THE Institute of Advanced Motorists has issued a reminder of the dangers of bends and has released advice on how to negotiate them safely.

Taking notice of roadside clues, traffic and perspective are the three key elements in judging the right speed for bends, the IAM’s experts reckon.

An IAM spokesman said: ‘There are a number of clues we can take from the environment to help us. The most obvious are the road signs and markings, but there are other less obvious ones – the line of the trees, hedges, buildings, street lights or telegraph poles, although remember that sometimes telegraph poles run through fields, so don’t follow them.’

Watching the position and speed of other traffic can indicate the severity of the bend but key to choosing the right speed is a technique called ‘limit point analysis’.

The spokesman said: ‘The limit point is the furthest point which you can see – where the left and right-hand sides of the road meet.

‘To use this technique simply ask yourself whether that point is getting further away? If it is and you can see further ahead, then your speed should be fine. On the other hand, if it is getting closer then you could continue to reduce speed until the ‘limit point’ begins to move with you and your view opens up again.’