What is defensive riding?

Riding tips | Staying alert | Safety tips | Constant observation | Road safety

Defensive motorcycle riding means riding alert at all times and taking nothing for granted on the road. It means being a little paranoid on the street. It means assuming that other road users are out to get you. It mean super-tuning your own riding skills and staying focussed. It means looking way ahead—and behind—and anticipating dangerous situations and taking early avoiding action.

Sound like hard work? Well it is at first, but defensive riding quickly becomes second nature—with the bonus that it helps improve your general awareness of everything else that you do. Take our top tip; if there's one state of mind you need to be in, and stay in, when you're riding your motorcycle, it's a defensive state of mind. You can't enjoy yourself if you've just crashed, or worse.

We've written an easy-read motorcycling feature highlighting the finer points of defensive riding. Take a few minutes to study it, if you will, and see if you can incorporate into your own riding some, or all, of these tips and techniques. Sooner or later it will save your life.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR DEFENSIVE RIDING SKILLS

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