longtime moto commuters... what's your secret?

[a1scoot]

What has kept me safe so far....(200,000 miles plus) in order of importance.
(1) Dirt racing experience.
(2) Constant scanning (watch the cage drivers for head movement,eyes,etc).
(3) Always plan your OUT before you really need it.
(4) On freeways I hang in left side of diamond lane giving me more distance to react and utilize shoulder in emergency stop situations.
(5) Always count on the driver to do the lamest move.
(6) YOU ARE INVISIBLE OUT THERE......
(7) Keep yourself as far from the threat as possible at all times.
(8) Assume nothing.
(9) Buy good gear and wear it.
(10) Lots of seat time.......
This is what has worked for me.....(results may vary with individual)
a1scoot

 

[Melissa]

My only mode of transportation for a few years was my bike and I always took the same route in a patient fashion, geared up properly and in the rainy season(s) I took it especially cautiously. I finally broke down and bought a car during one of the rainiest seasons in SF because it was not the slippery traffic that drove me crazy but instead the fact that my hair was always a mess!

 

[egrep]

I don't know how I'd find such a person. I've heard of these things but never really considered them in the context of riding a motorcycle (cause i haven't for some time). Could you expound on this topic? Sounds interesting and useful.

Besides all the things that have been mentioned, I also had a long time commuter (very safe and savvy) walk me through traffic flow dynamics. It's not a single determining factor in a rider's reaction to any given situation (no one thing usually is), but it's more data to process as you are riding (e.g. the compression cycles and merge patterns). Find someone who can walk you through this.

 

[Janna]

I've have a white helmet but my black leather jacket needs some brightening up. I have a regular safety vest but it's loose and flaps in the wind. Is there a type of safety vest that will stay put at freeway speeds? Where can I get one?

I know it's not going to look "cool" to wear one, but I agree, being visible makes sense.

Wearing a safety vest looks a lot cooler than skin grafts, and it's hard to look cool when you're dead.

Here's a link to the place we got ours. They are well made, hyper-visible, close with a zipper instead of velcro, and don't flap in the wind:
http://www.webtooltruck.com/tools/class-2-safety-vest/detail/2W8048OC-2-M.htmll


I got the idea to get the vest and white helmet when I was commuting across the Bay Bridge a few years ago and noticed that I would get startled in the daytime even by riders wearing all black, but I noticed the riders with a white helmet even when I was way far back in traffic. Riders in safety vests were impossible to ignore.

A commute requirement, in my view.

 

[jt2]

The only thing I can add that hasn't already been well-covered is...

Once you have learned the basics, nurture your "sixth sense".

No, not the "I see dead people" kind, but the kind that will eventually give you an uncanny ability to predict what a car will do next. After 10+ years of commuting almost exclusively by bike, I've found that you can pretty easily predict what a car is going to do next by looking at where the car is in the lane, speed of the car and where the driver is looking.

I think there is an unconscious "body language" that a drivers gives off. Learn to read it, and you won't be surprised by 99.9% of lane changes. Develop an instinct, and trust it when it tells you to watch out.

Yes, that one time out of a thousand can be the one that kills you, so It is in no way a substitute for other more basic, and more important survival skills, like your space cushions, being alert, etc., but it can make the difference between rolling up in your driveway, or an emergency room.