Overtaking - A quick guide
Points to note:
- Never follow overtaking vehicles if you are relying on their safe judgement, skills and ability
- Beware of large slow moving vehicles. There may be a Maruti 800 or an Auto Rickshaw in front of it that you cannot see!
- If you have a new bike, be very careful before you have got the hang of it totally
- Understand fully well before starting the overtake that the vehicle in front of you will not slow down, brake or turn right. If need be, honk a bit to let him know you are there. Bikes are often missed out on rear view mirrors.
- Plan ahead and allow yourself sufficient time to finish the process
- Most importantly, make sure you have enough reserve power in your bike to accelerate and overtake fast. Remember, parallel is lethal!
- Do not cut back into the lane of the vehicle you just overtook. Give it a little time (ideally till you can see it fully in the left rear view mirror) and then swerve to the left gently
Do not overtake if:
- You are in doubt, it is unsafe or not necessary
- Your view is obstructed (Blind bend or something)
- Other drivers might be unable to see you
- There is not enough room
- The road narrows up ahead, or there is a crossing
- There is a zebra crossing or heavy pedestrian movement
- 'No overtaking' sign exists
- There is dead ground or the brow of a hill/ top of a bridge
- There is a continuous white line that you have to cross to overtake!
Ride Safe
2 comments:
How I wish these could be inculcated in each and every motorist in Kolkata.
How I really really wish that everyone without exception, adhered to these safety norms.
How I wish bikers would stop at the white line, at traffic stops, and not wriggle their way onto the zebra crossings.
How I wish bikers, irrespective of their age and background, would show courtesy and fellow feelings towards other motorists, and refrain from indulging in displaying their misplaced rash riding skills on city roads.
Finally, I wish all motorists to be patient and accommodating, especially with their choice of language and verbal expressions and their horns, of course, at all times; moreso during the slippery and wet road conditions.
But if all my wishes were horses, I would have been a proud owner of a super bike with plenty of horsepower!
Cheers and safe biking to all.
Nice tips, but its not an exhaustive list! You need to add a lot more in it, especially in the Indian context (read autorickshaws, cyclists, pedestrians crossing, dogs, cows et all! :-D ) and more importantly the need to be a gear lower at a higher rpm with enough of the powerband left as a contingency measure, more so if on a highway! GOOD BEGINNING! Add on!!
cheers,
Max
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