Thinking about your observation

Observation is a key element of piloting any vehicle, but it’s importance while riding a motorcycle is far more prominent. As drivers become increasingly distracted by their phones, what hope do we have as vulnerable road users!?

When you’re learning to ride, it can be hard to take everything in. Figuring out where to look and why you need to look there can be tricky, and you have to learn that while also trying to make yourself familiar with the controls of the bike and the position you need to take in the road.

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Thankfully, with the help of Bedfordshire Council’s road Safety team, there’s an interactive video that’s narrated by Steve Parrish to help improve your observation.

The video can help you to think more about where you need to be looking when riding on the road.

It can also help to observe the rider in the video too, analyse why he looks where he does, when he does his shoulder checks and also where he’s looking when approaching junctions.

The video takes into account not only hazards, but also road conditions too and Parrish guides the user through differing scenarios, challenging the viewer to look in particular areas.

Of course, it’s never going to truly replicate getting out on the roads and practising yourself, but it can help make you more aware of what’s going on when you first start to ride.

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