Photo: Liveleak
Maintainig a minimal level of road discipline when riding in a larger group is one of the best ways to avoid getting in trouble, even in the absence of other clumsy, unaware, distracted or plain stupid motorists. That is, being able to take care of yourselves (as a group), in normal conditions. While the internet is literally full with footage of crashes caused by guys who can’t or just won’t obey group riding discipline, here’s another textbook example of how bad things can go.
Riding in a group means at least two things: maintaining a consistent speed and maintaining the position inside the group. The speed demand is a no-brainer: with all the bikes traveling at approximately the same speed, riders can keep a steady distance from each other, preferably big enough to allow them to brake efficiently or at least down to less dangerous velocity, swerve past an obstacle and so on.
Changing position inside a riding group is advisable only after the rider who plans to make the move has checked his surroundings and has signaled those behind him using the turn signals. During this maneuver his speed can vary, but as the guys around him have already been given a heads up warning, everything should work out without incidents.
Now, several of these riders seem to have been completely oblivious of the above precautions and the result of their mindless riding style is at least three crashed vehicles, with at least one rider looking like having sustained more serious injuries after apparently clipping a tree. Finally, I can’t help adding a word on speed: scooters and mopeds are well-known to have substantially weaker stopping power than a motorcycle, and this makes riding at higher speeds a really riskier business. This video shows one of the shapes these risks can take…
Changing position inside a riding group is advisable only after the rider who plans to make the move has checked his surroundings and has signaled those behind him using the turn signals. During this maneuver his speed can vary, but as the guys around him have already been given a heads up warning, everything should work out without incidents.
Now, several of these riders seem to have been completely oblivious of the above precautions and the result of their mindless riding style is at least three crashed vehicles, with at least one rider looking like having sustained more serious injuries after apparently clipping a tree. Finally, I can’t help adding a word on speed: scooters and mopeds are well-known to have substantially weaker stopping power than a motorcycle, and this makes riding at higher speeds a really riskier business. This video shows one of the shapes these risks can take…
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