Tiger Tales 22: Be Visible and Never Hide

By The Law Tigers
America’s Injury Lawyers Who Ride

Be Visible and Never Hide

One of the most important strategies to prevent an accident from occurring is to simply be seen. One effective strategy to make yourself more visible and prevent a crash from occurring involves lane positioning. Riding behind a vehicle in a hidden position often leads to close calls or at worst, collisions. Motorcyclists unwittingly hide in a number of locations; however the most common position is directly behind a vehicle where both the driver in front and oncoming traffic cannot see them.

To ensure that you are visible, it’s critical to develop a keen awareness of angles of view. If you can’t see the driver, he can’t see you. To maximize your conspicuity, you must maintain ample following distance and position yourself in the portion of the lane that provides optimum visibility. Because a motorcycle takes up about 1/3 of the lane, you can choose whether to ride in the left, center, or right section of the lane.

To reveal your presence to oncoming traffic, move toward the left portion of your lane, near the centerline. To “show yourself” to drivers waiting to enter the roadway from a side street, move to the right portion of your lane. Continually evaluate which portion of your lane will make you most visible and then gradually move left or right across your lane as necessary to place you in the line of sight of other drivers.