Stay on Target!

I'm clocking up a fair few miles at the moment, close to 1000 a week, mostly on the Bike, so not surprisingly last week I came across an accident on our busiest of motorways, the M25 (I use the word 'Motorway' loosely, the worlds most expensive car park might be more accurate). Fortunately for me I was on Eloisa when this happened and at the front of queue with a few other fellow bikers, we dismounted and had a quick cigarette and a chat while the Police closed the road to clear the accident.

A very young (probable inexperienced), lady driver had swooped left from the outside lane at the very last second to try to exit on a slip road, I assume she hadn't been concentrating fully and had virtually missed her exit. Unfortunately for her she failed to notice a sixteen wheeler on her nearside, which 'collected' her vehicle, pushing it up the motorway a considerable distance before depositing it against the Armco in the central reservation. (Miraculously, after they cut her out the vehicle she walked away suffering only a little shock, a fitting tribute to modern car safety design, me thinks.)

Anyhows, the accident wasn't what I actually wanted to post about, it was what I was witnessing around me while I waited forty minuets or so for the incident to be cleaned up (Incidentally, I found it most ironic that the Police had to use the Artic Lorry that the woman hit to pull her vehicle off the carriageway to a safe position!).

Well I guess most curiously, I saw people in the waiting queue of traffic behind me get out from the vehicles and start taking photographs of the event, while the woman was still in the vehicle! Am I the only one that finds this just a tad disturbing? What if she'd died? Macabre or what! I couldn't bring myself to say anything to the people taking the shots; I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. Very strange behaviour, especially as I'd always believed I have a sick sense of humour, but this was verging on perverse, people getting gratification from others possible 'Life and Death' situation.

Anyway, that wasn't what I was intending to post about either; it was the massive queue of traffic on the opposite carriageway, the gawpers!

Here's a paradox. We make are driving environments safer by making it more predictable, but then we relax and stop concentrating fully, bad move. Take for instance the 'Rubber-Necking' phenomena I was witnessing (where people looking at accident lose concentration and have an accident themselves), usually this happens on major roads where all unpredictability has been removed, then you add an unexpected outside influence and KerrBang!

For the record, you're most likely to have an accident in a vehicle three seconds after being distracted, in fact over 80% of all accidents and 65% of all 'near misses' are coursed by distraction (sounds obviously doesn't it, so here are the top distractions...)

1) Eating or Drinking
2) An Outside person, object or event (Rubber-necking!)
3) Adjusting your ICE (In Car Entertainment, CD player etc.)
4) Other occupants in the vehicle (Stop that woman!!! ;o) )
5) Moving objects in the vehicle
6) Smoking related (Any excuse to try making me quit ;o))
7) Talking or listening on a mobile phone* (see below)
8) Dialing a mobile phone
9) Using device/object brought into the vehicle (Blackberries etc.)
10) Using a device/object integral to the vehicle (Aircon etc.)

*Worth noting people is that researchers found that it did not matter if the driver was wearing a hands free kit of actually holding the phone, it's equally risky!

Speed doesn't kill... Not concentrating Kills... In fact, studies have shown that higher speed limits have decreased road accidents by creating more space between cars and allowing traffic to flow better. (When the New York State Thruway increased its speed limit from 55 mph to 65 mph in 1995, the death rate went down, mind you American statistics could be conceived as odd at best... This is a country where roundabouts are virtually non-existent and it's illegal to filter on a motorbikes. They haven't really thought this whole traffic flow thing through properly have they!)

So after the incident was cleared I rode off from the front of a massive queue down a deserted motorway, counting three small 'shunts' in the fifteen mile queue that had now gridlocked the opposite carriageway, all coursed by people being distracted and losing concentration. Rubber-necking might we'll be a natural response to an outside influence, but its no excuse to stop thinking about your driving...

So folks, go fast, enjoy yourself but keep concentrating!!! Take plenty of breaks and always; always; always have maximum respect for and give way to; Big Black Motorbikes with lots of lights bearing down on you at a rapid rate of knots ;o)

Ciao Ciao
Confused from Cambridge
I Blog There4 I Am