Motorcyclists Use This Trick to Avoid Crashes

When it comes to being in traffic, being bigger is usually better - and safer.

When you are just a dot on the landscape you are much harder to see and, sadly, more likely to be a statistic.

That's one of the reasons riders should take courses on riding even before they hop on a bike.

Many of the "tricks" to riding a motorcycle are learned from speaking with other riders and, as you would imagine, from the experience of riding. The more you ride, the more you learn.

One of the tricks that I learned when I had a Harley-Davidson was how to keep an eye on a car that pulls up to an intersection.

Before I bought a motorcycle, I thought that I knew the best way to drive defensively, but this trick that I learned showed me that what I was doing wasn't the best practice.

I used to keep an eye on the driver - and the driver's eyes. I would try to forecast the driver's next move by trying to see where he/she is looking.

Thanks to a friend who shared some riding safety tips with me, I now disregard the driver almost totally - instead, I watch the tires on the car.

When a car pulls up to a stop sign or a red light (where 'Right on Red' is legal), watch the tires on that car, because they WILL tell you if the driver decides to enter the intersection.

You WILL know if the vehicle begins to roll if you keep an eye on the wheels MUCH SOONER than you will know if the vehicle is moving while you are looking at the driver.

This little "trick" that I picked up when riding transferred well to the bag of driving tricks I use while in the grocery getter.