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ERC notes from Idaho -- Where to look??
By David Dirig

Last month I wrote about scanning techniques and playing the "what-if" game. The concept was to constantly be looking around you (scanning aggressively) for any risks or potential dangers to yourself, your co-rider or other riders. Basically, you should be scanning all around you, front-rear, left-right, near-far; scanning to predict any approaching danger or what might happen (what-if?), so that you can act accordingly to avoid the hazard. You should be scanning, not looking, so there is constant eye movement. This is to prevent target fixation (bike goes where you look) as well as to prevent you from neglecting other areas of your horizon by staring at one axis. This has happened to me -- watching an obvious hazard to the left (left turning on-coming vehicle), when a pedestrian jay-walks from my right!! Got my attention and illustrated why you scan, NOT stare/watch.

That's all well and good, but what are you scanning and what are you looking for? There are no specifics here. Look for anything that might have the potential to cause you harm in anyway. This can range from road debris or damage to a smoker flipping his cigarette butt out the window to an eighteen-wheeler blowing a tire. While the specifics are hard to qualify, there are three basic categories that you should be scanning at all times. As covered in the MSF Experienced Riders Course we took in Idaho, these are road users, signs and signals, and road condition.

Road users is just about as broad as it can be. Obviously, this includes other vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians. What about animals!!?? Sure enough; if they're on the road, they're using it. If a deer is on the road or cattle are grazing along the shoulder (something we saw frequently in the Western states), this is certainly a concern to you and your fellow riders/co-riders. I lost count of how many quail and pheasant we saw on the road coming across Oregon one morning. We're used to thinking about road users as being human, and these are certainly a source for the majority of hazards we deal with everyday in metropolitan areas. But it is the non-human road users that, depending on the time of day and the surrounding countryside (rural areas especially), are a significant hazard as well as being the least predictable.

Signs and signals are just what they sound like. This sounds simple enough, but the complexity is in the interpretation. Not only what the signs and signals say, but how will the other road users apply these signals? Right lane goes away -- where will the vehicles in that lane go and how will it affect you and your group? Bus stop ... What about people running to catch that bus stopped ahead? When the bus pulls out, will it force its way in, driving traffic in its lane towards you in lane 1? Car pool lane!! Do you really thing that little sign threatening a $271 fine will prevent that driver late from lunch from using your lane to pass? These regulatory signs not only warn you what is coming up, they should alert you to the types of situations that might develop (What-If!!??) as you interact with other road users. How about road construction signs? There was a great article in Motorcycle Consumer news about road construction (August 99, page 40). Very few of us give these warnings the credence they deserve and start slowing down in time. Traveling cross-country this summer, we ran across several incidents (Pavement Ends!!) where we should have been slowing sooner and paying more attention to the signs. Signs and signals warn you not only of what is coming up ahead, but given the correct interpretation and fore-thought, they can also prepare you for potential hazardous interactions with other road users.

Lastly, you should also be scanning the roadway and shoulders to stay apprised of current road conditions. This goes hand-in-hand with the construction warning signs described above. Will the road construction be limited to shoulder work? Even so, the heavy equipment used may damage the roadway or simply drag a lot of mud and rocks out onto the road. Not only are the road conditions a concern, but what about yours and others reactions to the road surface? If road damage forces you to change you lane position, do you have the space cushion necessary to do it safely? What about road damage or debris in another lane? The other road users may dodge the damage and come into your lane. Alternatively, they may not successfully dodge the debris, hit it, and throw it into your lane. By making the roadway itself one of the points of your constant scanning, you will reduce your risk of being surprised and possibly harmed by changing road conditions.

How about when there is new pavement being put down? This could be a bit of grooved pavement, the infamous 'abrupt edge', or something as drastic as the entire road bed being removed (Pavement Ends!!). We saw that in Jackson, Wyoming where we were forced to ride twenty miles of bad road in the dark. Talk about scanning the road condition!!. There were a number of times that I couldn't even FIND the road!!! I was leading six other bikes into that mess. Shortly after a sign that warned of pavement ending, it did just that. After a drop off the pavement into gravel, things got really bad. I was not only scanning ahead for on-coming traffic and trying to pick a reasonable line through the rough (and deep) gravel, I was trying to avoid the worst of the holes and large rocks (small boulders) as well as keeping the bike upright!! Can you say scanning near and far, left and right? Generally, road construction is not that bad, but frequently, engineers do not allow for motorcycles when they start repairing/re-building the road. You will seldom run into the nightmare that we did (hats off to the six other riders who stuck with me and came through shaken but unscathed). You will frequently, however, run into the issue of abrupt edges and changes in pavement condition that are no big deal for four wheelers, but that will ruin your whole day on a two-wheeler. These include such things as metal plates that may or may not completely cover excavations, uneven pavement, pot holes and pot hole repairs, and my personal favorite, tar snakes. These tar repairs of cracks in the pavement can be really hazardous at highway speeds, especially in the summer time when temperatures soar and the tar softens. By scanning the road condition near and far as well as interpreting others' and your own reaction to these changes, you can reduce your risk and ride safer.

So you see, the combination of a systematic scanning/observation technique (SPA - Scan aggressively, Predict, and Act), coupled with knowing where to look and what to look for can work for you to reduce you risks while riding. By scanning the route ahead as well as to the sides and the rear (don't forget those mirrors) for potential hazards/risks posed by other road users, signs and signals, and changes in road condition, we can all ride safer and protect ourselves, our friends, and our loved ones.

Ride Safe and COAST (Concentrate On A Safe Trip),
D&D

Recommended reading: 
Motorcycle Safety Foundation:  Experienced RiderCourse Manual
Motorcycle Consumer News (August 99, p. 40)