Seeing the future – situational awareness

June 15, 6:25 PMDC Motorcycle Travel ExaminerMark Poesch

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Seeing the future is about situational awareness.  To be fully prepared while riding, you must have awareness of yourself and your bike, the road surface, the vehicles around you, the road ahead, and the all potential threats on the road ahead.  And, that awareness is as much about what you don’t know, as it is about what you know.  This is all pretty basic, but it’s the foundation for your prediction of the future.  This is an elaboration on the “Search” portion of MSF’s “SEE.”

Weather conditions, driveways, intersections, stop signs, stop lights, animals, pedestrians, vehicles and road surface all represent potential threats that require constant search and evaluation.  An essential part of that evaluation must be an awareness of the unknown – never let your guard down – never assume.  Unless, you assume as Patty commented on the intro to this series: “I ride with the assumption that the car driver WILL be stupid and/or not see me.”

In driver training, we all learned about maintaining a buffer zone.  On a motorcycle, this buffer is more important than ever.  And, where, in a car, you might be less sensitive to the car following behind, on a bike, it’s absolutely essential to have as much buffer behind as you do in front.  Obstacles and road surfaces that cars can run right through or over, you may have to maneuver around.  If you have proper buffer ahead, you’ll have time to react to holes, debris, dead animals, live animals, etc.  If part of that reaction involves braking rapidly, you’ll be in trouble if you didn’t have sufficient buffer behind you.

But, vehicles on the road with you aren’t always a threat.  Having a big SUV leading the way down the road may slow you down, but you can bet that drivers ready to turn won’t bet against the SUV ahead of you.  Likewise, on four lane roads with at-grade intersections, riding “with” another car in the adjacent lane, slightly ahead or slightly behind, preferably, not immediately to your side, will more than double your visibility to oncoming drivers who may turn across your path.

Use lane position to make sure that you are visible to oncoming drivers.  And, use your lane position to make yourself visible to drivers on your side of the road.  Smoothly changing lane position from time to time will help drivers with you and on the other side of the road see you, improving their awareness.

Up next, anticipating drivers’ awareness and attitudes.

For more information:
- To survive, you must see the future!
- Seeing the future – situational awareness
- Seeing the future – anticipating drivers’ attitudes
- Seeing the future – anticipating drivers’ decisions
- Seeing the future – literally
- Seeing the future – lessons learned