The TT races have just finished on the Isle of Man and unfortunately there was a fatality during the last lap of the very last race. Usually the accidents occur not so much during the actual races but instead during the time when amateurs are trying out the course themselves. It is rather tempting to see what speeds you can reach when large sections of road are subject to no speed limit at all and the road in question is the actual race course. It is indeed every bikers dream.

Accidents do not solely occur due to speed; more often it is a lack of familiarity with the roads, and the side of the road upon which you are meant to be riding upon. There are signs placed everywhere which read "drive on the left" in numerous different languages. I know myself how easy it is to forget which side of the road you are meant to be on when you are used to driving in one country and then start driving elsewhere.

I drive a lot now in California as well as in the UK. (Cars, not bikes, I hasten to add.) I have to admit that I decided upon a two stage strategy when first driving in the USA. First, I just sat in the car as a passenger and paid detailed attention to specific routes. My theory was that I didn't want to have two different things to worry about at once; paying attention to driving on the "wrong" side of the road was sufficiently absorbing a proposition for my focus without having to work out a whole navigation system at the same tome. Thus by the time I began to drive I at least knew where I was meant to be going. Also, I had got used to the car being on "that" side of the road.

I now find that I can switch from driving on the right to the left and vice-versa with relative ease. There are two provisos - I am always aware that I as the car driver should be near to the central white line as opposed to the pavement (this is a great tip for anyone driving abroad), and I pay extra attention when driving off from halt signs, as I find this is the time when it is easy to fall back upon instinctive patterns of driving.

If you take steps to make the job of driving on the "wrong" side of the road easier for yourself you put yourself into a position of driving with more confidence. To have driving confidence is important as otherwise you will drive erratically or hesitantly and risk being the cause of accidents. It is important when first spending time in a new place to familiarize yourself with the road systems before driving. It's amazing how some things differ from one country to another.

One of the major differences between California and the UK is that in California everything runs on a very logical "grid' system; most roads run north-south or east-west and if a road is one way then the next road along will probably be one way in the other direction. If you miss a turn it's easy to work out how to get back on track. In the UK roads run in any which direction and they are anything but straight! The roads meander all over the place and they tend to be narrow, and there are a large number of roundabouts which serve to further confuse the issue.

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