Street/Highway strategies

When coming on to the highway it is often a lot smarter to use quick acceleration to your advantage, instead of slowing down and hoping the car in front of you will not mess things up.

If you need to slow down, in order to move behind the car that is manouvering onto the highway in front of you, you are putting yourself in a very dangerous position.
You can be hit by cars also entering the highway behind you, who are busy checking their mirrors for a good spot.
Once you manouvre onto the highway at that slow speed, there are the high speed cars that where not expecting you. (and whom you did not see, because you had to keep an eye on that clumsy idiot in front of you)

It is better to speed up, quickly pass him on the right when it is save (while doing this, a wheelie is not strictly nessesary) and move onto the highway in front of him.
The higher your speed, the less change you have of being hit from behind and when entering the highway, that is the biggest danger.

The same thing goes for slow moving trucks that are already on the highway, when you are trying to turn onto it.
Use your ability to speed-up, instead of slowing down and move behind them.

Do make sure you do a shoulder-check for the car that might have been overtaking that truck and moves back to the 1st lane, as soon as he has passed it. (and is not expecting you)
If that car is there, then do not force your way in or scare him, but just stay on the shoulder (emergenty lane/space) until it is save.

And this is also true when getting off the highway. Try to avoid having to slow down on the off-ramp.
Better to speed-up and quickly pass slow cars/trucks that are already on the off-ramp, before you go to the right.
If you happen to mis-calculate, no crazy stunts, but just take the next exit.

In the Netherlands all the (motorcycle) driving instructors will teach you to always drive about 5 to 10km/h over the speedlimit. Everywhere!
The people that jurge your driving at the exam, share the beleive that this is the safest way to drive a motorcycle, because it enables you to make the decisions, rather then waiting to see what the cars around you are going to do.

If you stay at the speed limit or below, you will fail your driving test!
In that case, you apparently do not have enough confidence in your own skills and need some more lessons.

You are also suppost to use your ability to speed-up, if that helps you avoid dangerous situations.
This means that if you go way over the speed limit during the driving test, but you where able to avoid a dangerous situation, you will get a compliment for it.
This is especially true on the highway and when getting on/of the highway.

Anoyinglly these are not official rules.
Police officers will usually understand why you are doing it and will allow it. (as long as you are actually doing it for safety reasons)
Automatic speedingcams do not look at motorcyles differently.
So your doing it exactly as you where taught, and still you get speeding tickets.

Do not ever stay behind a truck, a van, or any other vehicle that obstructs your vision.
If you do not have a choice, then stay way behind it, so they can better see you in their mirrors and you can see more of what is in front of them.
(like your hand a meter away from your face, covers less of your vision then a hand right in front of your face)
Also helps to move a bit to the left or right of the lane, depending on the situation.

Besides the vision thing, it is almost always better to be to launched over a car and hopefully rol, then it is to smash into a flat surface, like the back of a van/truck/SUV. (and most likely loose consiousness right on impact)

If you are planning to pass a truck, do not drive up to it to close.
For the reasons mentioned above and because when you have some distance, you can build-up some speed right before you actually overtake.
Instead of swinging to the left (half blind) and then speeding-up.

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious.
These are realy the basics, but I see so many people messing this up.

Then, there is the rain:

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/ho...ng_in_the_wet/

"Riding in the Wet
Caution is the Hallmark of Rainy Days
By Jerry Smith

If you’re the kind of rider who isn’t going to let a little rain stop you from enjoying your sport, good for you. But if you’re also the kind of rider who thinks you can ride the same way in the wet as you do in the dry, all we ask is that you remember us in your will. Riding in the rain requires a change in technique––and more important, in attitude––to keep you from becoming just another of the many greasy smears on the road this winter.

It’s well known that the first rain of the season lifts up the oil and diesel deposited on the asphalt by car and truck traffic, leaving the pavement slick. But even after the slippery stuff washes away, paint stripes, tar snakes, and manhole covers remain, all with the traction equivalent of a silent-movie banana peel. Urban streets especially turn into low-grip minefields, so slow down in town, use your brakes gently, and don’t stop with your rear tire on a surface that could cause wheelspin when you take off. Get on and off the gas and brakes smoothly if you enjoy riding with both your wheels in line.

As parts of the U.S. highway system slouch toward parity with the Dakar Rally route, more and more road hazards go unrepaired, some of which are tricky to spot in winter. That seemingly broad, shallow puddle up ahead might really be a 6-inch-deep pothole filled to the brim with muddy water, just waiting to swallow up an unwary motorcyclist’s front wheel. Watch the cars up ahead to see what happens when they hit it. A big splash and bouncing taillights probably mean you’ll want to take the long way around.

Camouflaged sinkholes are just one of the reasons to slow down and increase your following distance to the car ahead. Cars might suck as transportation, but even in the rain they can outbrake you right out of your boots, and with modern soundproofing the driver might not even hear the thud of your bike hitting the trunk. Give the car ahead of you even more room than usual, and if you’re the one being tailgated, don’t get territorial and defend your piece of the road. Pull over and wave the space invader by, because the paramedics won’t have time to hear about how you stood your ground while they’re prying you and your bike out of the grille of a pick-up truck.

