Safety: Reducing Risk

We all know there are risks in anything we do, driving a car, participating in sporting activities, going out for dinner, and sleeping in our beds at night to name a few. Riding our Harley-Davidson motorcycles is no exception.

Although motorcycle riding is very enjoyable, it generally carries more risk than riding in a large SUV, mainly due to size and lack of metal protecting us.

However, there are a few advantages to riding motorcycles such as better maneuverability and shorter stopping distances. But these advantages are only advantages if you can put yourself in a situation to benefit from them. It is much better to plan ahead and avoid situations in which you have to apply them to the extreme.

I found the following article in the November/December 2004 H.O.G. Tales magazine. I find it to be a particularly valuable tool in order to share the roads in a safe manner. Using the S.E.E. (Search, Evaluate, Execute) mental process for making judgments and taking action in traffic along with the continuing development of your riding skills, can help reduce traffic related risks.

John Woolley
Safety Officer 2004/2005

S.E.E.

Reprinted (in part) from the Nov/Dec edition of Hog Tales®, with editor's permission.

"S.E.E." WHAT'S COMING - BEFORE IT ARRIVES

 SEARCH, EVALUATE, EXECUTE

Maintaining your focus while riding can often be a challenge. But to make it easier, the MOTORCYCLE SAFETY FOUNDATION® (MSF) recently introduced a simplified version of the mental process for making judgments and taking action in traffic: S.E.E., for Search, Evaluate, and Execute. This new acronym - an update of the old S.I.P.D.E. approach - is used in the Rider's Edge® New Rider Course and the MSF Basic Rider Course™.

SEARCH

Scanning aggressively provides the information you need to identify potential hazards, make your decisions, and take action. Scanning covers more than just what is in front of you. You must be aware of what is to either side and behind you. Don't let your eyes fix on any one object for more than a split second. This will help you be aware of anything that may affect you.

Scan a 12 to 14 second path of travel. This means looking ahead to an area that will take you 12 seconds to reach. This will give you time to prepare for a situation before it is in your immediate path. The area 4 seconds ahead of you is your immediate path of travel. Situations within this area require your immediate response.

• Gather information about roadsides and road surfaces: Trees can shelter damp or icy spots in their shade; potholes can spread loose gravel on the road.
• Look at the movement of the traffic around you: Cars ahead, behind and beside you. Remember that intersections where other vehicles can cross your path of travel, are especially critical. Driveways, parking lots, and side streets can develop quickly into problems.
• Don't overlook pedestrians and animals.
• Include your rearview mirrors in your scanning but don't rely on them. Turn your head to check the blind spots your mirrors miss, especially when changing lanes, turning, and stopping.

The hazards your encounter can be divided into 3 groups based on how critical their effect on you may be:

• Cars, trucks, and other vehicles - They share the road with you, they move quickly, and your reactions to them are critical.
• Pedestrians and animals - They are characterized by unpredictability and short quick moves.
• Stationary objects - Potholes, guard rails, bridges, roadway signs, hedges, rows of trees won't move into your path, but may create or complicate situations.

The greatest potential for conflict between you and other traffic is at intersections. An intersection can be in the middle of an urban area or at a driveway on a residential street. Most motorcycle/automobile collisions occur at intersections. IN FACT, THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS IS AN ONCOMING VEHICLE TURNING LEFT INTO THE PATH OF A MOTORCYCLE. Your use of S.E.E. at intersections is critical. Before you enter an intersection, scan for:

• Oncoming traffic that may turn left in front of you.
• Traffic from the Left.
• Traffic from the Right.
• Traffic approaching from behind.

Be especially alert at intersections with limited visibility. Be aware of a visually "busy" surrounding that could camouflage you and your motorcycle.

EVALUATE

Predict - Anticipate what the hazard might do. The direction of a potential hazard is important. Clearly, a vehicle moving away from you is not as critical as a vehicle moving in your path. Determine what the hazard might do … where a collision might occur. How critical is the hazard? How probable is a collision? Is there a need to downshift to be able to respond more quickly? This is the "What if …" phase of S.E.E. that depends on your knowledge and experience. Now estimate the consequences of the hazard. How might the hazard, or your effort to avoid it, affect you and others? Next, determine what you need to do based on your prediction.

The mental process of determining your course of action depends on how aggressively you searched. The result is your action and knowing which strategy is best for the situation. You want to eliminate or reduce the potential hazard. You must decide when, where, and how to take action. Your constant decision-making tasks must stay sharp to cope with constantly changing traffic situations.

No matter the riding situation, establishing the necessary time and space requirements in order to maintain an adequate safety margin is essential. This will maximize your ability to respond to any sudden changes in the situation. Doing so involved three primary limiting factors:

• The capabilities and limitations of your motorcycle.
• The capabilities and limitations of the rider (YOU).
• Roadway/traffic conditions.

Your safety margin is affected if any one of these factors changes. For instance, a rider on a stock Sportster® motorcycle will have less ability to accelerate quickly than someone riding, say, a V-Rod® motorcycle, limiting his or her ability to escape a situation by quickly increasing speed. Conversely, the Sportster rider may be better able to make quick turns.

The capabilities and limitations of the rider are important factors that can affect your safety margin. A rider with more experience and more formal training is probably better able to avoid an accident by making the proper evasive maneuvers.

Finally, the conditions of the roadway and the amount of traffic both play a major role in your ability to create an adequate safety margin. Unfortunately, this is something you cannot control. You can, however, change your route or decide not to ride. If rush hour traffic or road construction create conditions that make it impossible for you to find a comfort level, consider postponing your ride or changing your route.

EXECUTE

Carry out your decision. This is where your riding skills come into play. And this is where they must be second nature. The best decision will be meaningless without the skills to carry it out.

Communication - the most passive action you can take since it depends upon the response of someone else. Use your lights or horn to get the attention of drivers when necessary, but don't rely on them receiving your communication and reacting to it. Instead, focus on more active responses, such as:

Adjustments of speed - acceleration, slowing, or stopping.

Adjustments of position - changing lane position or completely changing direction

The degree of adjustment depends upon how critical the hazard is, and how much time and space you have. The more time and space, the least degree of adjustment, the least amount of risk. In areas of high potential risk, such as intersections, give yourself more time and space by reducing the time you need to react. Cover both brakes and the clutch, and be ready with possible escape routes.

S.E.E. - Search, Evaluate, Execute. The better you learn this approach and the more you use it, the more it will become second nature. And the better chance you have of avoiding an unhappy outcome in a tricky situation.

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