The most common words spoken by drivers who hit motorcyclists are, “I didn’t see him.” For a lot of riders, those words are unacceptable.

I’m sorry to say, however, they are often true. So like it or not, we who ride have to adjust to that fact in order to ensure our own safety.

My friend John is one of those who argue that any driver who hits a motorcyclist and claims “I didn’t see him” needs to go to jail. I agree that if the failure to see has to do with the driver paying attention to their cell phone or anything else other than driving, serious consequences are in order.

But that’s not always the case. I’ve told here previously of the time, many years ago, when I was in a car waiting to make a left turn off a main street. As I started to turn my passenger yelled at me to stop, and I did just in time not to hit a motorcyclist coming the other way. I didn’t see him. And I wasn’t doing anything other than driving. I just didn’t see him.

Well, it happened again now, just a week ago. It would take too many words to explain the streets so just look at the map. A guy on my block rides a Ducati. I left the house in my car and was at the end of the block intending to take a left turn to get out of the neighborhood. I looked left and right and started to pull out.

As I pulled out I saw–only then–that the guy on the Ducati was coming up the street. Now, he wasn’t going fast because he had just turned onto that street, and he was going to turn right anyway, so no harm was done. But the fact is, that Ducati has such a narrow profile when you look at it head on, that it’s a lot easier not to see than some big bagger with all the gear.

Studies have shown that motorcyclists and family members of motorcyclists are far more attuned to the presence of motorcycles on the streets, and thus are far less likely to get in crashes with them than the general populace. And yet here I am, a rider with many years on the bike, and I still did not see this guy. Needless to say, I found this very disturbing. I just did not see him. How could that be?

The bottom line on how it could be, however, is that it is. And that’s why we have to be responsible for our own safety. We have to ride as if we are invisible, always anticipating the stupid moves that those idiot cagers might pull–even if on some occasions the idiot cagers are also riders themselves.

I’m not making excuses, but every single one of us makes a mistake now and then. And it doesn’t matter to your shattered skull that your crash was due to some other guy’s mistake. We are responsible for our own safety. Accept that fact and act upon it and you’ll greatly enhance your chances of riding safely for many years to come.

Biker Quote for Today

Anticipate!-most “accidents” are predictable, and avoidable.