Learn how to be safe out there.
By Wes Siler, RideApart
Riding a motorcycle is
dangerous. Luckily, bikes also give you the best possible tools to avoid
crashing—incredibly powerful brakes, obstruction-free vision, excellent
handling, and very grippy tires. Here’s how to use those tools, and
your very own brain, to avoid one of these common motorcycle accidents.
Motorcycle Safety:
Want to reduce your odds of dying in a crash? Get educated. New riders should complete a basic rider course from the MSF or similar while advanced tuition is available at race tracks. It can be cheaper than you fear.
Safety gear
doesn’t just help prevent injury in a crash, it can also make riding
more comfortable, put you in better control of your bike, and help you
be seen by other drivers. Bright colors on your helmet and jacket/suit
will help car drivers see you, potentially avoiding some of the common
accidents detailed below.
1: A Car Turns Left In Front Of You
The
most common motorcycle accident. A car fails to see you or judges your
speed incorrectly, turning in front of you at an intersection. Blame
inattention, distraction, blind spots and even psychology; a driver
looking for cars perceives merely an absence of cars, not the presence
of a motorcycle.
How To Avoid It: Simple, you
just need to see it coming. Part of your job as a motorcyclist is to
develop a precognitive sixth sense. Look for signs that could indicate
someone may turn in front of you: a car is at an intersection waiting to
turn, there’s a gap in traffic near an intersection, driveway or
parking lot. In either situation, slow down, cover your brakes and get
ready to take evasive action. Yes, you do need to take something as
innocuous as a car waiting in a turn lane as a major and immediate
threat to your life. You also need to account for objects outside of
your vision. Gaps in traffic indicate the possibility of someone coming
through that gap, even if you can’t see them. Again, MAJOR THREAT,
PREPARE FOR EVASIVE ACTION.
And once you’ve identified said
threat, you can work it through levels of severity. Is the driver
clearly able to see you, without obstruction from their window pillars,
trees or signs? Is that person actually looking? Are they looking at
you? How are they situated in the road? What is their speed? Where are
their wheels pointing?
Look at their wheels, not the car – they’ll
give you the first clue of movement. During all this, also be aware of
what’s behind and to your side. Should you need to take evasive action,
you’ll need to know your routes of escape. It’s no good braking in time
to avoid a turning car, only to be swatted from behind by a tailgating
SUV. What’s the road surface like? Is it going to be able to handle the
full force of your brakes or are you going to lock them? You do know how
to use the full ability of your brakes, right?
Under no
circumstances should you “lay the bike down.” Your best chance of
survival comes from shedding as much speed as possible pre-collision,
and you’re going to be able to do that best with the bike completely
upright, using both brakes. Even if you only have time to lose 10 or 20
mph, that could be the difference between going home with bruises and
going home at all.
2: You Hit Gravel In A Blind Corner
You’re
out riding the twisties when, seemingly without warning, you round a
corner to find a patch of sand/gravel/leaves/horse dung/whatever in your
path. You put your front tire in it and wipe out.
How To Avoid It:
Don’t hit it in the first place. Ride at a pace where your reaction
time and ability to take action fit within your range of vision. On the
road, “Slow In, Fast Out” is an effective rule of thumb. Enter a corner
wide, to increase your vision and at an easy pace. You can pick up the
speed on the way out, once you can see.
Trail braking is a
slightly more advanced skill that you’ll need to learn and practice on a
track before applying on the road. Using it, you brake all the way to
the apex using the front brake before swapping brake for throttle. Since
you’re already on the brakes and the bike’s weight is distributed
forward, compressing the front suspension and increasing the size of the
front tire’s contact patch, you can easily tighten your line by
applying a little more brake or widen it by letting off. Doing so should
help you avoid obstacles such as gravel.
Another advanced skill,
which is oddly controversial in rule-loving America, but which is taught
by advanced police riders abroad, is to maximize vision by using the
full width of the road, regardless of lanes. Vision equals safety equals
speed. Again, learn this from a trained professional before trying it
yourself.
3: You Entered A Corner Too Fast
And now it’s unexpectedly tightening and you’re just not going to make it around. Oh no.
How To Avoid It:
Don’t be a dummy. Only ride as fast as you can see and use visual clues
like telephone poles and signs to judge a road’s direction, even if
that road is disappearing over a blind crest.
If you do find
yourself going too fast in a corner, the best approach is to trust the
bike and try to ride it out. The bike is likely more capable than you
are, so it’s really you that’s not capable of making it around. Take as
much lean out of the bike as possible by hanging off, look where you
want to go and be as smooth as possible on the controls. Do not whack on
the brakes, chop the throttle or do anything else that may upset the
bike and cause a loss of traction. Don’t panic if a peg or knee or
something else touches down, just try to hold that lean angle, look for
the corner exit and ride it out.
This is another situation in
which trail braking can be a real help, allowing you to safely shed
speed while already in the corner.
4: A Car Changes Lane Into You
You’re
riding in traffic when a car in another lane suddenly veers into the
space you’re occupying. Remember, our tiny motorcycles can easily fit
into blind spots and drivers looking for cars aren’t psychologically
programmed to see motorcycles.
How To Avoid It:
Be aware of where blind spots lie and spend as little time in them as
possible. If you can see a driver's eyes in their mirrors, then they
have the ability to see you, too (But remember that still doesn't always mean they're looking – Ed.).
