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I've kept this link bookmarked for I don't know how many years now. Whenever a thread of this sort is started I like to bring it out.
Quote:
"Get Horizontal"
by B. Jan Hoffman
43% of all motorcycle accidents occur as a result of an oncoming vehicle turning across the path of a rider. Drivers simply fail to recognize the motorcyclist's right of way. Their typical lament is "I just didn't see him". You might lament "How the hell is that possible, you were looking right at me, you zoned-out space cadet!"
Some motorcyclists may feel that drivers deliberately choose not to see us. They feel that drivers resent us because of our agility, acceleration, or designer leathers. Others suspect that some car drivers must be anally retentive psychopaths who compensate for their fear of flying by driving to kill.
In the urban rain forests of LA or New York, that may be true. But elsewhere, most drivers really don't see motorcycles. Well yes, their eyes see us, but the image doesn't register in the brain. Why is that?
Some intelligent doctor types have postulated that the brain is an organ which rejects, rather than gathers information. They believe that if all the information collected by the senses were to register, the brain would experience sensory overload and blow its fuses.
For example, all the billboards, signs and other visual messages along the road can't possibly register in the brains of car drivers. That would cause sensory overload. To prevent that, the brain tends to organize the world into systems; those which are important to the activity at hand, and those which aren't. The car driver's brain has learned to exclude the non-essentials, and to focus only on those objects which are a threat to survival. On the road, those objects are predominantly other cars. Because cars are much wider than they are tall, the brain systematizes threats as objects characterized by horizontal lines.
Things characterized by vertical lines are eliminated from consciousness as non-threatening, extraneous information. Trees, lamp standards, sign posts, bridge abutments, buildings; none of these vertical objects are liable to jump out in front of the driver to threaten his existence.
Along comes a motorcycle. The driver's eyes give it a quick visual scan and the brain determines that this too is a vertical object. No threat. No further focus required. Zone out. Continue replay of last nights debauchery.
The next thing you know, the driver turns left across your lane even though you can see him looking right at you!
In my early days of riding, an experienced rider hammered at me ceaselessly with the message that "You are invisible out there!" All I heard him say was "Be careful". I didn't understand at the time that he was saying "To most car drivers, you are literally invisible."
Anyone with experience on a bike knows that he was right. Many a novice rider has departed the corporal world because he rode his bike the way he drove his car; as if he could actually be seen.
My advice is, if you don't want to be horizontal, look horizontal. How do we do that? One way is to use running lights. Many Japanese bikes have orange running lights up front integrated into the signal light housing. That gives some sense of horizontal perspective to car drivers. Some Harleys have a pair of white driving lights alongside of the headlight. That's more effective due to the increased candlepower.
I've often lamented the lack of stock running lights on unfaired airheads. A single headlight does not give a sense of perspective, and therefore tends to disappear into the background. I replaced the stock signal lights on the front of my Roadster with 4" round signal/running lights. They immediately and dramatically improved the etiquette of the other users of the road. Some Airheads have disparaged the aesthetics of my "police" lights. I find the impromptu installation of a Buick grill even less attractive.
I've also converted the rear signal lights to signal/running lights. As with the additional front lights, they made an immediate improvement in the etiquette of other road users.
I realized the importance of rear running lights when I was following a friend home from Barley Therapy one dark evening. To my surprise, rather than focusing on his GS tail light and spacing myself accordingly, I soon found myself gauging my distance from the rear end of the car ahead of him.
His pathetic little taillight simply dissolved into the brighter lights of the car, and his bike effectively disappeared.
If this can happen to me, you can be sure it will happen to car drivers, who are not attuned to motorcycles.
So, get horizontal. Convert your signal lights into signal/running lights. If you are going to apply reflective tape to your bike, jacket or helmet, make horizontal or diagonal lines rather than vertical ones.
Most of all, negotiate our streets and highways as if you are invisible.
Taking a ride on the back of a motorcycle changed my perception of the road. Seeing someone run a stop sign is a lot more apparent when there is nothing between you and that car.
I don't have a motorcycle license yet. I'll be taking the MSF class in a couple of weeks. After the class I don't know if I'll get a bike right away or just use the class for the experience.
Can tell ya.. You will end up getting a bike. Once you get on that bike start riding and get the hang of it your addicted!