After you adjust your riding style for slick conditions, next comes the attitude check, and sometimes that’s the hardest part. For some riders who aren’t used to riding in bad weather, or aren’t ready for it when it happens, the harder the rain falls the higher their stress level rises. This stress manifests itself as a death grip on the bars, knees clamped tightly on the gas tank, and abrupt control inputs better suited to a round of Whack-A-Mole. Their lines through corners become choppy, and they wear themselves out trying to hold the bike upright against the awful crash they’re convinced is right around the next bend. Not only do all these reactions make that dreaded crash more likely, the fatigue they generate makes it harder to concentrate on the real dangers they need to watch out for in addition to the imaginary ones.

The cure is simple, but it takes practice and a willingness to explore the outer limits of your comfort zone. Next time it rains, suit up and go for a short ride, focusing your awareness on the road surface, the cars around you, and your own reactions. Do everything––accelerating, braking, cornering, changing lanes––smoothly and gently until it becomes instinctive. Ride as if all car drivers are blind, and you’re invisible, and react accordingly. Give the right of way freely, and don’t force the issue with drivers whose minds are obviously on something other than the road.

Increase the length of your rides as you get more comfortable, and one day you’ll find yourself sloshing down the road with the same confidence you have in the dry, along with a better outlook toward riding in bad weather.

Quick Facts

Track tires designed for maximum grip on dry pavement don’t have many sipes to channel water away from the contact patch, so they’re more prone to hydroplaning on standing water. Road tires have more sipes because they’re more likely to be ridden on wet roads. But even road tires can hydroplane if the water is deep enough, or if the speed of the bike is too high."

Good point!

The roads here have not seen any good rain in months.
It has often drizzled, but not nearly hard enough to wash anything away.
Whenever the road is wet you start to see huge amounts of colorfull oil stains everywhere.
Especially at traphic lights and intersections. (and that is just the type of dirt that you can actually see)

It has been piling-up and the first day it is going to rain hard enough to make everything float to the surface, it is going create a film of dirt on top of the road surface, that is going to be very, very slippery.

I'm hoping for 1 or 2 long and really hard showers to wash most of it away, but it seems I'll have to wait a while longer.

Notes:
- Motorcycles are generally less prone to hydroplaning than cars.
- All other things being equal, the best things you can do to reduce the chance of hydroplaning is to limit your speed when standing water is possible and to keep your tire pressures up. Tires with low pressure will hydroplane at lower speeds.

Wow! I'm impressed if this is really the case.

It is. (I'm from the Netherlands myself)
Our motorcycle driving exams are taken very serious, with a theoretical exam, then an obstical course exam (figure 8, emergency braking, etc) and a final on-road driving test.

Can get a bit expensive but when you pass it, you are better prepared.

Our latest rules even say that young drivers can only start with low CC bikes.
11kW -> 18yo / 35kW -> 20yo / unlimited kW -> 24yo (or 22yo with 2 years driving experience)

That is good advice. It requires staying alert, though, and that is not always easy to do, especially on longer trips. Still it is what you should aim for.

And I would add this specific tip:

On the highway, where speeds are higher, learn to spot all possible turning places on YOUR side of the road. Those are the places, where the cagers coming across will try to turn to, and while doing this, might get on a collision course with you. At highway speeds, the consequences to you are easily disastrous. When you have such possible turning place spotted (a small driveway, a parking lot, sometimes just a ´path´ leading to the woods etc) check out what the cars coming across are doing. If any one of them is slowing down at all, they could be planning a turn. It is not guaranteed they will use a blinker.

It can still lead to a very dangerous situation, even if you can see in advance, that a car is starting to make a turn. Also trying to notice, when a car coming across is slowing down, can sometimes be pretty hard to do (as is trying to notice EVERY possible place, where they might turn across your lane!) But at least TRYING to be aware of this, might increase your chances, when some *sshole decides to cut straight in front of you. (..Oh yeah, also make sure you have bright headlights on your motorcycle, and always use them, even in bright daylight, because this increases the chance that the cager, who´s planning to turn, will see you).

When you are in the most left lane, stay on the right side of that lane, relatively close to the cars that are driving next to you in the middle lane.
(while off-course always trying to avoid being in his blind spot)

If these cars on your right, make a unexpected move toward you, yes, you are closer to him, but you also have more room to manouvre out of his path, before he presses you against the guard-rail (or oncoming trafic)

When you are on the right side of the lane and the car in front of you slams his brakes, you also are already perfectlly positioned to lane-split between the 3th and 2nd lane. (avoiding having to brake yourself and very likely getting rear-ended)
You can also still dive to the left and go between him and the guard-rail. (least favorite option)
When you drive on the left/center of the lane and you have to dive towards the right in order to lane-split 3th & 2nd, you will scare the hell out of people in the middle lane. (plus you risk hitting them, because it is still an emergengy manouvre)
Much better to already be in the right position and barely having to steer.

