Do bike riders = better car drivers?

[GrayWolf]

I don't agree...
It becomes a learned habit and is used all the time. Unless you are actually overtaking another vehicle, with the requisite visibility etc, you must keep to the left. From time to time our friends in blue set up video 'stings' in areas where the practice is common. Those caught doing it get the big stick.

hehe My turn... I dont' agree with that as a blanket statement.
I will accept that in some cases it can become a permanent habit. I view it as an option. Part of assessing road conditions, traffic, visibility etc. There is a hill which I and many many others will ride on a regular basis, it has some sections that are a series of short sweepers left and right, in an almost straight line. In the centre of the road you can see the full distance of the bend series... straightening these types of bends out is not a dangerous practice. AS LONG (agreed) as it does not become the common thing to expect to do......

I seem to be disagreeing with you a lot...but I am here too.
You may not feel that your car handling skills are right up there - through unfamiliarity, I guess - but how many people who do drive actually have good car handling skills? I'll bet that none of them have your roadcraft either, so who's the better driver?
The number of drivers I'm forced to be behind at times, who brake for uphill corners for instance...when they are already travelling at 20/30kph slower than the speed limit

<<< OK I will accept this MSTRS, I will agree my 'reservation' on better driver IS due to unfamiliarity on the whole.

[mossy1200]

Im never really in a hurry in a car(95-100 is all good). Its just a form of transport. Idd like to think im alot less likely to hit a motorcycle or open my door on a pushbike or change lane into a vehicle in mirrors blind spot than the average driver because I tend to double check and im prepaired to go round the block rather than change lanes suddenly. Maybe that due to riding bikes.

[MSTRS:Me]

I don't agree...
It becomes a learned habit and is used all the time. Unless you are actually overtaking another vehicle, with the requisite visibility etc, you must keep to the left. From time to time our friends in blue set up video 'stings' in areas where the practice is common. Those caught doing it get the big stick.

hehe My turn... I dont' agree with that as a blanket statement.
I will accept that in some cases it can become a permanent habit. I view it as an option. Part of assessing road conditions, traffic, visibility etc. There is a hill which I and many many others will ride on a regular basis, it has some sections that are a series of short sweepers left and right, in an almost straight line. In the centre of the road you can see the full distance of the bend series... straightening these types of bends out is not a dangerous practice. AS LONG (agreed) as it does not become the common thing to expect to do......

I know the hill...we have plenty of primo roads round these parts with a series of open sweepers that can be seen through from end to end too... but I stand by what I say. Not everyone on the road is capable of recognising when it's ok or not...they just do it randomly or all the time.
I do agree - there are times and places where it should be a perfectly safe thing to do, but it is illegal, you can be done for "Failing to keep left" and the police do carry out covert surveillance/photo ops on the practice. Sometimes they radio their mate down a aways to stop you, or the first you know is when the ticket arrives in the mail.

[tigertim20]

Before you can answer that question tigertim20, you first have to decide what a "good" driver is. Tell me what you think a good driver is, and you'll be able to answer the question more easily.

I never said anything being a good driver.

my question was, does being a rider of a motorcycle make you a better car driver.
It is entirely better to improve, and still be a shit driver

[p.dath]

I never said anything being a good driver.

my question was, does being a rider of a motorcycle make you a better car driver.
It is entirely better to improve, and still be a shit driver

That being the case, if it improved only one single aspect, then the answer would be yes. And you yourself gave several examples of things it improved, so I think you answered your own question. Only for some reason you came to a different result.

[Headbanger]

Considering I have never been trained,assessed nor monitored in any relevant manner I'd say I'm not merely absolute shit but I'm also dangerous.



See you all out on the road.

[JimO]

Considering I have never been trained nor monitored I'd say I'm not merely absolute shit but I'm also dangerous.



See you all out on the road.

ah yes but at least you have all your fingers

[Nova.]

TL;DR

nah i don't think it does either.
depends on the person imo.

[240]

I believe we do become better car drivers, for example doing a head check before changing lanes, how many of you do that when driving your car?Probably heaps and you don't even think about it.Its second nature to a biker.Recently I was out with a client on the Motorway and I did a headcheck before merging, the client thought this was as funny as fuck and I explained to him that a rider needs to do this as well as a mirror check.We then spoke about general awareness of other road users,road rage etc and I believe that as a rider (in my opinion) you do become far more aware of what is around you, and you learn to keep calm if some fuckwit pulls out in front of you.
Now if only more fucken asians rode bikes..........................

[BMWST?]

awareness,anticipation,situational awareness,calll it what you will.This is no minor thing and does translate to car driving and may save you or another from a bad situation one day,that is GOOD .If you do good thing you must be a good driver.I easliy avoided a nose to tail on the motorway the other day ,both lanes were involved(i could see it happening a mile off.) I stopped in time to avoid the actual nose to tail but the dude behind me didnt....

[tigertim20]

That being the case, if it improved only one single aspect, then the answer would be yes. And you yourself gave several examples of things it improved, so I think you answered your own question. Only for some reason you came to a different result.

the question was more about whether it had the effect of an overall improvement, not whether or not it had an affect at all - hence my conclusion.
that only my conclusion though, others opinions may differ, and no doubt they will.

I was more interested in a discussion that getting one persons conclusion

[Tigadee]

Now if only more fucken asians rode bikes

Too bad most of them ride scootahs...

[caspernz]

As a generalised statement I'd agree that a biker makes a better car driver. Extend that further, in my profession as a truck driver, it's been noted by the driver trainers (a group I belong to) that the truckers who also ride bikes have a better overall awareness. The next thing that shows is good lane usage and being smoother in managing momentum.

Hardly scientific but it's interesting how across a group of hundreds of drivers the bikers can be picked out by their habits behind the wheel...

If there is a downside it's that after a trip away on the bike I find that I DRIVE the car harder, or so the wife says.

The proviso being of course that a dickhead on a bike will still be a dickhead in a car or a truck.

[Headbanger]

awareness,anticipation,situational awareness,calll it what you will.This is no minor thing and does translate to car driving and may save you or another from a bad situation one day,..

I call it go get some training in advanced driving. I have zero faith in self-taught driver becoming self-taught motorcyclists as a way of upskilling.

That said, worst thing I ever did was send the wife to driving school, ffs, and I thought she was a pain in the arse before someone schooled her up on all the crazy shit I do wrong with a motor vehicle.