lifesavers

[shooter]

hello

did my cbt last week. i'd heard the term lifesaver before, i always assumed it was pretty much the same as checking your blind spot in a car, i.e. you're looking over your shoulder and just slightly behind you, so you would see a car thats to the side and just off your back wheel.

the instructor though told me you have to look right along the road behind you. obviously you can't turn your head that much on its own, so i was having to turn my whole upper body to look behind me, and doing this made me feel like i wasn't safe as i was unbalanced and had to take my eyes of the road in front for longer than i was comfortable with.

what are your opinions? how far behind do you have to look?

also, is there any difference between a lifesaver and a shoulder check? do they mean the same thing or is a lifesaver the more extreme version of the shoulder check?

thanks

[pinkyfloyd]

[supZ]

[Rogerborg]

I'd charitably assume that your instructor was only talking about checking right behind you when you are stationary, before pulling away.

If a moving lifesaver required looking right behind you, then none of us would have passed our tests.

Do try to practice shoulder checks whenever possible though. Bike, car, supermarket, get your awareness up. Also remember to check the inside when pulling away from lights and junctions, to catch cyclopaths chancing their luck.

[shooter]

thanks for all the replies!

he actually told me i should look at least 100 metres down the road behind me

needless to say i failed my CBT first time and it almost put me off biking for life, but glady i re-took the course today with a really good instructor and passed

[Vman]

When I did my CBT, the only time my instructor told me to perform that style of check was before doing a u-turn.

[Glenben92]

chin to shoulder. any more and you are, as you said, jeopardising control of the bike. as your body twists your arms wanna twist, which turns the bar. Can get away with a bigger turn while stationary but still not adviseable and certainly not required. chin to shoulder will be fine. your CBT instructor should have went through a procedure showing you exactly where and how big your blind spot is (its surprisingly large)
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57 Huoniao HN125-8 - , 97 Kawasaki GPZ500S -
99 Yamaha FZS 600 -
Mod 2 Passed - 01/10/2010

[lihp]

Another good way to remember is that if you have to turn your body, you're looking too far.

[Darth]

My tuppence worth as i dont think anyone has written anything which 100% matches what i was taught.

Lifesaver - Basically checking your blindspot. Should be performed as the final action before changing lanes, turning into junctions. Both sides if pulling off from lights etc.

Shoulder checks - quick look to both sides if pulling away from lights etc.

Now I was also taught to always perform a rear observation before pulling off from a stationery position (i.e - when first pulling away, form side of the road etc) This was a completely different move and involved twisting around as far as necessary to look down the road behind you. If all was clear then you could look forward again and pull off.

Not saying that is correct but is what i was taught and passed my test with a few years back.
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Harold_Shand wrote: I suppose it's like anything, you get your fingers burned when you start out, you learn from it and eventually become a complete arsehole about the whole thing.

[SweenyT]

I agree with all of the above.

I would only look that far (100m) behind when stationary at the side of a road anything more than a chin-shoulder check (lifesaver) whilst riding will de-stabilise the bike and be potentially quite dangerous. Also it takes longer to do a shoulder check than a lifesaver which means less time to react to situations occurring in front of you.

Just my twopenny's worth
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Current ride - 2005 Suzuki GSX-R600 K4 - 2x 2014 Honda NC750s long term courtesy bikes - 2003 Fazer FZ6 written off as idiot reversed into me - 2009 YBR125 - still have from new

[GSTEEL32]

Lifesavers and shoulder checks arn't the same thing...

Lifesavers are executed in a stationary position when you are about to cross the path of any road traffic. Therefore this is done when attempting a u-turn, or pulling across oncoming traffic when turning right into a junction (but only from a stationary position). You look down the road behind you, and as you've mentioned, the angle of your handlebars may change but your doing it from a stationary position, so it makes no odds. What your doing is making sure no cars or bikes pull around your right hand side and take you out when you set off. Your not looking to check anything on your left hand side.

Shoulder checks are exactly what they say. Its a chin to shoulder movement checking an area of the road which you are moving into. So, change lane.. shoulder check...... pulling off into a left or right junction on the move .... shoulder check....... coming off a roundabout... should check.....

Everything else is a mirror check..... speeding up or slowing down... mirrors..... observing traffic following you... mirrors.... general observations... mirrors... finding space to change lane... mirrors

[Darth]

[blurredman]

As I understand it, lifesavers are when you are on the move and are looking at the general direction of your shoulder.

Shoulder checks, are when you are stationary, and for those. You look further than you would a lifesaver.
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CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.