More Proficient Motorcycling Quotes

“Motorcyclists, like pilots, put the priority on avoiding accidents rather than attempting to survive accidents. The energy is focused on doing everything right, rather than on surviving the crash. That’s a significant difference that motor vehicle safety experts in the U.S. seem unable to grasp. The NHTSA approach has always focused on crash padding, rather than on driver skill.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“If Doc can’t let it go, you can always remind him that statistically a human is more likely to die from a hospital error than from a motorcycle ride.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“A driver who has no interest in motorcycles, and isn’t expecting to see one, may not comprehend a motorcycle regardless of how conspicuous it is.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“It does seem to help to lean your torso toward the curve. You don’t have to shift your butt to the inside of the saddle, just lean your torso forward and toward the curve. Some riders use the mirror as a reference point, leaning toward the inside and lining up the mirror with their cornering line. That happens to work nicely with countersteering, as you’ll tend to pull the grips toward the curve as you lean your torso.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“The edge of the speed envelope should be dictated by the view ahead, not by memory or prediction. As the view expands, speed can increase. But when the view contracts, immediately reduce speed so that you can always come to a complete stop within the roadway you can see ahead. The more you must predict what the road is doing beyond your view, the greater the risk.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“The obvious tactic for avoiding alcohol-precipitated crashes is to avoid riding after drinking. And that’s a decision you have to make before your judgment is impaired.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“Two ways to increase your anticipation time are looking farther ahead and reducing speed in busy situations.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“1. Anticipate what’s going to happen.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“The System of Motorcycle Control (the British System) is the basis for what is called roadcraft, the science of becoming an accomplished motorcyclist. The implication is that motorcycling is a craft worthy of mastering, not simply a fun thing you attempt by bump and feel.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“The system is a drill, or set of steps, that is accomplished in sequence when approaching any hazard: 1. Select course 2. Look behind, signal, adjust speed 3. Change gear 4. Look behind again and signal again 5. Use your horn 6. Look behind again 7. Maneuver and accelerate”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“The delayed apex line maximizes traction, helps guide you away from potential collisions, and gives you a better view around blind turns. If you like those priorities, consider adopting the trendy delayed apex line yourself.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“Rider training instructors often suggest that a rider should be looking twelve seconds ahead, or the distance he or she will be covering over the next twelve seconds. That doesn’t mean you should be focused only on what’s happening at a point twelve seconds ahead. Instead, you should focus on everything that’s going on within that twelve-second zone.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“Scary as it seems, the best tactic for swerving is to stay off the brakes and hold the throttle steady, conserving all of the available traction for steering.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“For whatever reason, speed enforcement in the U.S. is a bigger deal than elsewhere in the world. In Europe, police seem to be more concerned about preventing accidents and less consumed with the passion to write speeding tickets.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“The problem with riding over your head is that the laws of physics are self-enforcing.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“It’s pretty obvious that when bikes and cars try to occupy the same space at the same time, the motorcyclist gets hurt a lot more seriously and more often than the driver. And when bikes and trucks collide, motorcyclists are often injured fatally.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“Being in combat is a pretty accurate description of riding a motorcycle in traffic.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“it’s not only a matter of controlling the motorcycle you’re riding but also controlling the situation around you.”
― David L. Hough, More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride

“In order to help you remember that, here’s a little ditty you can recite to yourself before you ease out the clutch: “He was right, dead right, as he sped along. But he’s just as dead as if he’d been wrong.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“The delayed-apex line maximizes traction, helps guide you away from potential collisions, and gives you a better view around blind turns. If you like those advantages, adopt the delayed-apex line yourself.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“A skilled rider should be able to operate the throttle and front brake simultaneously.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“The human brain has a deceptive habit of filling in missing information and ignoring new information that doesn’t fit the expectation.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“point your nose—rather than just swivel your eyes—in the direction that you want to go. For whatever physical or psychological reasons, the act of turning your head helps aim the motorcycle in that direction.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“12 seconds represents about as far ahead as you can see details. If you’re not in the habit of looking that far ahead, then you should be working on that important technique.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“less experienced riders look closer to the bike with a more fixed gaze, while skillful riders look farther ahead and frequently change their focus.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“Research is showing that so-called multitasking is a myth. The human brain cannot perform two different tasks at the same time.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“his or her brain is conditioned to not see a motorcycle so his or her subconscious may ignore it, focusing on what it does expect to see (cars, trucks). This phenomenon is called inattentional blindness. In other words, if someone is not thinking about (attending to) something, he or she can see it but not comprehend that it’s there. A bike may appear as just a foggy blur. It’s not only that the driver’s eyes don’t see the bike but also that the driver’s brain is programmed to ignore motorcycles as nothing of importance.”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling

“It’s critical for motorcyclists to understand how motorists prioritize what they see around them and how much they have to prioritize. Drivers handle this huge task by prioritizing into these categories: 1. potential threats 2. strong emotions 3. personal relevance 4. everything else (e.g., shopping list, text message, GPS, radio)”
― David L. Hough, Mastering the Ride: More Proficient Motorcycling