No-Ride Revisit

I’ve been pathetically ride-less for the better part of the summer this year. Between family obligations and work commitments, I’ve really been unable to get in any significant amount of riding in the last year.

I’ve been mulling over an update for some time, so I finally decided to bring back an old forum post and look again at my closest call on a motorcycle:

I used to commute daily on Treat Boulevard from Concord to Pleasant Hill. Those of you who know and enjoy this road know it to be something of a small scale NASCAR track. Because it’s the only major artery to a freeway for most people in Concord, most mornings its just another American suburban drag strip.

Treat is a 3-lane road, and like most mornings, I try to stick to the right lane. Every morning, someone’s trying to win the “biggest jerk” award by being in the most obvious hurry, dodging between lanes, tailgating, and generally making themselves a nuisance.

This morning, the person vying for the award was some woman in a red Honda Accord coupe. I remember her distinctly, as she made at least 3 lane changes within the space of a couple seconds. She became almost fixated on me, as she sped up from the left lane, pulled into the center lane, and locked eyes on me – determined to pass me in the right.

Fixated on me, she didn't see that the lane in front of her was already stopped. Fortunately for me, I predicted her impending panic maneuver and had already taken countermeasures before she had noticed the stopped traffic.

I had already rolled off the throttle and covered both brakes. As she finally saw red lights ahead, she stomped on the brakes and chooses a direction to swerve. It was to the right – directly into my path.

I admit I panicked a bit. Thought I was well prepared, I clamped down a bit too hard on the brake and forgot to pull in the clutch and killed my engine. Now without the benefit of engine braking; I began to give it too much rear brake. The rear end of the bike began to come out to the right and I knew that I was in trouble if I reacted poorly. A sudden release of the rear brake would probably result in a high side. I tried to remain calm and eased up on the rear just enough to re-align the wheels without getting thrown off. As I slowed from around 50 to 0, the smoke from the Honda’s tires has fully engulfed me. I struggled to maintain control; the world consisted of just this car and me.

I finally came to a stop just behind her stopped car. I had made it through without a scratch. I never thought that my heart could actually burst; but the beating of mine fully engulfed in the throws of adrenaline made me wonder.

Fully dazed, I restarted the bike and pulled next to the driver. I wouldn’t put my emotional state as angry, more like confused.

The driver turned to me and exclaimed, “OH MY GOD! ARE YOU OKAY!! I’M SO SORRY!”

I didn’t have any words. I just thought about my upcoming wedding date, and the life I nearly lost and yelled back. As I ripped my face shield open I screamed, “DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!”

She replied, “I’M SO SORRY!”

Her apology shocked me. Was she truly sorry, or just apologizing out of guilt?

All I could say was from the heart. I said, “I HAVE A WIFE! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU!”

I left. As I pulled away, I realized that I had limited control of my body. The adrenaline that had kept me going for the few seconds after the incident was leaving my body in waves. I was shaking so bad I had to pull over onto a side street and lay down.

I took me about 15 minutes to gather myself on the side of the road. A basic riding skill – SIPDE had saved my life that morning. The acronym stands for:

Scan

Identify

Predict

Decide

Execute

In a nutshell, you must constantly be scanning your situation, trying to identify potential threats to your person. When a threat is identified, you must try and predict the outcome of your actions (or lack of action). Once you have predicted the outcome of your situation, decide what to do and then do (execute) it.

Its pretty simple, something all motor-vehicle operators should actively practice. I perform SIPDE when I ride or drive in the form of a conversation I have with myself –

“Does that truck see me?”

“I’m in this guy’s blind spot – that’s dumb”

“That Honda over there looks in a hurry, I’d better get out of the way”

I actually say those things out loud to myself. I think it keeps me alert and makes it almost entertaining to scan. If anyone could hear me, they probably think I was crazy, but fortunately the helmet muffles most of it out. Remember that scanning for threats is more than just cars and other obvious dangers; there are other things like deer and pedestrians, shopping carts and car doors too. Stay safe out there; it’s often the most basic riding techniques that will keep you safe!