3 Mental Tools to Make You a Safer Rider

Mental Tool #1: You are “invisible”.

Approximately half of serious motorcycle accidents (and the majority of fatal motorcycle accidents) follow a familiar playbook: A driver of an automobile enters a roadway and turns left across the path of a motorcyclist that they did not see was riding right towards them. Referred to as a “left-turn collision”, this deadly scenario illustrates why you should ride as if you are invisible. This mental tool can help to keep you vigilant in the moments leading up to what could become an accident. You can never assume that a motorist sees you riding, so it’s safer to assume that they can’t see you at all. Thinking this way can reduce your likelihood of an accident due to motorists who are distracted, fail to yield, under the influence, etc.

Mental Tool #2: Understanding how “ready” you are to ride.

Riding motorcycles and piloting airplanes have a significant amount of overlap in the way that the mind and body are leveraged to accomplish the task at hand. During both of these activities, the mind gathers and processes an incredible amount of data every second before generating a physical response that will continue to maintain positive control of the motorcycle or aircraft. For pilots, a huge part of the equation for maintaining a high safety standard is assessing and understanding their own mental and physical readiness on any given day that they fly. Maybe you’re getting over a cold and feeling a bit foggy, or maybe you just didn’t get enough sleep the night before - both of these factors are examples of diminished mental readiness that can affect the way you ride a motorcycle, especially in scenarios where a rapid and well-calculated reaction is needed. Being aware of your own readiness can help you to ride within your ability on any given day, and sometimes, makes you realize that the safest decision might be to call off that canyon run altogether.

Mental Tool #3: Pick your battles.

Most every motorcyclist has heard the “rule” of “riding within your ability”, but what does breaking this rule really look like? Let’s set up a scenario: Your buddy has been riding sport bikes for years, and has logged countless hours carving through twisty roads at a spirited pace. You, on the other hand, recently picked up your first sport bike and are heading out on a Sunday morning ride with your experienced friend. Just about anyone can point out the fact that it’s probably a bad idea to attempt to ride at their pace, but in the moment it’s easy to get carried away… Next thing you know, you are flying into unfamiliar corners at speeds that you’re not entirely sure you can manage. By riding outside of your ability, you’ve picked a battle that you are ill-equipped to fight. Temptation and emotions can get us in over our heads very quickly, but it’s important to remember that when you are on a motorcycle, you are in control of virtually every risk that you take. Some battles are worth fighting, others are better left for when you can return better equipped.

When riders think of “motorcycle safety” they typically envision the latest and greatest motorcycle gear as being the key to shifting the odds in their favor. There’s no substitute for quality safety gear, but just as important as wearing good gear is maintaining a safety-focused mindset, and we hope that these mental tools can help you do just that.

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