You’re visiting this website looking for a course related to being a first time driver. We wanted to share with you something that might be a great benefit to you. It has to do with the difference in the amount of attention a motorcycle rider needs to pay versus a person driving a car. If, as a new driver you adopt the virtues of a motorcycle rider it will help you become a better car driver. 

No Zone Zone

One of the important differences between driving a car and a motorcycle is that unlike a car, where you can kind of zone out and go on autopilot, you can’t do that riding a motorcycle. Not just because it is physically impractical but because you really need to pay attention to the road and what’s coming up, all the time. 

As a motorcycle rider you need to be constantly scanning your environment. As you’re just driving down the open road where in a car you could be carefree, on a motorcycle you have to keep scanning the road. Something that might be just a nuisance in a car that you just drive over as a bump, can mean a live-ending crash on a motorcycle. So on a bike you can enjoy the scenery but you need to keep your eye on what is ahead down the road. Don’t follow people so close that you can’t see what you’re driving up on in the road. A tool in the road can mean a flat and a flat on a bike isn’t fun.. 

Things like as you approach intersecting traffic or traffic turning into your lane. It’s pretty obvious that this is something you need to pay attention to on a motorcycle but what if you applied the same principles while driving a car and what does that mean anyway? 

As a motorcycle rider you put your fingers and foot over the brakes so they are easily manipulated. Also, keep an eye on what the other driver is looking at. A lot of times on a motorcycle, they just don’t see you. Make sure they do before you give them credit for it. And at the same time, don’t think they are always going to do the right thing. People will look right at you and still pull out in front of you. So you have to be prepared to react. 

Learn What is best

What is the best option in the given situation? Should you slam on the brakes? Swerve? Or swerve and actually accelerate to get away from the situation. Only skill and experience can teach you that. It has a lot to do with the area you’re in and other obstacles in the area and so on. But if you are not actively paying attention to it when driving chances are you’re going to become a victim at some point being in an accident because you’re just not paying that much attention.

One thing you can do to help gain some perspective on this is play a sort of game as you drive. As you approach an intersection, play out in your head if someone were to blow the light or make an illegal turn, where is there for you to go and what can you do? As a motorcyclist you’re always concerned about people pulling out in front of you.  So as you’re driving down the road and you approach a driveway what would you do if that person were to pull out? Where is there to go? What can you do? 

Driving in holes

One of the things you will find as a motorcyclist that can help you as a new driver is that it is best to drive in what can be described as “holes in traffic”. You will notice that cars tend to travel in little packs. Ideally you want to travel in between these packs so that you are not boxed in by cars so that if you do need to make an evasive maneuver you have more options. 

The same is true for a car and a new driver. On a motorcycle you often find yourself near the front of the line at a light. That is why a motorcyclist will accelerate away from a light and traffic quickly. It isn’t as much to show off as it is to create space between you and other vehicles. In a car you can lag behind and let others pass you. You shouldn’t be in that much of a hurry. Your life or someone else’s isn’t worth the thirty seconds you end up saving by speeding, weaving in traffic and driving like an idiot. If you’re late you’re late. So what? It isn’t worth an accident. Be smart. 

So in essence, you never fully relax as a new driver just like a motorcyclist. Keep your eyes on everything. It sounds like a lot, and it is, that is why people need to rest when doing long drives. It is a lot of brain processing if you’re doing it right. 

1. Look for things on the road and give yourself enough space to avoid them. 
2. As a motorcyclist, as you approach intersecting traffic, make contact with brake controls.Driving a car, just be ready and watch what the other people do. Assuming the best but ready for the worst.
3. Be prepared to accelerate and or swerve as much as brake to get you out of a bad situation. You can only know what is right by knowing what your surroundings are at all times. 

By constantly scanning your surroundings and being aware of what is around you makes you a better, more alert driver. That can be the difference in saving your life or the lives of your passengers by easily avoiding an accident. 

Put down the cell phone

One of the easiest things you can do is put down the cell phone. Seriously. It demands too many and too much of your same skills as driving. Try to talk and whistle. You can’t. And you can’t really drive while texting either. You need to let the car drive itself while you tend to the text and that is just a recipe for disaster. You just don’t have the available bandwidth in your brain to process all that. To text and to drive effectively. We just get away with it too much and think it is OK and it isn’t. So put down the cell phone and use one of the alert apps to message people when you are driving. Pay attention to the road and see how really bad so many of the drivers are. 

Please, these are all simple things that I guarantee you someone seeing this isn’t going to do and it will cost them dearly. Not because there is such a large viewership of this blog. But because new drivers are so complacent way too early in their driving careers and just don’t pay enough attention and so many make dumb mistakes. Not really because they are “new” but because they just were not paying attention. 

Too often we treat getting our driver’s license as the goal. The finish line. When really, it is just the official start. The start of your real driving. Now that you have that license don’t act like yer all cool and don’t care. Pay attention. Use good driving habits. Don’t take for granted other drivers are paying attention. Be smart and alert. You’re going to be surprised at how many other drivers are not paying attention and you have to make up for that. There are a lot of bad drivers out there. Don’t be one of them. Use the heightened observations of a motorcyclist to improve your driving. 

Be safe whatever you’re driving.