The Difference Between Being Careful and Being Safe

[beedawg]

Being careful and being safe aren't always the same thing.  Sure, there's some overlap, and you can't really be safe without exercising some degree of care, but just being careful isn't always enough.  Sometimes it might even be unsafe.

Let me give an example.  I might be squeezing my brake lever as gently as possible, turning my throttle as smoothly as I can, and making very gradual lane changes.  I may never break the speed limit, even when the traffic around me is going five or ten mph faster than me.  If I do that every time I ride, it becomes habit.  I tell myself that I'm being careful, and that it makes me safer.

But what happens when that car pulls out of a driveway, or that deer jumps out of the ditch?  Am I going to ready to really use those brakes or really give that handlebar a good push?  What happens when I need to speed up to get myself out of trouble?  Am I ready for that?

Sure, it's a great idea to practice life-saving skills on a dry, sunny day in a parking lot.  But there are opportunities to practice every time you get on the bike.

Do you agree?  Or is this a thinly-veiled attempt to justify "spirited" riding?

[Aprilian]

"Careful", I agree.   

However, "Careful" + on-purpose skill practice/training = "Safe"

[Chris]

Being careful and being safe aren't always the same thing.  Sure, there's some overlap, and you can't really be safe without exercising some degree of care, but just being careful isn't always enough.  Sometimes it might even be unsafe.

Let me give an example.  I might be squeezing my brake lever as gently as possible, turning my throttle as smoothly as I can, and making very gradual lane changes.  I may never break the speed limit, even when the traffic around me is going five or ten mph faster than me.  If I do that every time I ride, it becomes habit.  I tell myself that I'm being careful, and that it makes me safer.

But what happens when that car pulls out of a driveway, or that deer jumps out of the ditch?  Am I going to ready to really use those brakes or really give that handlebar a good push?  What happens when I need to speed up to get myself out of trouble?  Am I ready for that?

Sure, it's a great idea to practice life-saving skills on a dry, sunny day in a parking lot.  But there are opportunities to practice every time you get on the bike.

Do you agree?  Or is this a thinly-veiled attempt to justify "spirited" riding?

I agree, these skill need to be used what your talking about is muscle memory, I read an article where a cop was using his .38 revolver in a shoot out, he lost when they examined his body they found his empty casings in his pockets, instead of reloading as fast as he could he was saving the casings like when he was on the range. The point here being if you do something enough it becomes instinctual and if you don't need to think about it your response time when that car or dear pull in front of you is decreased, thus making you safer. You need to practice being safe to be safe. 

[aschendel]

I fully agree with Brent's post and would go further, the "thin veil" is the concept of Safe; there is no such thing.  -- which means I respectfully disagree with parts of Aprilian's and Chris' posts.

Andy

[Duc Man]

careful and safe are subjective terms...to argue either with anyone not of like mind could turn in to a BIG conversation. To my mother "safe" is not riding a motorcycle...to my wheelie popping friend safe is only doing wheelies on open roads away from others. Mom has never ridden a motorcycle so her bias is based on the media, wheelie boy has been doing wheelies all his life since riding dirt bike as a kid so considers himself "safe" while doing so..like a trained professional with years of experience. Safe and careful I believe are illusions we create in our own mind as to allow us to ride motorcycle otherwise we would have the fear of death in our minds at all times and would resign from the hobby. We have the riders who crash and get back on and ride another day and the ones who crash and say never again. Careful can be the guy who never wears a helmet deciding maybe today i should wear it. My .02$

[RCKT GRL]

I think we all like to think that we are being 'careful' and 'safe', but accidents can and will happen under even the best of circumstances.  Practicing safe riding and keeping up to date on your skills will certainly help you become a better rider, but it won't prevent you from becoming a statistic in the 'wrong place, right time' situation. 

[Vander]

Good topic! 

Over the years I have adopted the philosophy that spirited riding can aid in my visibility on the road too.  Driving assertively has helped me stay visible to others on the road.  I am sure that some soccer moms out there have grumbled about my driving; but I know it snaps them into paying attention to where I am, and what I am doing (perhaps even hanging up the phone).

A typical maneuver I implement is to give the bike a good violent shake (like I just lost tire pressure) when I am approaching a car that looks like it may pull out in front of me... it's just enough to give the other drive pause to let me go first.  It works very well for me.

I had a discussion with a cop once about this method... he rebutted with "maybe the soccer mom would call 9-1-1 to report you as a drunk driver, though... then you'd have to deal with a traffic stop".  I replied "I'd rather deal with a traffic stop then getting a Dodge Caravan emblem removed from my chest in the hospital".  He had nothing to say after that.

But maybe I'm cracked.  Thoughts?

[pkpk]

I'm trying to come up with an analogy over using a condom...maybe I'll just skip it. 

