Al-otment said:
"If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through". General Melchett, Black Adder Goes Forth.
Ah!, the key to the success of the whole British Empire......
Never mind, it will all be over shortly.....September 8th could be the time to retire the Union Jack....I see some of us have already painted the cross of St George on our helmets in preparation...
I don't know about Baz or other UK riders, but I have read the Police Manual, and my experience of UK Police riders is that they are professional and in the main enthsiasts truly concerned with rider safety.....
I did some of the IAM training based on the manual. It was of course useful....but all this episode did was reinforce a few life saving basics I was already aware of, its not rocket science....or unique....these things are also taught to combat pilots, observation and situational awareness...and avoiding 'target fixation'.... simply, make sure you know what is going on all around you, to teh degree that you could recite what happened....including traffic, road conditions and anything else that may be a threat to safety, and ride accordingly....some of it is presented in a different way by Kieth Code in his race riding manuals etc.
The Police Manual throws in good practice like road positioning, which is great, and something I have been doing anyway since my teenage years...it came to me naturally...to extend my 'situational awareness'.....maybe some of us do need to be taught.....but it seems it is only UK riders who do it at all if my experience of riding in Europe and the US is anything to go by....
For all that the manual and the 'System' is not without quirks, for example, block down changing and not using engine braking, which really doesn't make much sense on a Commando, but probably worked financially for police forces with 1970s BMWs!
I rode in the manner required to pass the IAM test...for a while...my instructor was happy.....but my wife (pillion) asked me to stop riding like that because it bored her to tears!...I still have, as I always did, a keen interest in 'observation, situational awareness and road positioning' which are the basics of both self preservation and smooth and stress free riding'....but I had that before I spent time with the IAM...and like
everyone I have 'lapses of concentration', which I try to use positively....
Baz will appreciate that 'filtering' is a high risk activity, which we all do (in the UK!), but where it is very easy to have problems with someone in the queue doing something 'unexpected'....the only defence is to expect it! and read body language, it is amazing what you can predict from someone elses road positioning and techniques....and use of phones and involvment in other activities like arguing with a partner...
And of course there are national habits to take into account as well.....don't stay in an outside lane on German autobahns, that Porsche really is doing 250kph, expect the French to give you room to pass and do thank them by waving you right foot, but do expect Italians to block your overtake whether you are filtering or doing 130kph! Don't waste any gesture on them. But perhaps more relevant, I understand that in certain US states filtering can get you shot!
Baz was open and honest about his mistake, he probably just needed to get it off his chest....
Stop being self righteous and stop beating on him and we may have some sympathy when your own concentration lapses, but then, you probably won't tell us!
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