Jim Ford and thoughts about scanning the environment

Agree. Don't think it's because I got older, but drivers today, having greatly improved vehicles, snap handling, great brakes, lots of standard HP, all sorts of safety designed into standard fare, myriad of tech devices handheld, clicking away, seem to operate their cages with little regard for their's or other's safety.

If driving my F-150 I get respect, (it's bigger), than my grocery getter Scion. And the motorcycle even less because it's presents little alarm to a cage driver. Its size is contemptible to a cage ramming its way through traffic. Back roads have their own distinct hazards. One of which is the warm fuzzy feeling that things are much safer, because yer not on the slab. Leaving and entering driveway can also be a leap of faith. What could happen, yer going only three MPH? A big hurdle is containing yer id when abused by other's bad dangerous driving.

There's a lot going on out on the road. The police are the my last problem.

Like other western states, Montana has relatively high speed limits. Interstates are 80 MPH and most rural two lane roads are 70 MPH. Those that have been on the Beartooth Pass may remember that when entering Montana from Wyoming at the top of the pass there are signs saying "Welcome to Montana" and "Speed Limit 70 MPH". Good luck doing 70. We live a 1/4 mile off a state highway with a 70 MPH limit. I ride/drive it regularly for about seven miles towards town and 20 miles in the other direction to the Continental Divide in Flesher Pass, and I cannot recall ever being passed while doing the limit. I often find myself behind a driver doing 50-55 MPH who seems oblivious to what they are doing. There is one very elderly woman who seldom goes over 45. I suspect she has no other option but to continue to drive well beyond the time when she should stop. I followed her once when she was doing 35 in the rain and crossed the centerline repeatedly. I talked to a deputy who said he would try to talk to her. He asked if I wanted a call back and I said no so I do not know what happened, but I have not seen her in quite awhile. Slow driving leads to dangerous situations. While in my truck I dutifully follow the slow pokes and sometimes get passed in double yellow zones that comprise much of the road. I too am guilty of passing in a double yellow when on a bike. Illegal, yes, and I will accept the consquences if cited, but in my assessment not unsafe given the my sightline and relative speed differential. In Montana it is legal to do 10 MPH over the speed limit when passing on a two lane highway.

akbeemer said:

That presumes that exceeding posted speed limits is necessarily unsafe; it is not in many cases.

Click to expand...

Maybe it is the OTHER guy on the road that can't handle going above the speed limit with multi distractions around.

Like getting passed by a Porsche going top speed on HW 50 in Nevada. That was scary!

/Guenther

8ninety8 said:

Agree. Don't think it's because I got older, but drivers today, having greatly improved vehicles, snap handling, great brakes, lots of standard HP, all sorts of safety designed into standard fare, myriad of tech devices handheld, clicking away, seem to operate their cages with little regard for their's or other's safety.

If driving my F-150 I get respect, (it's bigger), than my grocery getter Scion. And the motorcycle even less because it's presents little alarm to a cage driver. Its size is contemptible to a cage ramming its way through traffic. Back roads have their own distinct hazards. One of which is the warm fuzzy feeling that things are much safer, because yer not on the slab. Leaving and entering driveway can also be a leap of faith. What could happen, yer going only three MPH? A big hurdle is containing yer id when abused by other's bad dangerous driving.

There's a lot going on out on the road. The police are the my last problem.

Click to expand...

Precisely.

Statistically, super slabs (interstates) are far safer than the so-called scenic backroads. Interstates get a bad rap because, due to high speeds, when there are collisions, the destruction and death-toll is horrific and newsworthy. But with controlled entry and exit, multiple lanes to accommodate passing and surfaces and radii engineered for posted speeds, they are inherently safer for the motorcyclist.

I point out to my students in every BRC that intersections, not the freeway, present the greatest danger and highest percentage of collisions.

I embrace the US Interstate System as my corridors to adventure, and still stop many times along the way to discover new places and experiences. The time I save in travel from A to B is re-invested in time spent at B or C or D!

