Wednesday, September 23, 2009
S I P D E
Just a little riding event that happened to me recently.
Scan
As I crossed an intersection in relatively heavy traffic I observed that the traffic in the lane to my right was proceeding a little slower than my lane. I was on a one way street with 3 lanes of traffic. I was in the center lane with cars in front and behind me, but not as many cars in my lane as there were in the lane to my right. The left lane was clear in front and behind.
Identify
As I proceeded along I slowly passed a couple of cars in the lane to my right. As I would pass a car, I would be in a car's blind spot for a brief moment or two. I also kept an eye on how far away cars were in front of me and behind me.
Predict
As I entered the blind spot of a Pontiac sedan, I was very aware of the possibility of the car not seeing me and entering my lane to get into a faster lane of traffic. Sometimes people in rush hour traffic seem concerned about getting wherever they are going as fast as possible.
Decide
I considered a couple of options for safety If the Pontiac entered my lane. One was to swerve to the left into the left lane because I knew it was clear. The other was to just lightly touch my brakes to slow down enough so that the Pontiac could enter my lane and I would just end up behind it. The choice between those two options would depend on where I was relative to the Pontiac. If I was toward the back end of the Pontiac, the brake technique would probably be fine. If I was closer to the front of the Pontiac, then the swerve to the left might be necessary.
Execute
Sure as shit, the Pontiac started to enter my lane. I was close to the back end of the Pontiac, almost perfectly in the blind spot. But a little application of the brakes was sufficient to place me directly and safely behind the Pontiac. I let the distance between the two of us increase until the two second rule looked good before I started to speed up a bit and get back into matching the speed of other vehicles in my lane.
SIPDE works!
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Great write up. I think everyone on two wheels can relate to this. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteRide on,
Torch
Thanks Torch,
ReplyDeleteIt really wasn't a big deal that day, but glad I was watching out. A lot of my riding is commuting in the rush hour. I have gotten to the point where I trust nobody.
Jim
cpa3485/Jim:
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have an escape route. Being a rider you get better at predicting "situations". Glad it worked out. Lately I have been taking more to the open road. Much safer than urban commuting in rush hour
bob
bobskoot: wet coast scootin
Bob,
ReplyDeleteGuess it comes with the territory of commuting, probably not the safest of riding conditions, but I sure try to be careful.
Thanks for stopping by,
JIm
Jim, well done. You're right, it does work. It's good to be one step ahead of a potential problem.
ReplyDeleteLance,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit, and you are so right about being "one step ahead", to me it really is a requirement for safe riding.
My family has teased me a bit about my new full face helmet helmet. When I try and talk, they hear only muffled sounds.
Just this morning I had another little "event" occur. A guy in a late 80's vintage Oldsmobuick that was about 40 feet long turned into my lane momentarily. The stupid car was so big he couldn't keep it all into the right lane as he turned onto the street I was on. I was in the left lane. I saw the possibility before it occurred, and was able to easily avoid the problem, but did have to hit the brakes a bit.
The only justice was that I was close enouogh to his drivers side and his window was open and I was able to vent some rather colorful words to him about his lack of driving ability.
Even through the helmet, he heard me very well. LOL
In the SIPDE scenario when do you blow your horn? You obviously put the odds of not crashing in your favor. What could have happened to a less prepared rider. Not a nice thought. Glad to hear all came out well.
ReplyDeletecpa3485/Jim:
ReplyDeleteI had an ugly encounter yesterday on the way home. I am at a stop light waiting for a left turn on a T-section where the through traffic does NOT have to stop. I am heading West and two lanes of traffic are heading South. By the time the southbound traffic reaches this point they are going 80-90 kph . I make my turn into the first southbound lane and must merge within a block or so into the right lane to enter the freeway ramp. I see an opening coming up, signal and the guy behind speeds up so he is tailgaiting the car ahead (beside me) and is just a foot away from my right handlebar just as I am thinking about changing lanes. I have no choice but to slow down or I will miss the "on" ramp to the freeway (which exits fast). While I am slowing down to a crawl to let this "jerk" pass me so I can pull behind him, the car behind me is getting very close. I eventually make it to the freeway and enter the HOV lanes.
Phew, It was close . . .
bob
bobskoot: wet coast scootin
Bob C,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by.
I am certainly no expert on the proper use of the horn on my scooter. In fact I rarely use it. For one thing, I keep forgetting exactly where the button is. LOL
But for me, the horn would have to be used well in advance of a potential event, because I for one would like to have both my hands on the handlebar and ready to make a maneuver if need be.
Maybe we should ask Irondad.
Jim
Bobskoot,
ReplyDeleteGlad your "event" turned out ok. Sounds like you were aware of all possibilities that could occur and to me that is the important thing. Being aware of what other stupid people might do with their cages, and not assuming they will always do the right or courteous move.
Jim