It may seem hard to believe at times, but other drivers almost never
actually want to hit you. Most of those near-misses come about because
they don't always know you are there, even when you are right in front
of them, seemingly in plain view. You can be obscured or completely
hidden by glare, by other things on or along the road, by the cars roof
pillars, the handicap hangtag, or by other traffic. Of course, not all
drivers "think motorcycles"
and make the effort to look that extra bit harder to see if there might
be a motorcyclist hidden by that obscuration or in their blind spot.
Instead of assuming that they will ignore you even when they see you,
you should help make it easier for drivers to spot you, especially as
the population ages and more drivers have greater difficulty in picking
you out.
To overcome the fact that you might be hard to see and harder to notice,
wear bright colours, especially on your helmet and jacket. Run your high
beam during the day. Think about things that can hide you and your bike
from other drivers, things that can be as common as the sun behind you,
the car ahead in the next lane, or a couple of roadside poles that line
up on the driver's line of sight toward you. Make an effort to ride in
or move to a location where drivers with potentially conflicting courses
can see you before they stray your way.
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