Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015 | 2 a.m.
Motorcycles and cars may share the road, but riding a motorcycle and driving a car are very different experiences. Driving often is more destination oriented, while riding can be a full-sensory experience in itself. Every time a rider gets on a motorcycle, he or she needs to channel different types of focus and concentration.
S: Search — Riders should search and scan the road constantly, looking for anything that might affect their control or safety. That includes knowing what’s on either side of you as well as behind you.
The three things to look for continually are: traffic devices and markings, road characteristics and conditions and other road users.
E: Evaluate — Riders should be able to evaluate quickly, draw conclusions and anticipate actions based on their continual observations. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation recommends that riders assume the worst while riding to maximize safety.
E: Execute — This is the stage during which riders need to act on the previous two steps. Once riders have identified risks and predicted potential outcomes, they can adjust accordingly.
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The physical reaction: Riding a motorcycle is a much more physically demanding activity than driving a car. Maneuvering a motorcycle requires your brain and body to work together in more complex and cognitively challenging ways. Furthermore, the body positioning for riders versus drivers commands a different type of attention. When you’re in a car, you typically sit comfortably and slightly reclined, whereas some motorcycles, such as sport bikes, require riders to sit up with their chest forward, engaging the brain for action.
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The cognitive reaction: Awareness and judgment are as important as technical riding skills. Between the mind’s demands, the sensory experience and the rider’s vulnerability, motorcycling can cause a swell of chemicals in the brain, specifically adrenaline and endorphins. Despite this, it’s important to stay focused and not distracted by passing thoughts.
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The sensory reaction: Beyond sitting position, being on a motorcycle tends to require more attentiveness to the environment. In a car, you’re unlikely to feel every bump in the road or the full force of the wind breezing past your ears. On a motorcycle, you’re much more connected to what’s happening around you. For many riders, that is part of what makes riding so freeing: You’re one with the road. But it also is what makes riders so physically vulnerable. They don’t have as many layers of protection as drivers in a car do in the event of a crash.
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A car driver’s perspective: Drivers tend not to notice motorcyclists easily. That’s because of inattention blindness. When a person is driving, his or her brain is so focused on the task at hand, the person essentially has blinders up to objects that aren’t other cars moving in predictable ways. People are less likely to notice what they aren’t looking for. Drivers who are focused solely on driving and who aren’t splitting their concentration on conversations, phones, thoughts and other distractions are more likely to see motorcyclists and less likely to cause crashes.
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How to stay safe while riding a motorcycle: A common safety technique for riders is to ride like you are invisible (while still making yourself visible to others, of course). This means riders should practice extreme defensive riding and assume no one can see them on the road. Adopting the mindset of invisibility can make riders more likely to notice risks. Regardless, riders should always wear reflective clothing and make their presence known.
