Looking around and being aware is obviously one of the big things in track safety, but perhaps more marked in terms of track cycling being different from road cycling is learning how to ride in a bunch of riders all on fixed gears with similar powers of acceleration and deceleration.
The concertina effect of a line of riders travelling at any speed is inevitable but IMO part of "track craft" is anticipating what other people ahead of you are doing; you can often tell when riding behind an experienced rider that they are effectively dampening down the concertina effect, making it a smoother ride for others on their wheel, whereas a less experienced / less fit rider may exacerbate the situation, often getting out of the saddle to accelerate, or pushing back on the pedals because they've anticipated a deceleration too late.
I think this is the sort of thing that comes with time in the saddle, rather than appealing purely to common sense.
[edit] It's not often I get to say this but I like to think of myself as a good concertina dampener. :)
Looking around and being aware is obviously one of the big things in track safety, but perhaps more marked in terms of track cycling being different from road cycling is learning how to ride in a bunch of riders all on fixed gears with similar powers of acceleration and deceleration.
The concertina effect of a line of riders travelling at any speed is inevitable but IMO part of "track craft" is anticipating what other people ahead of you are doing; you can often tell when riding behind an experienced rider that they are effectively dampening down the concertina effect, making it a smoother ride for others on their wheel, whereas a less experienced / less fit rider may exacerbate the situation, often getting out of the saddle to accelerate, or pushing back on the pedals because they've anticipated a deceleration too late.
I think this is the sort of thing that comes with time in the saddle, rather than appealing purely to common sense.
[edit] It's not often I get to say this but I like to think of myself as a good concertina dampener. :)