Improving vehicles without improving how people drive them (education, followed up by enforcement) only results in crashes involving impressively sophisticated machines, operated by impressively incompetent drivers.

Ride in two axis (X and Y) but think in three (X and Y and Z). I like to be aware of what is happening all around me, situational awareness if you will, or can, is a very good thing for self preservation on two wheels. Trust your skills and training primarily instead of relying primarily on your gadgets.

Friedle

Friedle said:

Ride in two axis (X and Y) but think in three (X and Y and Z). I like to be aware of what is happening all around me, situational awareness if you will, or can, is a very good thing for self preservation on two wheels. Trust your skills and training primarily instead of relying primarily on your gadgets.

Friedle

Click to expand...

Like I preach to my students: "See everything, but prioritize what can hurt you."

akbeemer said:

That presumes that exceeding posted speed limits is necessarily unsafe; it is not in many cases.

Click to expand...

Thanks! The premise that speed limits are somehow determined to be the safest and any deviation is unsafe is a flawed starting point.

Speed limits are a combination of politics, safety and most common practice...maybe NO speed limits andf recklesness as the determining factor makes more sense?

apropos of nothing:
http://www.lsp.org/pdf/troopc85thSpeed.pdf

The city I worked for started using this program and many folks had a-ha moments. It was designed for fleet operations, but transfers to all drivers.

www.drivedifferent.com

There are copyrights so will not show the five keys. I have used them so long it is almost automatic in my brain toolkit on the road.

On the Interstates use, I dislike sharing the road with a steady convoy of 18 wheelers. Some are not as congested, or so some say, but the ones I have used leave me exhausted and not a happy participant. Dodging large road gators and trying to get around side by side rigs is not a fun day in my experience. I guess some folks have fewer options and a different mindset and if it is your thing, so it goes.

West of the Big Muddy, the US Highways as well as many state roads have the same speed limits and the I-roads are less plentiful anyways. To each his own, but I,like the late Charles Kuralt, prefer the road less travele. Gotta love his quote "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything"

henzilla said:

The city I worked for started using this program and many folks had a-ha moments. It was designed for fleet operations, but transfers to all drivers.

www.drivedifferent.com

There are copyrights so will not show the five keys. I have used them so long it is almost automatic in my brain toolkit on the road.
...

Click to expand...

It's OK to link to the keys on their web site: https://www.drivedifferent.com/smith5keys/

I wonder if this Smith System is adaptable for a classroom presentation at say, the BMW MOA Rally in Lebanon? I bet it would be very popular and the per capita cost would not be very high.

The MSF and most 'track-day' schools have been stressing these "FiveSmithKeys" for decades.

What this appears to be is the same advice, packaged into a copyrighted presentation, and 'geared' for non-motorcycle highway users.

However, if one thinks such a seminar would have value at a National, it should be looked into - too many MOA members lack formal or recurring instruction, so it would be a good refresher of 'common sense' behind the handlebars.

txmxrider said:

I really enjoy reading all the MOA articles regarding riding safely and I especially enjoy Jim Ford's articles because I too like to ride mountain roads at a brisk (but safe) pace. I try to train my eyes to watch the vanishing point and also scan the road and ditches for hazards.

Click to expand...

I found it humorous that he set the stage for almost crashing because he was fantasizing about my wife.

lkraus said:

It's OK to link to the keys on their web site: https://www.drivedifferent.com/smith5keys/

Click to expand...

Nothing new there, but it sums up defensive driving very well. Point 5 is especially important to motorcyclists since we are harder to spot in traffic and safety studies all agree this is a big problem for us.

greenwald said:

Precisely.

Improving vehicles without improving how people drive them (education, followed up by enforcement) only results in crashes involving impressively sophisticated machines, operated by impressively incompetent drivers.

Click to expand...

This is an excellent point.

Jay