SAS Urban Survival Handbook (80 page)

10
Contact your insurance company within 24 hours and ask for accident report and claim forms. Supply them with full, accurate details and a written estimate of repair costs from a garage, any letters or bills from the other driver(s), plus any police ′Notice of Intended Prosecution’.

REMEMBER

People may be expecting you to arrive. Telephone ahead to say that you are going to be late.

MOTORBIKES

Why does mother despair when Johnny gets his first motorbike? Because a motorcyclist is eight times more likely to crash than a car driver. Why does Johnny want

a motorbike? Because it combines the speed of a car with the freedom of a bike—and enhances his ‘image’. These also being the reasons for the worrying statistics.

The commonest cause of motorbike accidents is a driver failing to see a rider at a junction, and injuries are often far more serious than they need to be because of insufficient body protection. The manoeuvrability of a motorbike encourages recklessness, especially in experienced, (over) confident riders. Keeping out of danger on a ‘mean machine’ entails being VISIBLE, being PROTECTED and riding SAFELY.

Visibility

ALWAYS
keep your headlight on, even in daylight. Remember that the lamp—especially on machines under 250 cc—may NOT be powerful enough to make you visible on its own.
ALWAYS
wear something bright coloured or fluorescent, especially at night and in poor weather.
ALWAYS
flash your headlight before overtaking and be aware of the driver’s blind spot.
NEVER
overtake on the inside.

Protection

ALWAYS
wear a safety helmet (required by law in Britain) and replace it if the finish becomes crazed or cracked or once it’s saved you in a fall. It may look undamaged, but DON′T trust it.
ALWAYS
wear goggles or a visor to protect your eyes—against grit, wind and insects, as well as injury.

ALWAYS
cover your body when riding, since even a minor fall easily results in nasty cuts and grazes. Leathers with reinforced knee and elbow patches give the best protection against abrasions (looks ‘cool’ too). Add a one-piece storm suit for cold or wet weather.
NEVER
leave off the gloves—your hands are very vulnerable.
NEVER
ride in any footwear other than sturdy boots with thick soles.

Safety

ALWAYS
be aware of the vehicle in front. In dry weather, the safe braking distance is 1m (about 3 ft) for every 1.5 kph (about 1 mph). Try this test using a road marker. It takes two seconds to say ‘only a fool forgets the two-second rule’ (test yourself with a watch to get the timing right). If you can fit it in between the car in front and yourself passing the marker, you’re at a safe distance behind. Pull back a little, to be sure. Remember to DOUBLE the braking distance on wet roads.

• ◑ Pull more firmly on the front than the rear brake when riding upright on a dry road.
  
• ◑ Use even pressure on both brakes on wet roads.
  
• ◑ DON’T use the front brake when you’re leaning, turning or riding on a surface with loose grit.
  
• ◑ DON′T line up or form a pack when you’re riding with others. Make a ‘V’ formation for maximum visibility.
  

CYCLING

Cyclists in the city are vulnerable—roughly 90 per cent of accidents involving bicycles occur in built-up areas. Around a third of these casualties are

teenagers. Since no licence is needed to ride a bike, many cyclists lack proficiency or disobey (or are ignorant of) road signs and markings. But bikes ARE traffic and should no more ignore a red light, for instance, than should a car.

As with motorbikes, many accidents happen due to the cyclist not being seen, and—as with motorbikes—visibility, in conjunction with adequate body protection, good road sense and proficiency, makes cycling safer.

Visibility

ALWAYS
use front and rear lamps at night. In Britain, lamps and rear reflectors are required by law. A bike must not be sold without rear, front, pedal and wheel reflectors. Wear something made of retro-reflective material at night. Arm and ankle bands or Sam Browne belts are lightweight and effective. Wear bright clothing in the day and/or a reflective belt.

Protection

Wear a lightweight cycle helmet and consider using a filter mask to protect against exhaust fumes. It may not look ‘cool’, but surely everyone understands these days about the dangers of cycling (and breathing hard) on a regular basis in heavy traffic. Your long-term health is at risk. Investigate masks thoroughly. Some offer no real protection at all.

Safety

ALWAYS
slow down as you approach a junction and keep a sharp eye out for cars turning out or crossing your path unexpectedly.
ALWAYS
use the correct arm signals.

DON’T
hug the kerb—you need room to pull in if a car scrapes by.
DON’T
pass too close to parked cars—a door might open.
DON’T
help give cyclists a bad name. Drivers tend to think of bicycles as the mosquitoes of the road, so make sure YOU signal clearly, don’t wobble and don’t crawl along in the middle of the lane.

