7.3 Do: Speed, Steering, Space Margins, and Communication

What "Do" Really Means

The Do stage carries out the solution chosen in Think. It draws on four tools that almost always work together: speed control, steering, space margins, and communication. The common thread is smoothness. A motorcycle responds best to deliberate, progressive inputs; abrupt throttle, brake, or steering changes break traction and upset the chassis, which is the last thing you want with a hazard in front of you.

Speed Control: Slow Before the Hazard

Speed is the most powerful variable you control. Slowing down shortens stopping distance, lengthens decision time, and lowers the energy of any collision that still occurs. The discipline is to slow before the hazard, not in it:

• Ease off the throttle first. Rolling off the throttle transfers weight forward and begins deceleration before the brakes are even touched.
• Brake progressively. Squeeze the front brake firmly and smoothly; the front brake provides most of a motorcycle's stopping power. Avoid stabbing it.
• Trail off the brake as you enter a turn. This avoids overloading the front tyre while it is also being asked to steer.

In wet or gravelly conditions, every input is gentler and the braking zone is longer. The rider who arrives at the hazard already at the right speed has traction in reserve for whatever the hazard does next.

Steering: Look Where You Want to Go

Two steering truths sit at the centre of motorcycle control:

1. Look where you want to go. Your hands follow your eyes. In a curve, look through the exit; around a hazard, look at the escape path. Staring at the hazard is target fixation, and it steers you into the very thing you want to miss.
2. Countersteer above 10 km/h. Learn to Ride Smart draws the line at 10 km/h. Below that the motorcycle is unsteady and wanders, and you steer it the way you would a bicycle at walking pace: turn the handlebars left to go left, right to go right. This is low-speed steering, and in slow turns you should also counterbalance — lean the motorcycle only as much as you must and keep your own body upright to hold the balance.

Above 10 km/h the motorcycle feels steadier and must lean to turn, and you make it lean by countersteering: gently push the handlebar on the side you want to go. ICBC puts it in four words — push right, lean right, go right; push left, lean left, go left. To stand the motorcycle back up, push on the opposite bar. It feels backwards at first, but above 10 km/h it is the only way a two-wheeled motorcycle changes direction.

Space Margins: Following Distance and the Escape Path

A motorcycle has no crumple zone, so space is its safety structure. ICBC gives specific numbers rather than a vague "leave lots of room."

Space in front

Measure it by watching the vehicle ahead pass a fixed point — a shadow, a sign, a crack — then counting "one thousand and one, one thousand and two…" until your front wheel reaches the same point.

Two stopped-traffic distances are also worth memorising: leave about three metres between your front wheel and the vehicle ahead when you stop at an intersection (room to escape if someone is about to hit you from behind), and about six metres behind a large vehicle, which also improves your view.

Space beside

Keep at least one metre of clear space on either side of the motorcycle, and stay away from curbs, sidewalks, medians, and any object or road user. When you pass a pedestrian, cyclist, or other vulnerable road user, B.C. law requires at least one metre of space — and 1.5 metres where the posted speed limit is above 50 km/h. Increase those side margins further when visibility or road conditions are poor. Try always to keep an escape route open on at least one side; if you do not have one, slow down and let another vehicle pass, or move to a lane with more room.

Stopping distance

Your total stopping distance is longer than your braking distance. When you see a problem, it takes about three-quarters of a second to see-think (perception distance) and another three-quarters of a second to do (reaction distance) before the brakes even start to work. Speed then dominates what is left: double your speed and braking distance increases about four times; triple it and you need about nine times the distance. That relationship is why "slow down" is ICBC's answer to almost every hazard.

Lane Position for Visibility, Space, and Traction

Every lane offers several tracks a motorcycle can occupy. The choice is rarely random: pick the track that best serves visibility, space, and traction together.

• Visibility — the position where other drivers are most likely to see you and where you can see the furthest ahead. Often the left wheel track of the right lane, because it keeps you out of oncoming left-turners' blind spot and gives a clear view of cross traffic.
• Space — the position with the most room on at least one side. Near the centre line you have a left escape; near the shoulder you have a right one.
• Traction — the cleanest, driest line. Avoid the oily strip down the centre of the lane, loose debris at the edges, and painted lines when wet.

When the three goals conflict, rank them for the hazard at hand. Approaching a blind intersection, visibility wins; on a wet straightaway, traction wins; beside a concrete barrier on the highway, space wins.

Communication: Being Seen and Being Understood

Communication tools support the other three actions. They rarely solve a hazard by themselves, but they raise the odds that other road users behave predictably:

• Turn signals — be timely (signal well ahead), be clear (not so early that drivers cannot tell which turn you mean), be visible (signal even when your intention seems obvious), and mean what you say (cancel after the manoeuvre). Motorcycle signals do not always cancel themselves, so re-apply the signal if it cancels before you turn.
• Hand signals — you may add a hand signal to your lights to make yourself more visible. In B.C. a motorcyclist must use the left arm to signal a right turn (cyclists may use either arm): left arm straight out means a left turn, left arm out with the forearm raised means a right turn, and left arm out with the forearm pointing down means you are stopping.
• Brake light — flash it by gently tapping the front lever or rear pedal before you slow down, especially before a sudden slowdown or where other road users would not expect you to slow. Tapping activates the light without applying the brake.
• Horn — a short tap draws attention. ICBC lists the situations where it earns its keep: you and another vehicle reach an intersection together with no eye contact; you are passing someone who starts to move into your lane; a driver in a parked car looks ready to pull out; a car starts backing out of a driveway into your path; a pedestrian is about to step out and you cannot stop in time.
• Eye contact — confirmed eye contact is the best evidence a driver has seen you. No eye contact means assume they have not.
• Lane position — riding where you are most visible is itself a form of communication.

Putting It Together: Smooth Inputs Win

The Do stage rewards riders who execute one smooth, committed action over those who flinch between two. Brake firmly and progressively, steer by looking where you want to go, keep a following distance longer than feels necessary, and signal early. Every smooth input preserves traction; every abrupt one spends it. The motorcycle that arrives at the far side of a hazard with grip in reserve is the one that can handle whatever the next hazard turns out to be.