Analyze Drivers and Your Surroundings

[Falcor]

I have tried searching for this a few different ways and couldn't find anything related to what I want to talk about.

I've always been this way as a driver and a rider. When driving or riding I pay very close attention to every small and big detail on the road that includes drivers, what they're doing, where they are, their speed compared to my speed. I can usually predict with 95% accuracy what people are going to do before it happens from this and it has saved me numerous times.

Basically what you do is ride normal, look ahead with your head like you normally do. Peripheral vision is key to this mental process of analyzing information to be aware of your surroundings.

Use the peripheral vision of your eyes to keep check on people's position in their lanes (You can also quickly dart your eyes back and forth to scan your field of view but keep your head straight and pay attention to what's going on in front of you), if they are slowly edging towards your lane and especially if they are accelerating while doing it you need to either A. prepare to have your lane invaded and cover the controls B. Slightly adjust yourself in your lane to assure they can see you before they do anything C. Adjust your speed if they are getting too close passing or slowing down so you aren't adjacent to them. Of course the best thing to do is ALL of them!

Also, checking your mirrors quickly with peripheral vision (or a quick eye dart like mentioned earlier) is key to knowing who's behind you, how close they are, and to judge how fast people are coming up behind you or around you. If you need to tuck your elbows closer in towards your core to get a better view through your mirrors. What this does is it lets you prepare yourself for anything coming your way so you aren't surprised by anything that's not directly in front of you. This is also very important when stopping at a intersection so you know not to stop too fast if someone is tailgating or to prepare you to pull off to the side quickly is someone is coming in too hot.

Also, when making turns be very mindful of any other lane in a intersection that is able to turn anywhere near the direction you are heading because people don't pay attention, have a tendency to be impatient, and of course are just plain dumb sometimes and will try to turn at the same time as you. So my solution to this is before I make a turn at a intersection with lights is to make sure everyone in the oncoming lane has stopped at the front row and to keep an eye on the turn lanes that could be going the same way as me with my peripheral vision in case I need to gun it or do an emergency stop.

Environmental surroundings are also very important to be aware of. If there is a bump, uneven spot in the road, gravel, dirt, etc then you need to be prepared for it before you even cross it. Quickly search for a gap in the road within your lane if you can help it to avoid the obstacle. If the obstacle is unavoidable adjust your speed if necessary (ESPECIALLY WITH DIRT AND GRAVEL OR FLOODED ROADS OR ANY COMBINATION OF THOSE) if you adjust your speed properly and prepare yourself mentally that the bike might get a bit upset when you cross you won't over react if the handle bars move a bit or if the bike leans to the side a little causing you to over adjust and have a tumble.

Speed is also important when keeping yourself safe. Now, when I say speed I don't mean MotoGP track star speed I mean just above traffic speed. If your state has laws where they can't ticket you legitimately without passing a certain threshold of speed try to keep it under that threshold to avoid any tickets. I do no advocate speeding, but some acceleration when timed correctly can distance yourself from cars and danger very effectively. If you find yourself stuck in a group of cars or being surrounded especially around traffic time try to navigate through the traffic and gain some speed on them until you are in front of the pack and are a comfortable distance away to separate yourself from potential incidents. Please pay very close attention for indications of lane changes like lane positioning, blinders (if they use one) while navigating through traffic, you wouldn't want someone to pull into you as you're coming into the same lane they want to get in. The longer you are surrounded by cars the longer you are exposed to them possibly hitting you, abruptly stomping in front of you, someone squishing you between two cars, etc. Once you are ahead of the traffic you can get back to the speed limit, if the rest of traffic isn't speeding you'll keep your gap.

If you practice all of these things it will become second nature to do them and you'll be able to predict people's movements and better prepare yourself for dangerous situations.

This is all I have for now, I'll add more stuff if I remember anything I forgot or if people have useful information to add onto this.

[crazymadbastard]

Good stuff for sure. As for me, I read the crash reports where 99% of the accidents could have been avoided by the operators. Its more fun to learn from other's mistakes.

