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Back-end Bashes

Getting through traffic quickly requires that you maintain your situational awareness.

With all the heavy traffic between home and work, you’re using the motorcycle for commuting whenever the weather allows. And the more you ride in traffic, the more aggressive you become. Driving the car, it’s normal to sit in line waiting for traffic to move. Riding the bike, you can see farther ahead, be more aware of dynamic traffic patterns, and change lanes to take advantage of faster moving traffic.

This morning, someone in the right lane is dawdling, so you’re glancing over your left shoulder to see if there’s a gap in the left lane. But before you can jump over there, your peripheral vision picks up the brake lights of the truck ahead of you, and you realize the traffic signal has turned red. You squeeze the brake lever, but it’s too late. Your front wheel bashes into the back of the truck, and the bike topples over. It’s not a high-speed collision, but you’re in pain from slamming into the handlebars and then tumbling to the pavement. Worse yet, the collision is your fault.

Riding a bike in commuter traffic requires both proficient skills and good situational awareness. Yes, you can accelerate, brake, and change lanes quickly on a bike, but surviving day after day in heavy traffic requires that you be fully aware of what’s happening and not take any unnecessary risks.

It’s not wise to follow too closely in stop-and-go traffic or to assume that you have some privilege to weave around other vehicles. In this situation, you should have dropped back a little farther behind the truck ahead and maintained better awareness of the traffic signals. A collision is a wake-up call that your riding is getting too aggressive.