During the last weekend of November, 11 people died in a traffic accident on Spanish roads. Six of them - that is, more than half - were motorcyclists. Without a doubt, this is one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of road safety. Hence, it is very important that you exercise extreme caution when handling your mount's handlebars; In this sense, so-called defensive driving becomes very important, which helps reduce the risk of suffering an accident.
It is a series of habits that allow you to anticipate and recognize potential risks at a glance. In biker slang it is often said that it is “circulating with the radar on” and it is a good explanatory image. And above all, be aware that it is a capacity that can be learned. It is based on the management of space, time and vision.
In fact, racing drivers, emergency service drivers and other professionals who make driving at full speed through complicated environments their daily lives develop it very early. Converting, like them, constant observation into a habit and an attitude is the best guarantee of enjoying the motorcycle with safety, common sense and civility.
Without a doubt the main - and probably most serious - mistake that many drivers make is focusing on what is happening right in front of their vehicle. By pure logic, to anticipate you have to look far away and force yourself to do so if it doesn't come naturally. When we reach an intersection we must be aware of what happens at the next one because the one in question will have already been studied before. And when entering a curve, the eye has to automatically direct itself to the end of the turn to ensure that no unpleasant surprise awaits us when exiting it.
“Look far away” is the advice that instructors insist on most in driving courses, in addition to anticipation for another equally important reason: the motorcycle will go where your eyes go.
Obviously, the advice cannot be other than to avoid any circumstance that could be a cause of distraction and to be 120% focused on what is happening around you. All drivers are aware of what distracts us the most; either talking through the hands-free helmet, driving “on autopilot” or thinking about tomorrow's work task or what to give the couple for Christmas... And there always comes a moment - especially if you already have a lot of experience on the handlebars or are doing a daily route that you know very well - when you end up driving almost without paying attention and out of pure habit.
It's not a bad idea to periodically change routes to keep your senses fresh. In fact, that is just what many transportation companies do with their drivers; change their route from time to time.
Looking far away and being aware of what is happening around us does not mean that we should forget about the rearview mirrors. Obviously, for what happens behind our motorcycle, under normal circumstances, the vehicle following us will always be more responsible than ours, but that does not mean that we should not be alert to the potential risk that may come from that side. Your driver may be distracted, not have seen us, miscalculate the safety distance or be in your blind spot. Therefore, we must take frequent glances at the mirrors to make sure that everything is going smoothly behind the rear wheel.
An old DGT slogan recalled that “behind a ball there is always a child.” And essentially the message is still valid because generally, in traffic and in life, what seems like it is going to happen ends up happening. In defensive driving you always have to put yourself in the worst case scenario, which - of course - does not mean driving scared to death seeing the accident around every corner but simply assuming that if it doesn't seem like that car is going to respect the STOP... probably will not respect it. And if that car looks like it will go too fast at the red light... assume it will. Or that the door of that van standing on the side is going to open right in front of us. You have to learn to read the signals emitted by other vehicles and pedestrians to guess their next reaction and once again, anticipate.
Heavy rain, a closed street, a public work, a political demonstration, a sports event or the frenzy of Christmas shopping. Dozens of things happen every day in the city that alter the daily flow of traffic. And when that happens, there are many drivers who, either due to inexperience or overwhelm, become very nervous and commit reckless things that they would not do under normal circumstances.
It is advisable to take this into account if necessary and remember that sometimes, the most positive and safe attitude is to know how to give in and let them continue on their way even if the priority corresponds to us.
To the extent that we draw attention and make ourselves noticed as motorcyclists in the middle of the whirlwind of traffic, the less likely there will be that someone absent-minded will not notice our presence. Therefore, in complicated traffic conditions, it is necessary to be assertive and make yourself seen even more by wearing technical clothing with reflective elements or high visibility vests, exactly as - for example - police officers who do their duty on a motorcycle do. And remember, once again, the previous point of “distrust by system”; If we arrive at the intersection and we are not sure if the car has seen us, then assume that it has not, slow down and, if necessary, signal it...
No matter how cautious and defensive the attitude at the handlebars is, at some point a collision or scare with an irresponsible or aggressive driver will be inevitable. Even if it's hard, you have to stay calm, avoid confrontation and focus on your own safety. In these unpleasant circumstances, many accidents usually occur due to the “peeping tom effect” or simply the nervous reactions of third parties.
On the other hand, and regarding emotional control, you have to drive being aware of your own possibilities, both on the handlebars and on the machine. Nobody is born taught nor does anything happen to be behind the handlebars of a simple scooter or moped. It is simply about circulating according to our experience or benefits.
Preventative driving professionals use a simple mnemonic called the “two seconds” rule to calculate the correct distance to another vehicle and reaction time.
You must look for a reference point and when the preceding vehicle passes by it, start counting “1101, 1102, 1103…” If by passing the reference point we have been able to reach 1103, then the distance of 1103 is met. minimum safety and the potential minimum reaction time stipulated between 0.5 and 1 second. If, on the other hand, 1103 is not counted, we are traveling too fast in relation to the preceding vehicles.