I didn't think I would like it at all. I always rode on the back with my hubby and he kept telling me every time he seen a woman riding her own bike.."look honey she is riding her own, you can do it too". So me and several of my lady friends took the Motorcycle Safety class together (I took it so he would shut up) and well I had a bike picked out before my 3 day class was over.. This was 4 years ago, I started out on a smaller bike shadow 600, but couldn't keep up with hubby and after a year he finally surprised me with a new Harley (2007 1200 Custom Sportster). And now we ride as a family..Our 10 year old daughter rides with her daddy.. That is the best part! She loves it and is wanting an HD for her 16th birthday..lol Not so sure about that just yet.
Good Luck with the class and let us know how it goes.
I rode motorcycles for many years, the one thing I did when I rode was to assume everybody else on the road was out to kill me. I would make sure I always had an escape route planned in the event a car came into my lane or cut me off. I looked as far ahead as I could see and made note of anybody that might pose a risk to my safety.
Now a comment on cars, many car drivers are terrible drivers who are unaware of others around them, if I had a dollar for every car that made a left turn in front of me when I had the legal right of way, I could buy a house with the money. I have seen people reading newspapers while driving, watching TV, eating, talking on phones, texting and many other distracting activities instead of paying attention to what they were supposed to be doing. Too many don't use turn signals and don't turn them off when you are done.
For the motorcyclists who ride like the road is their own personal race track, take it to the track.
You are making a bad impression on car drivers and needlessly risking your life. You will have a lot
more fun at the track and you won't get tickets, you will also gain better control over your bike which might save your life one day.
I believe I am a much better car driver now because of my riding experience.
I always wear hi-vis protective clothing, always. Last year I was almost rear ended twice by people coming up behind me while I was stopped for turning traffic ahead of me. Both times they locked up behind me and I prepared to get launched.
Know what I saw both times in my rear views? Young ladies yapping on cell phones and not paying attention.
I firmly believe the Hi-vis yellow jacket was the one thing that grabbed what little attention span they had left.
I have been riding since 1962. I have had one accident, when an on-coming car turned left in front of me. He told the cop he didn't see me. when I asked why he dimmed his headlight before I dimmed mine, he changed his story to "HE WAS SPEEDING!". (I wasn't).
I think I am going to sell my current ride (Kawasaki Vulcan 750). I don't use it enough to justify having it.
I'll keep the leather jacket and the helmet, though.
Might come in handy if I fall off the horse.
Here in Wichita the local Harley Davidson dealer ran some commercials about being aware of motorcyclists. I thought they were excellent. They provided tips to drivers and bikers to help prevent common accidents that occur.
I rode motorcycles for many years, the one thing I did when I rode was to assume everybody else on the road was out to kill me. I would make sure I always had an escape route planned in the event a car came into my lane or cut me off. I looked as far ahead as I could see and made note of anybody that might pose a risk to my safety.
It's sad that bikers are forced to assume someone in a car will probably hit them. I can ride bikes but I don't like riding them. I've seen a lot bikes with quiet mufflers almost get clipped because people don't turn their heads to see if a bike is in their blind spot. People also like to get so close to the back of a bike that they couldn't possibly stop if the biker were to hit his or her brakes hard. Most people driving on the road really shouldn't have made it past their driving tests. I don't even feel safe in a car. I had to replace my cat back with something 20x louder so people would stop forcing me off the road. People need to learn to turn their heads and look before they move into another lane, it isn't hard.
It's sad that bikers are forced to assume someone in a car will probably hit them. I can ride bikes but I don't like riding them. I've seen a lot bikes with quiet mufflers almost get clipped because people don't turn their heads to see if a bike is in their blind spot. People also like to get so close to the back of a bike that they couldn't possibly stop if the biker were to hit his or her brakes hard. Most people driving on the road really shouldn't have made it past their driving tests. I don't even feel safe in a car. I had to replace my cat back with something 20x louder so people would stop forcing me off the road. People need to learn to turn their heads and look before they move into another lane, it isn't hard.
I wonder how many bikers cell-phones have killed in the past year.
I wish I were joking but I bet it's a big number.
The #1 killer of motorcyclists though has to be misuse or inexperience of the rider, anyone seen any statistics on this?
Wayneb: Good post. I ride a motorcycle, and I'm not so sure that the cage drivers are trying to kill me, but a lot of them sure don't seem to care whether they do or not, so the end result is the same.
It seems to me that a driver of a larger vehicle will usually expect you to look out for him, since he can do more damage to you in the event of a collision that you can to him. That goes for small cars vs large cars, etc, on up the 'food chain'.
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