The Skill and Art of Avoiding Accidents

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Article contributed by Sunil


Calling all people who have not had a crash in the last 5 years or so, of Active riding to share their experience here.

Contents

Motivation:

With the increasing number of discussions on this subject & the STRONG urge in myself to do something about this, as well as the recent Accident of my Brother have lead me to write this article.

Definition:

It's an undesirable incident that is unforeseen or unpredictable, something going wrong unexpectedly.

Note: It's not a planned event so you cannot deny its possibility.


Most Provable Cause:

  • Your Own
    • No proper concentration while riding, Sleep or Day Dreaming etc...
    • Miss Judgment of timing, Acceleration or others move's
    • Influence of Drugs (Medication or Mostly Otherwise)
    • Not in a mood to ride, Anger or Frustration from Pervious incidents in the Day
    • Loss of visibility due to
      • Lack of light @ night
      • Fog or Dust
      • Glare high Beam from on - coming traffic
      • Rain or Bad helmet Visor
    • Not following traffic Rules
      • Wrong side over taking
      • Double Over taking (One guy overtaking an other & you overtaking both)
    • Ego Problems, Challenged on Road, Provoked Rash Driving by others
    • Stunting on roads like
      • Dosa (Big bent turn / peg Scraping)
      • Lower Gear Jerky riding
      • Drags on Street Signal lights
  • Your Bike
    • Not Serviced & Hence Not in Shape
    • Modified & Optimized for Max Speed without proportional Safety measures Increase
    • Not enough grip on your tires / too thin & lean or worn out
    • Pushed Beyond its Designed Limits.
    • Not Good Control & Know-How of you & u r Bike as a Team.
  • All others On Road
    • Wrong Side riding
    • Turning without Signal (favorite of Auto's)
    • Cattle on road (Called Break Inspectors )
    • Cyclist coming across the road divider
    • Un painted or newly installed Road humps
    • Bad Roads (Don't feel like writing more on them)
    • Abrupt road divider starting without Signs or reflectors
    • Gravel, water, Oil or sand in turnings.

Precautions that can be taken:

  • Safety Gear for you
    • Full Mask Helmet with clear Visor. Protect you from Dust, Smoke, Cold & Crash
    • Riding Jacket with zipped pockets (not to lose any stuff they carry) & keeps your Shirt clean
    • Shoes for a more confident ride & guard your leg.
    • Use of hand Gloves, real good ones that can survive a crash not for the check of it, even if it takes a little getting used to & may look Alien
  • Safety Gear for your Bike
    • Crash Guard, they don't look good? Think again they look sensible
    • Frame sliders to save fairing or compliment the crash guard
    • Sari Guard if you plan on a lot of pillion riding
    • Tough & Strong rear view Mirrors, Can take the Impact, & Show you full rear view Ideally you should see some one behind in both the rear views simultaneously
    • Wider tires both front & rear as much as your frames & mud guard allow for
    • Nice horn (don't use much), But will help when need be
    • Bright Head light if you travel a lot @ Night on non lit roads.
    • Move to Disc breaks if you can afford it & your Bike can be fixed with one.
    • Tune your Bike like Chain tension, tier pressure, Clutch adjustments,

break settings to allow you to ride smoothly.

Tips & Tricks:

