Here's a question that will create debate among motorbikers: what's the biggest hazard we face on the road? What task provides us with the toughest challenge?

We could all pick our favourite – the van that emerges from a side road in front of us on a busy city street, the car driver who gambles on a tight right-hand turn and doesn't spot the oncoming moped – but one that usually gets a sage nod of the head is this one:

Being forced to brake and swerve to avoid a hazard in the road while cornering on a tight bend.

Imagine the scene: we're riding around a tight left-hand bend when to our horror, there's a pile of debris in the road, smack on our line.

What's the best response? Stand on the brakes and hope we stop (and hope anyone who's travelling behind us can stop in time, too)? Swerve to go round and hope we stay in control? Or ride it out and pray for the best?

Here's an alarming quote for you: an expert motorcycle coach with experience of teaching 10,000 riders reckoned that when he trains riders what to do in such a scenario, "98% of riders cannot do the drill proficiently the first time, especially the left hander."

That's a worry, particularly when you consider that the most serious injuries for motorcyclists come when cornering in rural environments. The majority of those incidents are single vehicle too, meaning the crash is down to the rider's failure to deal with the unexpected hazard.

To help us get to grips with handling hazards when cornering, Australian rider trainer Mark McVeigh spoke to the Better Riding series to highlight the issue.

It's free to watch and is part of the Bennetts Insurance Better Riding series, a series of over 20 short tutorials on various aspects of safe riding.

You can watch the video below and hear Mark’s thoughts. We'd recommend it!

The Better Riding series is in association with Honda Motorcycles UK and MotorbikeCoach.com, and sits on the Bennetts Insurance website.

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/advice/biking-tips