CYCLISTS′ SURVIVAL KIT

Though you’ll want to keep down the weight you carry, it’s advisable to take the following on EVERY trip:

• ■
  Puncture repair kit
  
• ■
  Pump
  
• ■
  Spare valve
  
• ■
  Adjustable or barbell spanner
  
• ■
  Screwdriver
  

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The generally more-or-less efficient, more-or-less up-to-date networks of buses, railways, underground trains, coaches and—in some countries—trams and boats, are the principal means of transport for millions of city dwellers, and many thousands rely on them entirely for mobility. Most of us assume we’ll be safe on public transport, but sadly this is no longer necessarily the case.

Muggers and bag snatchers, pickpockets and rapists DO operate on public transport, and fire, crashes and breakdowns are ever-present threats. Wherever you’re heading, and especially if you’re going into unfamiliar territory, research the route beforehand. Not only will you find your way more quickly, you’ll avoid appearing lost and vulnerable by stopping to peer at maps and signs.

In many cities, you can ring a 24-hour information service for help with the route and an information line for details of how the services are running.

REMEMBER

If you possibly can, tell someone WHERE you’re going and HOW and WHEN you intend to get there. That way, you’ll have raised the alarm in advance should something happen to you.

Underground train

London’s tube—along with other cities’ underground train networks—is not getting safer. Trains, escalators and lifts are deteriorating faster than the modernization programme can cope with. An ever-increasing volume of passengers puts extra stress on an already-overloaded system.

BE SAFE – NOT SORRY

Avoiding danger every time you travel underground is largely a matter of common sense. If you’re travelling late at night, get in a compartment with other people – or preferably find another means of transport. If a rowdy or drunken group of ‘hooligans’ gets on, avoid eye-to-eye contact until the next station, then change compartments.

Especially if you’re a woman, don’t be shy of allying yourself with a fellow, trustworthy passenger if there’s somebody frightening in the carriage – chatting will normalise the situation and reduce your sense of fear. Also, two people are less likely to attract an attacker than a lone passenger.

Follow the New Yorker’s example and always read (or pretend!) on the tube so you avoid eye contact that could be interpreted as provocative. DON′T get deeply involved in what you’re reading, though. Keep alert and concentrate on what’s happening around you.

Keep valuables in a secure inside pocket or in a zipped compartment on the inside of your bag to foil pickpockets – especially during rush hours and at stations in the city.

In general, make yourself inconspicuous and remain aware of your situation. To prepare for the worst (and you MUST), see SELF-DEFENCE for advice on avoiding danger and dealing with attack.

The terrible and tragic fire at King’s Cross in 1987 provided proof—if proof were needed—that disaster can strike even in the most mundane of situations. Since that catastrophe, of course, smoking has been banned on most public transport, in London at least. This has gone some way towards reducing the risk of fire.

Recorded sex crimes on the tubes (from ‘flashing’ to rape), on the other hand, increased by 40 per cent in 1989, and the incidence and seriousness of random violence is on the increase. Controversy surrounded the London debut of the Guardian Angels—New Yorker Curtis Sliwa’s voluntary, uniformed crime-fighting organization—since some people felt, at first, that the Angels were more likely to incite violence than avert it (see SELF-DEFENCE: Guardian Angels). The signs are, however, that London’s tube network is beginning to catch up with New York’s beleaguered subway system—and EVERY passenger should be alert to danger.

Bus/coach

Apply the same degree of common sense to bus, coach and tram journeys, especially at night. If you’re a woman on your own, sit near to the driver or ask the conductor to keep an eye out, and take care at bus stops in deserted or ill-lit streets.

Again, research the journey—look at a street map of the route you’re taking so you always have a rough idea of where you are. Make sure you’re familiar with the area around your destination (see SELF-DEFENCE).

Train

Again, common sense should keep you out of trouble on a train journey—many of the same rules apply. The ‘it is dangerous to lean out’ signs are NOT a joke. Trains may pass each other a few centimetres apart and poles, signs and other obstacles are often close to the tracks. You can imagine the consequences and, yes, people have been beheaded! Also, if the train jolts, you could be thrown out.
NEVER
try to close an open door on a moving train—move away from it and call the guard instead.

Although there is (statistically) far less chance of your being involved in a train crash than in a car accident, it’s a common fear—possibly because you have no control over what happens. If the train you’re on crashes:

• ◑ You won’t have much time to think, but if you feel the emergency brakes come on, throw yourself onto the floor (clear of windows and doors), brace yourself against something fixed and pull your chin down to your chest to protect against whiplash. You MUST be supported when the impact comes.
  
• ◑ NEVER try to throw yourself out of a moving train—your body would receive the full impact, instead of being partially protected by the carriage. There might be live tracks or pools of battery acid to fall into.