at the same speed and tucked in their blind spot.
And you reduce the risk of being sandwiched in a multi-car pile-up.
No gaps, no sweat
Things get dicey when there is stop-start traffic or when there is a road-hog holding up traffic.
You will notice plenty of gaps in such situations, within lanes and between lanes.
Watch out for sudden and unpredictable overtaking and lane changing.
If possible, ride away from such a situation.
Hot spots
Gaps can occur anywhere.
Other hot spots are more predictable, like any road leading to and away from an ERP gantry.
You are likely to have panic braking, abrupt overtaking and vehicles forcing their way into traffic from the road shoulder, all at the same time.
Apart from ERP gantries, retiree Azman Ismail says there are other hot spots to look out for: Serangoon, Jalan Besar, Geylang and Balestier roads.
Says the 58-year-old Honda 400 rider: "On these roads, cars are entering and exiting from left and right. Jaywalkers are waiting in the middle of the road. Foreign workers are cycling against the flow of traffic. These roads are the most dangerous."
Timing is everything
You cannot be run over by a cement mixer if you are snuggled in bed.
Not being on the road at the same time as half of Singapore significantly reduces your probability of being an accident statistic.
If work or study arrangement permits, ride after 10am and before 5pm.
Alternatively, you could aim to be a model employee by getting to office before 7am and leaving after 10pm.
Do whatever it takes to stay off the road between 8 and 9am, and 6 and 7pm.
If you cannot change the time of your commute, consider cutting its length.
By moving house from Ang Mo Kio to Pasir Ris, aircraft technician Peter Chua slashed his daily commute to work from 30 to 10 minutes.
That is 40 minutes less stress and eliminated risk as well as more family time every day for the 42-year-old father of two.
Eye spy
See and be seen.
This is not about wearing bright, ugly vests but about maintaining eye contact.
When passing cars or when riding behind another motorcycle, make sure you can see their eyes in their rear view mirror.
No, you are not trying to start a staring contest.
You are just making it almost impossible for other motorists to ignore you.
Eye contact is even more important at traffic junctions.
"Cars that inch forward from the side or opposite lanes are the worst - you do not know if they are going to stop or accelerate," says Mr Terence Wee, a 37- year-old rider of a Honda Africa Twin.
"If the driver returns eye contact, that is a good sign. Then right of way applies. But if he is arguing with his wife, I get ready for something stupid to happen."
Expect the unexpected
"Do not ride as if you have the right of way, even if you do," says Mr Timmy Lim, who commutes 80km a day from Eunos to Jurong Island and back on his 1,000cc Kawasaki.
"And drivers here almost never use their signal lights when turning. So you have got to anticipate and prepare for this. Watch out also for erratic driving. It usually means the driver is using his phone or scratching himself. Steer clear."
Mr Deyna Chia, 34, who rides a Yamaha TDM, notes: "Assume drivers do not see you. I am always on the alert for sudden lane changes. I will let drivers know I am there by flashing my high beam, using the horn or by blipping the throttle. And I wear a bright red jacket when riding."
Shut up and sit down
There is a time and a place for idle banter but a moving motorcycle is not one of them.
Once on the go, resist the temptation to talk to your pillion (no matter how hot he or she is) or communicate with fellow bikers via hand signals, or take calls via your hands-free.
Mr Chua, who has been commuting on two wheels for almost 25 years, has a simple rule: "Before each ride, I turn my phone off."
Ride white
A strange thing happened to me the other day on the road.
Not a single vehicle cut me off.
On the expressway, cars in the right lane signalled left before merging with the middle lane.
They went through all that trouble so I could pass unhindered.
Then it dawned on me: I was wearing a white mesh motorcycle jacket and a white helmet - the colour of law and order on the roads here.
[email protected]
The writer is a rider of 24 years and has learnt many lessons
- sometimes the hard and painful way. He contributes occasionally to Life!.
For more The Straits Times stories, click here.
