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SAM Weekly Newsletter – 28th October 2022

Sheffield Advanced Motorcyclists - SAM Club's Green Lane Bimble

Editorial

Well they’ve done it at last. The ‘Smart Motorway’ refuges were built too short and too far apart. It still doesn’t answer the questions about spotting broken down vehicles and the safety of road users on the carriageways. Despite all this gloom there is some heartening news that motorcycle accident statistics have hit an all time low. Now we know that bikers are much more clued in than most road users. Bikers consistently out-perform drivers in passing the UK National Highway Code and Motorcycle Tests. A testament to both trainers and bikers. May it continue. 

Motorcycle gear is getting more sophisticated these days, but I have to scratch my head at the latest gadget, a heated visor. The aim is to prevent visor misting. Despatch riders use Mr Sheen furniture polish and carry a cloth to renew the film when the visor is wiped. Personally, my pillion and I use pinlock inserts that have worked a treat for years. 

Talking of helmets, everyone drops one at some time in a riding career, but does it really matter? If your lid is in good condition, then the Snake pass is open again. When the winter weather finally arrives and you are not able to ride, what do you do? Well, you can watch the latest ‘Motorcycle Folk Tales Documentary’, mull over the classic rides and decide which of the top 10 routes in Scotland you are going to ride when the weather changes again. However, Police Scotland are warning us to watch out for bike thieves, but they have plenty of sound advice. 

Whilst you are out riding, watch out for the latest, high tech, AI programmed road safety vans. The trials left the police ‘amazed’ at the scale of the unsafe driving problems amongst drivers and riders.

It’s very nice to know that biker representation to the UK government has just got a big boost. BikeSocial, with its 100,000 members, has joined the National Motorcycle Council (NMC). The NMC is the main portal to inform and influence the UK Government’s motorcycling policies.

An interesting question came up this week, what is the best configuration of motorcycle lighting. This is not simply an academic question as we all know about the SMIDSY problem on our roads. So, anything that can get drivers to notice the bike before they paint the tarmac with our body parts, the happier we will be. The discussion is interesting and the conclusions may surprise you. 

All the SAM members had a fine time at our FREE Autumn Breakfast. I certainly feasted well. You will be delighted to hear that the FREE Spring Breakfast is booked and we can all look forward to another great meet up. Happy reading.

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