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I have come to appreciate some of the more experienced life long street bike survivors. I don't always understand what they are telling me the first time I read it. But if you care to stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us and I do, take a moment and see if you like this advice as well.
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As a board elder statesman I've been riding for 52 years now. I've posted this a few times but thinking this topic merits a re-post. It has saved my life many times while doing battle with the cagers all these years... it goes like this:

1- Don't ever assume that cross traffic is coming to a stop when you receive a green light to proceed thru an intersection. Look both left and right before proceeding.

2- When approaching a vehicle that is slowing or stopped on the incoming lane and about to make a left turn into your path of travel... focus on the driver and the steering wheel (obviously applicable for daytime riding only). Practice this and you'll be surprised how much info you can glean from watching the driver. You'll get a sense if they see you coming, if they're texting, if they are about to snap the steering wheel and accelerate. Try it and you'll be surprised what you can actually see (get prescription eye wear for your riding glasses).

3- Lastly when you approach a vehicle on your right that is preparing to enter or cross your lane of travel, lightly decelerate, cover your brake pedal and lever and hone in on the left front wheel. If it starts to move they're potentially coming over and you'll have time to take evasive maneuvers. That wheel tells you everything they are about to do.


If you have some additional wisdom or advise that we can practice. These wild and crazy streets and highways are unforgiving for a two wheeler... please add on.

Those are all good points. Should be memorized and recited aloud at least every other day.

I would add: Be aware of drivers' blind spots; try never to ride in them. And, be aware of your own blind spots. This morning I was riding on a street that I was not familiar with. As I approached the intersection I saw that I needed to get over to the lane on my left to be ready to make my turn when the light changed. I was not doing 15 miles an hour when I started to drift into the left lane--WITHOUT HAVING EITHER LOOKED IN MY MIRRORS OR OVER MY SHOULDER! If I had acted a little more decisively and, instead of drifting, had made a deliberate swerve to the left, the woman in the tan sedan who sailed past me just then--almost grazing my leg--would have knocked me down for sure. I was tempted to lean on my horn--an air-horn of great presence and authority--but I thought better of it. The woman had taught me a valuable lesson. But for fear of being misunderstood, I would have caught up to her and blown her a kiss as I went by.

Great advice. Solid, applicable, and on point.

The only thing I can add is to be aware of your surroundings, always have an out, and drive defensively. The one that hits you will be the one you never saw coming.

Another thing: It is not enough to tell people to "Start Seeing Motorcycles". You have to make sure they can't help but see you. Wear a bright yellow windbreaker. Or a high-viz motorcycle jacket. Whack them in the face with your getup.

While not a very experienced rider, a situation came up that I need to watch out for. I was on a 30-35ish sort of road, and behind an SUV. Too close behind. S/he took a right turn, and I started around to the left continuing my journey. Except that a car was also coming out of that same street. Because I was screened by the SUV, the car entering the road did not know I existed until I flashed past his front end. Had the driver been a bit hotter of foot, I probably would have had a pretty bad accident.

GeorgeSK wrote:While not a very experienced rider, a situation came up that I need to watch out for. I was on a 30-35ish sort of road, and behind an SUV. Too close behind. S/he took a right turn, and I started around to the left continuing my journey. Except that a car was also coming out of that same street. Because I was screened by the SUV, the car entering the road did not know I existed until I flashed past his front end. Had the driver been a bit hotter of foot, I probably would have had a pretty bad accident.

Great report. I think we have all done something similar at one point in time. Good thing you were able to learn from your experience without it being an accident.

Anticipation is the name of the game to defensive driving.

Year's ago while I was in college, I drove for Greyhound bus lines. They did all the training and drilled defensive driving into our heads. They were so committed to defensive driving that they would visit the scene of accidents to determine if the driver could have done anything to prevent the accident, even if the driver didn't necessarily cause the accident. If they felt the driver could have prevented the accident by being more alert and defensive, he would get a mark against his record.

One such incident (not mine), was a driver who t-boned a car while the car traveled through a red light. The car driver was obviously at fault but the Greyhound driver was determined to be negligent in his responsibility to drive defensively because, in the determination of the company inspector, the intersection was unobstructed enough that the driver should have had enough time to see that the approaching vehicle wasn't slowing down. If the driver had been more aware of his surroundings, he would have likely had time to apply his brakes and avoid the collision.

GeorgeSK wrote:While not a very experienced rider, a situation came up that I need to watch out for. I was on a 30-35ish sort of road, and behind an SUV. Too close behind. S/he took a right turn, and I started around to the left continuing my journey. Except that a car was also coming out of that same street. Because I was screened by the SUV, the car entering the road did not know I existed until I flashed past his front end. Had the driver been a bit hotter of foot, I probably would have had a pretty bad accident.

Your situation reminded me of an old video by CycleCruza that shows the danger of the exact opposite situation where instead you're the one pulling out and you can't see the hidden vehicle behind the first vehicle. I would encourage everyone to watch this video if you haven't seen it already:

Situation awareness turns on with the ignition. If we fail to do so it's only a matter of time. I don't know about you guys but in my traffic its a given. It's a rare occasion that after an hour out there someone will not hear or see me. More so on the scooter than the Buell. I get a surge of adrenaline and try not to get angry because in that moment I would be most vulnerable to the next situation. So why do we do it? Why do I have the urge to suit up right now 10pm and go for a ride. I don't need anything, there's no particular place to go and I don't stop for anything anyway. Why? why do we do it. I willing to bet that if the police tallied the data on motorcycle accidents asking the question 'where were you going?' and people were truthful the percentages would tilt toward... no where

GeorgeSK wrote:While not a very experienced rider, a situation came up that I need to watch out for. I was on a 30-35ish sort of road, and behind an SUV. Too close behind. S/he took a right turn, and I started around to the left continuing my journey. Except that a car was also coming out of that same street. Because I was screened by the SUV, the car entering the road did not know I existed until I flashed past his front end. Had the driver been a bit hotter of foot, I probably would have had a pretty bad accident.

this is a classic set-up. Really, space is your best friend. No? Space can't crash into you, or hide you, crowd you, tail-gate or roar past you and then cut sharply back into your lane 6 feet in front of you. I'll go really far out of my way to keep some space between my little bike and all those 4, 6, 10, 18 wheeled gas and oil hogs that dominate all our roads-- in this country at any rate. I plan my routes with an eye to traffic density, not speed or distance. I usually get to where I'm going circuitously on roads less travelled.

GatorGreg wrote: Your situation reminded me of an old video by CycleCruza that shows the danger of the exact opposite situation where instead you're the one pulling out and you can't see the hidden vehicle behind the first vehicle. I would encourage everyone to watch this video if you haven't seen it already:

Good video.

You run into this kind of thing all the time. As someone recently commented on this forum, " Don't assume, verify". Another potential widow-maker is initiating your move on the assumption that a blinking turn signal is an infallible sign that a car will turn. Never move until that car keeps its promise and you can see what was behind it coming up.