How To Play In Traffic And Stay Alive

How To Play In Traffic And Stay Alive
This article was submitted by Paul.

December 13, 2007 - 03:07 PM

My 10 best reasons the part of the road closest to the centerline is the best choice for 90% of riding situations. Heres my own personal opinions on riding safer.

It's all about being seen. People aren't generally watching for vehicles traveling along the shoulder. I also encourage the fact that the more accessory lighting you have on your Honda Gold Wing, the safer you and your co-rider will be on the open road. Besides turning heads everywhere you go, lighting plays a vital role in being seen, adding extra visibility could save your life.

Check out items that can make your bike safer along with the chrome bling. Examples of items that play a role in your safety are things like a smart tire air pressure warning system, blind spot mirrors, LED turn signal mirrors, flashing headlight, brake light modulators, ect..

Jackets should have some sort of reflective material on the outside so both the rider and passenger can be visible at night. If you are ever separated from the motorcycle in an accident at night, being seen at a distance could save your life. A popular and affordable safety item is a reflective safety vest. Easily worn over jackets, provides excellent visibility to oncoming motorists and can be worn over anything.

Heres some of my own opinions on riding my Gold Wing safer based on my experience defending myself on our public roads. Sharing information on safety is something we can all learn about and share here together.

Defend your lane. Motorcycles are entitled to a full lane of traffic. Traveling near the centerline discourages people from encroaching on your lane.
Avoid obstacles. When traveling behind a car or truck, they may tend to "straddle" an obstacle in the road (like potholes or roadkill) rather than swerve around it. If you are traveling in the center of the lane, by the time the obstacle is revealed to you, there would be no time to react. If the obstacle is near the centerline, the car or truck will be forced to go around it, giving an indication that you should do likewise.
Less oil on the road. The center part of the lane is the part that gets the most oil dripped on it from vehicles passing over it. The oil slick can get slippery, especially after a rain.
Avoid animals. At night, the center of the road gives the most space buffer from animals running out into the road, possibly giving you time to react. Having a deer or animal alert really helps too. There are chrome stick-on types, as well as the more effective electric type. Animals can hear these when properly mounted on your bike, but we cannot.
Passing scenario 1: There are 2 cars behind you, 1 in front of you. You are riding in the middle of the lane, not the one closest to the centerline. The last car in line decides to pass the car behind you. He see's the gap and decides to go for it, not realizing theres a motorcycle in that lane.
Passing scenario 2: You are behind a long line of cars or trucks. Behind you is a stretch of open road before the next pack of cars. You are riding fairly close to the shoulder. A car in the oncoming lane decides to dart out and pass after the long line of cars. He "shoots the gap" a little too early, not realizing you are behind the cars.
Visibility to merging traffic. Riding the centerline makes you most visible to cars waiting at intersections to pull out.
Stay in their mirror. When travelling behind vehicles, especially trucks, be in their drivers side mirror as a constant reminder that you're behind them. They may be less likely to suddenly stop if they miss their turn knowing there is someone behind them, instead opting to go to the next intersection.
Practice lane sharing. It's develops good lane discipline to force yourself to stay in 1/3 of a lane of traffic, rather than allow yourself to wander all over in your lane. It could come in handy on bigger group rides where lane-sharing is expected.
Louder Horns. Having louder horns also really helps, have you ever started beeping at someone cutting you off and they never heard your stock horn. Invest in some loud chrome air horns, when you see trouble coming and beep your horn, they will hear you!

There are exceptions to "riding the centerline". I tend to adjust my lane position depending on traffic situations. Curves are one possible exception.

If there is a car looking to pass an on-coming semi, I will tend to move over a little to make sure they see me. Avoiding the wind blast might be another reason. Many riders recommend Installing a belly pan on a Gold Wing to reduce the effects of side winds in addition to protecting your engine and plastic coolant tank.

Stay safe!

