DON’T BE THAT MOTORCYCLIST WHO DOESN’T MAKE IT HOME!
I am just returning home safely from a 7-Day ADVWoman Women’s Only Dual Sport Tour. When I returned home, I learned that another motorcyclist wasn’t so lucky. They did not get to return home safely. There were 2 motorcyclists riding staggered and tight, just like many motorcyclists do, which by the way doesn’t make it smart or right, especially with all the distracted driving these days. The first motorcyclist was in the left side of the lane and the second rider was in the right side of the lane as they were riding staggered. A truck pulling a trailer drifted over the center line and because the motorcyclist did not move and held that position, the truck killed the motorcyclist instantly on impact! There was no time for that rider to do anything about the fact the truck drifted in his lane. There was no time and space. Because the other motorcyclist had a close following distance, they too, were involved in the accident but were not killed. I’m sure there will be injuries to overcome and an awful time with recovery, both physically and mentally. Since this has happened and well before hand, I can’t tell you how many riders I see every day riding the Russian Roulette Roadways.
As a motorcycle instructor for both street and dirt, I am always coaching. For street, one of the topics is where to be riding in the lane. There are 3 lane positions to choose from for any given situation. LP1, lane position 1 (left side of the lane, LP2 (middle of the lane) and LP3 (right side of the lane). LP1 is the “default” riding position as it presents riders better to oncoming traffic. Be aware that riding in LP3 position could invite other motorists in YOUR lane, but is a good position to ride when there is a line of traffic coming and people wanting to pass such oncoming traffic. Ride in your lane with purpose and know that you should move around in your lane for different situations.
With group riding, I encourage riders to ride their own ride and not necessarily in a tight, staggered group formation.One of the reasons being, the groups I lead are often varied in skill levels and the tour is often their first-time riding in a group. So, riding at their own pace makes sense. However, there are times when we are in a more staggered formation, usually at lower speeds, and that is where the lead rider is in the far left of the lane (LP1) and the next rider is in the right side of the lane (LP3) and so forth down the line.Because distracted driving is such a huge problem these days, I coach the riders to move from the left side of the lane to the middle or right side as oncoming traffic is approaching.This gives the riders time and space from the oncoming traffic. The riders following should then slow to build more time and space from the rider in front of them as needed.All it takes is for the oncoming driver to glance down for a second and they could be IN YOUR LANE. This happened to me on this last tour, and it was a scary situation, to say the least.Thank goodness, I was practicing what I teach.I was in the right side of the lane, mostly because I was approaching a corner that went to the left and being in the right side of the lane opened my view better and I could see oncoming traffic sooner.A large, white truck drifted over the center line and continued to do so for at least 2-3 seconds. That might not seem like a long time, but at 55 MPH, which was the speed I was at, a
Proper roadside etiquette, while riders take a roadside break.
person is traveling 82.5 feet per second (55 x 1.5 = 82.5 feet traveled per second). That is about 9 car lengths, PER SECOND! So, 2-3 seconds is a shit ton of time and distance traveled that the large, white truck was in MY LANE, approximately 250 feet, which is about 28 car lengths! You need to also consider that they too were probably going 55 MPH or faster as well, making a potential collision situation happen that much sooner. What happened next? I got on the brakes and activated my ABS (because it scared me). I’m not happy about that because getting into the ABS means I got on the brakes too abruptly and had I not had ABS, I would have gone into a skid, which is not a good thing and I will have to go back to practicing more on hard braking, as well as visualization. The driver finally got back on their side of the road. As he got back in his lane, I made a jester with my left hand basically saying (no, I did not flip them off, I just raised up my left hand), “Dude, what the frick? Stay present and stay in your lane! There are more motorcyclists behind me!” Well, guess what that prompted the driver to do… he threw a can out the window at me. Wow! Really!? Yep! The can missed me, of course, because of the travel distance I mentioned earlier, but it could have been a bad situation. So, the lesson in that for me was, don’t make jesters at other drivers no matter what I might be thinking. Stay focused and present on what I need to be doing as a safe motorcyclist.
