The last thing any biker wants to hear is that awful phrase:  “Sorry mate, I didn’t see you”.  ‘SMIDSY’ crashes happen despite the bike and rider being in clear view.

So how to avoid it?  Some steps are obvious: for starters, give yourself room to stop before that ‘it’s OK, I’m going through’ decision.

You and your bike are easily ‘lost’ in the visual clutter on an urban street, behind one of the ever-thickening A-pillars of modern cars, or even a lamp post.  Don’t rely on you headlight, fluorescent jacket or whatever to guarantee you get seen.

So look for stationary wheels, indicators and the direction of the wheels, - all good clues as to which way a vehicle is about to emerge from a junction.  Look for faces and eye contact with the driver.  You get a creepy feeling sometimes that you haven’t been seen – trust it; it can be a life-saver!

Ride where car drivers look.  They are looking for other car drivers, so don’t hug the kerb.  Sit right out in the lane, at the angle they are going to look.  Try to think about things from a card driver’s viewpoint, and then put yourself where it’s impossible for him to miss seeing you.

Don’t let your vision drop down, and don’t seem less confident even if you feel it.  Drivers are more likely to claim ‘your’ space if you do that.  A Driver is more likely to think there is time to nip out ahead on an approaching bike if it is timidly ridden close to the kerb.

Wet conditions can also make stopping more interesting, so approach the junction in the same position, be aware you need more room or less speed to deal with a driver pulling out.  A lot of this is about ‘having a presence’.

Car drivers also struggle with vision when their side windows are wet.  It’s the nearest most of them will ever get to looking through a wet visor!

So approaching junctions, you want signs that the car, van or lorry has seen you and is staying put.  If you don’t get them, start planning for the emerging blockage.  Or brace yourself for that well-known phrase “Sorry mate…… “

Peter Rodger, Chief Examiner of the IAM

Other links are:                                    http://www.smidsy.org.uk/

                                                          http://smidsy.co.uk/