I’ve heard women riders say accidents are inevitable -- that everyone drops their motorcycle at least once. I don’t know if we have to crash, but close calls are bound to happen. The good news: if we carefully review what happened, debrief the situation with a blow by blow replay, we can learn from the experience and become smarter riders. And if we share our stories, we can learn from each other and possibly help other riders avoid similar situations.
Here’s my story; I hope it helps someone else:
A couple of years ago, I was riding in city traffic on my Bonneville. The speed limit was 35, and it was a clear, dry summer day. It was early afternoon, so there was no glare or slanting sunlight. In other words, perfect riding conditions. I was approaching a four way intersection; the crossroad had stop signs, and the main road had the right-of-way, with no stops. I was on the main road. A car approached from my right, and pulled up to her stop sign just before I went through the intersection. We made eye contact. I proceeded through the intersection; she pulled out and hit my right side. My bike slid out from under me, I tumbled through the air and landed on my shoulder. She ran over to me. “You looked right at me,” I said. “I know! I couldn’t believe you weren’t stopping!” she said. Right, well, I didn’t have a stop sign. I injured my shoulder and neck. She, of course, was unhurt.
As we were sitting on the sidewalk, I called home. My daughter answered the phone. When I hung up, the driver said, “I didn’t know you had a daughter! If I knew you were a mom, I never would have gone through the stop sign!” It still makes me angry when I remember that. So, was I treated differently because I was a woman? Maybe, but only after the fact, when it didn’t matter.
Here’s what I learned: I always make eye contact with drivers, but I don’t count on that keeping me safe. When I approach an intersection, I always slow down to a speed where I know I can execute a quick stop and keep the bike upright. I’ve since had other drivers meet my gaze, acknowledge me, and pull out in front of me from shopping centers. So I approach every intersection cautiously. I practice quick stops on all of my bikes, (including my scooter), so I know exactly how long it takes to make a controlled stop on each machine. And I keep my eyes moving.
We’d like to throw this back to you: what’s your scariest moment on your bike, what went wrong, and what did you learn from it? Do you think you were treated differently because you were a woman? Let’s help each other be prepared and be safe.
