My Rookie Mistake: Wide Right, Target Fixation, Failure to Look Ahead | GTAMotorcycle.com

My Rookie Mistake: Wide Right, Target Fixation, Failure to Look Ahead

BrownBrady

Well-known member
I just wanted to share a video of my rookie mistake during my ride in to work this morning. I've been riding for 4 weeks now and this mistake could have led to a bigger one. Had I been riding a larger bike, it could have been worse.

[video=youtube;W7yHPqSurJ0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7yHPqSurJ0[/video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7yHPqSurJ0

It started with me trying to rush a right turn, looking left while turning right lead to a wide right, which lead to target fixation on the median, and finally failure to look ahead. I think I should have aborted the right turn because it was too late for my skill level.
 
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Im glad you realize your mistakes and i hope you learn from them

Ride safe

Btw what camera are you using?
 
Not the only mistake:

HTA 144
Red light.
(1) Every driver approaching a traffic control signal showing a circular red indication and facing the indication shall stop his or her vehicle and shall not proceed until a green indication is shown.
Exception – turn
(19) Despite subsection (1) and subject to subsection (14), a driver, after stopping his or her vehicle and yielding the right of way to traffic lawfully approaching so closely that to proceed would constitute an immediate hazard, may,
(a) turn to the right; or (b) turn to the left from a one-way street into a one-way street, without a green indication being shown.
 
You missed mistake #1 - not stopping for the red light.

FLSTC beat me to it.
 
I just wanted to share a video of my rookie mistake during my ride in to work this morning. I've been riding for 4 weeks now and this mistake could have led to a bigger one. Had I been riding a larger bike, it could have been worse.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4R_Ylt8UWc&list=UU_LsUvMpCG1d8kYQbE5N10A

It started with me trying to rush a right turn, looking left while turning right lead to a wide right, which lead to target fixation on the median, and finally failure to look ahead. I think I should have aborted the right turn because it was too late for my skill level.

Take your time, its not a race.

Sometimes there will be a guy hauling a** who times the lights just right and he can run into you. Also a pedestrian can start crossing at which point you also have a problem. When you're trying to rush the turn you overlook both these things and this can mean trouble.

You might get away with this 1000 times, but one day it will bite back.
 
Take your time, its not a race.

Sometimes there will be a guy hauling a** who times the lights just right and he can run into you. Also a pedestrian can start crossing at which point you also have a problem. When you're trying to rush the turn you overlook both these things and this can mean trouble.

You might get away with this 1000 times, but one day it will bite back.

@Paul1000RR: So true. Thanks for the advice.
 
sorry i can't remember but didn't you post yesterday that you were getting tired of your little bike and were looking to upgrade to a bigger bike? not trying to be a dik i just thought i read that somewhere and can't remember.

things like this are why little bikes are good to learn on... its not about being bored when things are going good, its about problems when things are going bad. a more powerful yet heavier bike with longer wheelbase probably would have been worse i imagine
 
sorry i can't remember but didn't you post yesterday that you were getting tired of your little bike and were looking to upgrade to a bigger bike? not trying to be a dik i just thought i read that somewhere and can't remember.

things like this are why little bikes are good to learn on... its not about being bored when things are going good, its about problems when things are going bad. a more powerful yet heavier bike with longer wheelbase probably would have been worse i imagine

Yes, that would be me looking for a CBR500R. Had I been on a larger bike, I would have ended up hitting the median or worse.
 
Yes, that would be me looking for a CBR500R. Had I been on a larger bike, I would have ended up hitting the median or worse.

yeah i just saw the thread. i ride a 125 also. i started to feel bored of it after a few weeks and though that i was outgrowing it since i was pretty much riding in ideal situations. i felt like getting something bigger. i think most people feel this on a 125 since they are first starting and confuse their limits with the bikes limits... and they act on this. but i kept it and learnt to ride it properly in increasingly harsher situations while working on technique. i was the weak link not the bike. ive put 12.5k on it and was out riding downtown when we had flooding on the dvp a couple weeks back... with 0.5mm rear tire and what i thought were 2 leaking brake bleed valves. the lack of power on the bike has rarely given me a problem, only the lack of power in my brain has. my low level of motorcycle road sense and lack of technique were my limiting factors not horsepower. im still learning and will probably keep it for another 12.5k. just my thoughts, stay safe
 
