One Driving Style

I overheard a fellow rider say the other day that when he is in his car, he drives differently than when he is on his bike. “I drive much more defensively when I’m on the bike than when I’m in the car.” I’m glad that he does and I hope he maintains his already long Safe Riding Miles record. But I wonder if he, and you, would consider another approach.

Why not drive your car the same way you operate your bike?

By this, I mean employ all the methods you’ve heard Chapter Educators, MSF Instructors and others recommend for safe riding, within reason, when you’re behind the wheel of your car.

These include;

• following distance,
• 360º awareness,
• signaled turns and lane changes,
• obstacle avoidance (find the best escape path and execute),
• scanning, and
• much more

As an example, if you always straighten the wheels of your car when coming to a stop on a curve, you are less likely to make a mistake on the bike when faced with the same situation. If you always maintain a minimum two second following interval in your car, you’re less likely to crowd the rider in front of you during a group ride.

As I see it, the benefits of using one driving style in both situations are twofold.

1. Poor driving habits you may have developed over time will not spill over into poor riding habits.
2. Secondly, employing all the safe riding methods possible while driving your car will kick up your safety margin a notch on four wheels.

Like the fellow I overheard, I too had developed sloppy driving habits over the years. When I started riding again, after an absence of many years, I noticed a gradual improvement in the way I operate the car. Later, I made a conscious decision to use just one driving style; the motorcycle riding style, which includes all the training I’ve been exposed to. In the car, I feel more alert, more confident, more ‘in control’ and more amazed when that idiot in front of me drifts out of his lane while talking on his cell phone.

My objective here, of course, is to promote the safest possible riding experience I can manage, for all riders. This is but another tool to move us in that direction, with the side benefit of improving our safety in our automobiles. Give this idea a try. You will come to appreciate it as I do.

Tom Scully

Chapter Educator

NC-E