DRIVING DISTANCE BETWEEN MOTORCYCLES

Maintaining the safety distance between vehicles, and in our case between motorcycles, is of vital importance while driving, since on many occasions it is neither respected nor known.

So what is the correct safety distance?

Few know for sure, you just have to see how you drive in city traffic and on the highway. If they were really aware of the importance of keeping a correct safety distance, accidents would be reduced considerably. The causes of not respecting it are mainly due to ignorance of its consequences and the mistaken security of carrying a vehicle lighter than a car. It is clear that a motorcycle is lighter than a car and needs less meters to stop, but it is also more unstable. It is also common to follow another motorcycle closely when driving on the road. In that case, in addition to not having room for reaction, and because of losing sight of what is happening ahead, you will be victims of the error that precedes you, since if the one in front makes a mistake on the line, it is most likely that you follow him involuntarily. This common mistake is directly influenced by racing, it is a clear example that should not be imitated on the road. The races are held in closed circuits and the drivers are aware that they are very close, any small mistake is fatal.

Before evaluating any distance measurement, you must consider a very important fact that will give you the key, the reaction time for braking, and how to do it in an emergency braking. The reaction time is the time that elapses from the moment the driver in front of us applies the brake until you apply it yourself. You have to know that at 100 km / h about 28 m are traveled every second and at 120 km / h 33 m. A well-trained driver who is aware and alert that the previous driver may brake hard or maneuver evasively will be able to react within that second. On the contrary, the driver who is not trained and who is also distracted or poorly concentrated, will take around three seconds to apply the brake (at 120km / h - 99m). If you also do not brake forcefully, that is, apply the emergency braking technique, the accident will be inevitable. An emergency braking, if it is equipped with ABS, is carried out with the clutch and both brakes pressed at maximum force and power. If you do not have ABS, you will have to relieve the front lever when you notice that the blockage begins.

Therefore, assuming that we are going 120 km / h, we will have to leave at least 3 seconds of distance between the vehicles so that we can react with guarantees of overcoming the obstacle, whether it is a trained driver or not, since excess confidence can betray the most prepared. How to count these seconds? You have to look for a visual reference on the road or on the highway, when the vehicle that precedes us, whether it is a motorcycle or a car, passes through that reference, at that moment you have to count 3 seconds until we pass through the same reference. That will be the safety distance that you will have to carry at that speed. If you increase the speed, you will have to increase the seconds and if it decreases, decrease them to about two seconds. In these conditions we will be able to survive an accident if these conditions are met.

Another factor that must be taken into account is the stopping distance of a motorcycle. This is the one that is traveled from the moment it begins to brake until it stops completely. This distance is variable, since it will depend on the type of motorcycle and the tire that is used. The good condition of the tires and the correct pressures at all times is vitally important, because if this is not the case, and even if we brake correctly within the parameters explained, the braking distance will be considerably lengthened and you will inevitably not be able to avoid the accident. . It is also important to know how to choose the best tire for your motorcycle, for example, in the case of Continental, which has won the comparative test of the prestigious Motorrad magazine with the ContiRoadAttack 3, this tire presents the best performance in any of the cases.

Variables also intervene such as the temperature of the tire and that of the asphalt, therefore when the tires are cold or we are driving in winter, you will have to be more attentive than usual. A tire in poor condition in dry conditions increases the braking distance by a very high percentage, and if the floor is wet, better not to comment, because the fall will be inevitable. Therefore, if conditions change and the floor is wet, the safety distance must be increased in any case.

An interesting fact: if, for example, we drive at 120 km / h, the braking distance will be between 40 m, to which we must add in the best case, the 33 m reaction distance; total, 73 m until it stops.

We already have assessment tools so that we can implement a good safety distance. We recommend going to a specialized track so that we can make emergency braking in the dry and wet, in addition to the experience, that will give you a real idea of ​​what we are talking about.

vs Oct 2021