The Most Important Person

Shari Ives Instruction, Instructor Tips

By George Zita / MSF RiderCoach
Whenever you think about going out for a motorcycle ride, we like to believe that we are courteous and cooperative with others throughout our journey. But in the end, who is the most important person we need to care about?

The answer should be obvious: It is always you. Any time you take your bike out for a ride—whether around the block or across a state line—your primary objective is to make it home safely, every time.

To consistently reach this objective, your rider safety mindset must always be active. Since we live in densely populated areas, remember to expect more factors that could compromise your safety. This should automatically prompt proactive focus on evaluating traps and reducing risk factors.

Every ride should be a good ride, but you should always approach riding with the mindset of “expecting the unexpected.” And remember, your skill level to manage those “unexpected” incidents should match or exceed the situation at hand if you intend to reduce or eliminate incidents.

We achieve this objective through practice in real-life riding situations. The more comfortable we become with generating safe time and space margins, handling emergency maneuvers (like braking and swerving), and evaluating traps and path options to avoid collisions, the better our chances of ensuring we make it home safely every time.