Does Riding Make You a Better Driver

[keithaba]

I was driving to work this morning watching the usual fuktards weaving, cutting each other off, tailgating with like 2" to the next car......

I also noted that I don't take my eyes off the road much at all. Even if I am changing a radio station, I glance quickly, then back to the raod. Glance quicly, right back to the road. Always anticipating someone doing something stupid.

I don't think I always drove like that, and I wonder sometimes if it is a result of riding so much. These safety percautions just generalized from the bike to the car.

 

[Silver Penguin]

Absolutely. On a bike, it you against them and if either party does something stupid, you lose. There is no steel cage to save you so you HAVE to be defensive. Reading the road and planning ahead is an essential part of riding a motorcycle. Without those actions, a rider wont last long.

The more you ride, the more deeply ingrained those good habits become. How about a new law that mandates every driver spend at least a year on a motorcycle before being granted the privilege of a car license.

Jill

 

[twowheelnut]

Yes.

 

[GalaxyBlue]

I have to say yes also.

As a truck driver, I can say that i have seen just about anything that can be thrown at me, And it makes me VERY defensive in the truck AND that same alertness transfers over to the bike.

It's kinda weird for me, When i am working, I am pushing 70 feet down the road with multiple blindspots and everyone with the kamakazi attitude driving. On the bike, The same people so their crazy driving with the exception that they DONT see me. <_<

So both driving and riding together helps me be better driver all around.

Adam

 

[squeezer]

Yeah, I think it does.

And I find it works the other way too -- driving a cage makes me a worse rider. I know I'm lazier about keeping track of my surroundings when I'm in the car and that starts to become a habit during winter. When the snow begins to melt, I have to start practicing "imminent death awareness mode" to get my bike brain back.

 

[Randy]

Tough to say as I've been riding a bike longer than I've been driving a car. Not sure why, but, I often find myself leaning in the car seat on exit ramps lately. And in the car I often try to hit that perfect apex....even when I'm not pushing at all. I'm also usually the one in the car, whether driving or as a passenger, that sees something far up ahead before anyone else sees it.

 

[wheatonFJR]

No.

 

[madmike2]

I have to say yes also.
As a truck driver, I can say that i have seen just about anything that can be thrown at me, And it makes me VERY defensive in the truck AND that same alertness transfers over to the bike.

It's kinda weird for me, When i am working, I am pushing 70 feet down the road with multiple blindspots and everyone with the kamakazi attitude driving. On the bike, The same people so their crazy driving with the exception that they DONT see me. <_<

So both driving and riding together helps me be better driver all around.

Adam

Me, too! The combination has caused me to be much more aware of traffic and to expect the unexpected. On the bike I am seriously (frighteningly?) more aware of my vulnerability. Thus my "inner radar" is on tilt and avoidance positioning is on alert.

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

Yes

 

[Geezer]

Woof2

 

[bandito]

Makes a more aware driver. I have a lot of cycling miles behind me, and same thing.

 

[stormrider]

absolutely

 

[FJRPierre]

I hope so but despite being motorcycle aware, I'm always amazed how often I only see bikes at the last minute especially at night in traffic either behind me or even in front of me. And never mind when viz is poor or they are scooting past in the fast lane at 30-40 over other traffic. Bikers really have to imagine they are invisible to others because so often they are...

Yet on the bike I delude myself into thinking that my FJR beams are powerful enough to draw attention to myself and be seen ...

 

[RonBB]

I've always thought so. I guess it depends on your definition of "better driver". More aware, yes.

 

[Mike-H]

:good: .....

 

[exskibum]

In some states, with some auto insurance underwriters, you get a discount on your auto insurance for having a motorcycle endorsement on your license. When I was last living in Nevada, the underwriter for AAA auto insurance in Nevada provided that discount, and it wasn't because I insured my bikes with their affiliate -- I didn't and don't. But with the same auto insurance in California (CSAA), both before and after that, their underwriter in CA doesn't offer that discount.

 

[RiderCoach Lar]

Yes, riding does make you a better driver. Unless, of course, you're a fuktard on your bike too. Think about it: if you are even a halfway decent rider who instinctively scans ahead for potential hazards and instinctively plays the "what if..." game; if you avoid riding agressively whenever other traffic is present and avoid putting yourself in a position where you could become someone's hood ornament, you're not likely to turn that mental process off when you get into your cage.

I say absolutely, good or better riders do definitely make better drivers. That's why everyone should learn to ride (well, OK, maybe not everyone).

 

[Old Michael]

Yes. Woof. Gunny. Definitely. It has to.

 

[Toecutter]

Does Riding Make You a Better Driver?

Not me, but being a great (and modest ) driver certainly helped me transition to riding again.

It did improve my cornering skills a bit, looking farther into the turns since learning that skill on the bike.