It was pointed out to me later, that it was obvious who was riding in my group when that happen, as those riders from then on started moving over to the right side of the lane as oncoming traffic approached. I had been talking about moving in their lane and the potential of other motorists drifting in our line many times throughout the tour and no one really seemed to get it until they saw what happened with me. Why does it take an experience to get riders to start doing some of the things that coaches are trying to teach them? As a coach, I am curious about that. I want to be able to help other riders and telling them doesn’t seem to be enough.
Unfortunately, many riders learn the hard way and if they are lucky enough to live through it, they may or may not ever get back on a bike. So, how can we reach riders better? Any thoughts (and please, keep it positive and productive), send them to me at shalmariewilson@gmail.com.
A sticker I created to help remind riders.
As motorcyclists, we should always be riding with intension. We should be asking ourselves, “What’s next?” We should be very present with our riding and always planning. For a right-hand corner, swing to the left side of the lane to open your view so you can not only see if other traffic is coming but what the road surface is like or if there is a stopped dump truck in your lane. Left hand corner, swing to the right side of the lane. When riding in rolling hills and you’re peaking the crest of the hill, you should be either in the center of your lane or further right in case another vehicle is coming and they are drifting the center line or worst, in your lane. Rolling hills are basically vertical, blind corners. Give yourself some time and space from that other lane.
Consider when another motorist’s vision might be blocked by a telephone pole, building, tree or bush and present yourself by changing your line position. Intersections are where we have the most conflict with other vehicles. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTS), 35% of collisions happen at intersections and according to the National Center for Statistics and Analyasis, 20% of those accidents result in the motorcyclist’s death. As you approach an intersection, roll off the throttle, SEE (search, evaluate, execute), plan for the “what ifs” and have a couple of escape options just in case. Motorists making a left-hand turn are especially dangerous for us as it has a high percentage of possibility, so when you SEE (search, evaluate, execute), a vehicle that is potentially going to be making a left-hand turn, anticipate that they don’t see you and have a plan. Roll off, weave in your lane to catch their eye and have an escape plan for the “what if.”
When you are on a multiple lane road, consider moving in a different lane, depending on the situation. Give yourself as much time and space from potential threats. When you see different road signs such as intersection signs, use them to navigate your lane position. The following are examples of where riders should be considering where to ride in their lane when they SEE (search, evaluate, execute) different road signs: (Screen shots from Google were taken of road signs to use for examples). According to NHTS, 76% of the motorcycles involved in fatal crashes were struck in the front. Only 7% were struck in the rear. By managing intersections, we can reduce the likely hood of having a collision. But, that requires your full attention, riding with purpose, intension and at speeds that you can manage in the event there is a potential hazard.
Imagine taken from a Google search
With this sign, consider the right side of the lane, not only so you can see the potential vehicle coming out onto the roadway sooner, but so they can see you a bit more readily as well. Remember, depending on the speed, you are traveling quite a bit of distance per second and giving yourself an extra second to SEE (search, evaluate, execute) and respond could be the difference between having an extra 82.5 feet (at 55 MPH) to respond or not.
Consider your lane position to be the left side of the lane. Again, for the same reasons as above. We should be moving in our lane often because of the forever changing situations. Move with intention!
For 4-way intersections, consider being in the middle of your lane to give yourself some room on either side. Weaving a bit in your lane might not be a bad idea. Movement catches people’s eye. We are not a threat to another motorist, and they are not looking for us. We must make ourselves more visible and movement can help with that. Even when you think a motorist is looking right at you; because of unintentional blindness, they may very well not see you. They are not thinking about motorcyclists, therefore, they look right through us, literally. Ride as though you are invisible. According to NHTS, in 2020 there were 2,741 fatal two-wheel crashes each involving a motorcycle and another type of vehicle. 42% of those crashes, the other vehicles were turning left while the motorcyclists were going straight, passing, or overtaking other vehicles.
