[fog]

I have been riding on the roads for something like 50 years. I can positively say I have never had an incident that wasn't my fault. That's a lot to say I know but let me explain.
I'm and engineer, always have been one, even as a kid. I mean I have a analytical type of mind that just has to figure things out. Applying this thought process to riding safety I was always able to forsee things that might happen. Every moment of a ride there is the potential for something to happen, being aware of everything around you is the first step.
Example: Famous excuse, "car turned left in front of me" . Well the way to avoid this is never let the circumstances of your position/speed make it possable for this to happen, if you don't, your putting your life in the other guys hands.

Consider your visibility factor and the time/speed/distance equation. that is be aware of how the other people on the road will judge your position and speed vis a vis them. (bikes are quick, if you fail to understand that the car driver may not appreciate that fact, your already in trouble).

Riding with others:
Always have a pre ride class room, or discussion. I mean serious stuff about how your going to ride today, Speed, following distance, side by side, don't be afraid to speak up and say I don't want to ride like that. Mostly be clear that everyone rides there own Motorcycle, and not be influenced by the behavior of the others.
Let me say here that I have ridden and still ride very fast on the road, but I do it safely by paying attention and keeping things under control.

Stepping down from Soap Box.

FOG

 

[lemaudit25]

It's funny, I was just trying to explain this to a friend last night.

I'd been talking about all of the incidents that I had heard about concerning accidents, etc. over the past few weeks. I sort of apologized and explained that keeping those sorts of things in mind keeps me honest on my bike.

When I ride, I look at the trailer with giant cast iron pipe on the back and think about those straps failing as I'm passing. What am I prepared to do?

Riding, unlike driving, requires complete and unequivocal engagement at all times.

It's usually when we fail to do this that we start having problems.

 

[dwengi]

I was hit by a car riding my bicycle - it was the car's fault since it turned into me but then again it was my fault - I allowed myself to be put in the situation where the car COULD hit me if turned right in front of me, and of course it did exactly that. Now I think about this stuff constantly, whether on the bicycle or motorcycle, and keep myself out of potential harms way.

I think the most difficult thing to anticipate on a motorcycle is, to paraphrase Don Rumsfeld, the unknown unknowns. You are on a twisty road for the first time and going around a blind right hander - and you come across a minivan backing out of a driveway. Do you have room to react? If not you are going too fast. Funny thing is I have pass such a driveway every day on my ride to work and I slow WAY down - then I think to myself - would I slow down that much if I was riding this road for the first time and didn't know about the driveway.

 

[fog]

The rule here is simple, If your overiding your line of sight your riding too fast. Same as over driving your light at night.

FOG

 

[billbo]

Heck,I have people pull out in front of me all the time,in my truck!I see drivers lots of times,change lanes,THEN look back.Whether in my truck or on my bike,I assume that all other drivers are idiots and liable to do something weird at any moment.

 

[MrSciTrek]

Sharing knowledge from personal experience and thoughts is only a "soapbox" in the minds of those who find such ideas inconvenient to their habits of not thinking.

To them, common sense is an affront to their perception that freedom includes the right to be stupid, non-observant, or immature... no matter what the impact is on the lives or property of others.