Street Sense
Street Sense is written by David L. Hough, author of the book 'Proficient Motorcycing' and two-time winner of the MSF's 'Excellence in Motorcycle Journalism' award. His unique insight into the hows and whys of riding make him a valuable asset to the motorcycling communtiy, and Friction Zone is honored to publish his articles. This section describes the Street Sense articles from previous issues. If you would like to order the magazine in which an article appeared, please fill out the subscription form by checking the "Back Issue" box and indicating the appropriate month.
August 2008 Urban Traffic Survival
Depending on where you ride, it appears that about half of your potential risk is a collision with another vehicle. So, getting through urban traffic unscathed should be a high priority in your motorcycling. It's not enough to simply obey the laws because many drivers do not understand that motorcycles have an equal right to the road or they may not see a motorcycle in the traffic mix. Regardless of who has the legal right of way, it's up to the motorcyclist to take evasive action to avoid getting hit…
June 2008 Tactics to Help Drivers See You
Most of us are aware of the Hurt Report—that federally funded motorcycle accident study that we've been referring to for the past 27 years. The official government title is so long and convoluted we just name it after Hugh 'Harry' Hurt, the lead researcher. Well, have you heard of the Olson Report (http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/487/)? It's another federally funded research project on motorcycle conspicuity that was released way back in 1979. The actual title of the report is Development and Testing of Techniques for Increasing the Conspicuity of Motorcycles and Motorcycle Drivers. The research was done by P.L. Olson, R. Halstead-Nusslock, and M. Sivak at the Highway Safety Research Institute, University of Michigan. These intrepid researchers wanted to find out what helped drivers see motorcyclists. They developed some theories, then talked some optimistic motorcyclists into challenging real urban traffic on bikes to scientifically 'field test' their theories. Amazingly, there was only one crash&…
April 2008 Avoiding Collisions—Move It or Lose It
Today, about half of all motorcycle crashes are collisions with other vehicles. When another driver cuts me off, I get hot under the collar. Of course, I'd like to think I have some legal rights and that other drivers will show me some respect, but I also know that many drivers are too preoccupied with other concerns to pay attention to a motorcycle in traffic. And if I allow a heavier vehicle to smash into me, I'll very likely win the ride in the ambulance. The bottom line is that motorcycling in traffic requires a rider to get out of the way of other vehicles regardless of who has the right of way…
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