Paul in Wisconsin

Other Related Products

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Comments on this Post

	Dave December 17, 2007 - 03:22 PM Paul has good suggestions here. Regarding always riding in the left center of the lane, I've heard the theory that ocaasionally moving around in the lane will keep the vehicle directly in front of you aware of your presence. Otherwise the driver can get used to the steady position of your headlight and forget there's a bike behind him. Also, I've read studies that show our eyesight will see the bright lime green color vests easier than the standard orange color. That's the color I wear and I've had several of my riding buddies comment on it.
	Jethead69 December 27, 2007 - 08:30 AM Paul and Dave make some good suggestions here. Lane postion is constantly being adjusted according to traffic and no one color is good for everything. Yellow, green and orange with reflective strips are a good bet, especially in low light conditions. Many GWRA's have parkinglot practice days and a MSF ERC class might not be a bad idea annually. Many riders dont get the advantage of riding year round as we do in SoCal. Staying proficient in your motorcycling skills may help in case of the "O ----" Being able to stop quickly or swerve correctly may be your ticket out. Riding is a perishable skill and must be maintained. Remember "Ride like your invisible". To the cagers, you are!
	Fred & Antoinette December 28, 2007 - 01:46 PM Excellent write up! I have taken a couple of refresher course's and they point out the same issues Paul does! In my experince if your tired "dont" "ride", bad day at work "dont" ride! Fred & Antoinette
	Eric in Lincoln December 29, 2007 - 05:11 PM Each traffic lane has two tracks....a left track and a right track....(other brand ride in the center....their oil). I prefer the left track for visibility.... make an occassional movement left then right (six inches or so) the human eye will pick up the headlight movement side to side quicker than the pulsating headlight. If appraoching a vehicle waiting to turn.... make the movement as you slow....good information Paul..Thanks! Everyone stay safe!
	Goldie188 December 31, 2007 - 08:13 PM Excellent post Paul. You can never read or learn enough about motorcycle safety. Thanks!
	RJH January 5, 2008 - 01:40 PM Good write-up. However, most of what Paul wrote applies to the 2-lane roads. If you are on a 4-lane or more, there are additional problems. In general, on a 4-lane (2 in each direction), stay in the right tire track of the left lane and the left tire track of the right lane. If there are 3 or more lanes in your direction, try to stay out of the middle lanes and use the outside lanes as if only 2 lanes in your direction. Drivers of 'cans' don't look for a motorcycle in the center lanes of these roads. Also, if you are alone on a 2-lane road or the lead vehicle of a bunch and traffic approaches from the front, move over to the right to give yourself move visability...especially if the lead vehicle approaching is big. This also reduces the wind buffeting of the approaching vehicles. My 45 years of riding and teaching rider safety experience is continually being updated. Safe riding to all!!!
	Stan February 12, 2008 - 10:21 PM I prefer the left tire track, most always, but always put yourself in position to best be seen by others' and remember you can never have too many lights
	RD March 10, 2008 - 10:42 AM Excellent post Paul! I live in the Texas Hill Country, home of the 3's or "Twisted Sisters". These are 2 lane, paved country roads that twist around tree covered hillsides, through deep, limestone cut passes, and into river-bottom valleys. Expansive ranchlands and often the nearest gallon of milk is 40 miles away, one way. I always warn rider's I'm with not to crest a hill in the left groove. More times than not, I've met an F350 Dually 4x4 with a brush guard traveling at 60+ mph, and edging into my lane. Bikes and trucks don't mix very well under those conditions! As always, the more you ride, the more you learn. Ride safe.
	Wolf Rider April 30, 2008 - 03:48 PM Excellent Article--makes a lot of points for riding on mountain roads. Also I am going to use this in my next Ed Article.
	biker665 July 16, 2008 - 06:09 AM Great post - Just one more suggestion: Whenever I'm approaching the crest of a hill, I move way over to the right side of the lane- Never know whwn someone coming from other direction might be over their line.