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I think the biggest problem most motorcyclists have is they don’t drive defensively enough. They ride as if they have a right to the road and, dammit, they are going to exercise that right!

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen motorcyclists ride too close behind a vehicle or suddenly switch lanes without adequately, imo, having checked to see if they can do it safely.

Technically speaking, motorcyclists do have a right to the road, but if they practiced all the common sense safety tips, most of the accidents would be completely avoided.

I do ride a scooter myself, but I always ride defensively. I do not trust other drivers.

I don’t ride a motorcycle, but I do ride a bike and drive a car.

When in those vehicles, I always, constantly drive as if the other people on the road simply do not see me. I just assume they do not see me. If I am driving down the road and a car is waiting to pull into traffic, my foot hovers an inch above my brake, my hand is engaged to honk (it is near there anyway) and my mind has a couple of directional options in mind.

It sounds hard, but I have been doing it so long it is natural for me now.

For survival, on a bike, I think you MUST drive that way.

"I think the biggest problem most motorcyclists have is they don’t drive defensively enough."

I used to be and avid cyclist Back when I was a young man. My junior and Senior year I rode My Suzuki 250 Enduro

Not my actual Bike but it looked just like that one! ( I still get a warm feeling of freedom and adventure when looking at such)

I rode it everywhere and I could fill the roughly two gallon gas tank for under two bucks.

I was a Rambling Vagabond who hit th road as often as I could.

Then in my 22nd year of life I was coming down a hill in a residential section of my home town. I was moving at about 35 MPH. Suddenly a pickup truck pulled out in front of me out of a blind alley. (he was moving far over the speed limit so there is no way he had stopped to see if anything was coming.) Without thinking I stood up on my pegs jinked the bike to try and go behind him as he crossed my path and hit both brakes. being young I had fast reflexes and almost made it. Only problem was he had an extra long reese style trailer hitch head that stuck out from his rear bumper about 18 inches.

My front tire hit it hard enough to bend the rim. The bike catapulted me over the handlebars and I flew about 12 feet into a ditch barely missing a metal "no parking" sign. I damaged my knee (again) broke two bones in my hand almost cut the index finger off of my other hand due to it hitting the no parking sign and got a mild concussion.

The Policeman who showed up to the accident (he beat the EMS there) told me I must have missed the sign with my head and shoulder by mere inches because he figured I instinctively had my hands outstretched in front of me in a defensive move when my one hand contacted the sign.

As he held a bandage to my finger and hand trying to staunch the bleeding he told me in jolly tone if I had hit the sign with my neck or shoulder area he would probably be contacting the coroner about now.

The bike had a few scratches where it skidded on the pavement, a bent rim and the forks were bent broke one of the mirrors and turnsignals and skinned up one of the hand grips. Insurance paid to fix it all. When it was fixed and painted and looking like new I sold it and have never ridden another.

It happened way to fast And I was obeying all traffic laws and constantly on the lookout for cars and trucks. I had many a close call before that including being thrown from a Honda Goldwing into a cornfield when riding double with a good friend. He hit something small on the road which blew his front tire I hit the same knee then as I damaged later as described above. I hit it on the ferring as I was launched over the handlebars. We were only goin about 40 MPH then and luckily the Cornfield was wet so both hit and slid for many many yards.

But the Suzuki Wreck was the last straw for me. Both me and the Goldwing Owner were good bike riders. We competed in Hare Scrambles, Enduros and Moto-x races never having a major mishap in any of those competitions and winning or placing in more than our share locally.

I would still consider riding bikes on trails and such (No competition for me now though way to old and slow for such.) But I will never again ride a motorcycle on any byway that includes automobiles and trucks. Way too dangerous and the odds are always stacked against the bike rider. Newton proved such many years ago!