[Jared]

I think mindfulness plays into this also.  It's one thing to ride at a spirited pace, but whether or not it makes you a more skilled/safe rider depends completely on where your head is.  If you're riding at 90% of your capability, all of your attention is focused on just keeping it on the road and you take nothing beneficial away.  Keeping a reserve of attention ($3-4 out of the $10 you have to spend) that you can devote to being mindful of what you are doing, thinking, learning, etc. is the other half of the equation.

If you have attention to spare AND you are focused on your ride craft that what will make you a safer rider.

[beedawg]

Lots of good thoughts here, including the fact that safe and careful are subjective.  Risk is relative.  The only way to be completely safe with a motorcycle is to stay away from it.  We choose to decrease or increase our (perceived) level of risk, sometimes for reasons that make sense only to ourselves.

I like Vander's practice of shaking the bike as an example of safe vs. careful.  Some people would probably say that shaking the bike like isn't being very careful, and some riders would never do it.  But I think it's a good illustration of the difference between being careful and being safe.

Maybe this topic is played out, but I wonder if there are any more examples of being safe rather than careful.

[Ray916MN]

The best example of the trade off between careful and safe when riding shows up in selecting lane position.

Many riders consistently when coming up to pass a car in traffic pick the tire track farthest away from the car, and pass with very little speed differential. The notion here is that this lane positioning and the lack of speed differential gives them the most space and time to react to the car they are passing coming into their lane. I would call this careful riding.

The weakness of this strategy is it places the rider in the blind spot of the car they are passing for the longest time, making it much tougher for driver to see them. It also makes it tougher for them to see if the driver glances at their mirror in preparation to make a lane change. The alternative strategy would be to pass using the right tire track with a decent speed differential, so the rider can see the driver's face and eyes the entire time they are passing the car. Time in the blind spot is minimized and unless the driver doesn't check their mirror at all before moving over, the rider is also positioned to get a warning the driver is thinking about moving over into their lane, and the rider spends less time in a vulnerable position. Of course the weakness in the close to the car your passing tire track choice is, you have the least amount of space and time to react if the driver moves over.

I believe the latter is generally safer as long as there is a low probability of something on the other side of the car which might force the car to swerve into your lane (e.g. entering traffic, pot hole) or cause the driver to suddenly think they want to swerve into your lane, like an exit ramp on the other side of you. Most would consider it less careful riding.

[ARS]

Great topic.
The common denominator in this discussion string is situational awareness. . .staying mentally ahead of your machine. For someone to maintain situational awareness physiological factors and honest self-awareness is critical.  When you preflight an airplane, you also preflight yourself.  How am I feeling, am I mentally in the game today?  Did I get enough sleep?  Is your mind on your job or family problems? and so on.  The grey matter between your ears is your best and only real defense out there, and if it’s half full of the “other stuff”, you’re not situationally aware.
I’ve cancelled many flights (plane & bike), I’m still here.

[Deplorable, thank you!]

A typical maneuver I implement is to give the bike a good violent shake (like I just lost tire pressure) when I am approaching a car that looks like it may pull out in front of me... it's just enough to give the other drive pause to let me go first.  It works very well for me.


But maybe I'm cracked.  Thoughts?

How does this make you safer or more careful?

What happens if the vehicle doesn't heed your warning or even see you? Is the "violent shake" of your bike so upsetting the chassis that now your reaction time is delayed?
 Are you then too distracted by your action of the "violent shake" that you spent too much of your preverbial $10 on something that is not constructive?






 Finally motorcycles aren't safe, ergo driving one is not safe either. But they sure are fun to ride anyways. IMO

[Vander]

What happens if the vehicle doesn't heed your warning or even see you? Is the "violent shake" of your bike so upsetting the chassis that now your reaction time is delayed?

Are you then too distracted by your action of the "violent shake" that you spent too much of your preverbial $10 on something that is not constructive?

Oh, I never shook it to the point of affecting my reaction time.  It's hard to explain.  And I'd show you, Lloyd; however, I sold all of my motorcycles for a mini-van.  Motorcycles are too dangerous and they now scare me.   

[Greg]

We are never "safe" on a motorcycle. Motorcycling is not a "safe" pastime. At best, we can try to be "careful" by managing the risk to the best of our abilities.


safe
 saf·er, saf·est, noun.
adjective
1.
secure from liability to harm, injury, danger, or risk: a safe place.
2.
free from hurt, injury, danger, or risk: to arrive safe and sound.
3.
involving little or no risk of mishap, error, etc.: a safe estimate.
4.
dependable or trustworthy: a safe guide.
5.
careful to avoid danger or controversy: a safe player; a safe play.


care·ful
[kair-fuh?l] Show IPA
adjective
1.
cautious in one's actions: Be careful when you cross the street.
2.
taking pains in one's work; exact; thorough: a careful typist.
3.
(of things) done or performed with accuracy or caution: careful research.
4.
solicitously mindful (usually followed by of, about,  or in  ): careful of the rights of others; careful about one's behavior; careful in speech.