New MSF "Guidlines"

[Greg]

Swiped off Richard's Facebook,
Quote,

"Gathering Visual Information

Does a motorcycle go where its rider looks? No; this is a common misconception. If this were true, a rider could simply avoid a crash by looking elsewhere. And a rider would swerve every time a blind spot was checked or he/she looked at scenery off to the side. Reality requires switching the words around a bit: “A rider should look where he wants the motorcycle to go.” Not because looking will aim the motorcycle, but because you need to gather visual information and evaluate the path to assist in your navigation. Turning your head in the direction of the turn helps you form a good visual picture, but to cause a motorcycle to move from a straight path of travel, there must be some physical input – the handlebars normally must be moved.

A rider should look in the general direction of the turn but move his eyes throughout the intended path: scan side to side and near to far, keeping eyes up and looking through the entire curve. Those who fixate on a given point in the distance might miss certain factors that are important for safety, such as surface conditions or objects in (or heading into) their immediate path of travel.  (like gravel!)

As you approach a curve, evaluate radius, lane width, camber, surface condition, other traffic, etc. Is the entire curve visible? Does it get tighter? Is there an escape area like a paved shoulder? Select a good lane position for the smoothest line through the corner, and choose an appropriate entry speed so you won’t need to brake while leaned over. Keep throttle, steering and braking inputs smooth. Be ready for any changes in the curve, such as surface conditions and other traffic. And increase speed only as you straighten up when the curve begins to straighten out.

Curves are where most single-vehicle motorcycle crashes occur. Don’t be a “sightseer” in curves; be an active participant in the task at hand.

©2011 Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Publications can reprint this MSF Safety Tip as-is by including the credit line "Reprinted courtesy of Motorcycle Safety Foundation, msf-usa.org" and sending a hard copy of the publication in which it appears

End Quote

I've been advocating this for years. I'm pleased to have some vindication of my position though I acknowledge this formula won't ring true for every rider.


Thoughts? Arguments?

[pkpk]

I understand the intent and am warming to it with each read.  I still disagree with the first statement though.  The original BRC curriculum, as taught to me in 1985, was very biased about the idea of the rider "looking where you want the bike to go".  I think the new curriculum must be trying to downplay that oversimplification, and instead train riders to be scanning and thinking ahead.   I think that is a separate activity and habit of itself.

I still think it's important that riders are taught to avert an impending collision by looking at the escape route.

[Plus_P]

I can only speak for what goes on inside my own helmet:
My long mantra is "Look, Lean, Believe, Look, Look, look, look, look..."
My short mantra as needed is "LOOK!"
"Look" sums up many self understood actions: Scan/analyse desired line, scan far, scan near, scan surface debris, scan obstacles/traffic, scan escape routes.
I also take "Where you look is where you go" as both advice and a warning.
As advice; it is the best plan to stay my intended course.
As a warning; it is a good reminder that I have the power to avoid experiencing target fixation, again , all I have to do (easier said than done in that flash of an instant) is look at something other than the currently fixated hazard (like a desired successful escape route).

My race rider (Matt) also pointed something out, which I have since observed: Watch racers, many will over exaggerate their neck/helmet motion, over-rotating their heads towards the inside of the turn, so the "intended line" through the turn is at the outer edge of vision, and data visually collected doesn't even include any info for what is beyond the edge of the track (aka traffic lane), and all mental calculation cycles are dedicated to processing data to successfully navigate the turn.
Not inteded for street riding at all times, but if hustling through the turns is what I am doing, I've found this technique helpful as another tool.

Back on topic, I can understand MSF wanting to expand the definition, but as a Mantra inside my helmet, I need it short and sweet (look, lean, believe, look, look....), because there just isn't time for more at corner tip-in time.
Regards,
+Wade

[taman]

What I believe they are attempting to differentiate between are looking as a sensory activity that initiates the motor response creating a cause and effect relationship, from a far more complex activity. Looking (or seeing) represents one of seventeen different visual skills involved in visual information processing.

The previous description doesn't represent a much more integrative and simultaneous activity. Often, some who possess inefficiencies in certain visual skills can have difficulty utilizing more complex visual skills.
 

[carlson_mn]

I like their details on it.  When heading into a turn I first try to plan out my line and then I will give a good look at the road conditions near my apex before settling in and trying to hold a good look through the rest / exit of the turn.... 

Riding in WI it's become pretty evident to me on a lot of roads you have to be able to both look through the turn but also not turn a blind eye to the smaller details in the road in front of you. 

[T.W. Day]

Back in the 80's, I went to a lot of Laker games, especially when they weren't playing someone in the hunt because I could get tickets cheap and the rich assholes would bail at half-time and I could filter down to the floor seats. In a game against Philly, Magic slipped a pass through everyone and nailed Vlade Divac in the chest, knocking him on his ass and putting the ball in the bleachers. Without slowing down, Magic ran a loop around the opponent's end of the court, grabbed Divac by the jersey, yanked him up, drug him down court, while saying (loudly), "Three rules to basketball, Vlade. Look, look, and look."

[Hope2Ride]

A rider should look in the general direction of the turn but move his eyes throughout the intended path: scan side to side and near to far, keeping eyes up and looking through the entire curve. Those who fixate on a given point in the distance might miss certain factors that are important for safety, such as surface conditions or objects in (or heading into) their immediate path of travel.  (like gravel!)

When I'm looking into a corner I still scan the road ahead of me for gravel, debris, etc... My head stays turned but my eyes shift up and down. I don't know if that's good or bad but it's what I've gotten used to doing. Learning to ride over the past year I've been told "look where you wanna go" many, many times and that I can always lean more. So now when I'm practicing corners I always say to myself "look and lean". There's been a few times when I have entered a corner and realized I was going too fast and every time I remember my lessons from Vince and Lloyd and even though I'm panicking I can always remeber two simple things.... LOOK AND LEAN! It helps to keep it simple so when those "oh shit" moments happen I can react without ending up in a ditch.

[tk]

"My head stays turned but my eyes shift up and down."

This is good procedure to keep your eyes moving. The literature I get from the MSF encourages this.