How to Ride in Traffic | GTAMotorcycle.com

How to Ride in Traffic

Face

Face

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I found this article that I think reflects the safest way to deal with traffic, and fairly accurately articulates my approach to commuting.

http://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-commute-traffic-dangerous-days

"Dangerous commutes aren’t necessarily the ones where you are in a hurry and riding faster than you should, but rather the ones where you relax and cruise along with the flow of traffic."

I am sure there are those who will disagree, but I just thought I'd share it because I think its good advice.
 
Only skimmed it, but I can't say I believe it fully/agree with the 'ride slightly faster than traffic' part. In light congestion I do somewhat agree, but in an actual traffic jam, it is still best to pick a lane and stay in it, vs trying to go faster than everyone else by changing lanes every few seconds. The biggest things are always make yourself known, and never sit in a blind you don't have to (either speed up or slow down to get out of it if possible).

Might be a case of different strokes for different folks, but personally I think the old saying of 'defensive driving' is what really matters...you just need to dial it up to 11 on a bike.
 
I fully agree.

I'm not the most experienced, but being past halfway through my 2nd year of commuting every single workday (when it doesn't rain heavily on my way TO work)... i can agree that going the same speed as other cars, even in defensive riding position, is when i get my close encounters or get close to accidents or people driving into me.

So lets call it defensive aggressive driving. Where you're less reactive to the situation but are the one creating a situation where you'll have calculated your exits and avoidance scenarios in advance.
 
I disagree somewhat with the article. Speed wasn't the author's problem--relaxing was. Commuting is not an appropriate time to relax, regardless of vehicle. It's a complicated task affected by many variables, some invisible to the rider. You need to focus on keeping the "bubble" of space around you and avoid situations as they develop. That frequently means slowing down. Not the same as relaxing, IMO.
 
conundrum said:
Only skimmed it, but I can't say I believe it fully/agree with the 'ride slightly faster than traffic' part. In light congestion I do somewhat agree, but in an actual traffic jam, it is still best to pick a lane and stay in it, vs trying to go faster than everyone else by changing lanes every few seconds.
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x2. Every lane change increases the risk of a collision many fold, it's a well known and documented statistic.

Staying in a reasonably static position (relative to surrounding traffic) in moderate or heavy congestion also seems far wiser than weaving through it in a "semi aggressive" fashion as they describe it. Yes, one must use common sense to keep yourself placed out of harms way (clear of blind spots, etc), but that's reasonably easy to do without the need to constantly change lanes and pass to put everyone in your mirrors in a constant flow.

In fast moving multi lane traffic I'll find a bubble that I'm happy in - behind traffic moving at the pace I'm comfortable with, but slightly slower than the "GTF out of my way" traffic for whom anything short of 50% over the limit is justification for running you over. Protect the bubble through your placement in the flow of traffic, perform minimal necessary lane and pace changes to maintain it, and then enjoy the ride instead of stressing that you need to be "ahead" of every car in front of you. You'll never get to the front.

Just my $0.02.
 
If you are going the same speed as everyone else, you are probably spending way too much time in the blind spot of the car in the lane beside you.
I will speed up or slow down to get out of the blind spot as appropriate.
 
statsman said:
I will speed up or slow down to get out of the blind spot as appropriate.
Click to expand...

On that I agree, but the article seems to suggest being in constant state of passing each and every car in the traffic flow.
 
I don't like the way he put it, and he omitted the other half of the equation; where you sometimes ride slower than traffic.
 
Riding the same speed or a little slower doesn't put you in control of your situation. Riding a little faster, as described in the article, does. That has nothing to do about complacency. Complacency puts you at risk at any speed.

If I didn't agree with this phylosophy, I wouldn't have this signature. It's kept me safe on more than 1 occasion.
 
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Totally agree with his riding style. I've been commuting to downtown Toronto from the west end on a motorcycle for over 25 years. This has always been my approach. I have very few "moments" while commuting which I've always attributed to being a bit aggressive. Aggressive does not equal crazy. As the author says it just gives you a bit more control of the situation. To my mind it also keeps me sharp.

Face said:
I found this article that I think reflects the safest way to deal with traffic, and fairly accurately articulates my approach to commuting.

http://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle
Click to expand...
 
Baggsy said:
I don't like the way he put it, and he omitted the other half of the equation; where you sometimes ride slower than traffic.
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Face said:
Riding the same speed or a little slower doesn't put you in control of your situation. Riding a little faster, as described in the article, does. That has nothing to do about complacency. Complacency puts you at risk at any speed.

If I didn't agree with this phylosophy, I wouldn't have this signature. It's kept me safe on more than 1 occasion.
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Where did I say "the same speed"? I ride slightly faster than traffic, or slightly slower.

i.e. If everyone bunches up, I slow down and look for an opportunity to pass.

And point in fact, I do tend to ride at the same speed, once I'm through the crowd and well ahead.

If others want to go 160+, I will not try and go the same speed as traffic, I will go slower.

There are other unmentioned things involved as well: You want to be close enough to leading or trailing traffic that people don't turn or merge on top of you.
You want to be going a speed that doesn't get you cited. You want to have an awareness of what is going on around you, and what people are likely to do, whether they signal their intention or not. You want to be visible to other road users. And so on. Much of this stuff you learn over time, and with experience.

It's basically about a third of the article that it should have been, and is very subject to misinterpretation. i.e. it's a good magazine article, but only that.

