Me> The understanding and ability to swerve was essentially absent among
Me> the accident-involved riders in the Hurt study.

Mike> I would agree entirely with these three paragraphs. But did the Hurt
Mike> study make any distinction between an *ability* to swerve and a *failure*
Mike> to swerve?

Yes, it was specifically the *ability* or understanding of the
technique which was absent.  We have made a lot of progress between
rider education and responsibility over the last ten-twenty years...
but I am still amazed anytime I teach an ERC how many people of many
year riding experience "discover" countersteering for cornering or
swerving.

Mike> everything else. Hard braking and swerving tend to be mutually exclusive
Mike> manouvres - did Hurt draw any conclusions on which one is generally
Mike> preferable?

The specific recommandation cited in the Hurt study was that a formal
"street strategy", like SIPDE for example, was the most important
component of any rider education curriculum.  The specific skills of
emergency braking, cornering and swerving must be taught and practiced
as well, but more significant was that 35% of rider did NOTHING
confronted with a potential accident, and another third collided or
fell over as a result of rider error.  The choice of specific maneuver
is much less significant to the outcome than early detection and
the proper execution of ANY effective countermeasure.