Here again, consider getting over to the left side of your lane to open your view and present yourself to other motorists, especially if there is something potentially blocking the merging vehicles view. If there are multiple lanes, you might consider moving over into the next lane.
According to Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 92% of fatalities occurred on non-interstate roads compared to 8% on interstates. Intersections can be deadly! This is why we need to ride with an awareness at all times and think about presenting yourself so others have an opportunity to see you. For this example, you might consider being in the center of your lane to give room on either side of you. We also need to be going at speeds, which are also usually posted prior to most intersection signs, so that when another motorist is sitting at an intersection, looking both ways and then pull out, we aren’t going so fast that they end up pulling out in front of us. This happens ALL THE TIME and motorcyclists always blame the motorists who pulled out in front of them. Well, what speed where you going? If the other motorist looks both ways and it’s clear, so they pull out and then all the sudden YOU, the motorcyclist, is having to do life-saving maneuvers, YOU were going TOO FAST! Slow down and give other motorists an opportunity to see you.
As motorcyclists, we should realize that we don’t stop on a dime when we need to. We have to first SEE that we need to stop (which takes about a second), our eyes then need to communicate to our brain on what we need to do doing (which is another second), our brain needs to then communicate to our hands and feet to what they need to being doing (which is another second), and then the brakes need to do their job (which again is another second or so, depending on your braking skills, bikes capabilities, road surface and so on, which could all add up to more stopping distance). So, total stopping distance at 60 MPH, could take about 360 feet or more to get stopped. (60 x 1.5 x 4 = 360 total stopping distance at 60 MPH, which is over a football field in length).
Speed limit signs are super helpful for us to manage our stopping distance, especially around corners! You may very well have the riding capability to take a corner much faster than what is posted, but can you stop at the higher speeds if you had to? The answer to that in many cases is, NO, many (if not most) riders do not have the ability to stop at the speeds they are choosing to ride, or they simply miss the corner all together because they do not have the skills to manage the corner at the speed they are choosing to ride. It’s easy to twist the throttle, but there is a lot more to managing a motorcycle than to just twist the throttle. There is a lot more involved in stopping a motorcycle then stopping a vehicle. It takes a high level of skill and coordination using not only a foot, but also a hand, balance and a calm and very practiced ability to get stopped. Stopping in a corner is even more tricky as you have to be well practiced to get the bike in a straight line prior to applying any brakes or if you are more skilled and can apply just enough brakes while in the corner so that the bike doesn’t slide out and then as the bike straightens out, then really hammer on the brakes in a way that again, you don’t slide out. Are you currently practicing hard stops? The answer for most riders is, “No.” Training really does matter! Take some kind of motorcycle training course each year. You’ll always learn something and that something could be lifesaving. After such training, you really need to be practicing the skills taught. In the event of an emergency, you will revert to have you have been practicing and if you haven’t been practicing, you will panic and grab and stab the brakes in an unfavorable manner.
Riding with intention, means to be riding with purpose. Choosing a lane position for a reason and riding with awareness is riding with intention. Just like any other sport, riders need to be placing themselves for a reason. Football players play with purpose. They position themselves so that they can be successful within a play formation. Name any other sport and they are playing with reason, intention, and purpose. They practice the skills that they need to be successful, to make the sport more fun and to master their chosen sport. We, as motorcyclist, need to be doing the same things. This is a sport! It is not just for transportation. It is a seriously fun and exciting sport, and it does take us to some amazing places that we would never get to experience. It is also a seriously risky sport in survival! Don’t rely on PDL (pure dumb luck), manage the risk by training/practicing, asking yourself, “What’s next,” staying present, and having a plan.
Ride to Live Another Day
Ride YOUR Ride – Shal
If you’d like more information on the Traffic Safety Facts annual report, visit: www.crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov
