How Riding Motorcycles Made Me a Better Car Driver

It's always nice when something you actively want to do provides benefits to another aspect of your life. In this instance, I'm talking about riding motorcycles and how that affected my abilities and skills driving a car. Since getting my license, learning the ins and outs of bikes, and spending some time playing frogger in New York City and Los Angeles traffic, my vision behind the wheel of a car has changed for the better.

More Awareness

Riding on two wheels gives you an entirely new view and a new level of respect for the road. Your senses are heightened. The faults of other drivers become so much more apparent. You realize small things you might be doing in your car that actually present danger to others. Recognizing this helps everybody, including yourself, on the road.

Now, when I'm in my car I'm constantly looking for and have become more aware of motorcycles. I triple check blind spots, I use my mirrors more, and I start to read and interpret a variety of new things that could present dangerous situations—like cars sweeping across multiple lanes or a car's taillights and tires pointing out when parked. Naturally, the more you're paying attention and the more defensive you drive, the less likely you are to be in or cause an accident.

READ MORE: What Makes an Experience Motorcycle Rider? | RideApart

Turn Signals

One of the most dangerous things that can happen when you're riding a motorcycle is cars around you moving without indicating first. If you split lanes, it's even worse. I used to have the mindset of, "Well, there's nobody around to show that I'm changing lanes, so it's fine," but that all shifted after riding a motorcycle.

A large percentage of moto accidents happen because the car driver didn't see the bike. If moving my finger two inches to flip on my blinker at ALL times could reassure a motorcyclist even once, it's all worth it. Once is all it takes, and for something that requires basically no effort, there's no reason not to.

Stopping Distance

Braking in a car is entirely different from braking on a motorcycle. Having to worry about flying over your handle bars or your tail slipping out from underneath you on a bike gives you an entirely new appreciation for braking gently, knowing your vehicle's limits, and maintaining proper distances from the cars in front of and behind you. That's translated to my driving when I'm in a car as well. There's just no real reason to ever tail people.

READ MORE: 10 Things I've Learned From 10 Motorcycle Crashes | RideApart