Not stopping for the red is something tons of riders do for right turns, may not be the right way to go about it but it happens. What makes it dangerous is about half way through, you are already committed to the turn but you haven't checked if it was safe to do so, we can see this because your bike is travelling right but you are still looking left. Going wide and only seeing that big blue pillow that was making its way out into the middle of the road at the last second were side effects of that. If a pedestrian had stepped out or a car had been coming your way you would have been in the middle of the road with very few escape options. Had there been a full stop you would not have been in that situation. Stop, wait until its clear, look where you're going, and adjust lines to avoid large vehicles in your way.
 
That was my first traffic ticket 30yrs ago - didn't stop while turning right - was trying to beat traffic and didn't see the cop that had the green.

One other observation - it's not just target fixation but I suspect also a lack of counter-steering. This was another skill that I recall taking some time to get used to when I was a noob. You looked like you were going fast enough to need to counter-steer as opposed to turning right from a stop where you'd have less of a counter-steer push. Accelerating through/out-of the turn would stand the bike up and require more pressure on the right bar.
 
yeah i just saw the thread. i ride a 125 also. i started to feel bored of it after a few weeks and though that i was outgrowing it since i was pretty much riding in ideal situations. i felt like getting something bigger. i think most people feel this on a 125 since they are first starting and confuse their limits with the bikes limits... and they act on this. but i kept it and learnt to ride it properly in increasingly harsher situations while working on technique. i was the weak link not the bike. ive put 12.5k on it and was out riding downtown when we had flooding on the dvp a couple weeks back... with 0.5mm rear tire and what i thought were 2 leaking brake bleed valves. the lack of power on the bike has rarely given me a problem, only the lack of power in my brain has. my low level of motorcycle road sense and lack of technique were my limiting factors not horsepower. im still learning and will probably keep it for another 12.5k. just my thoughts, stay safe

@brucewayne: Thank you for this. I'm glad to see another 125 rider. I've got 900 km on mine already but mostly uneventful straightaways. This actually challenges me to keep the bike for now until I earn enough skills to "level up".
 
Not stopping for the red is something tons of riders do for right turns, may not be the right way to go about it but it happens. What makes it dangerous is about half way through, you are already committed to the turn but you haven't checked if it was safe to do so, we can see this because your bike is travelling right but you are still looking left. Going wide and only seeing that big blue pillow that was making its way out into the middle of the road at the last second were side effects of that. If a pedestrian had stepped out or a car had been coming your way you would have been in the middle of the road with very few escape options. Had there been a full stop you would not have been in that situation. Stop, wait until its clear, look where you're going, and adjust lines to avoid large vehicles in your way.

@S1L3NC3R: I totally agree. I admit, 99% of the time I will do a rolling right turn in my car in this scenario. Had I stopped before making the turn, I would have had more time to assess the bigger picture with no pressure. That is why instant replays are so useful to understand what happened. I had only started to learn rolling right turns on my bike last week and I only do it when I think the lanes are clear. It's the 'head turned left' while making a right that throws me off, so I have some homework to do. I should return to doing a full stop again like I used to do.
 
it's not just target fixation but I suspect also a lack of counter-steering. This was another skill that I recall taking some time to get used to when I was a noob. You looked like you were going fast enough to need to counter-steer as opposed to turning right from a stop where you'd have less of a counter-steer push. Accelerating through/out-of the turn would stand the bike up and require more pressure on the right bar.

@FLSTC: You know what's weird was that my brain was screaming "counter-steer! counter-steer!" but my arms felt 'frozen'. I remember starting to panic a little as I witnessed my options disappearing very quickly through the turn. :(
 
Glad you are safe... STOP for those red lights tho because someone else mistake can turn into your fault.
On another note.... I will most likely be selling my Ninja 500 for next season :) in case you interested.... ;)
 

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