Roadcraft

Learning how to operate a scooter or bike is one thing. Once you are out on the road it gets more complicated. 

Roadcraft is how to handle the conditions and hazards you will encounter out on the road and how to avoid getting into dangerous situations.

Scanning is essential whatever the environment. You should be continuously checking ahead and behind for hazards.

In urban areas, these could be a vehicle backing out of a driveway towards your path, a patch of water or diesel on the road, an unattended child on the side of the road or a dog off the leash. In the country, it could be a wild animal on the side of the road or a large pothole. You should be moving your focus from far ahead to a shorter distance in front of you, and from side to side continuously. You should check both mirrors to see what is behind you every 20 seconds or so, more often in traffic.

Lane position will vary depending on the circumstance. As a general rule, maximise the buffer space between you and hazards, such as other vehicles. If in the kerbside lane on a multi-lane road, aim to ride about one third of the lane width out from the gutter or from parked cars, to maximise your distance from vehicles in the next lane. If the road has a median strip and you are in the lane closest to the centre, ride one third of the lane width out from the median. If on a road with a single lane each way and no median, stay more towards the shoulder of the road to maximise the distance from the on-coming traffic. This will also keep you a little away from the wind blast from on-coming heavy vehicles, which can move a scooter or bike around.

Merging is scary at first, particularly if you have not driven a car, but can be learned. The merging lane is designed to allow you to pick up speed to match that of the main traffic stream. Don't be afraid to accelerate briskly as soon as you have a straight view along the merging lane, so you quickly get up to the traffic speed and have plenty of time to plan your merge. You should already have your indicator on and as you approach the merge area, check sideways and in your mirrors for the vehicle spacing, match your speed to one of the gaps in the traffic and move across into the lane.

Don't ride along the merge lane at a slow speed, hoping that a long gap will magically appear in the traffic stream – this can leave you stopped in the merge lane with traffic approaching from behind and accelerating to get up the traffic speed – not a safe situation!

Cornering safely is a skill which is a matter of practice. Your aim should be to start "wide" and finish "tight" (see diagrams A and B - source RTA). Slow slightly as you approach the corner and, if it is safe to do so, move towards the outside of the corner to give yourself the best view through the corner. For a left hand corner you will be towards the centreline, for a right hand corner it will be towards the shoulder. Lean the bike over and keep looking through the corner until you can clearly see it straighten out, then you can accelerate. Opening the throttle will help bring the bike back upright. On right hand corners, do not come right across the lane and ride close to the centreline – as you are leaned over, your body will be on the incorrect side of the road and a vehicle coming the other way could hit you. You are also exposed to on-coming vehicles cutting across the corner onto your side of the road.

Vision is very important and you should position yourself so you have the best possible view of the road ahead and any potential hazards. For instance, staying back from high/wide vehicles gives you a better view. The RTA has a good summary of other situations to look out for in its rider's handbook.

As a guide, you should always have 5 seconds of view ahead, that is, if you pick a point on the road ahead and start counting, you should not reach it until 5 seconds have passed. Obviously this does not apply to hairpin bends and similar but should be generally observed. In wet weather allow up to twice as much distance.

Braking is skill you should continue to practise even when you are an experienced rider. The only connection between the bike and the road is the two palm-sized tyre contact patches, which is why tyres are very important to motorcyclists - all braking and acceleration forces act through these contact patches.

• When applying the brakes, use all four fingers on the front brake lever – it gives greater control of brake effort.

• When braking normally, aim to apply the rear brake fractionally before the front. In an emergency, you need toget the front brake on as quickly as you can, as the weight transfer means the front brake does most of the work – the rear brake stabilises the bike but provides little braking effort.

• If approaching a potential hazard, cover the brakes, that is, extend your fingers so they are ready to apply the front brake and have your foot above the rear brake pedal.

• If you lock either brake, quickly release it then reapply it. A locked rear brake will cause the bike to fishtail.

• Good traction is critical for braking – if the road is wet or muddy, do not try to brake hard. On gravel roads use engine braking or light force on the rear brake to slow down. Road markings, steel plates and oil or diesel on the road are very slippery, particularly when wet.

• If on gravel or grooved roads and the bike feels like it has a mind of its own, relax, let the bike move around under you, and steer the bike with body weight and very light pressure on the bars.

• Always have your braking completed and speed set before you enter a corner. The cornering forces add to the braking forces and can overcome tyre friction if you are still braking in the corner.

Other useful hints

• If you pull up behind a stationary vehicle on a steep uphill, leave ample space in front of you in case the vehicle rolls back when starting off – heavy vehicles particularly sometimes roll back some distance before moving forward.

• If considering overtaking on a road that has side turnings, be very cautious, as a vehicle in front can suddenly turn into a driveway across your path, or a vehicle can appear out of a side street in front of you. Conversely, if you are about to turn right into a street or driveway, do a check in the right hand mirror and make sure no-one is overtaking you.

• In multi-lane traffic, a driver moving slightly to one side of the lane and looking in their mirrors is often a sign they are about to change lanes. If you are behind the vehicle, slow down until you are sure you know what they are doing. If you are alongside the vehicle and you think the driver may not have seen you, give a short blip on the horn to warn them and accelerate if you are below the speed limit.

• Be sure you make cancelling your indicators an automatic action. If you leave them on, a driver waiting to pull out of a side street may assume you are turning into that street and pull out in front of you. A large number of crashes occur at intersections.

• Note advisory speeds for corners and adjust your own speed to be suitable. You can be travelling under the speed limit but still too fast for a corner. Reduce speed in wet weather.

• In traffic, try and look well ahead to see what the traffic is doing. If you are behind a large or high vehicle, try to change lanes to restore your sight line.

• Cars can stop more quickly than bikes, particularly in the wet, so leave plenty of room in front of you.

• Never assume the drivers around you know you are there.

• Regularly check your mirrors so you know what is behind you. When you stop in traffic, check that the vehicle behind you is stopping – if not, you need to get out of the way. Always have an escape route chosen, which means you should not stop too close to the vehicle in front, so you can get around them in an emergency.

• Never take a green light for granted – scan in all directions before proceeding. If starting off after stopping for a red light, check right then left to make sure traffic has stopped.

• When riding at night, use the headlights of vehicles in front of you to see what is ahead, and watch the tail lights – if they jump up and down you know there is rough road ahead.

• For smooth hill starts, pull the clutch lever in and engage first gear, then put your left foot on the ground. Put your right foot on the rear brake, increase engine revs slightly and ease the clutch out, feeling for the engagement point. As the clutch starts to bite, ease the rear brake off, increase the throttle opening and let the clutch fully engage.

There are a number of companies that offer rider training, including roadcraft, and you should seriously consider doing a course to improve your skills and make your riding experience more enjoyable. Even top level racers get coaching so they are continually improving their riding.

Download the Roadcraft fact sheet (473/2pages)

The assistance of the Motorcycle Council of NSW, the Motor Accidents Authority of NSW and Girls Ride Out is gratefully acknowledged.