A few things for motorists to consider

Returning from a road trip to spend a few days with my mother, I was riding home on the Honda SCL500 we still have on long-term loan. Approaching a roundabout on a rather rural section of road, I entered cautiously but correctly, making sure I had room behind and before me. The driver of a hopped up Dodge Challenger approached to my upcoming right, and rather than looking my way and yielding to my presence already in the roundabout, the dude just launched into the circle, loud exhaust growling, and nearly forced me onto the center median. I got on the meager horn of the little Honda, to no avail, as he roared through the roundabout and out on the other side. Amongst a few choice words that came to mind and out my mouth inside my helmet, I wondered aloud, “What the hell was that clown thinking??”

Clearly he wasn’t.

While most of the time I feel like “cagers” (biker slang for automobile drivers) are aware of and largely respect us on the roads, it’s a sad fact that too many motorists don’t give us the margin and consideration that we deserve. We are often viewed as a traffic nuisance at the very least, and at worst are considered outlaw biker gang types or irresponsible stunters. Newsflash: While those elements do exist, the overwhelming majority of us riders are law-abiding citizens, with families and jobs, like our fellow “cagers.” Conversely, all too often we riders regard our fellow motorists as inattentive, distracted adversaries, who crowd us out and cut us off on the roads, with no consideration for our rights or well-being. Of course, we know that’s a generalization as well, aware that most motorists aren’t trying to kill us.

They are pretty distracted nowadays, however.

The little Honda SCL500 I was riding, that I nearly got clipped on in the roundabout.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studies over the years, 65-70% of motorcycle accidents involving other vehicles are the fault of the vehicle. These percentages have increased over the years, with more technology available at our fingertips in automobiles and handheld devices. Also in those studies, motorists contributed another 10-12% of motorcycle crashes by unintentionally forcing the rider out of his/her lane, like the aforementioned “clown” I encountered in the roundabout. If I could have (calmly) spoken some “words of wisdom” to that young man, what would I have said to him? Besides how much I would have liked to strangle him, what advice could I have offered to maybe save another rider’s life from his wanton recklessness?

Here’s a few offerings we riders wish every motorist knew out on the road.

The streets are hazardous. Be watchful out there. Photo by Yamaha Motors USA.

Before beginning, I want to acknowledge the “500 lb. gorilla” in the room. Visibility is a huge issue. Motorcycles have much smaller profiles, and are harder to pick out in traffic. Too often we neglect our own visibility issues by not wearing bright, reflective gear, or not running on high beam during the day (something I’ve long practiced). Our diminutive profile out on the road can cause drivers to misjudge bothdistance and speed between us and them. Acknowledged.

In a typical vehicular accident, even a small “fender bender” may be an inconvenience to a motorist, whereas the same could be life-changing or life-threatening to a motorcyclist. So share this article with your non-biking friends and family, so they can become a little more aware of the danger they pose to us riders.

We are definitely smaller and harder to see, granted. Photo by AMA.

Look For Motorcycles-
Remember the old “Look Twice, Save a Life- Motorcycles are Everywhere” bumper stickers? That was really more than a slogan; it was and is a good practice for drivers. A more deliberate effort needs to be made by motorists to consciously consider us out on the open road. Like I advised in my “Taking the Long View” article a few years ago, a sound practice for all of us, rider and cager, is to scan ahead a good 20 seconds or so, which equates to about a quarter-mile at 50 mph. In my old “Air Combat & Street Riding” piece, I discussed looking all around (side mirrors, rearview, even over-the-shoulder checks) for a more complete visual of the surroundings whether speeding up, slowing down, lane-changing, and entering/exiting the road.

Be Visible to Motorcyclists-
Just like we riders need to ride as visible as possible, drivers should really consider being more visible to us as well. Simply driving with headlights burning even in daylight, and always using turn signals (something that drives me nuts when they don’t) can go a long way to helping riders see and anticipate a driver’s actions.

Attentive at Intersections-
This includes roundabouts as well. The most common car/bike accidents happen at intersections around town, where a car makes a sudden left turn in front of an oncoming motorcycle, leaving little reaction time and ending in a “t-bone” crash. That happened to me back in 2000, when the driver of a gold Honda Accord (I still remember it as if it were last week) jumped left in front of me, thinking he was hitting a gap in northbound traffic. What he hit was me. My injuries, subsequent hospital stay, and a year and a half of surgeries and rehabilitation made me much more cautious about left turners at two or four-way intersections and roundabouts. Again, “Look Twice, Save a Life.”

Check Your Blind Spots-
Another common cause of accidents between motorists and motorcyclists is when a driver in an automobile cuts off a motorcycle rider in a left or right lane. Nearly all vehicles have “blind spots” visually, so that’s where not only mirror checks, but left to right head and eye turns can pick up our movement alongside automobiles. In the words of fighter pilots, “Check your six” as well as your five and seven. This can especially save riders in states where “lane-filtering” is practiced.

Bright gear, solid protection, high beams, and safe lane filtering. Let’s make these happen. Photo by AMA.

Treat a Bike like a Car-
We motorcycle riders have the same legal rights and right-of-way as any other vehicle on the road. While we take up less space in the lane, we still need all that space to maneuver around within. To us, we have three smaller lanes within our lane space- the left side, the “oil-slick” center, and the right side. To avoid road hazards, we need the total space to move around within. So don’t crowd us. A good rule of thumb is to allow at least a two second cushion between an automobile and a motorcycle when traveling under 40 mph. As speed increases, space between vehicles should as well, giving at least five seconds or more to the biker. Give us some room!

Think like a Biker-
What I mean here is, riding a motorcycle is completely different than driving an automobile. We have to respond differently to road hazards, situations, and even weather, to name a few. We are not alike, two wheels to four. So, help us out by not only being aware of your own immediate surroundings, but look around and past us on our bikes too, to get a view of what we’re seeing and thereby give us a bit more room to react if we must.

Avoid the “Young & Restless”-
Sure, it wouldn’t hurt to lay off the soap operas, but what I’m talking about here is young, inexperienced riders. It’s a sad fact that far too many younger motorcyclists have not been properly trained, are inadequately geared up, and are piloting bikes way more powerful than both their skill level and their common sense. We call them “squids“. The statistics prove that youth and inexperience is a much higher contributing factor to crashes than age, training and experience. If you see young hooligans out stunting or otherwise riding ridiculously, rather than the temptation to lean on the horn, cuss them out/give them the finger, or “teach them a lesson” by running them off the road, just give them a wide berth. They’ll eventually see the error of their ways (hopefully), will crash out, or find themselves in a jail cell. Just avoid contributing to it.

Learn How to Drive-
All of us think we are better than we really are, and we think everyone else is not as good as they think they are. You follow me? This maxim is definitely true on the road. Motorists- Take driver safety courses, even refresher courses, which can also help reduce your insurance costs, by the way. Practice the above skills, and some common sense ones- both hands on the steering wheel and off the cell phone, eyes on the road and not on screens (including GPS maps), and focus on driving, not on conversations with your fellow auto occupants. And this is huge- don’t drink/use and drive. Geez, do we really still have to state that?

Ride aware, ride safe, ride life. Photo by Harley-Davidson.

We all have to share the roads, like it or not. So let’s endeavor to understand each other better, and watch out for each other. Better yet, let’s truly look out for each other, drivers and riders, as in “we have each other’s backs.”

What other things do you think motorists need to know or remember as we’re out there riding among them? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

Rob