Being a good driver is not something that people need to be born with, it’s a matter of practice and patience that needs time. But, while many people start off their driving career directly with cars, there are some who had been riding motorcycles and these riders are undeniably good drivers. By the time you must be thinking how it is even possible that someone on two wheels can drive four wheels precisely that others. Here’s how.
AWARENESS
Motorcycle riders are more aware of the traffic aspects from major to minute things. Motorcycles don’t come equipped with 6 airbags, ABS and other safety features, so whole of the safety measurements are need to be taken care by the rider himself. A rider looks for hazard causing points everywhere and in everything over the road. Most of the riders develop a phenomenon on keeping an eye over everything and riding like everything can hit them. This awareness leads to lightning quick reaction times and more concentration towards safety of themselves while driving a car.
TARGET FIXATION TECHNIQUE
The first thing a rider is taught when he/she gets on the saddle is, to look as far as possible. This is to make the vision clear and to avoid the target fixation phenomenon which causes fatal crashes. Target fixation is a phenomenon where you see an object and want to avoid it hence end up steering into it.
As a rider, while driving a car, a person would try to avoid the target fixation phenomenon by looking as far as possible hence giving a better confidence over the vehicle and more command over road. Riding performance motorcycles makes you think about your road craft even further. Techniques like using the vanishing point to know when to get on the throttle is the key to a safe and fast country road blast.
VISIBILITY & MANEUVORING
Motorcycle riders tend to take care more of the visibility and blind spots especially during a manoeuvre through traffic. The mirrors that a motorcycle comes fitted with are not very trust worthy and are full of blind spots with limited visibility and as a result the rider end up checking safety areas in traffic, manually. If anyone learns to drive a car they are taught to look over their shoulders that too only in some conditions, while, a motorcycle rider needs to check the blind spots and the tailgating traffic repeatedly.
And with more manufacturers like Mercedes installing blind spot warning systems, taking responsibility for your own surroundings is something that is going to diminish. If the bike test were compulsory for all road users, there would be far more attentive drivers on our roads.
REGULAR MAINTENANCE
I think it’s the most underrated fact about the riders but it’s true. A biker would never ever let his/her machine go bad. As drivers, we are often told by our service guys and insurers to take care of the car and get it serviced over fixed time period, check tyre pressure every fortnight but how many of us do actually follow this?
As a biker the same question & you will find that they never miss a single maintenance check for their machines. Motorcyclists are often involved in DIY wrenching as everything is easily accessible and easy to fix, so, if they get into a trouble with their cars it becomes easier to fix them. After a while of working on your bike, servicing and modifying your car no longer seems like such a daunting prospect.
BAD HABITS
Another area where a motorbike rider succeeds over a car driver is involving in bad habits such as talking, texting over phone. It can be easy to fall into the trap of checking your phone at the lights or resetting your sat-nav on the move. But once you’ve taken to two wheels you gain a whole new appreciation of focusing on the road.
WEATHER PREPARATIONS
Motorcyclists are often found more prepared for bad weathers. Aside of wearing protective gears like jackets, riding pants etc. Motorcyclists prepare for road conditions more precisely. They also tend to keep their machine fit for any weather conditions thus these habits of them are self incorporated to their car driving style.
[ Image Source : Caranddriver.com, jafru.com ]