Defensive Riding - Actively Looking and Avoiding Dangers

Everyone who uses a motorcycle daily, knows thattraffic? These kind of cages can do surprising moves
riding it differs from driving a cage. When on twoindeed. Position yourself so that if the cage suddenly
wheels and surrounded by traffic, you cant just keepbrakes or switches lanes, you can either brake or
going and thinking whatever you are thinking. Or atsteer away from it.
least that is what you should avoid. One of the thingsTry avoiding blind spots. Every cage has an angle of
that makes me love riding my bike is that I feel moreview backwards where the driver cant see you. Can
aware, everything feels more real than inside a cage.you see the drivers face from his side mirror? If yes
I simply have to watch for what is happening.then he/she can see yours. Best of all, do not drive a
When in traffic, there's just one person that you cancouple of meters behind and to the side of cages,
trust - yourself. Everyone else can do whatever theyyou'll may end up at the blind spot.
do whenever they do. Expect anything to happen,Try thinking that if the worst happens, if a cage
trust no-one. Do not expect that people will followsuddenly brakes or switch lanes or drives in front of
traffic rules. Sure, they should, but they always wont.you from an intersection, do you have enough time
Somebody can block your right of way anytime, andand space to make evasive action? Do you need
if you go too fast or aren't prepared to brake you'llmore distance between you and the cages in front
crash.of you, do you ride slowly enough that you have
Always when I see a cage that is waiting in antime to brake in an intersection?
intersection to join my lane, I prepare to brake. ItCan you use your bike to make the cagers to notify
has happened that they just wont see me and they'llyou? Rev your engine high, they'll hear you, blink the
start to move in and block my way. This is verylights, use the horn. Whatever is better, than
common cause for motorcycle accidents.overtaking them and totally surprising them while
Another common cause is riders who go too fast,doing so. Try not to get provoked by other peoples
cagers have no time to react to bikes. Lets say theymistakes. Its very very easy to get angry about
expect the bike to move 60 mph and if it moves 160someone who is making a stupid mistake. This is one
mph they have no means to judge its speedof the most difficult things in life in general - how to
accurately. They think "hey I have plenty of time toface stupidity without getting involved to it.
cross this road".Keeping the guards up for a long period of time is
Also you have to learn to read cagers in city traffic:difficult, many a times I have caught myself not
is the driver talking to a cell phone or to the kids, isthinking of the traffic but something else. Maybe
he/she looking for the right address where to turn?practicing it is the only way to perform better.
Is the driver focused on something other than