Buddy of mine and I were discussing crash avoidance yesterday after he (a cager) regaled me with a story of a fellow who spent weeks in intensive care from going off road and low siding a metric "Be careful man, there's just too many ways to get "bit" on one of those....yada yada yada..." (They mean well, but GEEEEEEZE..) I informed him I know about HANDLEBARS and BRAKES, and the conversation turned to TARGET FIXATION. I believe it to be a FACT that a great number of accidents where the cage turns left in front of the bike (most common according to Hurt) could be avoided if the biker could get a handle on TARGET FIXATION and simply drive AROUND the encroaching vehicle. I assume the problem becomes exponentially worse with an increase in speed, but are there any proven techniques for practicing avoiding this phenominae?

 

Yup, target fixation absoluetely does happen. It's a VERY common problem in the sportbike world. New guy comes into a corner too hot, relizes he coming in too hot and fiixates on the shoulder/ditch that he "knows" he going to hit and low and behold, he hits it and wipes out. 9 times out of 10 if the rider could focus and ride through they'd be fine (although there would probably be a load in their shorts).

I think mastering it is sort of like mastering any fear (target fixation is a "fear" type response). You have to learn to keep a level head and "snap yourself out of it" if you find you are fixating. Recognizing that your doing it is 1/2 the battle. After that you'd better hope you have the skills to deal w/ whatever caused the "fixation" response to begin with.
I've had it happen to me while going a bit too fast into an otherwise familliar corner. It was very hard to give myself the perverbial "slap in the face" and lean the bike over more and ride through. I fully believe if I hadn't gotten ahold of myself I would have taken a 90mph trip into a bean field. Scary stuff.

 

This is a tough one. In my mind Target fixation can me a couple things. Fixating on an immediate threat and failing to take evasive measures. It can also mean fixating on the road or shoulder directly in front of you during a manuver that's out of your comfort zone. I know it sounds so basic but by nature we look at things that threaten us. It has always come down to " looking where you want to go, not where you're afraid you'll end up." You're motorcycle will follow your eyes.

 

I'd say it is something that comes with time and becoming more comfortable on a bike to be able to look out ahead at where you want to go and not what you're trying to miss. Especially in a turn at high speed it takes a certain amount of discipline to look ahead through the turn.

As far as trying to miss a car that's pulling out in front of you. I think usually it's just too late. Why can't they just pay more attention? I shouldn't have to practice swerve techniques because cagers can't take an extra second.

 

It's caused me to off the road about 3 times...damn lucky I and the bike made it safe and sound. VERY dangerous when on coming traffic is passing you.

~Joe

 

Turn your head.

Motorcycling is the science of head and eyes. Where you look is where you are going to go. I tell riders in my class that if they come around a turn too hot, to quickly snap their head around and look for the exit in the curve. Head and eyes go together and by turning your head to look, you are committing your eyes to do the same. And it has to be a focused look. A quick peek or furtive glance is not enough. A rider must make the effort to LOOK where they want to go. But to glance at the exit and then look back at the outside shoulder or at an on coming car is not going to get the job done.

Of course proficiency in this comes with..........regular practice.

I'm sure there are other opinions and answers, but that is what I was taught, that is what works for me, and that is what I instruct others to do.

 

Yes, it is all habit based as well. Get in the habit of looking at the road in soft focus or a general view of what is out there as a complete picture. When you see a vehicle on the right or left that could encroach on your space watch the entire vehicle and what is beyond and look for any movement in relation to it's front wheel or the objects behind it. In other words if you are looking at the entire picture in front of you as if it were in a frame...which objects are moving and which are stationary? Also, check your mirrors every 3-5 seconds. Easier said than done. But easier if you are riding alone. When in groups it is really easy to just start fixating on the bike in front of you. Which is why you will see multiple bikes ride off the road together.

 

You may already practice this without knowing it. I am not sure if this would be the same skill, but going through corners I always remind myself to look where I want to go. I was riding last week on a day with strong winds. A garbage barrel came flying into the road in front of me and I looked where I wanted to go and went there. I think it is being mindful to look where you want to go during regular situations that will hopefully save your hide when you need it most.

 

I think MSf teaches SEE where you are constantly looking , evaluating your dangers and making plans to escape or evade the problem. AS others have said, where you look is where you go. A wide man once said that a motorcycle stops faster on it's wheels than on its side sliding down the road.

 

Some driving schools do the drill where you drive down the center-lane towards 3 traffic lights side-by-side, and then two lights turn red and the other light turns green- you're supposed to swerve to go under the green light. This supposeedly makes swerving instinctive.

But the way I "avoid" target fixation came from years of racing, where I had to avoid spinning competitors. This taught me to aim for a spot where the other vehicle won't be when I get to that spot, but it involves being arround vehicles that are all headed generally in the same direction. And I can't say I avoid "Target Fixation", because there have been times I was so focussed on the guy in front of me that when he forgot to slow down for a corner, I kept following him.

It's kinda like going around a corner. We're supposed to train our eyes to look where we're going, and we'll go there. Don't look at the rock you want to miss. And try to think about what you'll do if the left-turner that's ready to turn in front of you actually does. Can I cut in behind him if he pulls in front of me without hitting oncoming traffic? Is the pavement between lanes clean, or is it littered with debris ? What lane position gives me the most visibility, and what lane position will give me the best chance to avoid contact ?