4.5 SECONDS COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!
During our last Skills ride, we practiced stopping under two conditions: 1) normal stopping, and 2) quick stopping. Granted, our practice sessions were conducted at much slower speed than you would normally be experiencing out on the roads. However, the premise remains the same.
At a speed of 60 mph, it should take you just 4.5 seconds to bring your bike to a stop after you apply the brakes. 4.5 seconds is not a lot of time - but it could be the difference between living or not.
The fundamentals we practiced in our Skills Ride can be applied to the roads. You must master these in order to bring your bike to a stop as quickly as possible:
# You must remain alert! You can have the fastest reflexes in the world, but if you don't think you need to stop, you won't!
# Recognize the threat facing you! Once you recognize the threat and make the conscious decision to react to it, your reflexes will kick in and help make your stop a reality.
# Don't under-estimate the skill needed to bring you to a quick and safe stop! Your brakes are your key, not applying them enough is just as dangerous as over-applying them.
The effect of time on your stop.
At 60 MPH you travel 88 feet in 1 second! In that 1 second, you usually recognize the threat and start to brake. On a dry surface, the average person can slow down at a rate of 15 feet per second without losing control of the bike. A wet surface slows this down to 10 feet per second. At 60 mph, your total stop time, including the 1 second of recognizing the threat and starting the braking process, will be 6.9 seconds, or 346 feet! Increase that to 9.8 seconds and 475 feet on wet ground.
Practice your stopping skills and you could easily see your deceleration rate increase to 20 feet per second. That would result in a total stopping time of 5.4 seconds over a distance of 281 feet. The distance you shave off of the "normal" reaction and braking distance equates to roughly 4 car lengths!
Why do we practice these types of skills? Because we want to become better, safer riders and I want to see all of you on the next ride!
Until the next time, ride safe!