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I hear a lot of riders say that it feels like cars are out to get them every time they ride. If you have a lot of close calls on your motorcycle lane position may be one of the areas where your road strategy is suffering. Finding the proper lane position should be one of the often-used tools in your daily road strategy.
Lane position matters because it has a direct impact on at least 3 very important aspects of riding a motorcycle safely.
- It affects your proximity to hazards on the road.
- It affects how well other drivers are likely to see you.
- And it affects how well you can see up the road.
So finding the proper lane position requires the rider to be aware of what is happening around them and then placing the motorcycle in the best position so that they have the best chance of staying upright.
Positioning at times is a game of give and take, especially riding in the city. There are brief times on every ride where I have to sacrifice one or more of the 3 rules we just mentioned in order to preserve another more important rule.
Maybe road conditions or traffic is such that I have to briefly ride closer to a hazard than I would otherwise if the traffic or conditions were different. Maybe I have to temporarily be in a position where it would be more difficult for other cars to see me. But one thing that I very rarely give up on the road is how well I can see what is going on around me and up the road.
If a large truck pulls over in front of me and blocks my view up the road I don’t want to stay in that position. I will start immediate action to correct that. Whether it means speeding up, slowing down, or changing lanes I will actively put the motorcycle in a position where I can see up the road. I don’t like the feeling of riding blind to what is up the road.
