Yesterday, having a bit of a ride out, I stopped off at the Park and Ride carpark near Winchester to practice some slow speed riding and, when I'd finished, I decided to try something I'd always meant to give a go...
There's a long straight section with a line across it, so I ran the bike up to 30mph and as I crossed the line, did an emergency stop, then got off and measured it. I also did the same at 40mph.
Unsurprisingly, although the Highway Code says that on a dry road in good conditions it takes 23m to stop at 30mph and 36m at 40mph, I found that my stopping distances were (including allowing distance for my reaction time of 0.24 seconds) actually 18m and 25m respectively.
Now, ok, I know that those the HC figures were based on a 1960's car with 1960's brakes and tyres on a 1960's road surface and I know that they're unlikely to change them because they'd prefer people to err on the side of caution (and not everyone has good reactions) but at least I know now what my stopping distances actually look like at those speeds and it gives me a better idea of how much space I allow to enable me to "stop in the distance I can see clear on my side of the road".
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