[alex.s]

just go faster than the cars around you and you don't have to worry about a lot of issues. get used to looking at peoples eyes through their mirrors 5 to 10 cars up. hand position on the steering wheel will tell you what direction they are going. are they talking to someone? are they reading the newspaper instead of driving? their faces are what tell you what they are going to do.

also, always have your arms 90d bent so when the time comes you are able to put max force on that bar to get it turned in time. always have your arms loose. always have your lower body ready to make an emergency maneuver.


other motorcyclists are the big dangers. cars with limo tint windows are dangerous (can't see their faces, can't tell what they're going to do)

[rasta]

I would take it a step further and say do more than just use your peripheral vision for cars surrounding you. You don't have to turn your head if you don't want; but it wouldn't hurt to quickly scan with your eyes. It takes a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second to move your eyes to both sides and then forward again. Also I like to scan way in front of the car in front of me. That way, I don't have to wait until I see its brake lights to know I should be slowing down

[Falcor]

Originally Posted by alex.s

just go faster than the cars around you and you don't have to worry about a lot of issues...

Everything else you said was great. But this little bit I picked out can go both ways, yes separating yourself from the pack will greatly decrease your chances of having a incident with one of the people in it but speed is a factor that can cause error or worse sometimes. Definitely a double edged sword but if you accelerate when it's appropriate just to distance yourself and then go the same speed as traffic so that they aren't gaining on you but you are staying ahead of them.

I'm saying this mainly also because a lot of people that check the riding skills section are newcomers may it be to this forum or to bikes in general and it's important for them to exercise extreme caution while still learning.

[Falcor]

I'm going to go through all the replies either tonight or this weekend and squeeze in information that I think would benefit riders or add it onto existing content.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Falcor

................If you practice all of these things it will become second nature to do them and you'll be able to predict people's movements and better prepare yourself for dangerous situations.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Falcor

Everything else you said was great. But this little bit I picked out can go both ways, yes separating yourself from the pack will greatly decrease your chances of having a incident with one of the people in it but speed is a factor that can cause error or worse sometimes. Definitely a double edged sword but if you accelerate when it's appropriate just to distance yourself and then go the same speed as traffic so that they aren't gaining on you but you are staying ahead of them.

I'm saying this mainly also because a lot of people that check the riding skills section are newcomers may it be to this forum or to bikes in general and it's important for them to exercise extreme caution while still learning.

theres a study that concluded a bike going 5mph faster than traffic has some massive percentage drop in accident rates.

the point is to not stay with the same cars. obviously its more dangerous letting them pass you. so pass other cars consistently. dont stay with cars unless you are tailing a car for presence.


you are correct in that the the faster you go the harder it is to stop. you are incorrect in your thinking that going faster than other cars increases the net risk of your interaction. it doesnt. it decreases it.

[Falcor]

Originally Posted by alex.s

theres a study that concluded a bike going 5mph faster than traffic has some massive percentage drop in accident rates.

the point is to not stay with the same cars. obviously its more dangerous letting them pass you. so pass other cars consistently. dont stay with cars unless you are tailing a car for presence.


you are correct in that the the faster you go the harder it is to stop. you are incorrect in your thinking that going faster than other cars increases the net risk of your interaction. it doesnt. it decreases it.

5mph faster is fine, I assumed you meant faster than that. Speed would be a factor if a car suddenly pulls out of a blind street without stopping though if you're too close and going too fast when it happens, but of course that is a very specific situation.

I'll be sure to world it appropriately when mentioning keeping a pace faster than traffic so people don't assume like i did that they should go much faster than the speed limit. in Florida you need to be going 6mph over the speed limit to be given a legitimate ticket I believe, not sure how it is for other states?

[Thorgrim]

I have said for many years that the traffic laws should allow motorcycles the speed limit +10mph for safety's sake. Yes, it will be abused by some, but it will also reduce accidents by letting us play to our strengths and use acceleration as one more tool to avoid accidents.

[Falcor]

Revised and added some information, let me know if I explained anything like a retard or missed anything. I don't mind criticism.