  • Listen to Soft Music @ low volumes if you are in the habit of listening to mp3 while you ride, Josh filled songs tend to provoke Speed.
  • Know & test your limits with your bikes in a safe & protected environment.
    • Know how fast it can brake,
    • How much can it lean without fall or skid?
    • What kind of road surface gives what response, w.r.t balance & center of gravity slip etc...?
    • How the Bike behaves in Rain & wet surfaces
    • What happens with a pillion on board.
  • Always expect the unexpected.
    • Will Cow on road move now? (Always look @ the legs not the face to judge)
    • Will this Parked Vehicle Come in to road now?, Tire Direction can be indicative. if its turned towards the road, in all probability it will come in
    • What if the Door of this parked Van Opens when I am there?
    • Is this Vehicle in front of me having working break lamps?
    • Can I see in front of the vehicle, in front of me to predict his moves
    • Will this Bus stop in the next bus stop.
    • What if someone breaks the signal when I am speeding through an empty Green?
  • Know your Road & traffic
    • Look for the type of vehicle & decide how to go about it
    • If the Vehicle is driven by a Newbie, or a Madam (no offense to any one Only my experience) Take extra care, Give extra margin
    • Expect School children or cyclist to cross the road in some places.
    • take extra care in accident prone zones, from your pervious experience.
  • Make your point clear.
    • Use Indicators.
    • Nod your head if you want some one to pass by don't keep him guessing
    • Use Headlight flasher when you want way, Give way if others use it
    • Use Low Beam @ night avoid's blinding others
    • Use Horn when you doubt if the guy in front of you, is aware of your move.
  • Do-NOT think twice, If in doubt don't do the move.
  • when ever the URGE to Race comes tell your self this:
    • These Roads are NOT meant for a race.
    • Nor is My Bike a Racing one.
    • I will get the other guy in the next signal even by smooth riding.
    • I will only gain 10 minutes Max in the City with signals (you can bench mark the numbers your self).
  • Most accidents happen Near the Start of your Journey or Near your Destinations That's when your mind is thinking of what I need to do Once I am @ the place where I am going OR
  • Just after a Village Limits or After a Traffic Jam, when you feel the Rush to Speed (PS: the Above two are from Discovery channel Accident research episode.)
  • When you Break Hard, Honk & Break So the guy behind you is alerted.
  • Always know who is behind you, Never follow a vehicle for long.
  • Eat or Drink on long drives every 75kms or so to be Active & Alert.
  • Do not Assume The Other Vehicle is in good Shape & will stop as fast as you can . Often People neglect maintenance (Chaltee ka Nam gaddi u see )

Immediate Treatment / First Aid

  • The Bike MUST HAVE a first Aid Kit with the following:
    • Savlon Small bottle to wash the wound (Antiseptic liquid to clean affected area),
    • Sufficient Cotton to wipe & stop blood(Sterlized surgical cotton. DO NOT use any cotton or cloth).
    • Band-Aid is not very useful, have Bandage & paper or cloth tape to

tie it.

  • First things to do in a Fall:
    • Move out of the road on to the side & avoid being run over.
    • Check for Injury of bone in all areas of Pain.
    • Swelling indicates Fracture of Bone.
    • Do not move any fractured Part. Keep them Still & try to support them.
    • All Bleeding parts must be Washed ONLY with Clean water (Drinking water)
    • Keep Bleeding parts Above heart level to reduce bleeding
    • Wash the wounds with Diluted savlon & put Banded & cotton on them to help clot.
  • Hospitalization.
    • If it's a Head Injury do not lose time, visiting local small hospitals.

Directly go to a Specilised Hospital (NIMHANS in Bangalore). If you don't know where to go in your city, it's a good time to find that out

    • Get to the nearest hospital (call 1062 in Bangalore) other Places Pls. Check the numbers in your city.
  • Inform Your Family
    • Let some one who can help you know what has happened & help you with the Hospital & stuff.
  • Golden Hour:
    • The First Hour of your Fall is the Golden Hour, If this is used well lot of nasty things can be avoided. Make full use of this Don't waste time in taking care of your Bike or Fighting with the other Guy.
  • File an FIR (First Information Report) with the cops After Medication, First Aid
  • Call up the Insurance Guy & do the needful.
  • Help the other Guy if he is Injured & if you can manage to do so.

Additionally getting training in CPR(Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) is also adviced. When in an accident th person may go into shock and lose conciousness. In this scenario the heart may sometimes stop. To get the person out of this CPR technic is used.

After Effects / Long Term

Why is it Important to avoid this:

  • Long & Painstaking recovery
  • Helpless feeling in the Hospital when doctors diagnose you
  • Permanent or Partial disability for the entire life.
  • Effect on the Near & Dear ones for your Actions
  • Loss of parts or the entire Bike it self.

May be you can Ride after a long break or may be you got to say Good-Bye for your Favorite Sport.

Bottom Line:

I want to Ride for a Long time to come, So I will do What ever it takes for it, Including Smooth & Careful riding.

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