| Avoiding Accidents: Bigger Vision Sometimes Beats Bigger Brakes
People often practicing hard-braking because they realize it can potentially save their lives when they are riding. This is true, but another aspect that is often overlooked is prevention. If you can keep yourself out of the situation before it develops, then you don't have to worry about surviving it, right?
Keep your front brake covered with a couple fingers when you ride, but also: always think escape. If you know ahead of time where you will go, then it is easy to go there. Don't ride next to cars or trucks, but if you have to, always tell yourself that the driver next to you is about to try and kill you, and that you need to escape. Then, when he actually does try to kill you, you have mentally rehearsed and you can look at your escape route rather than target fixate on the collision vector.
The key is preparation. You can not afford to space out on a motorcycle. Using, the 80/20 rule, I would venture to say that 80 percent of car drivers space out for at least 20 percent of their trip. Throw in a cell phone, and then you can count on them paying 80 percent attention to that phone and 20 percent attention to driving their car. You don't want to be around them on your motorcycle when they are in that 20 percent mode. So prepare for it, and stay clear.
On a motorcycle, you have to stay at 100 percent. Scan, scan, scan. Always know where the escape is. Don't let drivers creep up behind you, and don't practice hard braking so much that you forget to practice escaping (using the look and press-to-turn technique). Hard braking is worthless if a car or truck is tailgating you.
If you have ever seen footage of a vehicle with it's brakes locked up before a crash, go back and review it again. You may be surprised to see that the driver may have had another "out", had they not focused on stomping on the brakes and staring at the back of the vehicle they were about to cream. Same goes for motorcycles: they are very maneuverable, and you would be surprised at the escapes that you can pull off, if you prepare and know where the "out" is.
Yes, you need to practice emergency braking. Learn to get both brakes balanced while simultaneously downshifting. That is a really important skill. But that skill isn't a substitute for heads-up riding; stay alert and mentally rehearse and weigh your options, that way when you are forced to react, you can decide on escaping or braking... you will make the right choice. | 
06-23-2008
