Edition #5 -- Covering the Brake

RIDE SAFE

Info from Arlen

Over the past 30 years, I’ve seen plenty of motorcycle riders in the ER and the ICU with all types of injuries. This has sure helped me keep a focus on rider safety, and I’ll be sharing here each month some of what I’ve learned….and what I think. Ride safe, Douglas County HOG!

Edition #5.  Covering the brake

      Some riders “cover the brake” at certain times when on their motorcycles.  They ride with two or three fingers draped over the front brake lever, so they are poised to use that brake quickly when they need to slow or stop.  Is this helpful?  Can it help to avoid injury by shortening the total stopping distance of the motorcycle? 

 

      Total stopping distance is what counts; the faster you are riding down the road, the more distance it will take to come to a stop.  Total stopping distance is affected by three major factors:

1.     Perception.  This may be the most important factor.  Seeing and understanding what’s ahead or what is about to become a threat on the road is the first and the most crucial activity that affects the total stopping distance.  Recognizing what a car or truck driver may do that may endanger you requires paying attention, being aware, always looking ahead and discerning what potential dangers lie in front of you.  Poor distance vision will also lengthen perception time.

2.     Reaction.  This is the time it takes after you realize (“perceive”) that you need to slow or stop until you actually begin braking.  Of course, reaction time will differ based on several factors; younger riders can react faster than older riders, and impaired riders (sleepy and/or under the influence) will naturally be slower to react.

3.     Braking Distance.  This is the distance that you travel after the brake pads make contact with the rotor.

 

    If you are traveling 60 MPH, you are moving 88 feet per second.  If it takes just one second to perceive that a dangerous situation is approaching you, you have traveled 88 feet closer to that danger.  It is estimated that it takes a rider at least a quarter of a second to react and to move fingers from the hand grip up onto the brake lever and begin squeezing that lever to apply braking; that quarter-second means you’ve moved another 22 feet before braking.  For many, this would be closer to a half-second of time to react, so you’d be 44 feet closer to danger.

 

      The theory of shortening total braking distance by covering the brake lever would claim that the reaction time can be shortened, since that quarter-second required to move the fingers onto the brake lever would be saved.  So, the stopping distance might be decreased by a car length or two or three.  Yes, this could make the difference between hitting a car…..or not.

 

      Is this covering the brake practice a safe thing to do?  Well, there can be disadvantages.  If at a slow speed and it a turn, anything that startles or surprises the rider may cause a little pull on that brake lever; this can drop the motorcycle very quickly.  Also, if the brake lever is not adjusted properly, the (gloved) fingers still remaining on the throttle can get in the way of firm braking action.

 

      But, overall, I think it’s reasonable to cover the brake lever in several specific circumstances. 

 

Some examples:  I cover it as I approach an intersection (even though I have the green light); and I cover the lever if I see a car at a STOP sign about to enter the road I’m riding on, or if I see an oncoming car with his left turn signal on and wanting to turn across my lane.  There are other situations too;  it’s about anticipating and perceiving potential hazards ahead, and then being prepared.

That 10 or 20 or 30 feet that can be saved in total stopping distance just might be enough to keep my Road King and me from being injured.

 

 

Arlen Stauffer

MD, DCCC Member

 ’22 Road King Special Rider

 

 

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