11-08-12, 06:49 PM
(11-08-12, 04:38 PM)Jacko link Wrote: Yes, be nice to hear what the Iam's view on it is.
A quick precis from the IAM's "How To Be A Better Rider" book (BTW although, when I first got this book I thought "this is just stating the bleedin' obvious", however the point is that it puts all the information together in one place)
Quote:There are three key points to bear in mind:
* The speed of the traffic through which you'll filter.
* The speed differential between your machine and the traffic around you.
* The amount of space available to you.
Filtering in traffic flowing at speeds above 15-20mph should be avoided as vehicles at this speed can change direction with little or no warning. Also the speed differential shouldn't be more than 10-15mph above that of the slower moving traffic to allow you sufficient time to react to hazards . [I was taught this as the "20 delta 15" rule]
It also advises to scan both the near and middle-distance so you can keep an eye on what traffic close to you is doing, but also get advance warning of what may happen ahead, eg traffic lights changing, people indicating to turn right which will stop traffic ahead of you, pedestrians who may step out without looking.
You should also plan your filtering as a set of "stepping stones", ie there's a gap in front of the car in front of the one I'm now behind, so I'll move up to that and then look to go to the next gap, but if something changes, I won't find myself stuck in a bad position next to a car.
Another piece of advice is to always have an escape route planned, ie look to see that you can stop, evade or accelerate if something unexpectedly changes such as a driver making a move without checking their mirrors, someone stepping out from behind a high-sided vehicle, a car stopping and leaving a gap to let someone out of a side road etc.
If you don't filter when doing your Test and there's no reason not to then you could get marked down for not Making Progress, but, by the same token, filtering recklessly and causing someone else to have to adjust their speed or direction is also grounds for a fail, so you need to think carefully about what you're doing.