May is Motorcycle Awareness Month

Motorcycling season is upon us in many parts of  Canada and the United States.  Each year we hear of increasing fatalities of motorcyclists, some are due to rider error, but a large number of MVI's involving a motorcycle are caused by inattentiveness of  vehicle drivers.

Let's face it motorcyclists and scooterists have lower profiles in traffic and after a long winter, drivers just aren't used to looking for motorcyclists or scooterists.  This is where we come in by making ourselves as conspicuous as we can by wearing appropriate clothing, practicing good road skills and being hyper aware.  The old phrase that comes to my mind and I tell this to every newb I meet "Drive like you are invisible" in other words you have to assume that every car driver on the road does not see you and it is your job to get noticed.  Use correct lane positioning to give you optimum visibility advantage, don't drive in the blind spot.  Make yourself noticeable - wear hi viz, leave yourself good space margins around your bike or scooter and constantly scan your area, make eye contact with drivers and never assume anything, it can be deadly.  Practice S-I-P-D-E *Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute, while riding. 

Left hand turns at intersections seem to be a particularly bad place for a motorcyclist to be and they get nailed by a car turning left.  The first thing out of the driver's mouth "I didn't see them".  Distracted driving is another cause accidents, with all of the electronic gadgetry available today cell phones are the biggest distraction inside a vehicle.  When an electronic device is added into the interior of a vehicle the driver's visual processing speed/cognition is decreased by 50%.  We have all seen them, talking and texting while moving or stopped at lights.  In 2010 a law was passed in the Province of British Columbia banning handheld electronic device use, but it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference  to the texters/cellphone.

Basic driver skills get sloppy over time, and we have all been on the receiving end of a  bad lane change by a car driver at one point or another and it is very frustrating as a motorcyclists to know that it could have been avoided by the driver making a simple shoulder check instead of just relying on mirrors alone. 

Everyone who drives a car or rides a motorcycle has to learn to use the same road space and we all have to work together to make it safer for all road users.  Motorists please don't engage in distracted driving, practice good road skills, shoulder check before changing lanes and be completely aware of who is sharing the road space.  Do your part - drive smart.

Motorcyclists practice good road skills, obey traffic laws, make yourself CONSPICUOUS.  Take a motorcycle safety course if you are just learning to ride.    If you are a long term rider take an Advanced Motorcycle course to brush up on your skills.  Wear protective gear it does make a difference in crash outcomes. Do your part - ride smart. 

Distracted driving

We have all been there at one time or another, dealing with a distracted driver on a cellphone, texting, eating, screaming at their kids in the back seat.  Since I started moto commuting two years ago I have had several close calls due to this type of behaviour. You have seen my rants on a few occasions.  In 2010 BC passed a law about distracted driving & electronic devices.  In the Province of Bristish Columbia it is the 3rd leading cause of death, according to ICBC stats.  In BC on average 94 people a year die resulting from MVI involving distracted drivers.  $10 billion dollars is lost annually in Canada due to distracted drivers involved in a collision in healthcare costs and lost productivity, that equals 1% of our GDP.

In 2009 the BC Provincial Government did a traffic study on this subject and one of the stunning things they found out is that a driver with an electronic device in their car fails to process 50% of the visual information in their driving environment.  That is a scary finding.  It takes a split second of inattention when driving for things to go very wrong in a hurry.  Driving is one of the most complicated things we do and requires full cognitive attention to process all of the things coming at us at any one given time when we are in control of a vehicle.  You generally have mere seconds to make decisions about evasive manoeuvres or corrections when driving.

Distracted driving isn't just about electronic devices being used in the car, it's also about the drivers who eat & drink, are fatigued, dealing with kids and pets in the car environment, personal grooming such as applying make-up or shaving (I've seen both), reaching for objects, reading and other mundane tasks of daily living that we take into our cars.

Last month police in BC issued 5,514 violations for distracted driving and the number of violations is up from 2012, police issued 4,000 last year.  Young drivers between 16 and 24 are the highest risk group for distracted driving due to technology i.e. cellphones because they are more likely to use the cellphones with texting and messaging.  The fatality rate in this age group is approximately double to that of other drivers.  This makes this age group particularly vulnerable and as parents we need to bring this message home to our kids to #Drop It And Drive.

Tomorrow I along with two other road safety advocates will be on Cfax 1070 AM discussing distracted driving.

http://www.cfax1070.com/getmedia/552cea88-d4ce-4729-88ae-2e0fb490d493/mar-7-frank-1.aspx?width=300&height=45&ext=.mp3

5 Pet Peeve bad driving habits

Geoff James a fellow motoblogger asked us to post our 5 pet peeve bad driving habits.  His blog: Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist;  http://geoffjames.blogspot.com   Geoff is in the process of going for his IAM certification, which means he goes on observed rides and is graded on his moto performance capabilities and skills.  When he has completed this he will be the one observing & critiquing aspiring riders.

