The latest casualties show that people just seem to “lose control” of their cars - amazing isn’t it, normal people just driving along and suddenly have no control of their cars.
When are we going to look at one of the main causes - OIL. Nearly every car older that a few years old leaks oil, it rains a little and you have a recipe for disaster.
Oil and water DO NOT MIX. We can cut down dramatically on the road toll simply by doing a compulsory car / bike check once a year like most other states for brakes, steering & oil leaks. This must save lives!
Oil and water DO NOT MIX.
How many times have you been to a shopping centre car park and not seen an oil puddle in the parking spot?
How many times have you slid on your bike on a perfectly fine piece of road only to find you slid in some oil?
This happened to me the other day, no biggie as it was not raining. BUT if it was raining !!!!!!!!!!!
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As oil is normally dropped in the centre of the road from the engine area of cars it is the exact reason we must train ourselves to use the wheel track positions for better grip and visability.
Comment by Paul W — Jan 14 @ 6:37 amHaving had an off at low speed after finding a deisel spill in the rain many years back I am paranoid about these issues..
Good posting Mac Swift.
I somewhat doubt that small oil spills contribute to CARS losing control, though definitely a hazard for motorcyclists.
I suspect that low tire pressures contribute to a lot of car accidents - sudden loss of control while braking and /or cornering/swerving.
NZ has a safety check every 6 months (a Warrant of Fitness) but I don’t recall that it included checking for oil leaks.
Comment by Stevec — Jan 14 @ 7:37 amWell perfect weather for testing those riding skills in the rain..
A mate and I went for a quick ride yesterday morning out to Boonah for breakfast at Flavours Cafe..
On the way over to his place I had to go through some roadworks where the white painted centre lines had been blacked over …even at 40kph my bike with it recently new Michelin Anarkees(very sticky tyre any conditions) skipped sideways with both wheels on 2 seperate sections of this area..only had light drizzle there also.
The rest of our wet run had no problems with patches of heavy rain ,drizzle and sunshine at times..
We left at 0630 and were home at 0915 after doing a circuit through Kalbar ,Harrisville ,Peak crossing areas..
In the wet I watch for that rainbow effect oily sections leave on the road surface and ride in the wheeltracks of cars as to maximise the most grippy sections..
I avoid puddles as they sometime hide potholes and I always try to ride at 8/10ths of normal pace allowing for stopping distance , following distance and believe it or not I always look at where I am about to put my left foot down when stopping as an oily spot will cause a bike weight bearing boot to slide also…
Safe riding is possible and pleasurable in wet conditions and some of my most enjoyable rides have been so because of the adversity that makes Motorcycling so much more enjoyable than a boring car..
Comment by Paul W — Feb 1 @ 5:47 amI know how this feels, not long ago I was riding near Mudgy, and slowed down for a turn, and the whole turning lane was covered in oil in one strip, ended up low-siding the bike, was lucky I was only going about 10-15kph. glad I have a small screwdriver in my bag, had to ply the gear lever back into place. in this case though, wheel position wouldn’t have mattered so much, as it covered a whole strip of the road
Comment by pdean8 — Mar 14 @ 10:08 amAll great comments and highlight the fact that riding a motorcycle requires a whole heap of knowledge and skills that you don’t get through the standard licensing process. Worse yet, these skills are very contrived in the beginning. It takes ages before they become habits and uncontrived or automatic. I agree with Mac that all vehicles need to be maintained and that does not happen and therefore motorcyclists need to adopt whatever strategies to survive until this fact changes. Might explain why I am a sunshine biker………..
Comment by Curley — Mar 15 @ 9:57 am