Charging Intersections or Turns
While out riding a motorcycle, there are certain areas that are more threatening than others. There are times where one can sit back and relax, and there are times where one must exercise care and caution. Intersections and turns, are easily the most treacherous areas for motorcyclists to pass through. Let’s take a look at why these areas are so dangerous for motorcycles.
Intersections
Intersections can be thought of as hazard pits. In general, vehicles pose significant risk to riders and they must have their eyes peeled whenever other motorists are in the vicinity. This is even more important when encountering vehicles as you pass through intersections. The definition of intersect is to pierce or divide by passing through or across. The term intersection refers to roadways intersecting, but applying the term to the relationship between vehicles and motorcycles is rather unsettling. No motorcyclist wants to be pierced or divided as a vehicle passes through or across them. As was discussed with the Right of Weight, motorcyclists can never pass through a space that is occupied by a vehicle. On the other hand, vehicles can most definitely pass through a space that is occupied by a motorcycle. When a motorcycle is travelling in the same direction as the vehicles around it, there are much lower levels of risk compared to vehicles encountered at an intersection. This is due largely to the speed disparity between the rider and the vehicles at the intersection. While moving at the same speed in the same direction of travel, vehicles cannot abruptly occupy the space of the motorcyclist. They can lane change into the motorcycle, but with both machines involved moving at similar speeds, the move will be slower and will carry lower levels of risk for impact. An encounter with a vehicle at an intersection is far different. These vehicles will be accelerating from a stop to initiate turns, or moving perpendicularly (90 degrees) to the direction of travel of the motorcyclist. The motorbike is travelling at the speed limit, and the vehicles are close to stationary. Such an impact with these speed disparities could be compared to riding into a brick wall.
In addition to the constant high risk of collisions at intersections, they commonly contain many other types of hazards such as, but not limited to, sand, gravel, potholes, pavement abnormalities, Blindspots and pedestrians. In order to spot and react to hazards in ideal ways, intersections must be passed through with moderate speed. Failure to do so can cause the rider to miss critical hazards with critical consequences.
Turns
Once a motorcyclist has a good grasp of balance, turns are, without a doubt one of the most enjoyable aspects of riding. “Twisties” is a term associated with a section of roadway that is littered with constant turns. Riders from far and wide will search out areas with highly sought after twisty sections. The act of turning, however, is a double edged sword. On one hand, they are highly enjoyable but on the other, they are one of the most common sites for motorcycle accidents.
When riding a curve, there is often an accompanying visibility restriction. Whether it be from signs, foliage, vehicles, buildings, landscape, or the actual road itself, restrictions in visibility are always detrimental. The navigation of a 4-wheeled vehicle through a curve is pretty simple; turn the steering wheel to match the turn radius of the curve and the car will progress through the turn. If the operator starts to drift wide, they merely have to correct their course by further turning the steering wheel more. The act of turning on a motorcycle is more dynamic. Forces must balance with our Lean-Angle. If we begin to drift wide, simply steering the handlebars into the turn will not allow us to reach safety (more on these concepts in Operational Hazards). To top it off, a motorcycle has the most Evasive Potential while riding with a neutral Lean-Angle (upright). Throughout curves, a motorcycle is less agile and more susceptible to Passable Hazards such as sand and potholes. Taken all together while riding a curve, a motorcyclist has reduced visibility, reduced Evasive Potential and reduced machine stability. All of that aside, accidents in turns will generally force the rider and machine towards the outside of the road. The edges of roads can lead the motorcyclist into guardrails, posts, trees, hills and, sometimes cliffs. It is for these reasons that the motorcycle rider must not get lost in the fun of curves and stay mindful of the risk associated with them.
Respect Rising Risk
When traversing these hazardous areas, the motorcyclist must be on high alert and be ready to act. In later chapters, specific strategies will be discussed to make such areas less risky to proceed through. Even with predetermined strategies up your sleeve, there is a behaviour that makes all countermeasures ineffective. That behaviour is, approaching these deadly areas with excessive speed. Risky areas require time to assess the situation and time to initiate options in the event of an emergency. As discussed in Forgetting About Murphy, riding at high capacity levels restricts the options available to the rider in the heat of the moment. Intersections and Turns are the most dangerous places to make this critical error. In both situations, the motorcyclist is at their most vulnerable and the risk associated with these areas must be respected. In unfortunate circumstances, it can be impossible to recover from carrying too much speed into an intersection or turn, but you can always speed up once you know the coast is clear. Exercise caution when approaching intersections and turns.
