Today I was in a parking lot and a car was going diagonal while i was going straight and just blazed by me with no care or anything, it was hard enough for me in a car to stop and I wouldn't want to imagine if I had been on my motorcycle (I am a very new rider). What are some ways to deal with abrupt stops. I know new some new bikes are equipped with ABS though.
I had a serious accident back in 1971, when I'd only been riding a couple of years. A woman turned left in front of me, across my path. I broke a little bone in my foot and three teeth. But that accident made me PARANOID and I've avoided serious accidents ever since! Because I've learned just not to trust car drivers. It's MY job to stay out of THEIR way. As we say, there are rights worth dying for, but the right of way is not among them.
This means assuming you're invisible. It means never riding on the freeway in a car's blind spot. Never to assume a car driver sees you, wait to see what he's going to do before committing. Someone coming the other way slows down, you watch carefully to see what he's going to do.
Special care is needed at intersections--don't jump out into them when the light turns green, look both ways as if you were jay-walking. And just try to keep a lot of room around you.
One of the differences between riding a motorcycle and driving a car is that you are more involved with a bike. You develop a sense of what's going on all around you all the time. This is why riding 100 mi. on a motorcycle never seems to take as long as in a car!
You have to keep your head on a swivel. Constantly looking everywhere. Be preprepared for anything. Ride with what is. What if that car does tthis or that. What can I do. Practice your emergency stops in a parking lot. Practice your serves in a parking lot. Take a training course. If it's been a couple of years since, take an advanced training course.
you have to be alert and think way ahead on a bike .. you should be able to pick out a possible 'abrupt' situation in advance and approach it like it could be .. driving around half asleep will get you and the bike busted up pretty quick .. cagers are a plague of humanity .. always strive to avoid them as such and give them about 10X more room than they should need ..
Pre-empt them.
Observation is the most valuable skill you can have on a bike (or a car), then with experience comes anticipation, you can pick up clues from the car's position as to what they might do next to bugger up your day.
Whatever you do they will manage to show you something new.
Expect the unexpected.
Allmost all motorcycle riders will admit that people in cars and trucks do not see bikes when driving. We have all had close encounters in this situation. So to ride safe you have to take the resposibility to watch out for them. expext them to pull out in front of you, or change lanes without seeing you next to them.
You do your best to stay out of those situations or avoid those situations - it is called 360 degree awareness. You will need to practice this (while you are driving a car is a good place to practice).
The smaller vehicle ALWAYS loses even if they are in the right - dead right is no place to be.
All of the above.
Plus - the horn is more effective than a loud exhaust. So is a large mouth.
Lastly, Boot to the door (not normally recommended).
It helps to be visible and reflective.
