18 / American Iron / Issue #379 AIMag.com7KRVH,QIDPRXV/HIW7XUQV
...it’s extremely rare that there is just one factor
that affects the overall outcome
SAFETY SKILLS•BY DON GOMO7
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happens most often is when a
vehicle turns left in front of us
at an intersection. The typical
response from the driver of the other
vehicle is “I didn’t see him.”
As riders, we pretty much are
well-informed of this scenario and
the information associated with it; yet
how many of us use this info to help
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Granted, the other vehicle initiated the
problem by taking our right of way.
But this is a term that can help us in a
court procedure but certainly gives us
no comfort if we are laying in a hospi-
tal bed. Also, the right of way theory is
only there if it’s actually given.
So what can we do to protect
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remember these points: Intersections
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ers may turn in front of us, and they
do not see us. This is valuable infor-
mation for us to use and build on.
When such crashes happen, there is
normally an investigation that reveals
things that could have been part of
the outcome. Things such as the rider
being in a lane position that may have
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another vehicle traveling in the same
direction. Or things like parked cars,
buildings, trees, etc. The investigation
reveals that the rider was going 4 to
5 mph over the speed limit, judging
by the tire skid marks. First, if you’re
skidding you’re not stopping; you are
sliding, which indicates poor braking
skills, possibly as an overreaction or
not knowing the correct method for
quick braking or braking in general.
Then we have to recognize that
speed in relation to time equals
distance for a moving object. The dis-
tance between hitting a car or not is
measured in microns: The more space
you have to work with, the better theFKDQFHV\RXKDYHWRDYRLGDFRQàLFW
or lessen the damage.
Our safety is our responsibility,
and we should approach every pos-
sible situation with that in mind. While
the other driver should be responsible
to operate in a manner that is safe
for all other road users. If he doesn’t
crashes happen. Combine that with
a multitude of factors that can be in
place (even set there by us), the out-
come can be very bad.
So knowing that intersections can
raise risk levels, we should approach
them vigilantly; increase visual scan-
ning to search out any possible what-
ifs, as well as keep in mind that a that
a driver or biker may not see us, turn-
ing in front of us as a result. Prevent-
ing an accident may require us to ad-
just our lane position for a better view
of the upcoming situation as well as
possibly allow others to see us better.
(Granted they do not see us and we
should ride like we are invis-
ible.) We should never stop
trying to be visible. We may
also need to make a speed
adjustment to eliminate some
of the distance related to
speed/time. Cover the con-
trols (brakes, clutch, shifter)
to reduce the reaction
time needed. These
are steps that are
our responsibility
to take. If we keep
in mind that safety
starts with us, then
we need to assume
the responsibility to
take precautionary
actions. Besides, why
would you give that
responsibility to
others to address;
especially knowing
all the conditionsand actions drivers are capable of
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With most crashes it’s extremely
rare that there is just one factor that
affects the overall outcome. Unfor-
tunately a lot of the factors do fall on
the biker even though the situation
may have been initiated by others. To
help reduce the chances of bad things
happening to us, we should be taking
any and all steps to prevent scenarios
from turning out badly. Sure, we can
only do what we can based on the
capabilities of our rides as well as our
skills and knowledge, but this is where
education and the practice of skills is
very important to our survival. There
is no downside to becoming better
educated and skilled motorcyclists.
We all got into riding because it’s fun,
not because it’s dangerous. By taking
some simple rider education steps, we
can keep that fun rolling along without
dealing with the dangerous part.
Remember, a motorcycle is a machine
and does what we tell it to do, If
our input is good, the outcome can
be better; if our input is bad—all
bets are off. The machine is not
dangerous; it’s the rider that can
make it that way. $,