This is all too familiar to us motorcyclists. Another headline in today’s paper; “Biker killed when left-turning truck pulls into path.” My heart goes out to the families involved. All of the families. Someone has lost a dearly loved family member. Someone else has to live with the results of the accident. We all hurt when this happens. It’s frustrating being unable to help.

Being a motorcycle safety instructor for 18 years I tend to play the “what if” game. So many possibilities! Let’s look at the statistics in this type of accident and see what we can do to put the odds in our favor.

Professor Harry Hurt did a study a few years back into motorcycle accident causes and rider responses. While we are unable to get into the full meat of the study in the space here, a couple of facts are in order. From the study, 49% of vehicle involved motorcycle accidents were caused by a car/truck/van turning left in front of the motorcycle. Think of it! 49%!!!! We need to learn from that. If there is an oncoming car waiting to turn left across your path, you should be aware that you might have a serious problem! What can you do? After all, that driver did not start out the day with malicious intent; he just wants to get to where he is going. (Remember car drivers take the car to get somewhere, unlike we bikers who ride because of the trip, not the destination.) And because your bike is a single-track vehicle it is difficult to judge how far away you are and how fast you are coming. So I try to help them make the decision whether they can go or not. I flash my headlight back and fourth from low to high beam. I honk my horn if I feel it is necessary. This lets him know that I do not think that he has enough time. Sometimes you will see the driver slump back and you will know he has gotten the message. And watch his tire, you will see the wheel begin to roll before you will realize that the car is moving.

Ok, those are the passive things that you can do. But they still depend on the car driver to do the right thing. What can you do to protect yourself? I will move over to the right a little, to give me more room if he starts to pull out. I also extend my fingers over the brake and clutch lever, and get ready. If I need to stop quickly, it’s much faster to just close your hands than to reach out over the levers, then try to apply the brakes and shift down.

Professor Hurt also found that braking skills were lacking in accident-involved riders in the study. Many bikers just use the rear brake because that’s what you do in the car, you stomp on the brake pedal when you need to stop quick. But on the bike, you need to be able to use your front brake, hard and fast. Your front brake accounts for 80% of your stopping capability in a quick stop. Think about it, when you get on the brakes hard, the weight shifts forward. This gives your front tire tremendous traction (on pavement, not on dirt) and it will take a lot of brake pressure. You do not suddenly grab the front brake; it is a progressive squeeze, more and more and more until you get stopped.

To give you some idea of the possibilities, let me tell you about some of my students in this weeks Motorcycle Safety Class. After three different exercises where they learned how to use the front brake, several were stopping in as little as 16 feet from 20 miles-per-hour. Now that is excellent braking! Which brings me to a little plug. One of the best ways of improving your skills is to take a Motorcycle Safety Class. You learn what to look for out on the street. You learn how to place yourself in traffic to give you the edge. And you will learn accident avoidance skills. Namely braking and quick lane changes. Of course you will also learn many skills that will help in day to day riding, but that will be the subject of another column. And it goes without saying you should wear good safety equipment; a good helmet, boots, jacket (yes, even when it is hot.) and gloves.

Ride safe.

-LC