Using rotating wheels to determine if a driver is about to roll.
Will this car pull out in front of you? Watching for the front wheel to begin rolling is a more reliable predictor than making eye contact with the driver.
For Those Of Us On Two Wheels, The most likely clash with another vehicle pulling into our lane from a side road, parking lot or driveway. How can we know if the driver will hit the gas and shoot point blank into our immediate path of travel? When it comes to that anxious driver poised to pull out from our right or left, is there a way to detect the driver’s intent?
If there’s a wheel there is a way. Determining if a vehicle is beginning to move forward is most practical if we look to the car’s front wheel. Our brain has a much easier time detecting even the subtlest wheel rotation than it does trying to discern if the mass of the vehicle itself is moving slightly from right to left (or vice versa). When you see the wheel on the vehicle beginning to rotate counterclockwise? Be ready; the vehicle is about to enter your lane and space!
But what about eye contact? Even if a driver appears to be looking directly at you, he or she may be looking beyond, never even noticing you. And, even if the driver does see you, they could easily misinterpret the distance and speed at which you are approaching, believing that you are farther away than you are.
Always anticipate the move. Even if you are confident that a driver will not pull out, be ready when they do. The way to do this is by managing your speed. Ask yourself if you could smoothly and safely stop your motorcycle to avoid contact if that driver began to pull out. I always tell myself that driver does not see me so I am already taking defense measures when approaching this type situation. Looking and anticipating while still carrying excessive speed takes away your options and limits your space and time you have to work with should the driver enter the lane ahead of you. And He or she wheel. I mean they will.
Keep the contact patch between the lines
Michael Theodore
National Road Captain
Latest posts by Michael Theodore (see all)
- Happy New Year 2024 - December 31, 2023
- Letter from the Pres. - December 31, 2023
- “17 INCHES” - December 30, 2023