Motorcycles have a number of great benefits such as;

• affordability
• Fuel economy
• Low maintenance costs
• Ease of parking
• Navigating traffic choked roads

But frankly, who cares?  If these are the most important considerations when it comes to transport, buy a bus or train ticket!

Motorcycles are powerful, exhilarating, attention-seeking, excitement machines.  Exposure to the weather, high performance response and the thrill of danger are what make motorcycling such a “primal” experience. 

There is a perverse sense of gratification when someone comments “Motorbikes are so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o dangerous!”  My favourite response is “We’ve all got to die from something”.

However, despite the bravado, I’d rather die of old age.  Very old age.  Extremely old age.  An age when senile dementia is just a memory.  And I’d like my motorcycle to be in pristine condition when I do finally shuttle off this mortal coil, so it can stand in as a unique centrepiece at my funeral service.

To achieve this dream, motorcyclists must excel in defensive riding.  There is no point in moaning about stupid drivers, Volvo drivers or any other kind of drivers unless you’re simply making pleasant chat with fellow bikers.  (At this point I must confess I owned a Volvo once.  I have since reformed.)

The fact is, motorcycles are extremely difficult to see and to anticipate.  I have long since learned not to roar off from traffic lights if there is a vehicle waiting to join the road at the other side of the intersection.  The driver is unlikely to anticipate how quickly you will be positioned for impalement on the tow bar. 

Furthermore, drivers are typically on the lookout for cars, not motorcycles.  There is something about the human brain that blocks perception of unanticipated objects.  This is the reason I can’t find items in the pantry, when the packaging changes.  If I am looking for the red container, the newly changed blue packaging could be sitting right in front of me and still be invisible.  So it is with motorcycles.  They are not cars, ergo: they do not exist for the majority of drivers.

Have a Plan (or 3)

Motorcyclists must have a “back-up” plan at every stage of their ride.  Plan A is get on, get going, obey the traffic code and arrive at your destination intact.   Plan A is usually a dismal failure.  Riders are challenged by vehicles changing lanes on top of them, driving over them as they cross from one side of the carriageway to the other, merging from a side road with the flow of traffic (collecting the motorcycle with the side of the car as they do), turning left or right from the wrong lane across the rider’s direction of travel or failing to stop in time when the motorcycle pulls up at traffic lights.  Then there are bad days.

Plan B is multifaceted.  Riders must continually be aware of how much road is available to them in all directions, in the event of a close encounter with someone “looking for the red packet”. 

Be aware that if you accelerate hard, that driver ahead still thinks you are miles behind.  Make sure you have plenty of spare lane(s), or sufficient braking capacity. 

When you observe a driver waiting to cross the road ahead, don’t be fooled by the fact they are looking right at you.  This means NOTHING!  Travel at a safe speed (and that should certainly be at or under the speed limit) and be ready to brake and dodge behind or in front of the vehicle when it lurches out.

When you hear the screeching of tyres behind you at the traffic lights, you should already know that you have left sufficient space to manoeuvre to the left, right or straight ahead.  Keep checking those mirrors!   I once had a very close encounter when stationary behind a vehicle waiting to turn right.  The sound of squealing rubber alerted me, closely followed by a looming grille in the rear view mirror.  I did manage to duck out to the left and a split second later heard the impact of bonnet on boot.  “Piggy-in-the-middle” was not a pleasant prospect.

Plan C has short term appeal.  Ride hard and die young.  Not recommended for those with aspirations to venerable old age status, but great while it lasts.

Despite your best efforts, as a motorcyclist you are always at risk of a “close encounter of the third kind” : i.e. contact!  Even when alert to a hazard, there comes a point of “no return”, much like “V2” on the airport runway.  If Mr/Ms Volvo chooses that time to make their move:…well, you get the idea.  Given a choice, collide with the road surface rather than an object.  The odds of survival are better.

Motorcycles are so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o dangerous!  (But I love them all the same.)