Throttles

Long ago, when I took the Basic Rider Course through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, the instructor, a retired motor officer, recited over and over again his belief that there was no such thing as an accident. His argument was that every accident was in fact the result of inattention and/or making poor decisions. We offered example after example and in each instance he could lead us to one final conclusion: trouble could have been avoided if the rider was simply more aware and thus more in control.

I can't say I liked his thesis, but I must admit I could not find a hole in it. Perhaps I did not like it because it placed responsibility on me! As I thought of my own close encounters (thankfully only one of which involved an actual collision) I kept reaching the same conclusion: the "accident" could have been avoided with increased awareness or a different decision.

As a result of his teaching, one of the games I play on my daily commute is "How much can I control the bike without using the brakes?" I accomplish this by using the throttle and clutch, trying to maintain safe following distances and approaches to traffic signals with subtle inputs with the throttle and downshifting to match rpm's to the throttle input, rather than a touching of the brake. It is simply a means of staying in control and acting, rather than re-acting, to potentially dangerous situations. It is one means by which I can affirm responsibility for my own riding and thereby avoiding the need to exclaim: "It was an accident!"

For example, as I look down the road beyond the vehicle immediately in front of me, if I see brake lights coming on from the cars down the lane I decrease throttle and downshift at the appropriate time; if I see a car approaching an intersection from my right, I watch the wheels move left in the lane while decreasing throttle thus giving myself time and distance to brake if necessary; if I find myself in the blind spot of another driver I either increase or decrease throttle to move out of the blind spot. It's all about awareness, anticipation, and subtle input.

It seems to me that such an approach to many emotional encounters might be valuable as well. How often has someone let loose with a barrage in anger only to later say, "I didn't really mean it." They were angry and couldn't brake fast enough to prevent the anger from coming out of their mouth. Throttle control - input - might have helped avoid the crash! It's all about looking ahead, acting rather than re-acting, and taking responsibility for one's own situation.

Maybe my instructor was right ... there are no accidents!