Quote:
Originally Posted by Clearlynotstefan
While I generally agree with your post, I'd like to point out that those extra feet you've saved by coming in at 30mph are irrelevant if the car pulls out 2 seconds later. The physics of it is fabulous in an ideal world in which the old lady blows the intersection at the exact same time every day, but that's not the case. While obviously slow speed will account for greater reaction time relative to the distance of the obstacle, the distance between your bike and the obstacle is literally a game of chance. You could have sneezed before you put on your helmet, and had an extra 2 seconds to react lol. The point is I agree with the general theme of your post, but I feel including exact physics and figures promotes the illusion that there's a high degree of science in PREVENTING accidents. In my opinion, science kicks in DURING the emergency, when you realize you have half an intersection to figure something out. Assuming the car running the intersection is a random event, your just as likely to get t-boned at 30, as you are to get cut off at 50 lol
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Obviously, I've set up camp on the far side of the realm of reality from you lol, I was merely making the point that there's no magic number. We haven't (and couldn't) take into consideration the other peoples reaction to the situation, getting rear ended, the obstacle slamming on the brakes, or panicking and accelerating, etc.
The point is you can't predict what's going to happen on the road, not with physics, magic, or anything else, so keep your eyes open for the indicators of an impending situation, practice your emergency stops, and wear some damn good gear