Skilled motorcycle riding is primarily achieved through the consistent, almost unconscious application of subtle, proactive habits rather than dramatic emergency maneuvers, which significantly reduces risk and enhances safety on the road.
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Many riders believe that becoming
skilled on a motorcycle is about
mastering big dramatic moves. Things
like emergency braking, swerving, or
doing a really tight U-turn. Those
things do matter, but they're not what
keeps riders out of trouble most of the
time out on the street. The difference
between a beginner and a skilled rider
usually shows up in the small things.
Quiet habits that happen automatically
without a whole lot of thought. Today
we're going to look at five things that
skilled writers do almost without
realizing it. Things that beginners
often overlook. If you start building
these habits early, they can
dramatically change the way you see the
road and how you manage that risk out on
the road. Skilled riders are constantly
checking their mirrors. Not staring at
them, but checking or sampling them. A
quick glance every few seconds builds a
mental picture of what's happening
behind you. especially every time you
roll off the throttle or touch the
brakes. This matters because traffic
situations change quickly behind you. A
car that was three or 4 seconds behind
you a moment ago is suddenly closing
that gap up very quickly. The Motorcycle
Safety Foundation teaches riders to
maintain a constant search pattern. So,
you're scanning ahead, you're scanning
to the sides, and you're looking behind
you by glancing at those mirrors.
Experienced riders do this so often that
they rarely are surprised by what's
happening behind them because they
already know. Beginners, on the other
hand, tend to look forward almost all
the time. They don't check their mirrors
until something forces them to. But by
the time you're reacting to what's
behind you, your options are already
shrinking. Before we move on, if you
want to dig deeper into the habits that
we're going to talk about and how to
apply them out on the road, that's
exactly why I wrote the book, The Road
Strategy Book. In that book, I break
down the thinking process skilled
writers use, how they scan traffic. They
manage space, anticipate problems, and
position themselves to stay out of
trouble before it starts. It's not about
flashy riding techniques. It's about
developing the kind of road awareness
that experienced riders build over years
of riding. If you're interested, you can
find the road strategy book along with
the MC Rider field guide with training
exercises to practice on any open
parking lot. You can find those on the
links below on the QR code on the screen
or in the description of this video on
YouTube. Skilled riders rarely ride
straight through an intersection without
thinking about their lane position. In
fact, they're already adjusting their
position before they get to the
intersection. Why is that? Well, it's
because intersections are one of the
most common places that motorcycle
crashes occur. In fact, research shows
that on multi-vehicle crashes, drivers
violate the motorcyclist right away is
the most common cause of that crash.
Lane position can improve our visibility
and bias time in intersections.
Sometimes that means moving towards the
left portion of the lane. so you can see
around a vehicle ahead. Sometimes it
means moving away from a vehicle that
might turn across your path. Skilled
riders are constantly adjusting position
to improve their view and to be seen.
Beginners, on the other hand, tend to
ride in one place in the lane and they
stay there. They pick their favorite
spot and they stay there even straight
through intersections. And that can lead
a rider into problems. And it's
something that advanced riders or
skilled riders rarely ever do. If you
watch skilled riders when they approach
situations that might develop or change
quickly, things like intersections,
parking lot exits, or in heavy traffic,
many of them will already have their
fingers covering the front brake and the
foot positioned near the rear brake on
the motorcycle. This simple habit
reduces reaction time. Studies on driver
reaction show that perception and
movement time can add up to more than a
second before braking ever begins.
Covering the brakes doesn't eliminate
reaction time, but it removes one step
from the process. That small difference
can mean several feet in stopping
distance. Beginners often ride with
their hands fully wrapped around the
throttle at all times and don't prepare
for the brakes until the hazard actually
appears in front of them. Skilled riders
prepare before the situation ever
developed. This is one of the big
advantages that skilled riders have over
new riders. Beginners tend to look at
the driver. Skilled riders tend to look
at the wheels. A driver can look
straight at you and still pull out right
in front of you, but the wheels almost
always tell the truth. The moment those
wheels start to roll or the angle of
those wheels change, that vehicle is
about to move. Experienced riders learn
to read those small movements early,
which gives them more time to respond.
Instead of reacting when the vehicles is
already in their path, they react when
the vehicle begins to move. And that
gives them a huge advantage. Skilled
riders are constantly managing the space
in front of them. They don't just ride
behind a vehicle and hope that
everything works out. They're actively
adjusting their following distance and
their lane position based on the speed,
the traffic conditions, and the
visibility. Most rider training programs
recommend maintaining at least a 2 or 3
second following distance under ideal
conditions, and increasing that gap as
speed or traffic complexity increases.
That buffer gives you time to recognize
a problem, react, and break more
smoothly if traffic suddenly slows down.
But experienced riders often go even
further than that. They look several
vehicles ahead and watch for brake
lights and lane changes or traffic
compressing up the road. If they see
things tightening up ahead, they quietly
roll off the throttle and increase the
following distance. Beginners tend to
focus only on that vehicle directly in
front of them, and that gets them into
trouble. Skilled riders are managing
space and buying time long before that
situation turns into heartbreaking. That
extra space is one of the simplest ways
to reduce your risk on a motorcycle and
especially riding in the city. It's one
of the most important habits that you
can develop. None of these habits are
flashy. They don't make for dramatic
riding stories or impressive riding
footage, but they quietly reduce risk
every time you ride a motorcycle. That's
the real difference between a beginner
and a skilled rider. It's not just what
you can do in an emergency. It's the
small things you do automatically long
before that emergency ever happens. And
that is the difference between a new
rider and a skilled rider. Till next
week, guys, this is Kevin with MC Rider
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