Motoblag

Motorcycle riders are like onions. Jokes about smells after a week on the road aside, they have different layers of protection. Like the vegetable, outer layers are the most used and protect the inner layers. How does this apply to motorcyclists? Let’s take a look:

Outer layer, or layer zero:

This is the most used and most effective layer of protection. It’s the passive layer, consisting of steps you don’t have to actively think about. This layer includes wearing bright, high-visibility gear, a light colored helmet, having proper lighting on your vehicle and riding sober. These are all things taken care of before you get on the bike.

If the first layer fails by an encounter with a scenario penetrating it, we move on to the next layer:

Layer one:

Mental defense is the next step in protecting yourself. Active work on seeing and being seen, including lane positioning, combined with predicting the unraveling scenario and taking slight actions soon to prevent emergency actions later compose this layer.

A pitfall to avoid is not having enough experience to predict how the situation will unfold. Even while always learning and critically scanning whenever on the road, sometimes incredibly rare scenarios can be off the chart and you need to count on the next layer for protection.

Layer two:

The next layer is physical defense or large physical movement. This includes knowing and being proficient with your riding skills: maximum braking, brake then swerve, straighten then brake, etc… It’s your last-ditch effort to avoid contact with another vehicle or the pavement. Practiced skills can prevent the current situation from becoming disaster.

Layer three:

The situation was completely new to you: it has penetrated everything, including your emergency physical skills. The absolute last line of defense is your riding gear. It prevents or greatly mitigates damage an accident or physical contact with another vehicle or the pavement. At layer three, it’s the least used protection, but it is required for riding. Without this last layer insulating you and the outside world, the odds are stacked further against you.

Keep the world at bay: stop accidents at the layer furthest from you.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.