For some reason it reminds me of an article where a guy was reviewing a small bike, and then went on to detail how he almost took out a bunch of people, while trying to drag his knee riding through a cemetery.
 
One of the big things too they didn't point out is always try to have 1-2 or more 'outs' when on the road, especially if something triggers your spidey senses (eg. cars suddenly start moving at a different speed, congestion suddenly increases, etc). Same thing can be said about checking your mirrors when coming to a stop, to make sure the car behind you will do the same (stop) as well.

Personally I think this video did a good job summing it up:

[video=youtube;1Sx1c2Hv4og]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sx1c2Hv4og[/video]
 
I generally run just faster than the flow of traffic, but when I find a good speed pocket I'll stick with it a while. I'll agree that going a bit faster let's you concentrate on what's in front, but I still check my mirrors frequently.
 
Several posters have already "slightly" or "somewhat" disagreed, while recognizing Nick's points. I'm in the same camp. Instead of "aggressive", I describe it as "assertive". When I talk about interactions with other road users, it's about communicating clearly. The only way we have to clearly communicate our intentions is to demonstrate them. When you make a decision, make it quickly (not "snap" decisions based on a fervent desire to pass everyone on the road) and execute the move deliberately. Claim the space that is yours with your lane position. Pass or fall back if you're not in a good spot...do both if you need to (pull up far enough to ensure a driver in the adjacent lane sees you - then back off from the car ahead if you need to). It's not necessarily about being faster or slower, it's about YOU adjusting your speed and lane position constantly so that you are managing the risks, and not just cruising obliviously. You can "go with the flow" of traffic, as long as you are riding the bike, not just sitting on it.
 
So I commute every day on the lakeshore in Toronto. It is bumper to bumper eastbound until Strachan where a whole bunch of people turn left, and others try to quickly change lanes into the two right lanes. It picks up to an average of 78 kmh, so to be on top of that traffic you would have to do at least what,....90 kmh, dodge the slow moving traffic and the people doing double Lane changes to get out of the left turning lanes. No thanks. I will stay in the right Lane, right side of the lane and watch in three directions. I know the left side of the lane I am more visible but that assumes people actually look. I stay in the right side so that I have more of a buffer. It sounds nice, the article, but I don't buy it. The only way is if at every stopped intersection you split the lane and advance to the front, then you have your bubble.

Sent from my STV100-3 using Tapatalk
 
Emefef said:
Several posters have already "slightly" or "somewhat" disagreed, while recognizing Nick's points. I'm in the same camp. Instead of "aggressive", I describe it as "assertive". When I talk about interactions with other road users, it's about communicating clearly. The only way we have to clearly communicate our intentions is to demonstrate them. When you make a decision, make it quickly (not "snap" decisions based on a fervent desire to pass everyone on the road) and execute the move deliberately. Claim the space that is yours with your lane position. Pass or fall back if you're not in a good spot...do both if you need to (pull up far enough to ensure a driver in the adjacent lane sees you - then back off from the car ahead if you need to). It's not necessarily about being faster or slower, it's about YOU adjusting your speed and lane position constantly so that you are managing the risks, and not just cruising obliviously. You can "go with the flow" of traffic, as long as you are riding the bike, not just sitting on it.
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Agreed. In slower traffic I'll pull up a little closer to the car in front in order to be out of the blind spot and beside or slightly ahead of the driver's window of the car beside. I trust myself to anticipate potential braking by the car in front much more than I'd trust the car beside not to pull in my lane if I was a little back.
 
I disagree with the article. There aren't any rules written in stone, whether you take a relaxed or aggressive approach. You always have to think two steps ahead of the traffic, and be ready for the obvious stupid moves. IMO, the faster you go the harder it is to stay two steps ahead and the less time you have to react.
 
CalamariGSX-R said:
So I commute every day on the lakeshore in Toronto. It is bumper to bumper eastbound until Strachan where a whole bunch of people turn left, and others try to quickly change lanes into the two right lanes. It picks up to an average of 78 kmh, so to be on top of that traffic you would have to do at least what,....90 kmh, dodge the slow moving traffic and the people doing double Lane changes to get out of the left turning lanes. No thanks. I will stay in the right Lane, right side of the lane and watch in three directions. I know the left side of the lane I am more visible but that assumes people actually look. I stay in the right side so that I have more of a buffer. It sounds nice, the article, but I don't buy it. The only way is if at every stopped intersection you split the lane and advance to the front, then you have your bubble.

Sent from my STV100-3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I commute everyday too, lakeshore to qew onto gardiner back to lakeshore until yonge.

I find that this week is very erratic in terms of traffic patterns but there are a few patterns that are pretty consistent every day.

Say taking the collector on gardiner (for kipling, islington, etc) and merging back on the expressway is always faster than staying on the expressway or taking park lawn. Or like after parkside, USUALLY the left (not the merge) lane goes faster up to the traffic light in front of Legion (the big red poppy up the hill). Then after that most times, its the right lane that moves the fastest. Until dufferin. Then it's a mix (whether i find an opening and can WOT or i get stuck in traffic at the speeds you mentioned). Then after strachan, usually overall the right lane is fastest, especially after bathurst and then at spadina, left lane becomes the fastest....

It's a waltz really and it's about reading traffic ahead of the lane that will slow you down and make you stop which i find i can do better in blocking position because then i can see red brake lights ahead while calculating my space to be able to change lanes with the next lane swiftly to keep rolling while NOT cutting off...or splitting.
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