Dear Mr Car Driver,
In the interest of saving lives I thought I would write you a polite letter on behalf of motorcyclists everywhere. I would like to ask you to ensure that you are aware that motorcyclists use the UK roads as well as car drivers.
In particular there are a few elements I would like to highlight, if we are on a dual carriageway then please remember that you will probably not hear my engine until I overtake you, especially if you have your radio on! Whether I have my headlights on or not, you will not see me unless you actually look for me. You may have crumple zones but I am not that fortunate.
If you overtake me, please try and remember that I only have two wheels and so can take twice as long to stop. If there is a gap between me and the next vehicle I have probably left it for a reason, please give me the benefit of a reasonable stopping distance.
If you are following me, then please make sure you give yourself a reasonable stopping distance. It has been known for motorcyclists to be hit in the chest by birds, if you haven't left me a stopping distance you could find me through your windscreen. Similarly were I to have a 'blow out' my bike would probably slide out from underneath me, if you haven't given me a reasonable stopping distance then I may well end up as a permanent fixture in your bodywork!
Whilst I realise that you may resent the fact that bikes can filter through traffic, please make sure that if you do decide to pull a U-turn and travel via a different route, you first check to see whether I am travelling down the queue. Were your car a little slimmer I am sure you would bypass the traffic as well.
I know the racer attitude hits us at all at times, but if you are sat at the traffic lights and I pull up next to you, please refrain from trying to race me off the line. The likelihood of you beating a biker is very small, but if you attempt to race me from a line you may instead take my life.
As you are no doubt all too painfully aware, we all pay our road tax, so please be aware of this when parking your car. In the interests of protecting your insurance premiums, it is highly recomended that before trying to occupy a space you check whether my bike is parked in it. In todays Britain there is CCTV anywhere and you may find yourself with a pretty large repair bill!
I would like to ask one last thing of you, for the benefit of all road users, please remember that no-one else knows what your are planning to do. If you are planning on doing something then please signal your intentions (it's what indicators were invented for after all!) If you are planning on changing lane then please let your indicator click twice before you actually move across, and make sure you check that I am not sat where you want to be. If you turn and then indicate then you might as well not indicate at all (although in that case it would be even better if you sold your car and used the bus instead!)
Using your indicators could both save my life and your bodywork, it may even save your driving license and no claims bonus!
I hope in the future we can both drive in a much safer Britain.
Many Thanks
Your Friendly Local Biker
In the interest of saving lives I thought I would write you a polite letter on behalf of motorcyclists everywhere. I would like to ask you to ensure that you are aware that motorcyclists use the UK roads as well as car drivers.
In particular there are a few elements I would like to highlight, if we are on a dual carriageway then please remember that you will probably not hear my engine until I overtake you, especially if you have your radio on! Whether I have my headlights on or not, you will not see me unless you actually look for me. You may have crumple zones but I am not that fortunate.
If you overtake me, please try and remember that I only have two wheels and so can take twice as long to stop. If there is a gap between me and the next vehicle I have probably left it for a reason, please give me the benefit of a reasonable stopping distance.
If you are following me, then please make sure you give yourself a reasonable stopping distance. It has been known for motorcyclists to be hit in the chest by birds, if you haven't left me a stopping distance you could find me through your windscreen. Similarly were I to have a 'blow out' my bike would probably slide out from underneath me, if you haven't given me a reasonable stopping distance then I may well end up as a permanent fixture in your bodywork!
Whilst I realise that you may resent the fact that bikes can filter through traffic, please make sure that if you do decide to pull a U-turn and travel via a different route, you first check to see whether I am travelling down the queue. Were your car a little slimmer I am sure you would bypass the traffic as well.
I know the racer attitude hits us at all at times, but if you are sat at the traffic lights and I pull up next to you, please refrain from trying to race me off the line. The likelihood of you beating a biker is very small, but if you attempt to race me from a line you may instead take my life.
As you are no doubt all too painfully aware, we all pay our road tax, so please be aware of this when parking your car. In the interests of protecting your insurance premiums, it is highly recomended that before trying to occupy a space you check whether my bike is parked in it. In todays Britain there is CCTV anywhere and you may find yourself with a pretty large repair bill!
I would like to ask one last thing of you, for the benefit of all road users, please remember that no-one else knows what your are planning to do. If you are planning on doing something then please signal your intentions (it's what indicators were invented for after all!) If you are planning on changing lane then please let your indicator click twice before you actually move across, and make sure you check that I am not sat where you want to be. If you turn and then indicate then you might as well not indicate at all (although in that case it would be even better if you sold your car and used the bus instead!)
Using your indicators could both save my life and your bodywork, it may even save your driving license and no claims bonus!
I hope in the future we can both drive in a much safer Britain.
Many Thanks
Your Friendly Local Biker
