Practice English Speaking&Listening with: 8 Lane Positioning & Spacing Techniques for Motorcycle Safety

Hey, How’s it going people, BrownBrady here

and thank you for tuning in to my channel.

One of my viewers named Gordon wrote: “Please

consider doing a series on practical motorcycle

tips, your observations and insights. Thanks!”

I have not had enough riding experience yet, but I

do consider myself a defensive rider, so I will give

it a shot in this video. So Gordon, thank you for

your video request and this one is for you.

Last year, I was so excited to finally get my M2

from the ministry and with that, I was allowed to

ride at night, ride 2 up, and more importantly, ride

on the 400 series highway.

Here in Ontario, these highways have a maximum speed

limit of 100 kilometers per hour but in Toronto

drivers routinely cruise at 10 over, and even more

the further east you go... making it intimidating to

new riders.

The part of highway 401 that passes through the city

of Toronto is ranked amoung the busiest highways in

the world, and also among the most dangerous.

Needless to say, there are more distractions inside

cars that I must be vigilant while riding my

motorcycle.

And I was surprised to find out how many

drivers were texting and talking on their mobile

phones, putting on makeup, and eating while driving.

And one of the best ways to remain vigilant is by

maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles.

So if you’re a new rider getting ready to hit the

streets, I think you’ll benefit from these tips that

I’m about to go over with you.

And so without further

adieu, here are 8 Spacing Techniques for Motorcycle

Street Riding.

Number 1. Follow at a safe distance.

A safe distance from the vehicle ahead of me is 2

seconds or more and an easy way to measure this is

by waiting for a vehicle to drive over a point of

reference and then count "one one thousand, two two

thousand..." I should ride over that same reference

point after I say "two two thousand..."

This gives me

enough road for emergency braking and it also allows

me to look over and beyond the vehicle ahead of me.

Number 2 is to let tailgaters through.

I like to check the vehicle behind me once every few

seconds. In fact, this question appeared in the M1

written test.

If they are following too closely, I will switch

lanes and let them through.

A vehicle following too closely poses a risk of

rear-ending me in case I have to make an emergency

stop.

Number 3. Ride in the outermost lane

On a 3 lane road, riding in the middle lane has the

benefit of giving you 2 lanes to escape to: one on

the left and one on the right obviously, but at the

same time, you now have to worry about vehicles from

both sides. I stay in the rightmost or leftmost

lane, whichever I feel is more uneventful. This

means there is only 1 other lane I need to worry

about giving me half as much vehicles merging, blind

spots, or falling objects or debris.

Number 4 is to plan an escape path.

I will also choose the lane that offers at least 1

escape path. In my head, I rehearse what I would do

incase of an emergency right at this moment. I even

anticipate my counter-steering or braking, the

direction of my swerve, and the positions of the

cars around me, incase an object, like a torn off

tire tread or a couch, appears in front of me. The

escape path is always changing as traffic and road

conditions change and if I find that there are no

escape routes, I will double my following distance.

Number 5 is to stay out of blind spots.

Surprisingly, I noticed that half of the drivers on

the road don’t do a head check in their blind spots

before changing lanes.

Sometimes, they are so

distracted that they are lane departing so it’s a

good idea to always stay out of their blind spots.

Once in a while, I will notice that they will check

using that mirror giving me a bit of an assurance

that I have been noticed. Staying out of their blind

spot also ensures that I am not blocking their

escape route.

Number 6. Cruise in the blocking position.

If you’re not a rider yet, a blocking position is

the tire track closest to the next lane.

This is why

you will notice bikers almost never ride in the

center of a lane. They are always riding in one tire

track.

I stay in the blocking position of my lane so that I

am more visible to drivers in the next lane. At

first, this was nerve wracking because I knew that

me and my bike cannot really ‘block’ a car.

All I can do is put my faith in the other drivers

that as long as they see me, they will avoid me.

And in contrast, if I were to ride in the non-

blocking position,

it is more likely for another vehicle to merge into

my lane because they didn’t see me.

Number 7. Use the far tire track when passing.

When traffic in my lane starts going faster than the

other lane, I wait for the next spot ahead to become

available first.

Then, I switch to the far tire track, accelerate

through the blind spot, and then back down to the

flow of traffic until I reach the next available

spot,

and then back into my blocking position.

This makes my bike more audible while passing,

it also limits the time I spend in the blind spot,

and gives the vehicle in the other lane more room in

case it makes an unsafe lane change.

Number 8 is to have an escape route while stopped.

I stay a half car length behind the car ahead of me

at a stop light.

And I try to make myself more visible by stepping on my rear brake.

And if the approaching vehicle appears to be going

too fast, I will have enough room to maneuver out of

the lane, or ditch the bike.

Looking back during my first commute on highway 401

was in mid summer of last year during morning rush

hour.

And by that time, I’ve already had 2 months of seat

time riding to and from work on the streets

developing good riding habits.

And it did pay off when I finally rode on the

highway.

Luckily, school was out, so that first ride was

mostly uneventful.

No one cut me off, no sudden stops, and there were

no accidents. I would like to think that my

defensive riding had a lot to do with it.

Anyway, all of this to say that I want as much

reasonable space as possible all around me.

Overall, I feel that my riding habits are defensive

enough, but if you’re an experienced rider, I would

like to hear from you so go ahead and share your

thoughts in the comments section.

And if you liked this video, please hit that like

button or better yet, hit that subscribe button and

I’ll see you in my next video.

As always, ride safe and thanks for watching.