[FB1000inPA]

... I know it's not a story about a crash - I never had one and I am riding now for 19 years but a little heads up especially for new riders. (I really hate to see headers like "I am one of you now because I had a crash" etc.)

I looked through all the treads here and there are two common denominators:

1) Intersections and 2) Speed.

ad 1) My father was a driving instructor back home in Europe (so it happens I am a rider coach) and when he taught me how to ride he pounded the fact that intersections are a riders worst enemy into my head.

Here is what he said: It is human nature to look out for bigger and stronger things that might hurt you. It is human nature to avoid them if possible. It is also human nature to ignore smaller things that will not hurt you.
In other words, cars are looking out for trucks and will ignore bikes. Therefore - be ready at any time to get out of trouble at an intersection. Never shift into neutral but be in first gear to get the hell out of there.

ad 2) Go as fast as you want if the situation allows it but don't let the situation dictate what's going to happen next.

Lecture off.

[Twincam]

Good Advice i must say!

[Surffrog]

ad 2 is the trickiest to judge correctly and although I empathize with it's meaning, it maybe misleading to a young rider.

[dr256]

I concur...My instructor put it bit harsher but the message was the same.

"There is no such thing as an accident - only errors of judgement."

His premise being that, if one realises that every crash you have is your own fault, then you are more likely not to repeat the error.
After my last (hopefully ever) crash I thought "that bloke just ploughed me off the road!" I thought and thought about it while lying in bed covered in bruises for a week or two and eventually realised, and its been somewhat of an epiphany, "that was my fault"...

The car had been slowing, indicating left, the driver was looking left, there was a left hand junction, no cars coming in the opposite direction, I filtered round him, he turned right!
It was my fault because I had assumed he was turning left when I should have just waited for him to turn and then, only once he'd actually turned and was well out of the way, carried on passed him.
Yes he wasn't looking, yes he was indicating incorrectly, but it was me that put myself in the position where his actions, no matter how irresponsible, lead to us colliding.

I ride with this in my head all the time now and so far I feel I'm not only safer but also a better rider because I've made the jump from "victim" to being in control of both what i do and what happens to me. So as your father said " don't let the situation dictate what's going to happen next" - that's our job!

[chinto]

good advice for sure.