Improper Fear Management
Fear – Friend or Foe?
When one starts to ride a motorcycle, the feelings of being exposed are very apparent. Being in direct contact with the environment strikes some fear into the new rider. Fear is an emotion with negative connotations, but is a healthy component of riding motorcycles safely. Fear is a life preserving emotion because it tunes the senses and awareness of the individual to danger in the surroundings. Vehicles will appear as deadly as they actually are. The wind whipping by the rider reminds them that they are travelling at considerable speeds, placing their delicate body in a position of potential peril. They are hyper-aware of the apparent danger because everything is fresh. We have inborn traits from evolution with regards to survival. Human physiology is hard wired to identify danger and when identified, to monitor the sources of danger so the individual can react immediately if need be. As the new rider matures, especially when no close calls or crashes have been experienced, the mind and body will start to modulate the fear response from the dangerous stimuli in the environment. It is not healthy or productive for one to go about their business with constant levels of stress. To uphold higher levels of efficiency, the brain again takes a shortcut to greater overall functionality. As the motorcyclist is repeatedly exposed to the threats that are all around, the brain will naturally start to tune down the fear response for the feelings of vulnerability and risk of injury. Some individuals will completely lose the fear or lack it to begin with. As seasons pass, the rider becomes more tolerant of the risk in their environment which allows the brain to focus on more pressing aspects of cognition. Do you think that the removal of fear through continual exposure is positive or negative for the risk management of the motorcyclist?
It is negative. By removing fear from the riding process, it effectively dulls the senses and awareness of the very real danger that never changes while riding a motorcycle. As the life preserving force that resides in all living creatures, the motorcyclists needs fear to sense danger just as much as a deer needs fear to avoid a pack of wolves in the forest. What would happen if a deer had no fear whatsoever? The wolves would have an easy meal as they saunter up to the deer while it stares death in the face with no response. The same can be said for the motorcyclist without fear. Fear can be thought of as a radar for danger. Without the maintenance of low levels of fear, danger will sometimes not be apparent until it walks right up to your motorcycle and knocks you off. The absence of fear while scanning for incoming threats will often result in poor detection and sluggish reaction to threats when they present themselves. Simply put, the loss of fear creates complacent and/or negligent riders. Complacency and negligence are traits that should never be allowed anywhere close to our two-wheeled companions.
Open Season on Motorcyclists
It is when one is complacent when the worst will often happen. Threats will often sneak up on the negligent rider when they least expect it. These hazards can manifest in many ways, such as a pile of sand on your favourite corner that wasn’t there yesterday, or it is the careless motorist that pulls out in front of you in an unbelievable way. It is the loose load on the flat-deck of a transport truck, waiting for you to ride up before losing its material onto the highway. It is the animal that darts out onto the roadway as you enjoy the scenic view on the other side. It is the cold rain that strikes with a vengeance when you forget your rain gear. When all of the crazy incidents that have happened to riders are considered in their totality (check out some crash compilations on YouTube to see how crazy motorcycles can get), it is not far-fetched that there might be a hit on us. Riding with the mindset that there is a hit on you is a very useful switch to flip in your brain.
Obviously, there is no conspiracy to collectively gang up on motorcyclists. The Earth and its occupants are not out to get us. However, the motorcycle rider could suffer a great loss if they fail to catch a threat the moment it presents itself. Motorcycles are hard to see, finish last in all collisions, and harbour high levels of risk of personal injury if the operator crashes. The vulnerable motorcyclist must be hypersensitive to hazards and ready to act in every moment. Healthy fear maintenance is an essential component to ride with assertive risk management tendencies. You must be on your toes at all times because the ride can go sideways quickly when you least expect it. The anticipation/expectation of incoming danger is the best way to guide risk management behaviour. A threat to your life can jump out at any moment. Some might argue that this borders on paranoia, but anything less puts your well-being at risk. It is better to have some fear when no danger is present, than to have no fear when there is danger. Motorcycle risk management demands constant vigilance. Be keen of danger by riding like there is a hit out on you.
