California Motorcycle Handbook - Antevia

someone may squeeze in front ofyou.When you are stopped, keep wellbehind the vehicle ahead of you.This will make it easier to get outof the way if a driver behind youis traveling too quickly or thevehicle ahead starts to back up.When behind a vehicle, ridewhere the driver can see you inhis/her rearview mirror. If you ridein the center portion of the lane,your image should be in themiddle of the driver’s rearviewmirror—where he/she is morelikely to see you.If you ride in the left or rightportion of the lane, the driver maysee you in his/her side viewmirror. But remember that mostdrivers don’t look at their sideview mirrors as often as theycheck the rearview mirror. So ifthe traffic situation allows, thecenter lane position is usually thebest place for you to be seen bythe driver ahead and to preventlane sharing by others.Being FollowedWhen you speed up to lose atailgater, you only end up withsomeone tailgating you at ahigher speed.A better way to handle tailgatersis to allow them to pass you. Ifyou can’t do this, slow down andopen up extra space ahead of youwhich will allow space for bothyou and the tailgater to stop. Thiswill also encourage the tailgaterto pass. But if the tailgaterdoesn’t pass, you have at leastgiven yourself and the tailgatermore time and space to react incase an emergency develops.Passing and Being PassedPassing and being passed by alarger vehicle is not muchdifferent than with a smallerpassenger vehicle. However,visibility is more critical. Be sureother drivers see you and that yousee potential hazards.Passing1.Ride in the left portion of yourlane at a safe following distanceto increase your line of sightand make you more visible.Signal and check for oncomingtraffic. Use your mirrors andturn your head to look for trafficbehind.2.When safe, move into the leftlane and accelerate. Select alane position that doesn’tcrowd the car you are passingand provides space to avoidhazards in your lane.3.Ride through the driver’s blindspot as quickly as possible.4.Signal again and completemirror and head checks beforereturning to your original lane.Then cancel your turn signal.Remember, passing must becompleted within posted speedlimits, and only where permitted.Being PassedWhen you are being passed frombehind or by an oncomingvehicle, stay in the center portion14