I modified his challenge a little because it was geared to car drivers and I happen to think there are a lot of bad motorcyclists and scooterists out there too who drive poorly.  So I will start with 5 bad car driver habits that make me particularly crazy when I am out on the road.  I primarily ride in city traffic and haven't ridden my motorcycle in a lot of highway traffic, so most of my peeves are geared to in-city.

Car Drivers


1)  Driver Distraction -  This has to be the #1 thing I notice when riding my motorcycle.  My biggest and most scary pet peeve is when I see people talking on their cell phones or texting while driving.  I have had drivers swerve into my lane because they just had to take the phone call.  I do let them know that I find this unacceptable and dangerous.  In the Province of British Columbia it is illegal to use handheld devices while driving.

2)  Driver's not paying attention at lights, particularly when making turns or when they run lights.  I always give myself a few seconds before advancing into an intersection because you just never know who is going to blow through and take you out because they are in a hurry or distracted by something in their car.

3)  Driver's not shoulder checking before making lane changes.  It is amazing what or who might be in a cars blind spot.  This is a basic driving skill and it is amazing how many people lose this skill when driving.  It is either just plain lazy or plain stupid on their part.  It only takes a second to shoulder check.

4)  Driver's not giving motorcyclists or scooterists space when stopped at a light or stop sign.  Do you really have to get that close to the back end of my bike?  I always keep a good space margin in front of me just incase I need an exit strategy because some doofus behind me gets rear-ended and pushed forward into me.  I am constantly scanning all areas around me for hazards and planning an escape route.  You need more than just plan A, you need plan A, B, & C when you are out in traffic.

5)  Driver's who  have forgotten the basic rules of the road, i.e. right of way at stop signs and what different road markings mean.  To every Victoria driver car, motorcycle, scooter, the solid white line on a roadway means that you can not lane change there.  Please for the love of Pete learn your road markings.

Motorcycles and Scooters


1)  Rider's who do not practice ATGATT.  I do not understand a rider's philosophy of not wearing gear when riding a motorcycle or a scooter.  This is particularly prevalent in scooterists, I get that they are the "urban" commuter and scooters were designed with the purpose of wearing street clothes, et cetera, but street clothes are not designed to protect you and keep your bones together.  When scooters first came out in the 50's there weren't the traffic volume issues and high speeds that we have today.  It does not take much to lose the surface of your skin when you are sliding down pavement in your civvies. Same goes for folks who choose to ride without gear on their motorcycles.  Luckily in BC helmets are mandatory.


So my question to you is if you don't wear gear, "Do you know how much it hurts to hit pavement? Have you seen what happens to your skin when it gets burned off by road rash?  Do you know how important armor is in protecting your hips, knees, back, shoulders and elbows?  Usually when you smack the pavement chances are one of the above is going to take the impact first.  What about good motorcycle gloves and boots how they protect your hands & feet?"  I have made the choice to ride ATGATT, even in hot summer temperatures, I would rather sweat than bleed.

2)  Motorcyclists and scooterists that don't take a motorcycle safety course.  These courses are valuable in giving you the techniques to save your life and know how to drive correctly and safely.  If you have been riding for a long time and haven't taken a course, most schools offer experienced rider courses which solidify what you are doing right and correct what you are doing wrong.  These courses build on your current skills and expand your skill set and knowledge base.  IMHO our roads are dangerous enough and you are making constant split second decisions that could have life long ramifications, at least with a good solid skills you will be able to make those decisions in any given road situation.

3)  Motorcyclists who drive recklessly, speed and tailgate.  YOU GIVE THE REST OF US WHO PRACTICE GOOD DRIVING SKILLS A BAD NAME.

4)  Motorcyclists/scooterists who do not make their intentions clear.  You have to be clear of what you are doing when you are around cars.  Turn your signal off after completing a turn,  don't leave it going for a block, it confuses all drivers.  Cars are bigger, meaner and less forgiving, usually you don't come out of a collision well.

5A)  Lane position.  This drives me nuts when someone is not in the correct lane position.  This is all basic stuff which is right in the manual.  Why would you not ride in the best lane position?  It is important in traffic so no one is confused and everyone SEEs you.  Riders need to take the theory of 'Ride like you are invisible to heart' and part of this theory is about lane positioning.

5 B)  Motorcyclists/Scooterists who do not shoulder check.  This is one of the biggest things they drill into a novice rider, when you stop you shoulder check, before you move you shoulder check, before you turn  you shoulder check.  CHECK, CHECK, CHECK AND CHECK!!!!  This one single act does save lives, you never know who is going to be in your blindspot or if you are in theirs.

(So I cheated a little on the number of peeves.)