What did I do wrong...?

RIP Headphone users…

Honestly, you could have kept a lot further back and in the centre of your lane rather than the left of it. Why even be on the left anyway? If there was another car in the lane left to you, you would have been caught out and probably a lot worse. A common thing I see amongst British drivers is they lack a simple thing called patience, bikers included so hang back, give yourself space cause there you aint got any and chill… Sadly I see you’re at fault here pal.

Honestly, you could have kept a lot further back and in the centre of your lane rather than the left of it. Why even be on the left anyway? If there was another car in the lane left to you, you would have been caught out and probably a lot worse. A common thing I see amongst British drivers is they lack a simple thing called patience, bikers included so hang back, give yourself space cause there you aint got any and chill... Sadly I see you're at fault here pal. JAX
Welcome to London buddy, time goes by faster here

jax, i wholeheartedly agree with the patience in theory. every day i sit on my bike on the way to work (oh wait… nvm) i intend on cruising my way in, comfortable and calm and intending to be patient and relaxed, unfortunately riding like that will have you cut off in under five minutes, someone will take the braking space you leave infront of yourself and think “OH SHIT I CAN GET TO WORK 0.000342 SECONDS FASTER” and squeeze their car into it, and all of a sudden you’re in the same situation.

Given his following distance, being on the left of the lane is probably why this didn’t end in an actual accident - at least he had an out. Not something to rely on though :joy:

Exactly my point - keep a safe following distance :grin:

I assume the constant up down motion of the video it’s you looking in your mirrors. I got in a very similar accident when I was one my 125 and after some assessment with my instructor he said that I used my mirrors way to damn often.

The most important observation is forward and looking in your mirrors every 4 secs takes away from that. Yes you need to be aware of whats around you and even more so in london. But you are not changing direction or lanes so IMO it could have been less.

Pls don’t confuse with ignore mirrors and stare forward, just not every 2 secs

without even watching the video, and without prejudice, i’d say throw him in jail and forget about him. guilty.  :D :D :D

@JAX - I was on the left as after the junction I was going to filter past. Around heavier traffic where I need to filter, I don’t tend to be in the centre that much, for various reasons really (you get stuck very easily if you’re in the centre, mopeds will hang out directly to the side of you, you can see better etc.) 

@kcoops - cheers - looking at it, I think I only check 3 times, left to check the car I pass, then left+right again. I was probably a bit slow to react to the braking of the car in front.

I appreciate everyone’s input - especially yours silveR6

@abzero I think you handled a tricky situation very well. Yes you should have given yourself more space or been in a different position. The trouble with postin stuff like this on a forum is that every Tom, Dick and Harry can comment after watching the video many times. (Not saying they aren’t correct) That is a luxury you will never have in real life.
A simple lack of experience caused a bit of an iffy situation.
As the old saying goes; “it’s not how you get in the shit, it’s how you get out of it, that defines you”

As an instructor I suggest mirror checks every 8-10 seconds. You check them about every 2 seconds and spend too much time not looking forward. You also weren’t two seconds back - only a fool breaks the two second rule. I don’t think that the Merc actually braked all that hard.

However, you have taken the opportunity to learn, so you can get better. Well done for thinking about how to improve

… I’m not sure why people see me checking my mirrors every 2 seconds? like I say, I can see 3 mirror checks (2 left, 1 right) - with a gap of about 7 seconds between the first left, then the pair left/right afterwards. I also check my speed once in that time. I do scan the road ahead so my head isn’t constantly in the same place. That being said, i’ve noticed on some roads I’m mirror checking more frequently than I need (not every 2 seconds; but still) and I sometimes double shoulder check which I need to stop doing. One of the reasons for the camera is this self inspection anyway.

The distance yes its a closer than the 2 secs (although london yadadada) and hanging back around junctions is great advice that I should take on board. I think the camera makes the actual distance seem further, so yes will keep that in mind.

The merc certainly seem to stop quickly to me, 35mph to 0pmh, in 1/1/2 lengths of the car no?

I think I bored my instructor a bit with my story of I might not best student they teach, but i’m consistently trying to get better. I do feel that any kind of near miss is a chance to improve; considering a different day, that would have a been an accident and could have been nasty if I was hit from behind for example.

One thing i’m interested in though is this - did anyone think the Merc was going stop as they watched the video? I get that it could have been thought of as a risk (i.e leave a bigger gap incase…) but did anyone think he’s gonna stop?

Something to bear in mind …
Always drive at a speed which will allow you to stop in the distance you can see to be clear .

And re expecting the merc to brake … expect anything to happen is best way .

I concur with Stuart Fordyce.

I think the single most important rule for every road user is to keep a very good braking distance.

yes i see what YOU did wrong…YOU did not Punch that guy in the face…

yes i see what YOU did wrong......YOU did not Punch that guy in the face.. BusterCBR
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