Beware
of situations where lane changes become more possible. Is highway
traffic slowing, with one lane moving faster than others? People are
going to want to be in that lane. Don’t be where they want to be.
Look
for signs of a car changing lanes: turn signals, wheels turning, the
car wandering around its own lane while the driver checks his/her
mirrors and, of course, the driver’s head moving. Be aware of all that,
in all the cars around you, at all times, and you’ll be good.
5: A Car Hits You From Behind
You
come to a halt a stop sign/crosswalk/intersection/to avoid a family of
baby ducks when the driver behind you doesn’t see you or isn’t trying to
and plows into you at high speed. The most common car accident is a
“fender bender.” A fender bender can kill a motorcyclist.
How To Avoid It:
Use cars as your very own crumple zone. A single car stopped at a
multi-lane stoplight, with more cars coming from behind? Pull in front
of it (wave nicely) and you’re cushioned from any subsequent impacts.
Between a line of cars works just as well.
No free crumple zones
available? Stop to the side rather than the center of a lane, rapidly
flash your brake light by tapping a brake lever, keep the bike in gear
and your right hand on the throttle. Pay attention to what’s coming up
behind you and be prepared to scoot away should it appear someone’s
about to come plowing into you.
Be particularly aware in
situations where there’s bad visibility, at times when drunk driving is
prevalent (do all the bars around you let out at 01:00?) and when stops
are unexpected, such as at pedestrian crosswalks on very busy streets
and stuff like those cute baby ducks crossing the road.
6: Your Riding Buddies Are Idiots
You’ve
seen it happen. A group is out for a ride when one of them stops
suddenly or something similar. His buddy is too busy daydreaming to
realize and hits him from behind. This has happened to us; it can happen
to anyone.
How To Avoid It: Make sure everyone
is aware of proper group riding etiquette and knows to ride in a
staggered formation. You’d be amazed how many people are unaware of this
simple technique. Doing so increases vision and moves bikes out of line
with each other, meaning a temporary lapse in attention won't result in
a collision. Pick smarter riding buddies or do what I do: ride alone.
7: You Locked The Front Brake
Oh
no, a deer/cute girl/cop/stopped traffic. You grab a fistful of front
brake and, next thing you know, you’re lying on the ground, watching
your bike cartwheel down the street.
How To Avoid It:
Learn to use your front brake. It might seem counterintuitive, but that
front brake is the most powerful and difficult-to-master component on
your motorcycle; it can alter your speed much more quickly than your
engine.
If you’re just learning to ride, have simply never
mastered this skill or bought a new bike and need to learn it, find a
big, empty parking lot and start practicing. From a set speed (say, 30
mph), start braking at a certain mark, then repeat ad infinitum until
you’ve reduced your braking distance as much as possible. You should be
able to feel the tire on the very edge of locking up and the rear wheel
lifting off the ground. Then go and practice at higher and higher speeds
until you can employ the maximum braking ability of your motorcycle
reliably and safely.
Or just buy a bike with ABS, remember you
have it, and squeeze the lever as hard as you can when you need to make
an emergency stop.
8: A Car Opened Its Door
The biggest
gap in traffic was between a line of parked cars and a stationary line
of active traffic. So you go scooting through it when, all of a sudden,
Nathan-no-look swings his door wide open right in front of you.
How To Avoid It:
Never, ever, ever, ever ride between an active traffic lane and parked
cars. Not just because of the opening doors thing, but because
pedestrians step out, cars pull out so they can see, and for a million
other reasons. Just don’t do it. If you do, somehow, find yourself in a
door-opening situation though, follow all the advice above and brake as
hard as possible. Even if a collision is inevitable, shedding even a
small fraction of your speed can really help.
Cyclists call the area next to parked cars, within a door's width “The Death Zone” for a reason.
9: It’s Slippery!
Stuff
is coming out of the sky! That stuff is cold, wet and, surprise
surprise, slippery. Listen to Douglas Adams and don’t panic.
How To Avoid It:
Does your bike have decent tires on it or were you silly and decided
that running track rubber on the road was a good idea? Hint: it’s not.
So long as you’re running reasonable tires and those tires aren’t worn
out, you’ll be surprised at how well a motorcycle does in wet or even
snowy conditions. Just slow down and be as smooth as possible on the
controls.
In the wet, stuff like manhole covers become super,
extra slippery and you’ll need to watch out for oil and diesel on the
road as well. Look for patches of rainbow and avoid those. If it hasn’t
rained for a while, the first hour or so of rainfall is the most
treacherous; it lifts all the oils and whatnot out of the pavement,
floating it on top. Treat yourself to a hot cup of coffee and wait for a
solid downpour to wash all that junk away.
Also, beware of the
limited visibility rain creates for other drivers and their general
ineptitude; car drivers don’t seem to understand that slippery
conditions necessitate longer following distances and earlier braking.
Ron
Haslam advocates keeping revs up in the wet. The thinking is that,
should your rear spin up, you’ll be using a smaller amount of throttle
opening, allowing you to regain traction much easier than if you’re
riding at 30mph in 6th, at wide-open throttle.
10: The Most Common Bike Accident
According
to the 1981 Hurt Report—the largest study ever conducted on motorcycle
accident causation—alcohol is a factor in 50 percent of all bike wrecks.
How To Avoid It: Don’t drink and ride.
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