When you are in the most left lane and you would stay in the center/left, you are also loosing visibility behind you, because when you now look in your left hand mirror, all you will see is the guard-rail.
If you look in this mirror while you are on the right side of the lane, you will suddenly see that car that has creeped very close up to you. (while you where scanning the busy traphic ahead of you)
When you depend only on your right-hand mirror, you will very likely not see that car. (try it)

These comments are only for when you are in the most left lane.
In the middle/right lanes it is generally best to stay in the center of your lane.
Depending on the situation off-course. (road conditions, dirt, oil, etc. etc.)

Stay the hell away from Walmart supercenters, especially around the first of the month.
The drivers make zombies look benevolent by comparison.

I always give a wide berth to cagers, whenever I can. Does not make a whole lotta sense to be any nearer than you have to. Plus when you're close to a larger vehicle, it blocks a great part of your view. Danger can loom behind that vehicle. I've personally had a very large pig run straight into my path on a motorway, it barely missed the front of a truck, and then it was in front of me. Somehow I survived that day, but it was a good lesson, that when something big is close to you on the road, literally anything can be hidden behind it.

You do make a good point.
Without arguing about which is the lesser of 2 evils, lets agree that it's always good to be aware of all the options and possible senario's.

Actually I agree with most points you made, the only one I questioned was positioning to the right, close to cars. (quoting with this mobile phone is a PITA, so got lazy and quoted the lot!)

And I couldn't agree more about being aware, and trying to work out all possible scenarios in advance. Won't save you with 100% certainty, but it often helps a lot. The most dangerous things are the remaining ones that you weren't able or could not figure out in time.

When approaching an intersection or side street and I see a vehicle waiting to turn/cross/merge I watch the spokes or front tire of the vehicle. I never trust that the driver is making eye contact with me.

Your eye can pick up rotational movement easier than the vehicle creeping forward because the brake has been released.

Might give you an extra half second to realize they don't see you and are beginning to pull out.

Greetings,

I am sometimes catching yellow lights at intersections... my immediate response is to apply the brakes immediately which sometimes is very unnerving.

What is the proper method when approaching the intersection when the light is green and then turns yellow when you are already at speed?

Any advice would be appreciated.

I often worry about getting rear-ended when coming to a quick stop due to a yellow light by a driver that's paying attention to the light and not to whether I went through ahead of them or not.

Whenever you see a traficlight (any color) or a regular intersection approaching in the distance, first thing you do is start checking your mirrors, so you know if it is going to be safe to do a emergengy brake later-on.
(if not, you might not want to depend on your brakes at all, but rather start checking if the sidewalks, or oposite lanes etc. are empty)

I was told by my driving instructor to generally run the yellow light until right before it turns red.
Chances are big that a car behind you expects you to run the yellow (especially when you are on a fast motorcycle) so he might even accelerate to do the same.
I only brake for a yellow light, if there is plenty of time to gratually slow down in a save manner.

All intersections are different, so there is no golden rule.
If there is a large truck blocking your view towards the side streets, everything changes.
If there are pedestrians ignoring the lights, everything changes.
Again, it all starts with checking your mirrors and escape routes, long before you have to make a decision.

When there are cars stopping in front, check if it safe to lane-split.
Where I live this is legal, but in my opinion, anything is always better then the risk of getting rear-ended, so I would also risk it if it was not legal.
A cop would have to be a real dick, to give you a ticked if you are really doing it for obvious safety reasons.

If lane splitting is not a option, at least steer your bike toward a gap, so you can dive in there if needed.
Always keep your bike in first gear at intersections, so you only have to let go of the clutch to make the bike move.

Also leave a large gap between you and the car in front of you.
It makes you more visible to cars around you and chances are that the car behind you is also going to keep a save distance if he sees you doing it.
If you almost hit the bumper of the car in front of you, the people behind you will most likely behave like sheep and do the same to you.

Keep checking your mirrors, also when there is already one car that has stopped behind you, because when he gets rear-ended ....

If you've already given up half your reaction room, where does that leave you? Off-road/into a ditch!

Horizontal movement attracts attention. Hence the 'drunk cyclist's weave' when approaching cross streets.

If you're towards the middle of the lane and someone crosses over towards you, your movement away *may* attract enough attention to avert whatever action the oncoming driver may have been contemplating.

If you're already over to the right, you're not moving, and you're not going to be seen.

M

He is talking about being on a two lane road with both lanes traveling the same direction. You are in the number 1 lane in the left, passing cars on the right in the number 2 lane.

I ride to the left in the number 1 lane. I don't care if the cagers see me or not, I'm going to ride in such a way that allows me to avoid contact. I disagree with the line of thought that says you should stop riding like you're invisible to increase your conspicuity.